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So,
why should you choose Southern Italy with Long Travel?
Well,
because we are aware that holidays are important and should
not be taken for granted. You will be speaking to people who
care about your holiday and who will enjoy chatting to you about
it. We will be there for you before, during and after your trip.
We know that you will love Southern Italy and, quite simply,
you need to hear about it from people who know it and love it
too.
Annie
& Ray - Ray and I are proud of our team
at Long Travel. It may sound corny to say that we're
one big family, but, corny or not, that's the way it
is! We are lucky to have them all and really appreciate
their “all hands on deck” approach – just what's needed
in a family set-up.
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Laura
& Alex - When I was eighteen, I travelled
with Alex to Sicily and Puglia, and instantly fell
for the friendly locals, their easy-going attitude to
life, the beautiful landscapes and the amazing food.
Twelve years on and I have been lucky to visit
the whole of Southern Italy, with the company,
and I was not surprised to find that it was as wonderful
everywhere I went.
I
love that the most important thing for Italians is family.
Our baby is due this year and it's comforting to know
that he or she will fit in perfectly!
The
first time I visited Southern Italy, I loved it. I still
love it and I feel very fortunate to work with such
a great bunch of people, including my family. Twelve
years and no bruises!
With
a new arrival imminent, it is exciting to think that
Southern Italy will become as much a part of his or
her life as it is mine and Laura's.
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Laura
M - I've worked with Ray & Annie for seven
years, which SCARILY represents a quarter of my life!
No wonder we're like family!
I'm
getting married in 2010, so I'll be on a diet all year,
unable to give in to my chocolate addiction. Of course,
I'll choose Southern Italy for our honeymoon. Andy popped
the question in Ravello, whilst we were staying in Amalfi,
so that area is special to us. BUT, I love so many of
the other places we do too – oh dear, my shortlist's
a “LONGlist”!
Read what Laura
loves about Southern Italy.
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Paul
- Since working at Long Travel, I have progressed from
young man to father of three beautiful girls. All in
eight years - incredible! The
practicalities of travel with a young family in tow.
The
best thing is that the people I work with are more like
friends than colleagues and bosses, and that our Italian
owners consider us all friends, too. I love getting really
involved in helping people plan their holidays to the
Southern Italy I adore. Next year, I hope to return to
Sicily and anywhere else I can……hint! hint! He
has a great deal of experience and has travelled around
most of Southern Italy, his two most recent trips were
to Calabria and
Sardinia.
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Helen
- Colin & I (alias Darby & Joan) live with four
cats on our farm, in beautiful rural Shropshire. Our
two children have flown the nest.
I
love everything about travel, red wine and good food
– not necessarily in that order! The best things about
being with Long Travel for the last five years are being
paid to talk about Italy and all of our beautiful properties,
and the camaraderie of “the Gang”.
Helen is a lady
after my own heart! If she thinks something is not for
you, she'll tell you so, in no uncertain terms. She
prides herself in guiding clients to make the right
choices for them - and she's usually right! Having worked
in travel for a number of years Helen was keen to see
if Southern Italy was everything she expected. After
reading about her
trip to Abruzzo,
I think you will agree that it was!
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Michael
- Since joining Long Travel three years ago, I've been
incredibly lucky to indulge in my passion for Italy,
its people, food, (and wine!!) AND get paid for it!
One day, I hope to combine this with my other passion,
driving cars, and do a Grand Tour of Southern Italy.
We
all share an enthusiasm for the South and the friendly
banter in the office is one of the best parts of the
job. And the cakes, of course! Michael
loves Italy and in particular, Italian food. Involved
in both sales and administration, he has been lucky
enough to visit many of the properties we work with.
A real driving enthusiast, he hopes to, one day, drive
(and eat) his way around Southern Italy. Magari!
Already having been on a number trips, he has already
amassed a great deal of knowledge about Southern Italy
- and the nations driving habits!
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Alison
- My husband, son and I live in Shrewsbury and I love
travelling to picturesque rural Shropshire to work.
We have all enjoyed holidays in Southern Italy and we
especially love agritourism.
I
feel lucky that I have been able to change my working
hours to fit around family life, and I have enjoyed
my admin role with Long Travel for the last 10 years.
(Though rumour has it that I come to work just to be
teased!)
Alison
has some good advice of what worked for her.
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| Alison
J - With almost two years under my belt, I
am the most recent member of the Long Travel team. It's
wonderful to have a job that combines two of my great
interests – travel & languages. My passion for Italy
stems from a language class I took and a visit to Italy,
which lived up to all my expectations and more. Since
then I have been hooked! I need more practice with the
language - but Long Travel gives me plenty of that!
Thank goodness that our Southern Italian contacts are
so kind and patient!
Although her recent trip to Italy was not her first,
it really brought home to her just
how wonderful Southern Italy is.
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L ast,
but certainly not least, Gucci & Alfonso, are two totally
useless members of staff. They have been known to answer
the phone occasionally, but they’re not great with computers!
Nor are our three rescued cats – Tom Jones (found in Wales
- now a sir of course!), Olive and Illy. |
We
pride ourselves on our ability to root out properties that some
other companies may overlook. We were one of the very first
companies to organise Trullo holidays. We go for a variety
of accommodation, from small, family-run hotels, to historic
buildings and sometimes more modern, characterful hotels. We
offer holidays for the discerning traveller, quality at a good
price, something different in undiscovered corners, as well
as famous resorts and cities. We can offer a variety of
accommodation in all the regions of Southern Italy and also
the islands of Sicily, Sardinia and Lipari, which is one of
the Aeolian Islands off the North East coast of Sicily.
The
first holidays we arranged were holidays to Puglia, or Apulia
as it is sometimes called and we offered our clients the possibility
of staying in a trullo, Puglia is a region we love and
try to visit as much as possible. Calabria and Sicily
were the next regions to feature in our brochure followed by
Campania, both South Campania and the more well known Amalfi
Coast. Basilicata, which is tucked away between Calabria,
Campania and Puglia was our next addition, then Sardinia.
Sardinia is an island of contrasts, wonderful beaches and fantastic
countryside. Abruzzo, we thought was the final piece of
the Southern Italian jigsaw but this year we started working
in the region of Molise a tiny area between Abruzzo, Puglia
and Campania.
As
we only specialise in Southern Italy, Sicily and Sardinia you
can benefit from our knowledge and friendly working relationship
with our property owners and managers. This close partnership
enables us to achieve some very good prices which we are delighted
to pass onto you so that you can also enjoy this part of Italy
which we are passionate about.
Before
departing on your holiday, you will need good knowledge of the
areas you are visiting, descriptions of properties, recommendations
of what to see, where to eat, good beaches etc. We give you
all of this and also, we are always at the end of the phone
to answer any other queries you may have before, during and
after your holiday.
Our
unusually flexible approach to booking holidays allows us to
tailor-make everything for you. We do our best to listen to
clients’ requirements and come up with a holiday that
you want. Obviously there are some outside constraints to that
flexibility, but, in fact, we often come up with ideas that
others wouldn’t even guess at. Whether you are after an
annual holiday or a short break, we will have lots of suggestions.
Call us old romantics, if you like, but we love arranging honeymoons
and special occasions.
Like
many of you, we are real “foodies” and where is
better than Southern Italy to sample the best Italian cuisine?
Our waistlines bear witness to that fact! We will do our utmost
to help you plan the holiday that suits you best. If we think
you won’t like it, we’ll tell you not to go! Once
you’ve booked, we will give you information, gleaned from
years of experience and much valued feedback from our clients.
We do not pretend to know everything, but, we are constantly
expanding our knowledge base and we are always thrilled that
our clients enjoy helping with this.
“Thank
you for taking the time to discuss with me what we
were looking for and for all your advice. Your service
was superb and we cannot thank you enough. It is so
nice to deal with a company and a person that really
cares about their service and the experience their
customers receive.”
Phil
& Katie Gates, Reading
“Thanks
for all your time and attention to our holiday – it
is a service we have rarely experienced with holiday
companies.”
Pam
& Michael Galley, Leeds
“My trip was planned
to perfection by Long Travel - attention to every
possible detail and a sensitivity and understanding
of me, as
the client, to ensure my itinerary matched my personality.
Quite a feat from UK to Australia only via e-mail"
Prue
Browne, Australia
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