Rick Steve's Heart of Italy Tour - traveling with multiple food allergies

I travel with food allergies and I've done tours with them...although not a RS tour. Touring is a little easier in one sense and harder in another. On one hand, you'll have your guide as an advocate, which can be helpful. I had an enormously helpful guide in China and he talked with restaurant staff for our planned meals. I had a not-so-helpful guide in Turkey so I had to fend for myself more. When I travel independently, I almost always rent an apartment and then I just cook most of my food and it works out ok.

Your daughter's list is definitely tougher than mine (corn, almonds, honeydew) and so I think it will be more of a challenge - plus it's a new thing for you. You might want to contact the RS people directly for input.

Your post seems to indicate that her reaction varies to the various items. Is only the peanut allergy anaphylactic?

One thing to keep in mind is that you can't get Benadryl in Italy. Bring plenty with you. I take a daily Zyrtec when I travel as it provides a little protection, I have Benadryl with me and I carry an Epi. I also carry a lot of food for situations where i feel like I can't make a safe choice.

Oh - and I travel with a food allergy card. There's lots of options out there on the Internet but I like to make my own. I like to convey, in as non-confrontational a way as possible, that I am not talking about a food dislike or a dietary choice but a serious health issue.

Heart of Italy was my first RS tour. I am vegan and the guide was able to get me a vegan meal everywhere BUT I don't have any kind of wheat allergy. The default was usually pasta which worked fine for me. She did get us delicious farro and bean soup in Volterra but that is a wheat product so would not work for your daughter.

I suggest you talk with the guide right after the introductory meet-up and tell her of your daughter's dietary needs.

I also agree with carrying a card listing her allergies. I have one for vegan and it is very handy. Often when I show it to a server they will take it back to the kitchen and then come point out what will work or make other suggestions.

I have been on 3 RS tours. The guides were very accommodating with tour members who had dietary restrictions. I wouldn't hesitate taking a RS tour because of food allergies. I think It would be helpful to have someone able to speak a foreign language needed to make sure your dietary requests are understood. When you sign up for a RS tour there is paperwork to complete and dietary restrictions are listed.

Hi, Kim. Communicate the allergy list to the office as a note on your booking and be sure to follow up with your guide on the first evening. Once you've made the list, then be prepared to stick to it, as the guide will make advance reservations for the shared meals. Gluten-free pasta is easy to find in Italy, but hotel breakfasts will have fewer options, so you might bring something to supplement breakfast. Tree nuts may be used in a number of items, with sweets and pestos being most common.

Actually, Italy and the EU require much more disclosure of allergens in restaurant foods than in the US, thanks to regs implemented at the end of 2014. All restaurant menus will have information about ingredients in 16 categories which may cause allergic reactions. Here's a website that will help you and also provides some language help: http://www.foodallergyitalia.org/ita/page.php?cat=varie&id=2

Most Italian restaurants can provide gluten-free pasta, some need 24 hours' notice, which your tour guide can set up. You should not have a problem finding food - even on your free-time meals.

A friend of mine recently set up a birthday party for her husband, and several guests had food allergies (one had very serious allergies). No problem at all.

Thank you all so very much for your fast responses. This is exactly the reason why we choose RS Tours over others. We met wonderful people on our first tour and you've all given excellent advice from your experiences. I'm sure if we work with RS staff and guides we can get the extra help with overcoming language barriers on our tour. Wish I spoke Italian! This definitely eases my mind and I'm hopeful that by next summer we'll have a better handle on how serious some of her food allergies are and possibly eliminate some of the restrictions. She's eaten all of these things except peanuts all her life but was just diagnosed with EOE, Eosinophilic Esophagitis, and we're in the early stages of the elimination diet. Luckily her symptoms are much milder (so far) than many others who suffer from this disease.

Blessings to all!

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When you sign up for your tour, you will be given access to a portal, where you can list any medical or food issues you may have. Do this before you show up for the tour. I have one food intolerance, and most of the RS guides have been good about seeing that my needs are met. And then reinforce this after the introductory meeting the first day of the tour. The assistance of the guides is invaluable, especially for breakfasts and group meals.

As a backup for any situation where your tour guide may not be on hand to intercede: SelectWisely makes laminated allergy cards in any of many languages. We had them made for my husband on a recent trip and felt it was a good investment. In addition to standard cards for common allergies, they will make custom cards for whatever you need.
https://www.selectwisely.com/

I took this tour last year. There was a vegan couple who managed to find plenty to eat when on their own, and were always provided with a hearty meal during our group meals. I don't know if they had allergies or not. A lot of the food they were served looked better than what the rest of us got! With the wide variety of Italian cuisine, I think you should do OK as well.

Mark, that was pretty much my experience this year. My own intolerance has to do with sugars, and Debbie Jo made sure that I always had a generous fruit plate or cheese board for dessert. The other tour members were often envious. As well they should have been - my desserts were wonderful. (Thanks, Debbie Jo!)