Some of the best ways to understand a destination happen around the table. At Adventures in Good Company, our women-only travel experiences are designed to help travelers connect with the places they visit, the cultures they encounter, and the women they travel alongside. That can mean hiking beneath mountain peaks, kayaking along a coastline, exploring ancient ruins, or stepping into a local kitchen to learn how a region’s most meaningful dishes are made.
These small-group travel experiences for women go beyond just tasting local food. On select AGC adventures, travelers can cook alongside local chefs and community members, where they learn the traditions, ingredients, and stories behind each dish. This creates a natural connection to the culture, to the people sharing their traditions, and to the women beside you as you celebrate it together. In this blog, we’ll share our adventures that include cooking classes and opportunities to learn from local chefs.
Greek Cooking on Our Island Hopping Adventure
On our Island Hopping in the Greek Islands tour, days are filled with ancient footpaths, whitewashed villages, sunlit coastlines, and time to experience the relaxed rhythm of the Cyclades. After hiking through Paros Island and exploring the cultural village of Marpissa, travelers take part in an authentic Greek cooking class.
Together, you’ll learn to make traditional Greek dishes, including dolmades—grape leaves filled with rice and herbs—and baklava, a flaky phyllo pastry layered with nuts and sweet syrup. You may also prepare a traditional savory Greek pie before sitting down to enjoy the meal you created. It is a meaningful way to experience Greek culture beyond the taverna table, and a skill you can bring home to share with family and friends.
Italian Cooking Classes: Food, Culture, and Adventure
Italy is known for unforgettable food, but its cooking traditions are also deeply connected to each region’s landscape, local ingredients, and family history. Our Italy adventures offer hands-on cooking experiences alongside hiking, cultural exploration, and time to savor each place's beauty.
Our Heart of Emilia-Romagna trip journeys through one of Italy’s most celebrated culinary regions, with time in Bologna, Modena, and the rolling countryside. Travelers connect with the culture by making handmade tagliatelle and traditional Bolognese ragù together.
On Cinque Terre and the Italian Riviera, a day of hiking coastal trails and enjoying views of the Ligurian Sea ends with a cooking class in Monterosso. Here, travelers discover the secrets of pesto, which originated in this region, along with other Italian specialties. After walking through colorful seaside villages and terraced vineyards, nothing beats sharing a meal you made together in a place others dream of visiting.
While both trips offer Italian cooking classes, each reveals a completely different side of Italy. Emilia-Romagna offers hand-crafted pasta traditions, while Cinque Terre offers bright pesto, fresh seafood, and Ligurian specialties.
Galápagos Ceviche and Island Culture
The Galápagos Islands are known worldwide for extraordinary wildlife, including giant tortoises, sea lions, blue-footed boobies, and colorful marine life. On Explore the Galapagos Islands by Land, travelers also have the chance to experience the culture and cuisine of the islands through a hands-on class preparing fresh Galápagos ceviche.
This cooking experience reminds you that the Galápagos is not only an incredible wildlife destination, but also a place where communities, traditions, and flavors are shaped by the ocean. Afterward, travelers can explore nearby beaches, walk scenic trails, or simply take in the beauty of this unforgettable island adventure.
Peruvian Cooking in the Andes
On Peruvian Culture: Lares and the Lost City, food becomes part of a larger story of mountain life, heritage, and cultural connection. This women’s hiking and cultural adventure in Peru takes travelers through the Sacred Valley and Lares region, with opportunities to hike ancient trails, visit markets and ruins, and spend time with local communities.
In Huacahuasi, travelers learn about village life and traditional weaving before returning to the lodge for a hands-on Peruvian cooking class and lunch. Guided by the lodge’s culinary team, travelers prepare traditional dishes with locally sourced ingredients. It’s a chance to better understand the ingredients and customs of the Andes while sharing a meal in the region where these traditions began and continue to thrive.
Between mountain landscapes, local connections, and the journey to Machu Picchu, this Peru adventure offers a deeper travel experience, one that stays with you long after the trip ends.
Mexican Cooking in Baja California Sur
Our Baja’s Scenic Sierras and Coastal Charms adventure blends whale watching, beach time, creative workshops, and mountain exploration in Baja California Sur. In the coastal town of Todos Santos, travelers explore the area’s history before joining local Chef Iker Algorri for a Mexican cooking class.
Chef Iker shares his philosophy of the “Magnificence of Simplicity” as the group learns to make memorable Mexican dishes—and the perfect margarita—before enjoying the results together. This hands-on culinary experience pairs beautifully with the trip's creative, outdoors-focused spirit. Beyond cooking, the trip also includes mosaic and watercolor classes, cultural workshops such as ranchero leatherworking, and time in the Sierra La Laguna Biosphere Reserve.
Empanadas and Wine in Argentina
Few dishes bring people together quite like empanadas. On our Echoes of the Andes: Argentina and Patagonia trip, travelers join an empanada workshop paired with wines. They learn the care and technique behind this beloved local staple.
It is easy to picture the laughter around the table as everyone folds, fills, tastes, and compares their creations. These shared moments are part of what makes women’s group travel so special: you are not only seeing a new destination, but experiencing it alongside women who are equally curious, adventurous, and open to connection.
Cacao and Chocolate in Ecuador’s Amazon
Chocolate tastes even better when you understand where it begins.
On Ecuador’s Amazon Jungle Adventure, travelers harvest cacao and learn how to transform it into some of the world’s highest-quality chocolate in a Kichwa kitchen. This hands-on experience follows cacao from the land to the finished treat, creating a deeper appreciation for the famous sweet and its origin.
The adventure continues with local flavors at the Archidona market, cave exploration with a native guide, and a restorative stay at Papallacta Hot Springs. It offers a closer look at the cacao journey, alongside the markets, landscapes, and cultural traditions of Ecuador’s Amazon.
Travel Beyond the Plate
Cooking while traveling is about so much more than the dish itself. It is about being present, asking questions, trying something new, laughing when your pasta isn't quite the same shape as everyone else’s, and enjoying the reward of a meal made together in good company.
Our women-only adventure travel experiences are thoughtfully designed to foster connection between nature, culture, and one another. Whether you are hiking Italy’s coastal trails, exploring highland villages in Peru, watching for whales in Baja, or harvesting cacao in Ecuador’s Amazon, a hands-on cooking class adds another meaningful layer to the adventure.
Ready to hike, explore, and cook your way into the heart of a new culture? Discover AGC’s upcoming adventures and reserve your place at the table.
