Perillo Tours just wrapped up its 80th year in business. The company was founded in 1945 by Joseph Perillo, and it has kept the family name to this day, as it's currently led by the third-generation owner, Steve Perillo.
During the USTOA Annual Conference & Marketplace, The Compass had a chance to catch up with Perillo and his nephew, Devin Perillo Buonanno, director of product & air operations at Perillo Tours.
Travelers who know and love the brand will be pleased to find out that not much has changed in the sense that it’s still a leading tour operator for crafting memorable travel experiences in Italy, but the company does have a few new and exciting tours for 2026.
“You know, we've been one of the main Italy companies in America since 1975, and we've really stuck with that,” Perillo said. “The last few years, Greece has been tremendous, and we've had Hawaii for many years, but as far as Europe goes, Greece and now Spain, Portugal and Ireland, we've expanded from Italy, so it's a big step for a very niche company like Perillo Tours.”
New Tours for 2026
Last year, Perillo debuted its 2026 Italy portfolio with two new tours to choose from. Paying close attention to what guests value, the company created itineraries anchored by two Italian cities. This gives travelers a chance to settle in and explore certain regions in more depth.
“We're always trying to dive into the smaller, less traveled areas of Italy, which is a lot of times where you get the most authentic experiences,” Buonanno said.
- Gems of Italy: This tour offers guests an authentic taste of Northern Italy’s cultural diversity. It starts in Genoa, where guests spend three nights before moving to Florence. Day trips include visits to Portofino, Piemonte, Cinque Terre, Venice and Val d’Orcia. Prices start at $3,695 per person with departure dates available from April – October 2026.
- La Dolce Vita: For this option, travelers stay three nights in Rome and four nights in Sorrento, offering an ideal blend of history and Mediterranean beauty. Highlights include visits to the Colosseum, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica and the ruins of Pompeii, in addition to excursions along the Amalfi Coast. Prices start at $4,395 per person with departure dates available from April – October 2026.
Perillo Tours is an expert in Italy, but the company also offers itineraries in Ireland, Portugal, Greece, Spain and Hawaii. This year, it’s debuting a standalone Portugal itinerary. “We've hit the ground running there for our Portugal-only program,” said Buonanno. “It's an amazing product. We have a Porto and Lisbon part of it, but we also include a seaside stay in a small town in between Porto and Lisbon. So they get the city life, but then they also get the Portuguese seaside. So it's a really good combination of a great taste of Portugal.”
- Portugal Dreams: From Porto to Lisbon: This 10-day tour takes travelers from Porto to Lisbon, with a stay at a coastal resort near Praia D'El Rey. The experience is filled with walking tours, winery visits, lush gardens, musical performances and much more. Prices start at $3,595 per person with departure dates available from April – October 2026.
The company also announced a new tour in Ireland. “For so many Perillo Tours guests, our trips are a way for them to experience their heritage,” said Perillo. “Over the last few years, we’ve seen an overwhelming interest from past guests in Ireland. Building off of our 80 years of operational expertise in Italy, we were able to build a memorable and immersive itinerary to Ireland, a destination equally rich in heritage."
- Heart of Ireland: This tour includes two nights in Dublin, three nights in Galway, two nights in Killarney and a night in Barberstown. Highlights include seeing St. Patrick's Cathedral, Ring of Kerry with sheepdog demonstrations and the scenic countryside. Prices start at $5,495 per person with departure dates available from April – October 2026.
Supporting Travel Advisors
Perillo Tours values the travel advisor community, and the tour company offers support in a number of ways, including hosting informative webinars and providing content for them to share with clients.
“We are doing webinars pretty much weekly, multiple a week, always available to do any sort of training. Really anything that the advisors need, we're there for them,” Buonanno said. “We also have done a lot of social media marketing on Instagram and TikTok … we're sharing with the advisors as well for them to post on their own Facebooks or their own Instagrams to use for marketing.”
He also mentioned they offer FAMs throughout the year for advisors to gain firsthand knowledge of the product, and a lot of advisors depend on Perillo Tours for booking FITs to Italy, which can be done online or over the phone.
“Our FIT division is not just online based. We have a whole dedicated staff to creating those FITs, answering any question, anything that needs to be revised or any specific question that they have, anything about Italy, they're there. So we have support no matter what, which is great,” Buonanno added.
To learn more about these new itineraries or working with Perillo Tours, advisors can visit the website to create a login: Perillo Tours - Travel Advisor Login.
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