Press Reviews
Marjorie Shaw’s service was a delight.
Marjorie Shaw’s Insider’s Italy can help you plan a trip that meets both your basic needs and your loftiest expectations.
Extensive interview at https://www.lavocedinewyork.com/en/people/2018/02/23/marjorie-shaw-an-insiders-view-of-italy/.
Looking for the finest linens in Florence or the sweetest biscotti in Siena? Talk to Marjorie Shaw, whose travel service, Insider’s Italy, delivers what guidebooks and travel agencies won’t—or can’t. The firm’s custom-tailored itineraries omit nothing.
Shaw’s details… were things I’ve never seen in any guidebook, the sort of advice you might get from a friend if the friend were very, very knowledgeable. The driving instructions alone were proof of Shaw’s expertise: “Leave Radda to the west, driving past the two gas stations, and 700 meters after the Agip station, turn left at the sign indicating San Giusto…”
Travel Holiday
The next best thing to having a hospitable aunt in Arezzo or in Rimini or in Padua is knowing about Marjorie Shaw’s Insider’s Italy.
The greatest thing about Marjorie is that she spends a lot of time making sure her clients get the most out of their trips. Plus she enjoys Italy passionately.
Shaw, who is bilingual and lives in Rome, has been arranging villa rentals and customizing Italian itineraries for 17 years. When she evaluates properties, she takes along her family, including her septuagenarian mother and two toddlers, so she knows which best suit multigenerational groups.
Travelers' Reviews
Jessica Haymaker
Grazie mille doesn't begin to cover it. Marjorie provided us with the honeymoon of a lifetime. From start to finish the trip was full of beauty, charm, and history (and of course delicious food!). From the moment my husband started working with her to plan our itinerary, she listened to our wants/needs and made sure to ask questions to fill in the gaps. Her recommendations could not have been more spot on and she was able to grasp exactly what we hoped to accomplish during our two weeks in Italy.
Jennifer Fowler
Marjorie, you booked the honeymoon for my husband Doug and me in 2003. We spent time in Amalfi, Umbria and Tuscany. It was the trip of a lifetime. At our young age then (27 and 26) we knew we were having the “trip of a lifetime”. Since then we’ve had kids and built a happy life. I can’t tell you how many times we say, that was the best trip we ever went on. I tell people all the time about the green book we got, how amazing it was, detailed and full of life and connection to the land. I’ve been reading your newsletters for years. I’m so glad you are still the same and evolving with your business. I look forward to another Insiders Trip again soon. We will plan another trip, as milestone anniversaries are coming our way.
Peter Searle
What made this vacation truly stand out was the detail, care, and intuition Marjorie brought. She got to know us and designed a trip we could never have planned ourselves. Away from tourist traps. Every day was thoughtful, balanced, and rich with meaning. Marjorie promises we’ll meet one day — and I plan to hold her to it. We’ve already booked our flights for Italy 2026 — with Marjorie, of course, at the helm. Insider’s Italy, thank you, thank you. Truly the best.
Herb Katz
We had a wonderful and memorable trip, which was as a result of your comprehensive planning and excellent and personal suggestions. In our opinion, you deserve a 10 out of 10 for the fabulous service you provided us.
Elizabeth Howat
Each trip that you have planned for us has been both unique and memorable, and this trip was no exception. Many, many thanks for guiding us into another one-of-a kind-travel experience that we wouldn't have been able to have without you. We always keep an eye out when in Rome...where's Marjorie??
Michael Klausman
We would not allow anyone else to tinker with any trip to Italy..You are the epitome of excellence in your field.
Bobby and Meegan Kreeger
Thank you Marjorie for helping us to create wonderful memories. Your attention to the little details along with listening to our requests and desires resulted in a truly amazing experience. Initially we both wondered if the cost of Insider’s Italy would be ‘worth it’. After all, we thought it would be one step beyond a typical travel agent or possible if we chose to arrange ourselves with the help of online services like Trip Advisor. We were very pleasantly surprised! Indeed, your recommendations and connections far surpassed our expectations and created an amazing experience with memories that we will cherish for a lifetime. For us, this was most noticeable in the little details. For example, that we needed a car for Tuscany, yet definitely not in Amalfi, that taking the trains was not only safe and efficient yet romantic, that a quiet room in Venice was much more enjoyable (with an amazing view) than a water-facing view…and the list goes on. Overall, your guidance, selection of hotels, recommendations for restaurants and outings was impeccable but the true gem of Insider’s Italy was the introduction to the experts who live in the places we visited. Indeed, Meegan and I had a spectacular time. Our trip will provide a lifetime of wonderful memories yet we already feel the pull to return to Italia. The Italian people are warm and welcoming, passionate yet patient.
Rob Reynolds
We still have such warm and rich recollections of our first trip to the Amalfi coast probably in 1994. You wrote copious notes for us for each part of that trip including hiking along the millennium old goat and sheep paths. A good hotel always helped us simplify our parental obligations to four kids during those early years. And, you helped us organise several other mind enriching and world-expanding experiences as well over the next years as well.
John Munchoff
I have to tell you that, once again, you have made our trip outstanding, unique, and very memorable. Last year’s trip was, hands down, a vacation for the record books. The entire family loved it above any previous vacations. This year, before our arrival I tried to manage their expectations by telling them that I did not think I could meet or beat last year. Well thanks to you, Amalfi eclipsed last year like a Ferrari on the autostrade. My family has advised me that I have now set the bar much higher for future vacations. My son thought he had died and gone to heaven at your Amalfi Coast hotel suggestion.
Mike Mancarella
The planning you have done in the past has made for some of the best travel experiences of my life.
Ray Beale
I had wonderful, marvelous, life-changing adventures in Italy, and you Marjorie were a most important contributor to the execution of these adventures. I know it is your business, but it was much more than that for me, and I’m sure it is for all your clients whose lives are made fuller and richer with knowing you. Grazie tante!!
Jennifer Brown
You were so instrumental in creating a lifetime of memories... We talk about it all the time and always say, it was the greatest trip we’ve ever taken. Still to this day, 9 years later it is.
David and Merete Kleinberg
In all, a wonderful trip, probably my best vacation ever. Grazie mille!!!
Phillip and Margaret Ward
The book you wrote for us was complete and allowed us to travel as if we had been to Italy many times. I was able to navigate the Venice and Florence airports and train stations as though I used them regularly. What to do, where to go, how long it should take, even to the point of knowing to turn right at the Farmacia in the Florence train station to find a taxi. We found this level of detail across all aspects of our plan. Our accommodations were perfect. The guides were fantastic! They gave us wonderful perspectives on the history, architecture, and art of Venice and Florence. The food was beyond description! Wonderful food, better people! Nicolo was a lot of fun. He took me to the wine cellar while he found just the right bottle. You live in a very special country. We are counting on you to plan our next trip to Italy in 2013.
Jamie and Mike Ney
We’ve just returned from the most wonderful three weeks that anyone could hope for. We felt we had a guardian angel perched on our shoulders. Your exquisite plans made our trip so memorable there was nothing left for us to do but eat, drink and enjoy. Each accommodation was delightful—and none would have been found without you.
Vivek Shaiva
I just returned from a trip to Italy and was pleased to see the article, Only in Tuscany, by Dan Hofstadter and Ondine Cohane in the September issue. What really caught my eye was the article recommending Marjorie Shaw’s Insider’s Italy and I wanted to share my experiences with their unique travel services during my trip. I heard about Insider’s Italy through a friend’s recommendation and arranged to have my Italy trip coordinated through her this August. We planned a short stay in Rome followed by a longer stay at the Amalfi coast. Marjorie recommended very unique and special hotels customized to my requirements (I was travelling with my two kids) right down to specific room recommendations while keeping my budget needs in mind. During our stay at Amalfi, Marjorie arranged for a forty year resident of the area take us on a amazing boat trip down the coast stopping at nice private coves for a swim in the Mediterranean helping us avoid crowded tourist traps (August as you know is a peak vacation period for Italians). This was followed by a fantastic lunch at small local restaurant in a small fishing village on the coast. The restaurant is run by one of the few “real” fishermen left in the area. There was no menu! Our customized meal was created just for us – fresh anchovies, awesome pasta, fresh catch of the day – delicately and perfectly cooked and accompanied by local wine with peaches. On our way back via Rome, Marjorie pulled another miracle of sorts. Most of the restaurants in Rome are closed in August especially on a Sunday night. At my request she researched and managed to find a very nice restaurant in a place centrally located but tucked away in a side street that no tourist could have ever found ! I could tell by the packed crowd that it was a local favorite. I had the best meal of my stay. I am so glad I took up my friend’s recommendations to plan this trip through Marjorie’s Insider’s Italy – it made all the difference in the world and I would not step foot in that country again without arranging the trip through her!
Michael Douglas
Marjorie, I want you to know that this was one of the most enjoyable and enriching holidays of my life. I fully anticipate carrying forever the wonderful memories of sophisticated cities, pastoral Tuscan life, good times with good friends and new acquaintances, and the cathartic laughter of our children.
Eunie Denenberg
The hotels—which were our highest priority—were sensational. You understood exactly the feeling we wanted and came through perfectly.
Ron Newcome
Your service would be a bargain at twice the price. You opened the kind of doors that I open in my part of the world for only my very best friends. You gave us the trip of a lifetime.
Shelley Block
Your hard work was instrumental in creating the very special experience we had hoped for. Both our rental houses—in Tuscany and Umbria—were perfect, and you obviously selected them with great care. Each of the hotels also fit the bill precisely. The locations you chose were varied but all wonderful and the combination of them was ideal.
David and Renee Zallie
Insider’s Italy provided my wife and me with a tremendously enjoyable honeymoon in Italy. Having never gone to Italy before, we now know just how important Insider’s Italy was to us. Information we needed on hotels, restaurants, sites to see, guides, transportation, as well as the customs of the country, were there for us.
David and Linda Roots
Marjorie arranged our first trip of many to Italy in 1999. It was, by far, the most incredibly wonderful experience of our lives. That includes the accommodations, daily trip planning, and many “Insider” tips that led to some of the most memorable excursions imaginable. This may sound like a paid announcement, but we would not have retained Marjorie’s services just two years later for our next trip had this not been the case. We have referred her to more than half a dozen friends and plan to continue doing so for years to come. She is a rare gem!
Elliott Livstone
There aren’t enough superlatives in the English language to describe how much we enjoyed our travels and appreciated your efforts. The accommodations were spectacular and we coined the phrase “A Marjorie Shaw View” to describe the knock-down view from all of your personally selected hotel room windows.
Lee Levine
The icing on the cake, of course, is your own unique insight into every nook and cranny of the country. From the best gelati in Rome, to the most varied and interesting hike from Ravello to Atrani, to your relationships with your art historians, you enabled us to enjoy an experience that we could not duplicate by consulting a room full of travel guidebooks. For all of this, Marjorie, we are forever grateful to you.
Mary and Will Williams
Thank you again for all of your planning for making this the trip of a lifetime!
Andrew Marks
We will be thrilled to encourage friends to call on you for assistance with future trips. If you want some glowing comments for marketing purposes, just ask !
Michele Bergner
You planned our honeymoon 12 years ago. It was certainly the trip of a lifetime so I want to inquire about another trip !
Carolyn Happer
When we think back on 2019, one of our best memories was connecting to you!! I have told everyone what an asset you were for our trip.
M E Bozzi
Thank you for another amazing experience in Italy. Everything was perfect. Your attention to detail is unsurpassed. We loved the hotel, the excursions, Antonella, and Cristina. The boys said it was “the trip of a life time.” My husband thinks you are a genius. He has never experienced 11 year old boys so engaged. Until next time.
X Martis
Marjorie has been planning our annual trips to Italy for at least the last 17 years! She has taken us from the ancient temples, Baroque towns and breathtaking summits of Sicily all the way up the Italian boot to the foothills of the Alto Adige covering both the eastern and western coastlines of this beautiful country. Why do we return to Marjorie trip after trip? Because frankly we know no one who knows so intimately and passionately every nook and cranny of Italy. Through her exquisitely detailed descriptions in her itineraries she held us by the hand and guided us step by step through the country side of the Val d’Orcia behind the Duomo of Pienza as if she was walking next to us. In Rome of course there is no end of sites to visit but if you have a special request like, are there ancient churches with ecclesiastical mosaics, that is more challenging. But not for Marjorie. Immediately a walking tour is created guiding you through six magnificent churches with spectacular mosaics. In every location, in Tuscany, in Puglia, in Sicily, on the Amalfi Coast, the Cinque Terre, the Veneto, Venice we were treated to very unique experiences. Every restaurant Marjorie sent us to, we had the best table in the best restaurant in the region. Everyone of Marjorie’s guides, besides being profoundly knowledgeable of her subject could very easily become our friend they are people of such charm. In fact, some of them have become our friends through the years! I really cannot recommend Insider’s Italy enough! Marjorie is one of Italy’s treasures!
Robin Finkelstein
Insiders Italy is amazing! Marjorie has designed six trips for my husband and me. From the moment we hit the ground in Italy, every aspect of our trip was perfectly arranged. We talked with her about our interests and travel style. She hand-picked our hotels, restaurants, and local guides when we chose to use them. Marjorie provided us with detailed itineraries every step of the way. We have traveled extensively throughout the country and have had incredible vacations thanks to Marjorie. We have recommended many friends to Insiders Italy, and no one has been disappointed. We are on our way back to Italy this November. We are beyond excited and can't wait to see what Marjorie has planned for us.
Aparna Dubey
While we all wish that we could bring Italy closer, Insider’s Italy really can! Our very special family trip to Umbria, Rome and the Amalfi coast was organized by Insider’s Italy and it remains one of the best trips we have ever taken. And we are a well traveled family! Marjorie worked with us closely to plan the perfect itinerary. It was absolutely phenomenal. She managed to arrange all sorts of special excursions and treats, finding the best guides (such as Sabrina in Naples, who was warm, interesting and knowledgeable), the best restaurants (not in guidebooks) and the best hotels within our budget. She also made sure that the places we went were not too crowded, a chronic problem in Italy. Do think of Marjorie when you are ready to go to Italy and don’t want to waste your time doing the wrong things and going to the wrong places (or the right places at the wrong time!) Even if you think you know the country well, you most likely don’t know it as well as she!
Patty Savage
Marjorie, it was the most perfect trip!! Just everything including food, tours and accommodations. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your help.
Gail Webb
Randy and I can’t thank you enough for our absolutely marvelous adventure in Amalfi. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect vacation. You made our trip stress free and fabulous. We have recommended you to so many others.
Lauren Natale
First I want to say “Thank You” for creating such an amazing experience for us. We have all fallen in love with Italy and are already talking about coming back. Upon reflecting on our trip we all decided there is nothing we would change. Each day was a unique and fun experience. All of your guides are experts in their fields; they were all very informative and interesting.
Stephanie Day
Thank you for the trip of a lifetime! We shall be forever grateful.
John Nicholis
Thank you Marjorie for a very memorable trip!
Pam Kealey
Thank you Marjorie! You planned the trip of a lifetime! It was so fabulous. We loved every minute of our time in Italy!
Joe Cassella
Marjorie was a fantastic planner and resource for our family trip to Italy (10 days, 8 adults and 2 one year old kids : a group that was not easy to accommodate)! She answered a hundred questions of ours in a very timely manner and went above and beyond to help plan out our itinerary.
Ellen Benson
We are so grateful to Insider's Italy for the trip of a lifetime! Our group, three adults and two teens, loved every minute of our carefully and expertly planned trip, with charming hotels, excellent guides, and amazing unique experiences and outings. Marjorie Shaw takes the time to learn your group's interests and needs, and she takes that information to curate the perfect trip. Marjorie then stays in touch as needed through the whole trip, making sure it progresses as planned, with seamless travel between locations and little tips along the way to make the experience as memorable as possible. An Insider's Italy trip is a gift to yourself, so that you can relax and truly immerse yourself in your Italian locations and enjoy all that Italy has to offer, knowing that the trip will unfold smoothly. We are already dreaming of a second trip to a different region of Italy with Insider's Italy!
Eric Castaldo
We used Marjorie for a recent trip to Italy and we couldn't have asked for a more perfect vacation. The itinerary was just what we wanted. The restaurants she had for us were perfect. The hotels and their respective locations were perfect. Everything was planned to a T, taking all of the guesswork out of vacation planning. I would use her again and again. Highly recommend.
Bruce Shaw
Marjorie has an extraordinary understanding and knowledge of Italy, and her family has lived there for almost 100 years after moving there from the US in the early 1900’s. She’s planned multiple trips for us over the years and we look forward to her planning more for us.
Tracy Blackwell
We can’t stop thinking about our amazing trip — and we tell everyone about the special care and attention you paid to our family and every detail.
David Janssen
Marjorie, For our first major trip to Italy in 1992 we were fortunate to have you prepare our complete, and I mean compete trip. I just wanted to thank you and tell you we are returning to Rome, Florence and now Bologna, and planning on using the same Travel Plan!! We were planning on returning to Italy next year for our 60th anniversary. But given our 80th birthdays this year we thought it might be prudent to move it up a year. Incidentally, I have planned over 20 trips around the world since yours and have always thought, Why can’t Marjorie plan beyond Italy ? I obviously know nothing of your business model, but you can rest assured that for the past 35 years you have made a difference in people’s lives. That work you did originally was wonderful and still is relevant today.
Patty Todderud
My husband and I took our first trip using Insider's Italy over 27 years ago. We have since used Marjorie Shaw's expertise with planning all of trips to Italy making sure everything goes smoothly. My husband and I have always been pleased with the personal touch she lends to our experience! Unlike other travel sources, Marjorie immerses us with local experiences, things we could never find on our own! In addition, when choosing accommodations, Marjorie personally knows the staff at the hotels she recommends and makes sure we get the best rooms with the best views at a good rate. We have learned so much from the private guides Marjorie arranges for us as well. We are currently planning another memorable trip to Amalfi that Marjorie Shaw is helping us with! My husband and I have recommended Marjorie and Insider's Italy to many of our friends. They've all been very happy with her as well!
Christie Brown
We have traveled extensively over the last 40 odd years, typically planning our own adventures. We realized how much Marjorie’s tips, historical and artistic knowledge enhanced our experience and joy of traveling in Italy much more than any guidebook reading and internet researching would ever give us, even if we planned for months and months. Insider’s Italy provided a phenomenal service, and meticulously designed trip. We’ll be using the company again in October for the Campania region and cannot wait to travel with Insider’s Italy again !
Barry Wolpa
I learned about Marjorie Shaw and Insider's Italy more than 30 years ago after she planned an amazing Italian adventure for my brother. The following year, I asked Marjorie to plan a trip for me and a friend. The questionnaire we had to fill out about our interests and desires was very comprehensive and the our trip was AMAZING in every way. That was only the first of many Italian adventures that Marjorie planned for us. These Insider's Italy planned trips that took us all over Italy during 30 years are what led to us now having a home in Lucca and Italian residency. Many people can plan a trip. But, no one, anywhere, can plan custom itineraries that are truly customized for individual travelers like Marjorie Shaw! Everything from perfect accommodations to the best gelato to wine, food, tours, must sees, tourist traps to avoid, best shopping and more. She is simply the best.
Lawrence Goodall
Marjorie, your "Insider’s Italy” is for the adventurous and the curious.. your advice is the stuff of a passionate gatekeeper to the Italy that we dream about but which is lost with mass tourism . Your enthusiasm and love of the language and culture encourages guests to share the passion; to share the adventure; to share the secret treasure.... For the last five years my wife and I have used Insider’s Italy to find an abandoned village in Abruzzo that is now home to a hotel “diffuso” (rooms spread among the ruins of the village). We’ve been to beaches that can only be reached by boat and villages that can only be reached by foot. On our recent trip Marjorie set us up with a visit to a farmer that grew the sweetest lemons. We ate them, rind and all, right off the tree. Insider’s Italy is currently planning our next trip where we will hike with the sheep on their annual migration from summer pastures in the mountains down to the lowlands for the winter. If trips are precious to you, if you want personal attention.. if you want more than the usual, then Insider’s Italy is for you.
George Chimento
Do you recommend anyone who could help me with travels in England and who provides the same level of service as you do ? You’ve kind of spoiled me.
M Sullivan
We would be happy to give you a most exceptional recommendation. We all continue to remember fondly the Italy vacation. Your attention to detail, organizing excellent tour guides and also taking into consideration the interests and requests from us. We so enjoyed working with you in planning our family an extraordinary vacation with a lifetime of memories to cherish.