Wine and food tours from Phillip Island

Dianne's Venture Tours - Phillip Island and Boutique Phillip Island Tours, offers 1/2 day and full day wine and food tours - Phillip Island & South Gippsland, Mornington Peninsula and the Yarra Valley. make a booking and have a wonderful and enjoyable time with Dianne your private guide. All tours a private and small and personal. Contact Dianne on dianne@diannesventuretours.com.au to make a booking.

Dianne’s Venture Tours, a Tour Operator in Melbourne for Travel Tour or ...

9 Elwood Avenue , Surf Beach Slideshow

9 Elwood Avenue , Surf Beach Slideshow

Italy & Sicily Tour Septmeber 4th 2017

Italy Venture Tour

Hi everyone,

I am  excited to be able to invite you to join me on Dianne’s Venture Tours trip to Italy including Sicily. A very small group and personalised with Dianne as your companion.

We are looking for a minimum number of 5 people and a maximum number of 10 people. Are you interetsed in coming along. We would love to have you. 

My passion is travel and I have come up with a tour for like minded people who enjoy travel, sightseeing, company and good food.

I have liaised with a tour company who specialise in creating customised tours of  Italy  so that I can give you a comprehensive itinerary visiting some beautiful areas in  Italy  with plenty  of sightseeing and relaxation, including  accommodation with  lots of inclusions.

                          Itinerary

Monday  4^th September

Arrive at Pisa Airport from Australia - 1st Class Train to Monterosso al Mare (Cinque Terre) - 1 1/2 hours -Transfer to Hotel on own - 5 minute walk - 3 Nights Lodging in Monterosso al Mare (September 04, 05, 06)
Twin Rooms including daily breakfast

Tuesday  5^th  & Wednesday  6^th September

Hiking the Cinque Terre Trails on Own - hike one way and return by boat
Thursday  7^th September

Transfer to Train station  - 5 minute walk (early day but lots to see in the Bay of Naples) - 1st Class Train to Naples  (depart 5:28am arrive 12:29pm) - Private Transfer to Sorrento with guide and stops in Mt. Vesuvius and Pompeii - Hosted Lunch with Wine Tasting on Mt. Vesuvius - Tour of Mt. Vesuvius and Pompeii including all entrances - 6 Nights Lodging in Sorrento - 3 Star (September 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12) including daily breakfast

Friday  8^th September

Join the Discover Capri Group Tour (maximum 12 people)
Pick-­‐up from your hotel and transfer to the port of Piano di Sorrento. Departure  to Capri. - Stops in Sorrento: Marciano, Mitigliano and Bagni della Regina Giovanna (with free time for swimming and

snorkeling).- Stops in Capri: White and Green Grotto (with free time for swimming and snorkeling) -­‐ Blue Grotto (entrance fee not included in the excursion price -­‐ € 13,00 p.p.) -­‐ Port of Marina Grande with a stop of 4/5 hours to explore the island of Capri. - Visits in Capri: Marvelous Cave, Natural Arch, Villa Curzio Malaparte, Faraglioni, the Lighthouse "Punta Carena" Departure from Capri to Sorrento.- Happy hour – limoncello tasting. - Return to the port of Piano di Sorrento and transfer to hotel.
Saturday  9^th  September

Private Cooking Lesson with Wine Tasting overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea (10am - 2pm) - Relaxing afternoon shopping in Sorrento

Sunday  10^th September

Private Driver  for the Day  to discover  Positano, Ravello and Amalfi - 8 hours - Lunch Reservations in  Ravello  

Monday 11^th  September

Transfer to the start  of the Paths and return - Hike the Pathway  to the Gods above  Positano

Tuesday  12^th  September

Ferry on Own to Naples - 4 hour Private Tour of Naples including entrance to the Museum

Wednesday  13^th September

Private Transfer Naples - 3  hour Private Walking Tour of Naples - Lunch Reservations at an Original Pizzeria - Private Transfer  to Naples Airport - Flight to Palermo booked on Own – (suggest Volotea Air)- depart 6:35 pm  arrive 7:35 pm  - cost: 100 euros per person or less approximately - Private Transfer to Hotel -  2  Night Lodging in Palermo (September 13, 14) - 4 Star Hotel – Daily  Breakfast  included -

Thursday  14^th  September 

4 Hour Private Walking Tour  of Palermo - highlighting the wonderful outdoor markets – am - Private Driver  for Half  Day to visit  Monreale – pm - Dinner Reservation in a very  nice local Restaurant

 Friday  15^th September

Private Driver  for the Day  with stops in Erice, Trapani and at an Olive Oil Factory Farmhouse - Tours of Erice at Leisure where you can visit some of the famous homemade pastry  shops-- world famous for marzipan candies and other delicacies like almond and pistachio pastrie s - Visit  of an olive oil  factory  farmhouse to enjoy  a light lunch  of mixed local products such  as cheese, salami, olives, local  bread combined with its production of olive oil - 2  Night Lodging  in Agrigento (September 15 & 16) - 4 Star Hotel - Daily Breakfast Include

Saturday  16^th September

Private Driver  for the Day  with Stops in Enna (views of Mt. Etna) and Piazza Armerina  - Hosted Lunch at a Villa near Enna 

Sunday  17^th September

Group Tour of Mt. Etna - 2 Night Lodging in Catania (September 17) - 4 Star Hotel - Daily Breakfast Included

Monday  18^th September

Private Transfer to Catania Airport - Depart  Sicily

*Items highlighted in Green represents meals (breakfast is always included unless stated), Red are included activities and Blue are items which include transportation (car rental, train passes etc). Activities highlighted in black are suggested

 Holiday Inclusions & highlights

·         Hiking the Cinque Terre Trails & Pathway to the Gods above Positano

·         Wine Tastings

·         Cooking Lessons

·         Private Transfers throughout

·         Numerous Sightseeing  destinations

·         Travel via  the comprehensive  Italian Rail Network between various destinations

·         Boat Trips to see sightseeing  spots

·         Numerous shopping  opportunities

·         Swimming & snorkelling included at  some destinations

·         3 & 4 Star accommodation rating

Holiday Pricing

Land:  $6, 640 AUD per person

Air: Price can be arranged should you like us to take care of it

A 50% initial deposit is required on your booking and the remaining 50% is to be paid 30 days before departure

Please note each traveller can arrange their own airfares, to Pisa to start the tour on Monday  4th September  should they wish to do so. You will be met  at the  Airport  by your guide. We need to know your arrival time to be picked up. Variation in  price will be allocated to those wishing to choose this option

*All travellers are to arrange their own Travel Insurance.

Buying A Holiday Home

Buying a Holiday Home... Is it worth it?

Longing for a sea change or tree change? It pays to do your research

Ever wished you could own a little slice of your favourite holiday paradise and make money as well? We asked David Rankin, award winning bank manager and founder of sort my money (sortmymoney.com.au) about the pros and cons of investing in a holiday home…

Use your head, not your heart

The idea of beach swims every morning or long country walks sounds like heaven, but if you’re considering buying a holiday house, ask yourself if you can truly finance it. ‘Any investment decision should be made by the head, not the heart,’ David says. ‘It should also be made in the knowledge that no investment is guaranteed to succeed. You budget should allow you to absorb the costs of potential failure, but to plan for success.’

Will you make money if you rent it out on Stayz or Airbnb?

These services offer a good opportunity to make some cash, especially during holiday periods, but you’ll also need to account for the quieter periods. David recommends doing detailed cash-flow forecasting. ‘Forecasting builds in busy rental times and vacant periods according to the seasonal fluctuations of the area. It is a must,’ he says. ‘Once you have this forecasting in place, tighten the screws a notch – by reducing income expectations over time – to see If your projected figures still stack up.’

Consider your ongoing costs

David advises potential investors to consider the ongoing expenses of council and water rates, real estate fees if you are renting it out, emergency maintenance at a time when the house is occupied by holiday tenants (keep in mind this can be most costly In less populated areas), as well as property insurance and ongoing maintenance such as gardening and cleaning. ‘you also need to consider higher default interest rates for investment properties, due to rules that were brought in by the APRA, the bank regulator, at the end of 2014, if you borrow to purchase a property,’ David says. ‘Constant access to sufficient spare cash is therefore a necessity.’

Do your research

Check out domain.com.au or realestate.com.au to find out what the capital growth looks like for areas you’re interested in, and go and stay there to get to know all the streets. ‘It’s a good idea to hire a holiday house at least once before committing to purchase one,’ David says. ‘You might end up finding that one week a year manages to scratch the holiday home itch for you. And if is doesn’t, it’s a chance to experience a holiday home from the tenants point of view – an invaluable experience for the future if you do decide to invest.’

Referenced from New Idea Magazine

David Rankin, founder of ‘Sort My Money’

At Dianne's Venture Tours we run a few trips to Melbourne each month to watch and experience different events, shows and days out that Melbourne has on offer. With your transport to and from the city being looked after your in for a day of excitement and fun, with Dianne looking after you along the way. All costing and dates can be found on Dianne's Venture Tours Facebook page.

Dianne's Venture Tours

On Saturday 4th of February we had some lovely guests from the Seabourn Cruise Ship join us for a few of our different tours of Phillip Island. As they were only stopping at Phillip Island for the one day they had the chance to experience some shore excursions which resulted in them contacting us for some sightseeing of the major attractions on Phillip Island. We took them around exploring The Nobbies, Cape Woolamai Beach & also the walking trail and The Vietnam Veterans museum, as some of the sights that made up an all inclusive tour of the area. It was a great day had by all