Lots of food and wine!

This is my 5th tour with Go Ahead and this tour had more included meals and in more voluminous amounts than other tours I've taken with Go Ahead or any other tour company. I had lost a lot of weight before this trip and had it not been for the extensive walking our group did, I would have gained back a significant amount of weight. Kudos to Stephania, our tour director, for walking us extensively to burn off calories from the heavy meals we consumed. The only thing I didn't like about this tour was that there were too many events crammed into such a short schedule and not enough time allotted for us to enjoy some of the places we visited, especially for excursions where we had to pay additional fees.

A Dream Realized

This tour was everything I dreamed of and more. Our tour director Stefania was exceptionally knowledgable and exceedingly generous about sharing the history and culture of her country. She was also generous of spirit with an exuberance that made each day an adventure to be treasured. Though traveling alone, I was fortunate that others on my tour were congenial inviting me to join them on their free time expeditions and at meals, but the highlights were the time I spent roaming the tour cities (especially Rome and Florence) on my own. The few words of Italian I knew were enough since everyone I met was gracious about trying to understand me. Each corner we turned offered wonders of beauty...and the food...WOW! I'm already dreaming of going back.

A Superb Taste of a Special Part of Italy

We just returned from taking this wonderful tour which offered us a "taste" of the Tuscany/Umbria regions in two key ways: The first taste was of several cities and towns, and the second taste was of the great wines and cuisine of the area. This tour is well suited for first time travelers to Italy (like us) as well as prior visitors (there were several people on our tour who had been to Italy before). The tour is well planned and generally well-paced, although a few days were somewhat jammed with tours. There are, however, ample opportunities for free time as well as planned activities. There is a considerable amount of walking, primarily because of the hill towns, but the unique charm of each locale and the spectacular views make it worth it. A number of wine tastings, lunches, and dinners are included, and most every one is special in its own right. One wine tasting in particular was a rare experience because the vineyard owner put on a show that was both highly amusing and educational. The first multi-course dinner at "Memmo" in Florence was outstanding -- it was a lovely place, the service was excellent, the food was plentiful and of high quality, and the family style dining was a great way to get the group to become familiar with one another. This tour is sure to give anyone a superb introduction to this region of Italy, especially if you have a tour director like ours, Gabriella Graziotti. She was extremely knowledgeable, organized, personable, and delightful to be with. She kept the group moving along using both her charm and her spunk. Remarkably, she managed to meet everyone's individual needs. Her sense of humor provided just the right touch to keep everyone happy and engaged. Gabriella is one of the reasons this tour was so enjoyable and special. All of the hotels were fine, although the Sangallo Palace in Perugia was far and away the best (truly four star), while Gabriele D'Annunzio in Florence was merely adequate. We highly recommend this tour in particular, and Go Ahead in general. Everything was handled professionally and it was a real plus to have all details taken care of, including airport transfers and baggage delivery to the rooms. In fact, Go Ahead was able to make a last-minute adjustment to two tours in Rome that were affected by a one-day strike so that guests were not inconvenienced. Go Ahead is a first-class operation and this tour is a great choice for travelers who want to truly experience this part of Italy.

A taste of Tuscany and Umbria

It was a wonderful tour with a fantastic group of people. There is a lot of hill climbing. The worst part was the buses could not always get close to the entrances or the hotels and we would have to walk up hills to get there. But we saw a tremendous variety of countryside; experienced a wide variety of cultural experiences both current and ancient and laughed until our sides hurt. We experienced several different wine and olive oil tastings and even had a cooking class. It was the trip of a life time.

Wonderful time in Tuscany and Umbria

Just returned from the Taste of Tuscany and Umbria tour. The tour itself is excellent as you are able to explore the hill towns of Tuscany and with an optional go out to the hill town areas of Umbria, such as Assisi and Spello. Of all of the tours and trips we have taken to Italy over the years, the group that we traveled with has no rivals. With a wine and food tour you are with each other quite a lot, so if there were a few 'ugly Americans' in the group, it really does spoil a good time for those traveling. This was not the case, as the group of travelers truly enjoyed each others company. The Tour Director, Gabriella, was magnificent. If I were to travel to Italy twenty more times, I would want Gabriella as my tour guide. Her passion for Italy, knowledge of the region, the capacity to organize the group, was second to none. I would say that if you want to be more focused on regions of Italy as opposed to the whole country, this is a very good tour. My only compliant would be for Go Ahead to make a concerted effort for hotel locations closer to city centers. The hotels were all good, but except for Perugia, they were a distance away from the center of town.

You must go!

It was a terrific trip! We saw and did more than we could ever have done on our own! Be prepared for lots of walking.

Great value, wonderful experience

This was our 5th Go Ahead tour. All were wonderful but this was the best. Four great hotels. Especially, The Garden Hotel in Sienna. Our tour guide Stefania was beyond excellent. She made the tour one that we will never forget. All Go Ahead tour guides have been great, knowledgable and accomodating. Stefania was the best ever. This tour is rated a 2 for pace. I'd call it a 3 1/2 due to the fact that all of the towns we visited were on the tops of hills. Lots of uphill walking in the Italian Summer.

A taste of Tuscany & Umbria

This is my first with Goahead, but I've taken two other tours with EF. This tour was exceptional and the tour guide Stefania Ball was amazing!!! Her depth of knowledge of history, architecture, and wine was impressive. She catered to all our needs, and was always thinking ahead. Although the tour was designed well Stefania made it unforgettable. My husband and I highly recommend this tour to first time travelers, and seasoned travelers. The insight you get from the tour director plus all the places we visited, could never be done on your own in this amount of time!

Awesome trip

Our tour guide was amazing! She was energetic, fun, and extremely knowledgeable. This group of travelers bonded quickly and truly enjoyed spending time together. The trips to wineries were varied as to size and types of wine, but all were interesting with very good wine. Our local guides were quite good, the food was very good, and we were so lucky to be in Perugia for the end of the month local flea market!

Cultural Experience

Since focus was put on the food, I would say there is room for improvement. More diversification at tastings.