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.

Fantastic Tour

The Tuscany tour was very special! The tour director, Stephania Ball was by far the best director that we have ever had. She maximized our experiences each day and was responsive to everyone's individual needs. I would highly recommend any tour which she directs.

Great Italian Experience

This is a wonderful tour for--especially for people who like a combination of art, architecture, history and wine and food tasting. Lots of walking (but I expected that and was prepared--comfortable walking shoes and cool clothing a must, if you are taking this trip in the summer). I strongly recommend the optional excursion to the Colle Verde wine/olive oil tasting/lunch at the vineyard (near Lucca)—great wine and food and charming! The wine tasting at the restaurant near San Gimignano was a bit too commercial, but the one at the Mintalcino vineyard (Prime Donne) was very nice. I think most of the people on our tour would have preferred skipping the dinner in Passignano and going straight from Cortona to Perugia. In my opinion, Perugia was the nicest of the smaller cities with the underground Etruscan town still mostly intact, wide streets for shopping and restaurants and cafes with no cars, beautiful views and architecture…charming. Our guide made the trip special--she was extremely knowledgeable, personable and a lot of fun--exceptional!

Great Trip for Sightseeing!!!

Good trip for visiting multiple areas in Italy. Good for getting ideas on a place to re-visit.