Walking Tour of Tuscany

WOW! What a terrific trip.This was my first experience of travel to Europe and I was overwhelmed. I learned so much about the culture,art, food and the history of Tuscany. We made a short stop at the Amercian WWII cemetery near Florence. It took my breath away. This stop definitely should be included. Our tour guide Joel was beyond great.

Walking Tour of Tuscany

My wife and I had a trip of a lifetime! Our tour guide, Joel, was incredible. Not only did he teach us the history of the areas we visited, he also taught us a bit of Italian, Italian customs and customs of England and Scotland. He also read a book to us that spoke to the hardships in Italy during WW II. Joel arranged several spontaneous adventures which added to our experiences in Tuscany. Tuscany is such a beautiful area of Italy! We walked along vineyards and olive groves on our way to learn how olive oil is made. Lunch was often spent overlooking incredible sights. Oh, and the wine with lunch or dinner was a nice compliment to our day! We would not hesitate to take another GoAhead tour.

Walking in Tuscany

This was far more than we had expected in being a memorable trip. The walks were well thought out beforehand and beautiful. The small medieval towns were all so interesting. Our tour guide was definately the best we have ever had on a tour for his upbeat humor, intelligence, knowledge and genuine caring for each of us! We still miss seeing him each day! The dinner with tenors was the only thing I would say did not meet with our expections and was not a good value for the money. The dinner and entertainment were both just so so. The bus drivers were great. The hotels were all fine except maybe the first in Montecatini Terme that seemed a bit dark and old. The breakfast very uninviting after the first day. We enjoyed the town there though for dinners and the funicular to the old town. We definately would take another tour with you in future!

Walking Tour of Tuscany

This was a great trip full of many great walks and hikes. The scenery is beautiful. Our Tour Guy Raf was wonderful and very knowledgeable. He was very accommodating for our groups needs.

Best Travel Experience

This trip was by far one of the best travel experiences I’ve had! Although I love to travel, I had not done a group tour before for fear of missing out on my own individual trip experience, not having the the opportunity to explore on my own, or simply having the feeling of being moved along from place to place like a sheep. Thankfully this tour proved me wrong. While we did have an itinerary, there was ample opportunity for me to experience the things that interested me and I never felt I was just another tourist dragged from place to place. I believe part of what made the trip so great was the excellent Tour Director who quickly and easily created a warm and welcoming environment, and who seemed to be genuinely interested in making the trip a fun and memorable experience for each traveler. As I mentioned, this was my first group tour so it is difficult to compare. However, I did run into other travelers who were on tour with different agencies and it was clear they were not having as great an experience as we were and they were definitely not as excited about their tour director as our group was.

5 star tour

This was a great tour for many reasons- the tour leader Raf was outstanding. He was knowledgeable about the history, art and architecture of the region and went way beyond the call of duty to help many members of the group. The people in the group were also wonderful- we really bonded as a group. Part of the reason might be that you really get to talk to almost everyone in the group one on one while you are hiking all over Tuscany. I also like to think that people who take a tour like this are interesting people (like us of course). The itinerary is very well planned and you really get to see a lot of Tuscany. Two of the hikes ended at a winery and the food and wine at both places was fabulous. The tour guides in Florence and Sienna were first rate- Donatella- the guide in Sienna - was spectacular. Her enthusiasm and love of Sienna was contagious. We took the Rome extension as did almost all the group but because we had been in Rome the previous year we skipped the optional tours that were offered. However we did arrange to meet the group for dinner in a restaurant the Raf arranged the last night so that we could enjoy their company again. Although Go Ahead rates this the most difficult walk- 4 I think- if you are in reasonably good shape and are used to walking this is not extremely difficult. My wife and I are in our mid 60's and had no trouble although I do jog and she walks about an hour most days. The weather was warm but not hot so that did make the hikes easier. A few of the people did opt out of some of the hikes. I would definitely recommend this tour but there are some improvements that could be made. The Minerva Palace hotel in Montecatini had clean comfortable rooms with a very nice staff but the hotel rooms were very worn and the breakfast was not very good. The location is great and Montecatini is a beautiful town- you could walk everywhere. The other hotels were all fine although not always centrally located. In Sienna it was about a 20 minute walk into town but the bus was nearby and easy. In Chanciano the hotel was right in town and a good restaurant was an easy walk. In Rome you could take a tram to the historic center which we did but we took cabs home at night. We purchased the optional trip to Lucca and the winery. In Lucca you only had about an hour and a half to walk around on your own. It is larger than most of the other towns and we felt that you really needed a guide-even if only for a few hours. The winery had a interesting tour and a really nice lunch- they called it light but it was plenty. After Cortona we stopped at Lake Trasemino?(sp) Although it was only for a hour or less we didn't find this stop interesting at all. We think it could be eliminated. Other than Lucca, we didn't purchase any of the other optional tours or dinners. The members of the group who did had different reactions. Some loved the dinners, others thought they were overpriced. Everyone seemed to like the tours that were offered in Rome. Overall the trip was excellent- we loved it.

Walking Tour Through Tuscany

Amazing tour. It was a good blend of hiking through vineyards and olive groves and seeing the sites in cities in Tuscany. I would recommend it to anyone who loves hiking. Hiking boots and sticks were necessary for me.

well run, a lot in a little time

The walks were challenging; one should be prepared to walk for a few hours in some difficult terrain in Tuscany and many hours in Rome. There are just so many magnificent sights, so much art and history, one cannot cover it all in 11 days (we did Rome extension). You get a good taste of the area. The food and wine, of course, are superb, and the tour guides very knowledgeable and articulate. There is just an overwhelming amount of verbal and visual material to process! It's hard to shop, take photos, and listen to and keep up with the tour guide! All the excursions were worthwhile and we were glad we chose to do them. On future trips, however, I would exchange some of the excursions for free time to explore on my own. Overall, it was a trip of a lifetime.

Tuscan Tour Trumps Expectations

I went on a Walking Tour of Tuscany with 6 other women friends and joined an additional 6 women when we arrived in Florence. The trip was everything I hoped for and more. Our Tour Director Barbara was amazing - friendly, courteous, respectful , extremely knowledgeable and fun. She is the consummate professional. I always felt properly prepared for each experience ie: knowing more information about the Etruscans before entering Volterra. One of my absolute favourite things on this trip was visiting the winery in the Chianti region and then having an amazing lunch al fresco overlooking the Tuscan hills. Sigh. It doesn't get much better than this. Another favourite experience was the walk leading up to San Gimignano- constant breathtaking sights along the way. One more favourite was the little church of St. Christopher at the top of Cortona. What a delightful surprise that it was open that day. And it has 2 magnificent Luca Signorelli paintings! The walk down through the residential area of Cortona was a wonderful peek into the lives of real Italians in Tuscany. I learned and saw so much during this trip that my brain was saturated. I am only now sorting through all the wonderful experiences. I would easily recommend the Goahead Tour experience. it was excellent value for the money. The hotels we stayed in far surpassed my expectations.

Great scenery at a slower pace.

We hiked through some of the most beautiful country side imaginable. Every day hike seemed to get better. Spectacular scenery at every turn, from impressive medieval fortified towns to vineyards/olive groves. The walks allowed us the time to savor things we otherwise would not have experienced from a bus traveling 50 mph. Of course, the wonderful spring weather helped a lot. An unannounced perk was stopping at the American WW II Cemetery outside Florence.; a very moving and emotional experience.