Lucca 8-Day Tours and Trips

This was my fourth Exodus holiday, all were excellent but this was probably the best overall in terms of consistently excellent accommodation, food and walking routes. Our Agriturismo was beautiful, delicious food and wine all locally produced, plus a lovely large pool. Rooms were very comfortable. This is a mountainous area with unpredictable weather, so come prepared for some heavy downpours/thunderstorms mixed with hot sunshine, even in July. Our guide Tony was very professional and knowledgeable, and provided a good mix of encouragement and flexibility to enable everyone in the group to get the most out of their trip. Thoroughly enjoyed the free day in Lucca, hired bikes and rode around the ancient city walls. Don't believe the trip notes which suggest Cinque Terra is do-able on the free day, it is too far away.

I went to a lovely holiday in Tuscany this September. The farmhouse/ BB was lovely and the food was great. The weather on one of the walks was fierce one day: really strong storm ( Föhn)/ hail/ rain.. We had to return to base and explored the area closer to home.The superb knowledge of the local area of our guide Sara allowed us to have great walks on the right side of the mountains for the rest of the week! It is a beautiful place Our Italian taxi driver family spoke English with the broadest Glasgow accent! I went to Lucca on the day off and it is really amazing- the local city tour guide was really good! I will certainly come back to Garfagnana - and will try to learn a bit Italian first!

We had a fantastic time. Everything was well organised, so pick up from the airport, and transfer to the accommodation were easy. The brochure had described things well, so it had given us an accurate idea of the holiday. The family run accommodation was charming, with excellent meals provided. The walking was everything we hoped for, and more, with our guide making decisions about where to go each day based on weather conditions, and to show us a variety of terrain, so that we felt we got the best combination of walks possible. There was a short minibus ride each day to the start of the walk, and then back at the end of the day, and a packed lunch was provided each day. As it was one of the 'challenging weeks' we made maximum use of daytime hours to be out walking, so we didn't spend much time back at the farmhouse.

This trip offers something for everyone - hill walking, a few tougher climbs, a cultural day (optional ) in the beautiful town of Lucca, and every evening the lovely farmhouse and home cooking to return to. Leaders play such a big part in the success of these trips, and Sara is one of the best - social, professional, organised, inspirational, knowledgable ......

I went to a lovely holiday in Tuscany this September. The farmhouse/ BB was lovely and the food was great. The weather on one of the walks was fierce one day: really strong storm ( Fhn)/ hail/ rain.. We had to return to base and explored the area closer to home.The superb knowledge of the local area of our guide Sara allowed us to have great walks on the right side of the mountains for the rest of the week! It is a beautiful place Our Italian taxi driver family spoke English with the broadest Glasgow accent! I went to Lucca on the day off and it is really amazing- the local city tour guide was really good! I will certainly come back to Garfagnana - and will try to learn a bit Italian first!

What a fantastic week! Stunning scenery, a great variety of walks, a lovely place to stay, good food and tremendous company. Oh, and the weather put on a big smile for us too (apart from the last day) and possibly the best guide in the business. It really would be difficult to think of a way of beating it. Monte Prado and Monte Sumbra were good to 'bag' but walking some of the ridges and through the beautiful forests added a different dimension as did exploring some of the local settlements on the valley day. The Golden Eagles on the first day, Alpine Choughs on the second and the Fire Salamander later in the week were pretty good too. What brought it all together was the way the group gelled, good banter, a few 'wind ups', people looking out for each other and a very relaxed atmosphere, a perfect combination for a great trip.