Tuscany 8-Day Tours and Trips

Braccicorti was a lovely place to stay with a warm welcome from the family; Sara, our leader, was fantastically supportive, encouraging and full of information about the area, the locals and the way of life; fantastic walking in wonderful mountain and hill country and a great group who gelled well together.

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.

A well organised wonderful cycling tour with a perfect balance of cappuccino/gelato and lunch breaks, often in charming ancient hill towns where there was always time for a bit of exploring too. I've fallen in love with Tuscany and Chianti, the scenery is simply stunning, the route was fantastic with a great mix of some challenging hills, fabulous descents.... and even some flat bits too amidst the rolling hills! Nice small group and decent hotels too!

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 ......