Tuscan Treats

Back Roads Tuscan Treats was an amazing trip. We stayed in some beautiful towns such as Lucca & Pienza. Our guide Francesca was wonderful, very friendly and organised. Thank you Back Roads

This tour matched my own work up on all there was to see in Tuscany with a few special visits to local family owned enterprises. There were many “back roads” driven and the tour leader kept the tour energised and informed - thanks Francesca :). The use of local guides to provide specialised knowledge was carefully balanced with free time to goof off Italian style and absorb the culture.

Helio the tour guide was amazing guide, friendly, caring and lots of knowledge and went above and beyond for all of us. Lots of fun had especially cooking class..

A well organised and enjoyable tour.

I really enjoyed everything about this trip. Our bus drivers, our guide Silvia. Hotels were really good. Experiences were great. Would like to have more lunches included.

Fabulous tour with wonderful leader Silvia. Great company of fellow tourists. Saw great things and tasted delicious food. Participated in a cooking class This is my third Back Roads tour. Such a great company

Wonderful experience although we kn ew Tuscany well we saw things in a completely new light. Beatrice our guide was exceptional especially when a strike disrupted the plans of some of our group; she made sure that alternate arrangements were made. Cannot speak more highly of Beatrice and driver Romulus would recommend to anyone

Excellent tour; wonderful , brilliant tour guide. Very understanding and accomodating of slow tourers with some movement issues. Driver also excellent and helpful.

Fantastic tour, came up to our expectations. Tour guide was excellent however more could have been done by company to back him up. For example not enough planned rest stops between stopovers. This is a job for the organizers, not the tour guide.

Tuscan treats was a tour beyond our expectations. Our tour leader Caterina was so knowledgeable, well planned, humorous and went out of her way on several occasions to make our time together memorable. We loved every minute.

Excellent tour Sylvia and Romulus went above and beyond and made this an amazing experience for my family we loved them so much and would recommend them.

Hi, Our group leader Catarina was excellent. Our Driver Romulus was a very careful driver. I would have appreciated an introductory E Mail from Catarina introducing herself a week before and that she is looking forward to meeting us. Trafalgar do this . Just confirms all is still on track for our Backyards Tour. On the last day there was no need to stop at Grassina as we were only 40 minutes from Florence. Grassina has nothing to offer and most shops were closed including cafes etc. People on the tour said they would have preferred to go straight to Florence and have lunch there and continue with their travels . Was a waste of time and just filling the day up unnessarily. Hope this is helpful. Otherwise all good. Kindest Regards Keiran Columb

Tour leader Caterina was excellent Fully delivered on my expectations of back roads exloring in detail Tuscany

A truly memorable trip.We saw and experienced so much of Tuscay ,it was amazing.Our tour guide, Caterina, was also quite amazing, so knowledgeable, professional, caring, and oh so funny.A really good blend. Back Roads is the best tour group we have ever used. A small group and yes,we travelled back roads that big coaches couldn't More than happy to recommend

Beautiful scenery lovely places to visit different foods to try

Have already re irwed

My first Back Roads & will definitely look to others in the future. The selection of wonderful towns/villages demonstrated a wonderful picture of local history, culture and scenery. Luca, our guide, offered a wealth of knowledge and seamlessly adjusted our trip to optimise our experience. His care for the group and attention to ensuring the best in service at all levels was so appreciated. Food, wine and company, memorable. Thank you.

We packed in a lot of activities in seven days, quite often off the beaten track. The smaller group in a twenty seater meant we got to know most of the people quite quickly. The tour leader was very knowledgeable and succeeded in facilitating a pleasant team spirit

Fabio was an amazing guide with so much knowledge of the Tuscany region. This trip was beyond magical

What a great guide! Luca was unbelievable. The itinerary worked well with ample spare time (perhaps too much a couple of times). The accommodation was mostly good (one was a disaster) and the bus was ok if you weren’t too tall. Every one got on well and are still in communication. All in all, definitely worth doing.

We just finished our fantastic Tuscan Treats tour and were so happy with it. Had a fabulous time. We normally travel independantly but didn't want to drive in Italy so this was perfect. The 18 person max rule and small coach kept it very personal and they took us to some great places we probably wouldn't have known about. And we loved our guide Francesca who was so knowlegeable and enjoyable to be around.

Francesca is a wonderful hostess, for us with enthusiasm, knowledge and passion, she made our Tuscan Treats adventure a great experience. Thank you Gary & Pamela

Loved this tour, ideal size group and enjoyed going to smaller, less well known towns that are not so 'touristy'. Guide Francesca was great and a good balance between guided tours and free time.

Excellent organisation, Driver was wonderfull especially through such small lanes Tour guide went beyond her duties often. Scenery was spectacular places visited always interesting

It was a great tour and our tour leader Bea was wonderful.Tuscany was fabulous and some of the towns we visited were magnificent.Considering the age group in our group we mostly felt we needed a bit more free time.Maybe if the tour was extended a few more days.Generally the accommodation was very good though a few places were very basic.It was one of the highlights of our trip to Italy and I would thoroughly recommend it to our friends.

Well-paced tour with a good mix of included activities and free time to explore. Good, well-located accommodation. Comfortable transport and excellent driving from Romulus. Tour leader Fabio was very informative and ensured everyone had a great trip. Some great suggestions for restaurants, gelaterie etc. Grazie mille.

This was a very informative tour with some amazing sights. The tour was well organised and the Beatrice was very knowledgeable and managed to keep the group together and was able to resolve several issues outside of her control, esp. the weather. Pisa was amazing but every stop had great points of interest. The tour did include a lot of very steep hills and stir cases etc and I would recommend that you need to be above average fitness to enjoy it all. Some of the hotels were interesting but overall the accommodation and food etc. when included were fine. The driver Romulus was also a great help and very friendly. Overall a wonderful experience.

Our trip to Tuscany was just what we had hoped for with Blue Roads Touring Company. We had only a week available for this trip and they were able to give us the highlights as well as some wonderful experiences. It was definitely our guide who made the trip memorable. Thank you Bea! You were a delight as our tour guide. Well organized, humorous and knew what we should see and when and how to beat the crowds when needed. She spent time with each of us and when we needed to leave early, she was ensured we were looked after. Couldn't have asked for anyone better.

Our Tuscan Treats tour was amazing. Led by our brilliant tour leader Beatrice and the expert driving skills of Romulus, we had a magnificent time travelling an area I have waited 40+ years to travel. Would definitely recommend and if time and money were not an issue would do it again.

Amazing tour with a fantastic passionate guide who was able to find and recommend great places to see and visit.

My first time on a Blue-Roads tour and I absolutely loved it. The small group meant we were flexible with our day, able to meet and befriend everyone and really get to know the local culture and history in places that public transport doesn’t really go to. Our guide Fabio was informative and friendly, definitely doing a Blue-Roads tour again

Our time spent in Tuscany was so good, we should have done it years ago. Fabio was an excellent guide and was able to answer all questions asked, our driver Ramon was excellent also. Well done Back Roads.

So much to see. well organized. Lovely knowledgeable tour guide....Very professional and accommodating. Terrific dining experiences. Wonderful accommodations

Amazing scenery, food, wine and experience of ancient Etruscan towns.

Our Tour Leader was great. My husband had problem walking and she helped in anyway she could. The hotels were great because you stayed in old Italian hotels

Excellent guide an tour.

What a great way to see Tuscany. We had a tiny group, an awesome tour leader, and a safe, courteous and helpful driver. Highly recommend Tuscan Treats

A great tour, tour leader and tour group. Saverio was an excellent tour leader who mixed well and had exceptional knowledge of all parts of the tour. He was very helpful at all times. Our driver Romulus was also very good and very helpful. With a tour group of all Kiwi's and Aussie's it was lots of fun. Tuscany is a beautiful part of the world. The tour was good value for money with good accommodation and food.

I found the tour to be such a wonderful experience, a great way to see towns I’d never have visited if travelling solo. The variety of places & activities we went to was always well planned & interesting. Our fun & friendly tour leader Max made the trip with his knowledge, sense of humour & support throughout.

This was an enjoyable tour with opportunity to experience landscapes, architecture and gastronomy of this area of Italy.

The Tuscan Treats tour is a good way to see the highlights of Tuscany and visit the Cinque Terre. However, way the tour is structured left myself and some of my fellow travellers wishing we had spent longer in some of the key locations and less than the tour allowed for in some smaller other locations; I would recommend potential bookers to look at the itinerary and do some research about the size and attractions of the places the itinerary includes, particularly in the latter half of the week

Loved the cities we visited; the country roads travelled but not too long in the van.

Excellent Tour Leader in Luis who was very accommodating to all the groups needs and created a wonderful team atmosphere. Many wonderful moments and friendships were made. Tour was relaxed and focussed on the right objectives too - Tuscany region, the good food culture and the landscape. Loved it.

Great tour guide in Luis Traconis. Good sites. Hotels could be a tad larger rooms etc. maybe one more winery and oil farm visits.

Phenomenal. But a lot of walking, and most of it up and downhill. Bus was great, accommodations were excellent, but the best part was our guide, Jose, and our driver, Romulus.

The tour was great loved the towns we visited. Thought it would have been nice to have a few more photo opportunities as in bus stopping at scenic points. The only downfall was the dinner/lunch meals that were provided by the tour were very basic and not a great reflection on true Italian meals. All the accommodation was great except for Hotel Il Palagio as the bathroom was very mouldy and the room smelt very musty. The meal there was atrocious apart from the one we cooked!

Had an enjoyable time and all went smoothly. The guide, Claudia, was very knowledgeable and good at keeping us on time. Would preferred to have gone to Cortona than Cinque Terre. This would then have been a truly Tuscan treat!

A wonderful way to experience the best of Tuscany when you only have a week. It is a real bonus when the group assembled together all get along and enjoy each other's company. We loved the 'Blue-Roads' element of the tour and the chance to view smaller towns and villages. We enjoyed the chance to stay for at least two nights in a couple of places as well. There was always the chance to pace yourself and have an afternoon or two to do whatever we wanted at certain places (e.g. Lucca and Pienza).

I have already reviewed this trip weeks ago so not sure why I am being asked to do it again

Small Tuscan villages very nice, but there was too many large very touristy and crowded ares included. Needed more free time to explore. One day was 8.30 to after 6pm when we arrived at accommodation exhausted.

This was a great tour with well thought out visits and excellent accommodation. The tour leader was informative with great attention to detail. The bus was comfortable and the small group made getting around easy while allowing us to mix and enjoy the people involved.

We thoroughly had an enjoyable 7 days Tuscany tour lead by legendary tour guide, Michele who really it a special experience with his knowledge and making us feel special.

Great accommodation, magnificent scenery, fabulous tour guide, so much information to absorb, so many places to see, my brain was in overload.

Tuscan Treats is a great introductory/overview tour of Tuscany. The sites visited are well chosen to represent the best of Tuscany. The motor coach we traveld in was new, very comfortable, and easily transported us and our luggage. The driver was very professional and knowledgeable. I saved the best for last. Our tour guide, Madeleine, was superlative in every respect. She is gifted to do what she does. She genuinely cares about our desire to experience the best of Tuscany. She was insightful, knowledgeable, and charming. I recommend this tour wholeheartedly and enthusiastically.

We found our tour guide, Robbie, and our Driver, Romulus worked really. hard to ensure each person on the trip had a great holiday. We had one participant who was in poor health and not physically able to do the walking and climbing necessary for this trip, but also was not realistic in her abilities, and blamed everything except her poor health, so this became a problem for the workers on this trip. This participant could also be very nasty and demanding, and we were really impressed with the way Robbie and Romulus worked to make sure the holiday was fair and equitable to all participants. I felt this level of discretion and compassion is not always found, and Robbie and Romulus should be commended for their sensitive handling of a difficult situation. We would have like a few more days for this trip. Perhaps an extra half day in Lucca, Volterra and the Villa, to enjoy the area. We had a fantastic time, and will be watching "Back Roads" tours to see where else we can travel.

Enjoyed our tour very much and we visited many beautiful cities, our tour guide was knowledgeable and ever so helpful.

Wonderful tour. Wonderful guide who took time to interact with every member of our tour. Blue-Roads touring is what we were looking for - away from all the overcrowded attractions, looking for local inspired visits. We could have had less time at Piza but that is only a personal view. Our accommodation was good and well researched, but an unscheduled change in our last accommodation stay because there was a problem at our original venue, did not quite measure up to what we had come to expect. It had great potential but lacked maintenance. We would highly recommend Blue-Roads Tuscan tour to anyone. We would definitely consider dingo another of Backriads Tours whenever we had the opportunity