Luxury Tours to Italy

What people love about Luxury Tours in Italy

• JulieTraveled in October

  5

  Wish I could enter in my guide, Flavio Lazzaretto, in the last screen because our Guide was #1! This is almost a carbon copy of the review I left on Backroads Tours' Facebook page, and I wanted to share it here as well. I’ve never done a tour before, and both my brother and I are very glad we chose Tuscan Treats by Backroads Tours as our first! It was by chance that I Googled Tuscany, Italy, Vacation one night last year and this tour through tourradar.com came up and had a tour that peaked my interest. Our guide Flavio Lazzaretto was warm, empathetic, cheerful, and clearly passionate about his country, heritage, and career! Our driver, Francesco, was consistent, timely, and very experienced driving through the region for which I was grateful, as it was clear that driving experience on the back roads of Tuscany is essential. Because of the smaller sized vehicle, we travelled extremely narrow back roads of the rolling hills of Tuscany and rocky coastline of Cinque Terre taking in the incredible scenery between towns and cities. We had an ecclectic mix of age groups between mid 30’s to mid 70’s, which enhanced the tour tremendously! One of the first things Flavio said to all of us at the beginning was, “we may all be strangers now, but by the end of the tour we would all feel like family”. He was not wrong! We were an even mix of Canadians, Americans, Australians and New Zealanders who bonded very quickly, and there has been talk of a reunion tour already. Nearly a dozen of us who remained in Florence after the tour was over got together voluntarily for one last meal together. This group created amazing memories together, and intends to keep in touch. There was a healthy amount of walking on this tour through narrow cobblestone streets with relatively steep inclines, averaging between 8 and 15 kilometres per day. Some days were spent within a single location site or city, but on the longest day we visited three cities, stopping for three to four hours at each stop. It was never too much or too little, and the days were rich with activities and things to see. Flavio organized a variety of guided tours of sites and buildings including rich historical narratives of the Medici, roman and papal influences of the region, an award winning gelato establishment and winery in San Gimignano, a cheese farm in Pienza, and an olive oil production near Florence. All food and wine establishments we visited included professional tasting, followed by fresh meals prepared for us including the samples we tasted. In city centres and finally at the resort, meals were planned and organized for us in the Italian tradition with typical food and drink of the region. While a few lunches and dinners that were not included, Flavio recommended and joined us at quality eateries within each region, and none of them were disappointing! Breakfasts were included and prepared by each of the warm, quaint and immersive establishments we stayed at with typical Italian breakfast fare. Flavio was very thorough in providing essential tutoring of specific customs, practices and key phrases and gestures of the Italian people, enhancing our immersive experience. These were subtle things you don’t get from Duolingo or Rosetta Stone, such as asking how much something costs, ordering a proper "cafe latte" instead of a “latte” and making it “to go", understanding how things like public toilets are accessed through a code printed on a receipt, what tipping expectations were, and interpreting oral and body language of residents of the region. I can’t choose a single highlight of this tour to choose as a favourite because the entire trip was incredible, but one unexpected, pleasant surprise was how Flavio and the entire group made a point to celebrate my brother’s birthday during the tour. Flavio played a few birthday oriented songs on the bus by the Beatles, Stevie Wonder, and another hilarious selection, and everyone sang along! Flavio also organized a wonderful mille feuille cake to be prepared for the group’s dinner dessert that night, and filmed the delivery while I Facetimed my parents in for the “Happy Birthday” cake procession and candle blowing. The food everywhere was amazing, and nothing was processed. Each meal followed the typical Italian traditions and courses including apertivo, antipasto, primo, secondo, contorno, dolce and on occasion, when we weren’t too stuffed or rosy from fabulous wines, we enjoyed formagii e frusta and a digestivo of grappa, vin santo or limoncello after the meal. This trip was so incredible that I’m already planning another trip with other family members in a year or two with this company! See you again soon Flavio, Backroads, and Italy!

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  Tuscan Treats
• ElizabethTraveled in April

  5

  Spectacular country. Well planned and executed tour by Globus.

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  The Best of Italy
• DaveTraveled in October

  4.5

  I'd give 6 stars if I could ! It was a trip of a lifetime..we were so excited about the iconic sights we saw and had forgotten about other wonderful events and locations; as the tour around Capri; the inside Venice tour etc. The driving was excellent and the tour guide Elena was wonderful....we will cherish the memory forever !!

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  Best of Italy (Classic, Summer)