Tuscan Treats

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.

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.

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.

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 'back-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.

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.

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

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.

Tour was all I could ask for in a first experience of Tuscany. Our tour guide was a saint. Everyone on the tour was inclusive, interesting and fun. I got lucky in my selection of tours. Will definitely do another Blue Roads Tour.

Wonderful tour. Wonderful guide who took time to interact with every member of our tour. Backroads 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 Backroads Tuscan tour to anyone. We would definitely consider dingo another of Backriads Tours whenever we had the opportunity

Couldn’t have wished for anything more loved the smaller group and Annalisa the tour leader was brilliant.
We are looking at coming to beautiful Italy again and definitely with back roads.

Great way to see the area. Comfortable and well looked after with good guide

This was my 1st of 2 tours that I recently took with Backroads in ITALY, which my travel agent arranged for me and a friend, it was also recommend by our travel agent as we are Australian and apparently most of the other people that do the tour are Aussie and or Kiwis. Our tour host was Claudia who is a native of the TUSCANY region and she was very knowledgeable and very caring & conscious of a diverse group and everyone's different needs. Out of the 2 tours we did Being Enchanting Tuscany & the Southern Tour which was the Amalfi Coast this was the better tour mainly because of the Tour Leader Claudia being absolutely ' FANTASTIC ", the tour is very extensive and being a first timer to Italy you really do get to experience so many different towns and history. We had a fairly small group which made it more intimate, and everyone got along with varying ages from 53 through to 81 & a mixture of singles and couples. I thoroughly enjoyed this tour and would definitely use BACKROADS again next time I go back to Europe.

Very happy with itinerary & Claudia our guide & the driver . It was everything l hoped to see , accommodation was ideal & comfortable.Really enjoyed the cooking class & meal afterwards
Time to explore on my own was great
The ferry ride along Cinque Terre was amazing . I would love to travel with Back Roads again The small group
suited me. Helen

Very enjoyable tour. Love the small groups and going to out of the way towns . Could add more dinning together as a group.

Booked tour through my travel agent, but I have heard of these tours previously. On the whole, the tour was good. Most of the accommodation was good. The service in the restaurant at Realis II Chiostro Di Pienza was terrible. Slow, rude staff and overpriced. The cooking class at Villa II Palacio was excellent and the staff were amazing. The restaurant staff never had a smile on their faces, rude most of the time. The aircon was set at 28 degrees, which meant it was too hot to sleep. The maintenance person, said it was fine and refused to adjust it as it was a centralised system. This was totally unacceptable. The receptionist upon checkout was extremely rude. She raised her voice in an aggressive manor to most of our tour group. I would strongly suggest than an alternative to this property be found. If they are unable to be civil to their paying guests, they do not deserve the business.

This was a fabulous tour. I was concerned initially the tour group was small 14 in all but they were a good group with fun and mostly interesting people.
The locations we visited were picturesque and interesting . I liked the itinerary and the countryside and villages were all beautiful.

This was a great tour. Only 8 people. Quickly became like a real family. Saverios was a great guide, only too happy to answer any questions we had, and specially helping me (aged 78) with my carryon bag which was rather heavy. I was travelling solo. The special things like visiting/tasting cheese makers, wineries etc were so good.

This was a fantastic week around Tuscany with a very nice safe competent driver called Romulus, & our guide Claudia was really good - her knowledge of the places we visited was fantastic - we would have liked to have microphones when she took us on the boat to Cinque Terra which we had great views of from the sea but not much information about the area. Thank you for a really lovely tour.

Wonderful tour, our guide was wonderful, very informative, helpful and fun we were so lucky to have Claudia.

Great Tour
Beautiful Scenery, good a

Our Tuscan Treats tour was awesome. From the friendly, accommodating and entertaining guide (Helio) to the most beautiful scenery in the Tuscan Hills. Nothing was a problem for our guide, he made sure that everyone on the tour was happy. We loved the countryside and the medieval towns located in the hills for overnight stops. Loved the wine and cheese tastings, however would have to say we here not very taken with the olive oil tasting. It was interesting to hear about how it is made etc, but tasting may have been better if they had some bread and cheeses to try it with.

It's a fascinating area with lots of views, architecture.& History.

Only disadvantage we had a guide that wasn't good at English & no orangising of days events. No microphone to explain different elements throughout Tuscany

A few were left behind, ( walking aid ) leaving them with no information on the town & History
If we asked about what it was relevant to, she would then tell those who had asked.
Tour itself needed to take out Siena, to rushed ( 2 hours to look ) after our morning at San Gimignano & lunch. ( which was fantastic.

It was a wonderful tour taking in a great range of places. The guide and driver were very professional and friendly and the coach was very comfortable and clean. We really took back roads, hotels were very good. I will definitely do another tour with them.

This was a very rich experience with so many opportunities to experience the culture, history and inspiring views. Appreciated the opportunity to taste, local wine, cheese, and olive oil. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable which chatted to the experience.

This tour was amazing, every detail taken care of our tour guide Fabio went beyond and above to make sure we were happy, comfortable, hydrated ( mostly with wine oh am a little water ) and feed with amazing food. From olive tasting, cheese tasting, wine tasting, dancing in the rain, cooking classes lovely lunches, even helping carry bags. He is a great asset to the company. Our driver was also great and felt completely safe in his hands.

The tour was well organized and the route allowed us to see so much of Tuscany. Most of the hotels were good, typical European. However, we would have liked more local guides to learn about the history and culture of the area. We had a lot of free time and more than enough “shopping” time. Our group leader was very nice and helpful but gave very little commentary as we were riding. The end of the trip felt awkward since it ended at 3 pm. We would suggest have farewell dinner one evening and trip end after breakfast the next day.

Definitely worthwhile, beautiful countryside, lovely and experienced tour guide Danila.

This was the 4th BR tour I’ve done and it did not disappoint.

An excellent tour guide Helio Da Costa could not have cared more. He was great.

Not having to handle bags was a bonus too especially when walking into hotels at medieval cities late afternoon.

Hotels, staff, arranged dinners were all good and especially several lunches we paid for but Helio arranged. Scenery was amazing too.

I really love the small friendly group type of tour and the only one for me.

Hope to do more in the future.

Keep up the good work and standard.

Helen Rayner.

Guide Danial was excellent. Accommodation varied from poor to 4 star.

Loved everything: food people, countryside and our fantastic tour leader, Beatrice e.

Great sights .
I loved florence and tour dinner
Florance walking tour excellent.
Off to lucca loved lucca
Cinque Terra by boat awesome then monterossi for lunch pretty town..
Loved the walk around the wall of lucca early morning .
Volterre we needed to spend 2 nights there .we didn't have enough time .
San gianamami love love love
Cut of pisa it was dirty and smells
Siena do on another day as a day
Pienze loved
Leave the rural hotel out it was dirty smelly and had mould
Stay another night in pienze .
Last daynwothnolive tasting then a fabulous lunch yay ..
We had goodndown time as well as a great tour leader who showed us extra sights.

Let me start with how our driver was courteous, prompt and kind. Our tour guide Michele was amazing! Very knowledgeable, experience, generous and friendly. I would recommend them to everyone. I had been with backroads 9 years ago and it was amazing. The changes with bus time length and where they are allowed to drop you off were a little disappointing. It takes away from your time to spend at the locations. The accommodations were very nice except in Lucca and the last stop. We would ave loved staying the two nights in Volterra and/or San Gimignano instead of Lucca. I would still recommend backroads because of its size and friendliness. Italy is a beautiful place to be!

Great trip , well organised and great accommodation plus little bonus treats thrown in. I had a lovely time and happy to recommend this trip.

Loved travelling the backroads of Tuscany in our small bus & exploring the smaller towns of Lucca, Volterra & Pienza. The day trip to the Cinque Terre was special as well. The chance to live & eat in these small towns after everyone else has left is very special & a lot of fun. Wonderful tour leader & driver. Thanks for a great experience.

I’ll be recommending Back Roads to friends and family
Excellent value for $, knowledgeable and considerate tour guide, good choice of accommodation and places visited. Got a real feel for the past & present of Tuscan life.

From our first get together prosecco to our farewells, our trip was full of fun, food and friends, what a wonderful week we had

Was a great experience. Hotels where of a good standard. Our tour leader Max was extremely helpful and enthusiastic. Would consider doing another back roads tour in another part of Europe. Loved my time in Italy.

A wonderful week of Tuscan treats is what you will get on this tour. Some days are very full on and I think the tour could be a couple of days longer so it’s not so hectic. Our guide and driver were wonderful and went out of their way to give us lots of very interesting facts and history about the area as well as a few lovely surprises! Highly recommend.

This trip was amazing, our guide Elena was so imformative and helpful, nothing was too much trouble for her. The scenery, the food, and also the other travellers on the bus topped off a wonderful tour,. I don’t think I could find the right words to say about this trip, the Unesco sites were so interesting the history behind each town we visited made me realise how important it is to keep these sites safe for future generations.
The wine tasting, the cheese tasting and the olive oil tasting was another ‘tick’ the little towns we drove through seeing the ‘real’ Italy.
I will definitely do another Back Roads Tour, and I would have no hesitation in recommending this tour. It was great value for money.

The Tuscan scenery is incredibly beautiful. The tour guide was from the area so could fill us in with many local details. She made every effort to help me as I needed to see a Doctor. We covered a number of beautiful villages, plus some Roman ruins as well.

Locations were amazing and tour guide was phenomenal!

Great ‘bad roads’! But it took a few days

The towns, villages and countryside were beautifull. Great choice of hotels and activities. The pace of the tour was perfect for us.

As stated above, this tour was extremely well structured and gave us everything we had hoped for and more.

Guide Claudia and driver Roberta were well prepared, informative, caring professionals, who made the tour a wonderful experience. They provided local information and managed the busy travel schedule and complex road conditions.

WE had a very good overall look at Tuscany. We got into the heart of the area with knowledgeable guides that knew their way around a knew what was happening in the area at the time we were there.

Enjoyed every moment, the taste of Tuscany made me want explore more.

Good value for money. Many key sites covered.

The first few days were not on the back roads but once we got off the motorways and into the Tuscan countryside things improved.
Our visit to Monterosso on the Cinque Terre was spoilt by the teeming masses of tourists - both in the town and beach and also on the train back to La Spezia. Could the itinerary be changed to avoid these crowds?
There was a communication problem regarding when the tour ended. In the information sent to us we were told the tour ended at 1pm in Florence but Danielle was under the impression that it was to end at 3pm. This caused some stress as we had booked a train leaving Florence at 14.28pm to Naples so that we could join the "Enchanting S Italy" tour.

Enjoyed the whole experience and loved the little treats along the way. Like wine tasting lunch, gelato and walking tours in each town highlighting the sights and history of the region

The essentials such as coach, guide and driver were clean, respectful and professional.

Great locations with the medieval towns, fabulous experiences. Well organised, good motels, flexabity.

A fair price for all the services

Felt this was reasonably priced. Great value for all that was included .

Great tour, lovely leader

Too full on. Usually Back-Road tours are relaxing and don’t start until 9am each day. This was very full on. Starting much earlier.

Beautiful area, interesting history, visited wineries, delicious food & wine, good locations.

great accommodation good guide once we understood each other. Loved all places visited. Good selection.

Claudia was a wonderful guide and really cared about each tour member's experience. Love the small group size as it enables a closer relationship between tour members. Nice balance of structured events and free time.

Your was a great mix of culture, food and wine. Drives each day we’re short and extremely picturesque. Location of hotels was perfect and central. Pace of tour was also great.

The tour was excellent and the locations perfect for a first timer to Tuscany. The only issue we had was that some of our rooms were small and dark. The other issue with rooms was there was a great disparity between rooms. Some were huge and updated and others small and inadequate.

Enjoyed it but could have stayed in some places for 2 nights it sometimes felt rushed. Tour guide was very knoweledgable. Was good that it was maximum 18 people , that’s why we chose them.

Excellent value for money. We would never have known about many of the special and different places seen and visited.

Lovely accommodation, beautiful locations, wonderful guide.

The guide, the driver, the coach were all great. The distances travelled were well planned with flexibility for stops and free time which is important.
Only downside was never really being sure of where we were going - a small print out of the area we travelled showing the route & names of towns we passed through would have made the trip perfect.

The accommodations could have been better.

We were expecting more rural but felt it was one tourist town after another

Amazing tour guide Liz brought Tuscany alive with her knowledge, professionalism and humour. Time spent on the bus was minimal and we had a lot of free time to explore our destinations on our own. Accomodation was great taking into account some of the tiny villages we stayed in, a few of our group complained about the hard beds but I found all accommodations to be very clean and comfortable. The activities included in the tour were unique and fun, we found that at 7 days was not too long and in fact didn’t want the fun to end

Loved that the tour group was small in comparison to others. Easier to get to know people and stay together when doing tours.

I thought the price was a little high but we did stay at very nice, clean hotels and the extras that were included-wine tasting with lunch included, boat tour, train connection-were worth the price.

Tuscany is must see and the tour covered so much of it.

Refer to my above comments

Sub standard accommodation and our timetable could of been better scheduled.
Our last night in Fattoria degli Usignoli was so disappointing! It was like a summer camp full of families.
I am a mature woman and I expect something more refined.
I am on holiday and I would expect to be relaxing.

Great spots to visit. Little towns I’ve never heard of.