Just returned from Tuscany & Umbria
This was our 2nd time in Italy - our 1st was 9yrs ago with a 10 day Rick Steves Tour of Venice, Florence, & Rome and another 12 days on our own with added time in Venice, Florence, Siena, San Gimignano, Sorrento, Amalfi Coast.
This time, we went with another couple. On our own, we did 4 days in Venice, 4 days in Florence - then joined the week-long Tauck Tour of Tuscany & Umbria, then we did 3 days on our own in Rome before flying home.
This was a great tour - esp if you've already seen Venice, Florence, & Rome - which I think are the 'must sees' when visiting Italy.
We saw small, quaint towns and had experiences we could have NEVER had on our own.
Our hotel outside of Florence, Villa La Massa, was spectacular - one of the best we've stayed in with Tauck. I'm not good at posting photos here, but feel free to 'friend' me on facebook if you'd like to see photos of the entire trip. I'm under Terri Lynn Thompson in Winston Salem, NC.
Unfortunately, the Welcome dinner, like all Tauck Welcome and Farewell Dinners we've been on, was a set menu and, as usual for us (& most everyone else), was just not good at all. The 2 worst meals we had during our 3 weeks in Italy were the Welcome & Farewell dinners - this is pretty standard for us on all our Tauck trips for some reason.
On Day 2, we drove into the countryside for a cooking class that was excellent. We prepped a lot of food and then sat down and had an amazing lunch with free flowing wine. The rest of the afternoon was free time at the hotel. That night, Tauck took us to a local restaurant where we could order as we pleased off the menu - one of the best meals of the entire trip.
Day 3 we went to Arezzo where the movie, LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL, was filmed. It dates back to the days of the Etruscans of the 4th Century BC. The history on this trip was so incredible. Our local guides were all very good. We had lunch on our own in town. We then drove to Lake Trasimeno for a gelato stop on Tauck and on into Umbria to Gubbio where we stayed in a 17th Century Monastery which was fabulous.
Day 4 was a tour of Gubbio - probably everyone's favorite town of the trip. A medieval town of the 1st Century BC- not damaged in WW2. All of these towns are hilltop towns, so the scenery on the entire trip was incredible. We shopped for Truffles & Olive Oil here. Rode in 'cages' - where only 2 people, per cage, stand up in - and rode up a VERY steep mountain to see a cathedral.
That evening we went to a Truffle Farm and learned about Truffle Hunting with dogs, got to go on a Truffle Hunt and then sat down in a gorgeous resort for a delicious meal made of Truffle Potatoes, Truffle Pasta, Truffle Steak, etc, free flowing wine too. All excellent !
Day 5 --- Assisi - another incredible hilltop town with one of the most gorgeous Cathedrals we've seen in all of Europe - St. Francis of Assisi is buried here. Lunch at a local winery - followed by one of the best winery tours we've every experienced. Drove to Perugia
Day 6 - Perugia - another Etruscan town on a high hilltop with incredible 'cities' built under it. The underground cities we saw built under the current towns on this trip were spectacular. We also had an incredible weaving demonstration from weaving looms from the 1200s - a 'dying' art - Tauck gave us all a beautiful piece from here which I have at Hobby Lobby getting framed. Most of us also bought pieces.
Dinner was at a local restaurant with free ordering off a menu - another fabulous meal.
Day 7 -- Spoleto & Narni as we made our way to Rome. 2 more ancient towns full of frescoes and hidden chapels, incredible food, & wine. Narni has an underground city that was only discovered in 1979 by 6 teens who were rock repelling down a wall into a garden and came across a 12th Century church. Again - if you love history, frescoes, food, wine, hilltops with incredible views - this trip is for you. It exceeded our expectations on so many levels.
We drove to Rome - which was only a night, for the Farewell dinner, as the next morning, the tour was over. The hotel was average at best for Tauck, and NOT in a convenient place for those of us who extended in Rome. The Farewell dinner was at the hotel and the food, incl the Tiramisu was NOT good at all. Thankfully, we had 2 more days in Rome on our own that made up for it.
We hired private guides in Venice, Florence, and Rome -- they were all amazing == happy to share their info if anyone needs someone.
Comments
Thanks for your detailed review and glad to hear you had a good time! We have also found the opening and farewell dinners to be lacking. Rick Steves tours were the same but we expect more from Tauck as we are paying so much more. The exception was our recent Italy tour where the farewell dinner was at The Gritti Place Hotel in Venice. I’m not sure they could prepare a bad meal there! Our farewell dinner in New Mexico was close to inedible but Tauck sunsetted that tour so there you go. We visited Assisi many years ago. Our guide used the whisper system was whispering softly. The near silence was periodically by a security guard bellowing “silenciio!” At the top of his lungs! That hotel in Rome is puzzling. There are so many fine hotels there, why does Tauck choose that one?
Our first Italy tour with Tauck twenty some years ago, the hotel was miles from the city!
Maybe the choice of hotel is because it can accommodate a motor coach. Also, there are one way streets in the city centers.
I don’t think so. On our recent Tauck tour to N. Italy we stayed in several such towns. The bus would park out of or on the edge of town and a small fleet of vans would carry us to the centrally located hotel.
Choc --- No - lots of construction due to the Jubilee in 2025 - we walked a couple blocks to the hotel as the coach couldn't get close to hotel. Many of the other Tauck Rome trips stay in the heart of Rome - not sure why we didn't.