Tuscany luxury cultural holiday
This trip can be tailormade to create a unique holiday for your individual requirements by travel experts with intimate knowledge of the destination. It is a more luxurious trip that will suit those who enjoy immersing themselves in new cultures and environments before relaxing in comfort in some of the best and most characterful local accommodation! Quality and value are the hallmark of these trips.
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
Our office building is solar powered: 100% of the energy we use for our office operations is produced by solar panels. We strive to have a paperless office. We are very careful not to waste any paper for our prints (and we always use both sides of each paper sheet); we try to minimize the use of paper brochures. We recycle all our waste (paper, plastic, organic). We drink “filtered” tap water instead than bottled water that allows us to reduce of 95% the use of plastic bottles. Our Tours are designed exclusively for very small groups (from 6 to maximum 12 travelers). Small groups allow travelers to get in close contact with the places visited, easily interact with local people, while not overburdening them with visitors. This means greater opportunity for cross-cultural understanding.
Small groups have a much “softer” impact on the environment: less pollution (they travel by small bus and public transportation rather than by a large coach; walking tours can be more easily organized); less waste (it is easier to give waste guidelines and control a small group of people). We only use small hotels, ones that have a much lower impact on the environment. We prefer accommodations that formally adhere to the sustainable tourism principles or that can demonstrate efforts to reduce their environmental impact. We use as reference the guidelines indicated by “Legambiente Turismo”: waste reduction, through less single portions versus more refillable containers and separate waste collection; water saving, through saving appliances and indications to customers for rational use; certified-quality detergents and indication to customers for rational use; energy saving through energy saving lamps and appliances; healthy food (local fresh products; typical local food; organic food); noise abatement.
Our local guides agree with our responsible tourism principles and will help the travelers to respect the environment while enjoying their visits (encourage travelers not to litter, by indicating the proper way to recycle waste, even in public areas; encourage travelers to respect the places they visit: art pieces, architecture, environment).
Community
This one-week trip showcases the best parts of one of the most beautiful regions in all of Italy. The trip includes visits to the renaissance city of Florence, the beautiful and incredibly historical city of Siena, the breathtaking 5 Terre, the leaning tower of Pisa as well as the less well known but wonderful small town of Pietrasanta with its beautiful sculpture workshops. Wine visits are also included in the trip to Chianti and Val D’Orcia were you will be sampling and learning more about some of the great local wines of the region. This trip also uses experienced local guides and offers a cooking lesson, which provides individuals with a basis for cooking Italian cuisine.
The accommodations provided in this tour are all local smaller family owned hotels rather than big chain hotels where one is less opened to experience the local culture and lifestyle. These hotels have made clear efforts to reduce a negative impact on the environment by not wasting resources. Also being local hotels such as these offers a greater opportunity for getting to know the true beauty of Tuscany, because the people at the hotel not only know the location incredibly well, but also they care about it and have an unconditional love for it, so they are sure to provide tourists with the necessary assistance to be able to feel the same way.
The tour is clearly based on the locals, and strongly benefits their economy due to the facts that we use local tour guides, local wineries and local accommodations. We believe the best way to experience the wonders of Tuscany is to see it through the eyes of a local, rather than through the limited vision of a typical tourist.
The tour offers the chance to have a complete yet unique exposure to Tuscany and its culture. It combines extensive and in depth opportunities for sightseeing (by car, by boat and walking) in order to have the most comprehensive possibility to appreciate the beauties of Tuscany, with incredible activities.
As our Tours are designed exclusively for individuals or very small groups (from 6 to maximum 12 travelers), this allows travelers to get in close contact with the places visited, easily interact with local people, while not overburdening them with visitors. We plan our Tour calendar to coincide with local events and celebrations. Special events open windows into the local culture, and the money spent on food and crafts stays in the community.
In every tour we include one or more “Slow Food” Restaurants (Slow Food is an Italian Association, founder of the international "Slow Food" movement, whose aim is to combat fast-food globalization by promoting local products, traditional cuisines and ways of life). We participate to local Chambers of Commerce Programs aimed to sustain the tradition and the work from small local artisans and in every Tour we include visits to local artisans workshops: this enables travelers to understand the tradition and buy true handmade crafts from local artisans; and enables artisans to show their talent and get a fair reward for their valuable work.
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