Tuscany small group tour with added comfort

Planet

We recommend low carbon transport and make the journey as stimulating and sustainable as the stay. Where possible we choose to travel by land rather than air. By minimizing the use of flights on our trips, we are making journeys more stimulating and more sustainable for travellers. This trip through Tuscany does not include any flights, providing all transport by private vehicle and train. We ensure our vehicles are fuel-efficient and well maintained with regular servicing. We use vehicles that are an appropriate size to suit the group size. Trains are a comfortable and efficient way to traverse Italy’s gorgeous landscapes – a scenic journey, an efficient way to travel between city centres, and a lower environmental impact.

We provide training to trip leaders on water consumption best practices and how to encourage their travellers to follow these principles too. As tap water is generally safe to drink in Italy, we encourage travellers to bring a reusable water bottle that they can refill throughout the trip. This reduces the number of single-use plastic water bottles disposed of by our travellers. We continue to work with local suppliers on water management initiatives. For example, encouraging hotel owners to provide water refill stations, and in-room signage requesting short showers, repeated towel use and turning taps off.

People

Our trips often include the highlights of a country or region, but we understand that over tourism has a great impact on these popular locations and their local communities. To minimise our effect on the world’s most admired sites we design our itineraries to visit at quieter times of the day, ensure part of the entry costs are allocated to conservation and preservation of the site, and at times we will choose an alternative location that provides the same experience as the more well-known location. This trip includes an afterhours visit to the Colosseum in Rome. By visiting outside the busiest time of day, travellers are lowering their impact on the site by not crowding and potentially causing damage to it, and by ensuring locals working at the site are employed for longer sustained periods of time.

Our trips maximize the opportunity for travellers to engage meaningfully with local culture and communities. Many experiences on our trips also support traditional cultural practices – whether artisanal, culinary or otherwise. In turn, this helps to sustain and preserve these traditional practices so that future generations may continue to learn, enjoy and benefit from them. This trip includes wine-tasting at an organic, family-owned vineyard near San Gimignano. The region is known for its ancient Vernaccia grapes and travellers will learn about these grapes and the family’s centuries-old business from our welcoming hosts.
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