🎼 🎶. It's Electric!

 So the question always comes up: "do we need to bring a power converter?"  So here's the deal on electricity in Italy...   Electricity in Italy, as in the rest of Europe, comes out of the wall socket at 220 volts alternating at  50 cycles per second.  Here in the US, electricity comes out of the wall socket at 110 volts, alternating at 60 cycles per second. So not only are the voltages and frequencies different,  but the sockets themselves are different...

If you're bringing devices from home, or need to use hair dryers, curling irons and other electrical appliances in Italy, you'll will need to know how to convert these to use the new voltage, and how to connect that device or appliance to the sockets in the wall...

Plug Adapters:   Plug adapters are the interfaces between the American flat-pronged plug and Italy's two (or three) round-prong socket. These allow you to plug your electrical device into the Italian wall socket, but they do not convert the electricity to the American 110 volts. If your appliance is designed to run only on 110-120 volts, you are likely to see smoke, if not fire, from this miss-mating. You will need a step-down power converter or transformer to safely step the voltage down from 220 to 110.

Typical Italian wall socket...

US - Euro plug adaptor
You can get along fine with just a plug adaptor for many of today's small electrical devices designed to run on dual voltages. Devices like this include many laptops, tablets, cell phones, many recently produced battery chargers, and many small, electrical gadgets, especially those designed for world travel. You can check the back of the device or the "power brick" for the electrical input specifications.

A lot of hair dryers, electric shavers, cell phones, tablets etc are designed to use 110 or 220 volts, and sometimes switch automatically... sometimes theres a small switch...  so for these, all you need is the plug adaptor...  If you don't see a switch or a label indicating dual power, we suggest you call the manufacturer to confirm.

Power Converters:  American hair dryers, curling irons and straighteners can be the bane of modern day international travel. These devices cannot often be used in dual voltage situations without voltage conversion. Because they heat, they are extremely high current devices, meaning that, combined with the high voltage, they use a whole lot of power. You'll need to lug a large, heavy,  power converter or power transformer to convert Italy's higher voltage to the lower American voltage--or you'll risk having the curling iron really "fry" your hair and ultimately burn out.   If you buy a power converter, make sure its power rating meets or exceeds the power rating of the device you will use with it. This information is usually found on the body of the device near the power cord.

US - Euro plug adaptor - this is the one you want

At the Villa, we will have placed a European voltage hairdryer  in each of your bathrooms...   So you don't need to bring a hair dryer for the Villa...   And any hotels you're staying in before or after likely has hairdryers...  But, if you do prefer to bring your own hairdryer, curling iron, curlers, straightener or any heating device,  and it's not dual voltage, we would suggest you go online and by an inexpensive dual voltage model... it will be a lot cheaper, a lot lighter,  and work a lot better then a big power converter.  (these expensive power converters are very heavy to lug around, and often burn out when used with heating devices). Bottom Line:  if you feel you need to bring things like hairdryers, straighteners  or curling irons, we suggest you consider buying inexpensive dual voltage models rather then power converters...

So for the most part, your power considerations probably comes down to your cell phones, tablets, cameras, etc...   but be forewarned, if you need to charge these types of things, you will need, at the very least, a  simple plug adaptor or two... pictured above (usually in the neighborhood of $1.95- $3.50).  Rick Steves.com usually has these adaptors for sale for a $3, but of course you have pay shipping.   Amazon Prime members may want to search there to avoid shipping costs... And then usually your large AAA travel offices will have these adaptors as well.  

We hope you're enjoying The Blog...  There's a whole lot more to come!   Embrace The Blog... It's here for your pleasure & convenience... We put a lot of work into this, with the theory that every small bit of information helps you to have a better experience on our Tours!  

As always if you have questions about these power conversions, or anything at all, shoot us an email or give us a call... Our email address is AdventuresToTuscany@gmail.com and our phone # is 610-657-7894... these can always be found on the right sidebar if you want to reach out!  

We hope you're getting excited about your trip! It's only about 9 months from now and it'll be here before you know it!  If you haven't secured flights, hotels & rental cars by now, we suggest you start looking. The experts are saying that they expect price increases because of record-breaking demand, pilot and staff shortages & the price of fuel..   and rental cars are still in short supply because of the pandemic & computer chip shortages...  We've booked our personal flights, hotels and rental cars for this trip over a month ago! If you need help with this, reach out to us... We're not travel agents, but we of course make these types of arrangements / reservations many times every year, so we're happy to give advice and make suggestions...

🎼 🎶.I'm ridin' in your car... turn on the radio 🎶

So as you know, you're going to need a car... You can pick up a rental car at any of a number of places over there.... Italy has all the big (rental) names you know and a bunch you may not be aware of... What you want to do is make arrangements to get your car soon. There have been shortages of rental cars worldwide as rental car companies sold off their entire fleets during the pandemic and once travel started up again they had a hard time getting new inventory as the whole world was trying to order cars at the same time! And of course, also because of the pandemic, tourism had paused and is now at record breaking highs! So don't wait too long to do this!  We usually always use AutoEurope.com... they're an American company that works with all the rental companies, and their prices, convenience and selection are hard to beat...  We've also used Sixt in the past, and were very happy with them as well. You'll find both companies online, as well as many others.

Tips for car rental ;

You can make arrangements to pick up your car from offices at the airport, or arrange to pick up at one of their intercity offices... Usually, just like here in the states, it costs about 7-10% more to pick it up at the airport (airport tax), but you have to measure that against convenience...  Make sure you get a car with enough room for you and your luggage!   That may sound obvious, but believe me, both cars and their trunks are smaller in Europe!   If you're sharing a car with others,  4 people, 4 suitcases and 4 daypacks WILL NOT usually fit in a mini or economy  car... you'll need at least a compact, mid-size or full size vehicle... If it's just two of you, and you're only coming from Florence or Pisa, the little Fiat 500's are a really fun, economical and classic choice!  If you're driving up from Rome or Milan on the AutoStrada, you may want to consider at least a compact or mid-size.  Also be aware, that unless the car you're renting says "guaranteed model" in it's online description (usually only on higher-end luxury models) then it likely says "or similar" meaning you'll get whatever's available when you pick-up.   

Insurance

You'll need insurance coverage in Italy... Your credit card, no matter what status it has,  usually will not cover you in Italy...  And you can check with your Insurance company,  but we feel strongly your auto policy here in the US will not offer coverage either...  If either your insurance company or your credit card company tells you that you're covered in Italy, we suggest you get it in writing! It won't help at all, if you have a claim to say "the lady on the phone told me I was covered".  We strongly suggest getting a car with "full insurance coverage" (zero dollar deductible... i think AutoEurope calls it no-deductible coverage).  It's a few dollars more, but it pays off easily when you're returning the car and they try to tell you "that scratch/dent wasn't there when you picked it up..."   When it comes to the insurance coverage, do what Nike says... "Just do it"!  Make sure you list on the rental contract anyone who will be a driver... and any damage already on the car... (even small scratches) and take pictures with your phone of any damage you see on the car before you leave the rental lot... If you don't list and pay the extra fees for an additional driver, then if you'd have a fender bender while they were driving, the insurance will not cover the accident!

Car Rentals typically cost approx 10% more if you choose to pick-up/return at the airport as opposed to a city office... But it's certainly a lot more convenient... the choice is up to you...  We suggest you check car rental prices often as they move them up & down almost daily... After a while you'll get a feel for what's a decent price.

Stick or Automatic

As you're searching for cars, be aware that most cars in Europe are standard transmission (stick shift), and you'll need to choose "automatic transmission" in the search criteria if that's what you want. 

Make sure when you pick up the car, you find out if it's "gasoline or diesel" and where the latch for the gas lid is... they can be hard to find... (more info on fueling in future posts)

Maps

We also strongly suggest you have both good maps and a GPS unit... we can help you with acquiring really good Maps (the one they'll give you at the car rental office is typically totally useless)...   We suggest only Michelin Maps, they're by far the very best...  You want a regional map, like the Michelin Toscana #358 or Italy Central # 563... both available from Amazon.com Click here .  If you get a full Italy country map, it won't have as much detail.  

If you have a portable GPS unit you plan on taking, you'll need to check to see if it has "Europe Maps"...   (it probably doesn't) You can either choose to rent a car with a GPS in it, rent a GPS from your car rental office, or choose to use the maps program on your cell phone.) Often times the mid-size or above cars have GPS units in them.  It will say on the website if it does. Many of our guests just use the Maps program on their phones... (while you're with us during the Tuscany Tour, you will be following us and we'll be talking to you on a two-way radio, so you won't have a need for a map)

They'll also offer to rent you a "mobile wi-fi hotspot..."  Our experience with these was so-so at best... not that great...  The good news is there is free wi-fi available at the Villa... but just be aware, wi-fi internet access is rarely as fast in Italy as what you're probably used to here in the US... but it does work fairly well at the Villa, and it is free!

On the day you return your rental car, fill it up immediately before you return it, and "keep the receipt" for the gas... in fact, we suggest you take a picture of it with your phone...  show the receipt to the attendant and get him to note on the contract, that the gas tank is full... (keep the receipt, you may need it later.)

 Lots more to come... As always, we're happy to help with your car rentals if you need advice...  feel free to contact us with any questions...

Lastly, if you need a car for 15 days or longer, you may be able to get a "short-term lease".   This is what we do personally as we typically need cars for a month at a time, several times a year. It's like buying the car with a buy back guarantee.  They're available from only a few areas, typically Rome or Milan... but the leases do have several benefits, chief among these are: they're less expensive, you get a guaranteed model, they are brand new cars (showroom floor new), you don't pay for additional drivers, zero deductible insurance included, etc... If you're interested in this, feel free to reach out to us with questions...

🎼🎶

Maybe you're not seeing the whole picture...

 Someone  has asked about our reference to "The Word of The Day" here on The Blog, and said they didn't see it?  So if you're reading The Blog only on a cell phone, there's a good chance you're not seeing the whole picture!  Viewing the blog on a cell phone most often just shows a summary of "post titles" with links to the full post. But what you may be missing is the full right side bar that has all the Travel Tools and Resources. 

 To see this on your phone, scroll the whole way to the bottom of the page just above the blue footer section, and in tiny letters you'll see a link that says "view web version" If you click this link you'll see the full version of The Blog with the full right side Bar... and this is where the daily updates to "Word of the Day" and "Eating a little Italian" are...

And best to keep in mind, this right sidebar will keep constantly changing... we're always adding new features!  Usually we add new features several times a week, so we encourage to scroll thru the right sidebar frequently to see these... 

Of course if you've been viewing The Blog on a desktop, a laptop or a tablet, you've probably been seeing the full page all along!  If there's ever anything we say that you don't understand, please reach out to us! We're happy to explain! 

Happy Thanksgiving America!

 

As America gives their Thanks to the world, we'd like to offer our Thanks to America! As you get together today with your loved ones we can't help but remember what president John F. Kennedy so famously told the world: "As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to just utter words, but to live by them." The poppy fields all over Tuscany are a constant reminder of the sacrifices America made for Italy... We are truly & forever grateful... May your Star Spangled Banner fly free & proud today and everyday! Happy Thanksgiving America! ~ from a grateful Italy

Adventures to Tuscany... the real Italian Villa experience!

🎼🎶 Leavin' on A Jet Plane 🎼🎶

Some of you might remember Peter Paul & Mary's #1 hit song in the 60's;  Leaving' on a Jet Plane  (It was actually originally written by John Denver with the title Babe, I hate to go...)  If you do remember this, you might also be old enough to remember that not all planes were jets back then!  

We're just about 8 months out from your  "Adventures to Tuscany" Tour...   So what now?

If you're a frequent traveler, and have lots of experience finding and acquiring your own air tix, you may want to just skip this post... But for any of you that might want a little help with finding the best flights, we're going to go into some of the things to look for here in this post... 

Flights

So foremost in this preparation, is to decide where you want to fly out of here in the US, and into in Italy...  If you're haven't done this yet, we suggest you start looking.  Everyone always asks: Which airport is closest to The Villa? And the answer to that is Florence (about an hour &15 min drive).  Pisa is next (about an hour & 40 min). Bologna (about 2 hours) Rome (a little over 3 hours) and Milan (about 4 hours).  And know that prices can sometimes vary dramatically depending on the airport you fly out of here in the US...  For example; Here in the Northeast US, we find that flying out of JFK airport in NY usually has the best pricing and the most flights, but of course, unless you live in New York / New Jersey area, it's a little more of a commitment to get there... We personally most often now fly out of Newark NJ (EWR) and find that their prices are usually 2nd best to JFK...   Philadelphia also has lots of flights, although sometimes can be more expensive. Much of it depends on the airline you choose, and which airports they have hubs in.

Flight Tips: We always suggest sticking with a "legacy" carrier such as United, Delta, American, Lufthansa, British Airways, Air France, etc... You can certainly find cheaper flights, but you should be aware that sometimes the discount airlines, don't have codeshares with other airlines, and if they cancel,  they sometimes can't get you on another flight in a reasonable amount of time... We've had guests who scored great priced tix on some of these discount airlines, and then had last minute delays or cancellations and lost a day of their vacations. For a more detailed explanation of what a legacy carrier is; click here

Other things to think about as you search:  Flight duration and number of stops... Obviously a nonstop flight is quicker with less chance of missing a connecting flight or losing luggage, and if you're flying into Rome, Milan or sometimes Bologna you'll easily find nonstop flights... But if you're trying to fly into Florence or Pisa, you'll most likely be on a one-stop flight. As some of you are flying out of the northeast US like ourselves, we'll use Newark (EWR) airport as an example; Non-stops to Rome can be found with a flight duration of as little as 8½ hours, whereas one stops into Florence are often around 10 - 12  hours (because of the layover and change to connecting flight).  Also you'll want to keep in mind connection times... Important: On any connection less then 90 minutes, there's always a chance your checked luggage (and possibly even you) may not make the connection... (especially if your first leg of the flight is delayed).

you can click this logo to get to Kayak

We've heard from some of you that you plan on flying over early and spending a few days in Rome,  Florence or Lake Como before the Tour... For any of you that aren't doing this, and are coming just for the Tour, we always suggest you consider flying in at least one day early... That would mean flying out on a Thursday night, and getting to wherever you are flying into Italy on a Friday morning and spending a night in a hotel... (we are happy to help with hotel recommendations). You certainly don't have to do this, as you won't be able to come to The Villa before 4pm on Saturday... We have had guests fly out Friday night to arrive Saturday morning, but again, we forewarn you of the possibilities of delays. Also, coming in an extra day early gives you a little time to adjust from jet lag and time difference (6 hours). Obviously, this choice is entirely up to you.

click here to go to Goggle Flights

For our personal long term financial planning (for us - 2 years out), we usually budget around  $1300 -$1700 per person for roundtrip tixs...  $2000 - $2400 per person for Premium Plus Tix.  If we find a better price, we feel lucky! Tickets are easy to purchase directly online...  Right now, we're seeing roundtrip tix on legacy carriers in and around the $1000 - $1400 range....   and on discount carriers for as little as $550.  Everyone has their own strategies, but we always start our flight research at a site like www.kayak.com,  or  Google Flights and once we find the  flights we want, we buy them directly from the airline's website...  If you're uncomfortable doing this by yourself, give us a call and we'll be happy to try to help... But keep in mind, we are Tour Operators, not Travel Agents, so air tix are not our forte, and we only have the same tools you do, but of course we do this often and as a courtesy we're always willing to help.  Lastly, you could use a professional travel agent to purchase tix for you. They'll usually charge in the neighborhood of $25 - $50 per tix.  However you choose to acquire tix, we suggest if you haven't purchased them yet, do so soon, as experts predict prices to continue to rise because of oil/fuel prices, pilot & staff shortages and extremely high demand, etc...

Passports

Make sure your passport is valid  and doesn't expire until at least 6 months after your return date... This is mandated by Italian law...  We say "valid" because on a recent Tour, a gal from California had reported her passport as lost... then she found it and used it for travel and was denied entry at the Rome airport because "Interpol" had her passport in their system as "Lost or Stolen". They sent her back to the US within hours.  

If you don't have a passport yet, you will of course need one... and while they're usually pretty fast,  the recent pandemic had them running way behind as we'll...  they could take up to several months to arrive...  And trust us on this; if you don't have a valid passport, they will not under any circumstance, allow you into the country!    If you need a new passport, start working on it today and pay the extra few dollars for expedited service & expedited shipping! 

As always if you have questions, or need help, reach out to us!  We're always happy to help!

Want a little blast from the past?  Here's Peter Paul & Mary singing it for their 25th Anniversary Concert in 1986!   🎶  🎼 (click here)  

Do I have to read The Blog?

We're all very busy these days...  And, after we start sending out emails, usually someone asks:  "Do I really have to read The Blog?"

Tommy - The Mad Blogger

And the simple answer to this is: No, of course not...  You've booked a Tour, and all you really have to do is show up!  But why wouldn't you want to read it...  You've got some big bucks invested in what many people would call the trip of a lifetime! The Blog is written just as a resource for your convenience... It's an added value that we provide for guests that are excited to learn about Italy and are eager to get the very most out of their vacation... So sometimes folks tell us "We've traveled a lot, we don't need this..." and we say that's great! That makes our job easier... We'll see you in Tuscany in September!

But we'll tell you this;  After 23 years of taking Tour Groups to Italy several times a year, we can always tell who's read The Blog and who hasn't...  The folks that haven't, usually feel slightly uneasy because they're in a foreign country and they don't know the language, they don't exactly know what's going on... and they either have lots & lots of questions, or they just kind of disengage while we're over there and follow whatever others are doing!

You see, The Blog is designed to answer all the questions you might have way before you ever get there...  So, as our Tour Guests, we'll of course be polite to you either way...  But know that after all the years of doing this, and seeing the patterns of hundreds and hundreds of our guests, it's so very obvious to us that the folks that follow along and read The Blog actually end up having a much better time and hence get a much better value from their vacation! You may have seen that we often use phrases like "deeply immersive" and "culturally explorative" to describe our Tuscany expeditions... And the BLOG is the initial part of that deep cultural immersion... Many of the mass-market bus tours of Italy, for many decades, were specifically designed to shield you from cultural un-comfortability... Because they thought people just wouldn't understand, or wouldn't want to know... But today, it's just the opposite...  many people truly want to not just know about cultural differences, but to truly understand them and be immersed in them...  And of course you're not going to be shielded on a bus, so it's a little more important that you understand what's going on around you, especially if you're extending your trip by coming over early or staying late... 

Lady & The Tramp...

Those that follow along daily are just much better prepared... they know what's going on and they have what they need... They know what the weather's going to be, what to pack, casual or dressy clothes, what kind of footwear, how to get to The Villa, when to arrive, do we need a voucher... how much money do i need... they know whether or not to tip, how much to tip, do you tip in a trattoria, do you tip a taxi driver, where we're going, what we're doing, why don't they take US currency... how to get Euros, the least expensive ways to exchange currency, how many Euros they need, do they need a map... will i need my cell phone.. what kind of calling plan is best for  my cell phone, which airport do we fly into... what's the best source for air tix... which airline should we use... how to get a rental car, what type of car, what the Italian road signs mean, where to get gas, how to get gas, how to get an International Driver's License, what about parking in the villages, where to park, how to get a parking disc, which lane do we get in at the toll booth... will my EZ Pass work... what about a GPS... where the Tourist Offices are... how to order a coffee in a bar... can i sit at a table... why is everyone standing at the counter... Is lunch included... why are we going there... Is it true Sting and Trudy live next door...  what's all this about two-way radios... Do I need a guidebook... what do i do if i get separated from the group...  can we get married in Tuscany...  What about a Vow Renewal Ceremony... what if I need to see a doctor... do we really need travel insurance.. is there a hospital nearby... does my travel insurance cover that... Do  i need to carry my passport... why is my credit card being declined... what credit cards do they take?  can i bring my iPad... How come they don't give us any ice? will netflix work on our phones... how come everything on GOOGLE is in Italian... How do i get the wi-fi signal...  do i need a power converter? where do i get those little adaptors... Which one is gasoline and which one is diesel... what's all this about a white party... why don't they speak any english...  what do we do in the evenings...

This list could go on forever, but you get the idea...  We'll post, on average every other day from now until about a month before you depart for Italy... so we usually write about 120  - 130  posts... and each day we post there will usually be several new bits of information, between the post and the side-bar, that's specifically designed to enhance your understanding and make it easier for you to enjoy your vacation!  So there's lots and lots of info that we pass along here on The Blog!  And that's why we spoon-fed it to you usually no more than one post a day... and we suggest that you consume it exactly that way... just click on the link we send you and check in... read the most recent post... it usually takes just 2 - 3 minutes!   We want you to have the trip of a lifetime!  And we know that the better mentally-prepared you are for this, the better time you'll have!  There one additional thing that our guests tell us The Blog does for those that read it religiously; it greatly enhances your anticipation for your vacation, and ultimately extends your experience from a week or two to almost 10 months!   Choose to be happy and choose to make this the best vacation ever! As always, if you have any questions about your upcoming trip, or if we can improve your experience in any way, please reach out to us...  We're always happy to help!

THE VIEW FROM OUR WINDOW...

The term "Villa" is thrown around a lot these days... Disney uses the term to describe some of their upscale hotel properties, and Marriot & Hilton both label some of their overnight properties as Villas... But in Tuscany, the term Villa has a very special connotation... The inference is typically a majestic & magnificent country Estate, often a Wine & Olive Oil Estate and Farm...

Yes, this is a real view from 

a real window at the Villa...

We'd like to tell you about our very special Villa where we home-base our Adventures to Tuscany expeditions... We say: The Real Italian Villa Experience, and here's why; This a truly magnificent, majestic, rustically elegant & authentic 400 year old tower-style Stone Castle Villa... (built in 1621, the year the Pilgrims celebrated the original Thanksgiving here in the USA).  While we talk of how magnificent the property and the entire estate is, it's important that we don't confuse you; This IS a 400 year old property, and while it's very comfortable and has been wonderfully preserved and maintained... and is indeed truly magnificent & rustically elegant; but this is not to be confused with luxury... This is an authentic Tuscan Villa... and you'll feel this authenticity the moment you walk through the doors... Things will be different than what you're probably used to here in the United States...

The Villa's massive - over 10,000+ sq ft throughout 4 floors with 2 ft thick stone walls & a spiral staircase winding up thru the Tower... The look of this small castle is punctuated by two rows of massive arches on the front of the Villa framing two very large outdoor Terraces, and a very large historic wood-fired bread & pizza oven built into the wall on the upstairs Terrace......

There's 7 bedrooms, each with private baths, two living rooms, with a fireplace in one... There's a wonderfully large kitchen with a another massive cooking fireplace & a farmhouse table that seats 12, and a separate more formal dining room that also seats 12... And then, as if that's not enough, there's even two more dining areas outside where we usually enjoy most of our meals; one rectangular table under the large vaulted porticos on ground floor leading out onto the Terrace, and yet another huge round table under the vine-covered loggia overlooking the vineyards & olive groves where we often enjoy our daily Happy Hours...  

The rustic beauty of this historic Villa is just wonderful... There's beautiful original hand-formed Terra-Cotta bricks on the floors and even in the vaulted ceilings... There's massive 18 inch exposed hand-hewn Chestnut beams throughout the structure... and 2" thick functional wood shutters with heavy hammered iron hardware swinging open from the windows... This Villa is no "Disney come lately replication" by Marriot or Hilton, this is the real deal! You'll love this place! The photo above is peeking out thru a porthole in a secondary stairway that leads up to the Terrace with the wood-fired Bread Oven... And up here, there's three more grand porticos that give way to yet another amazing seating area and gathering spot with views to die for overlooking the hills of Chianti and our "home base" Village of Radda-in-Chianti

There's two large electronic gates that secure the half mile long, tree lined private road into the property... and what would a Tuscan Villa be without a beautiful in-ground pool and a 40 ft by 80 ft Grand Terra-Cotta entertainment Terrace!

click on the pic to enlarge

And while all of this sounds like something out of "Under The Tuscan Sun" here's what really throws it over-the-top: This magnificent Villa sets on a hilltop surrounded by Rose Gardens, Fig trees, Jasmine Vines & Rosemary hedges in the middle of 2200 Acres of Italy's finest Vineyards, Olive Groves & Magical Forests on one of Tuscany's most prominent Wine & Olive Oil Estates... (yes, there's a hamlet with a huge Castle & a historic Winery on the Estate and you'll be VIP guests when we visit).

We'll tell you lots more about The Wine & Olive Oil Estate in future posts, but suffice it to say this is no neighborhood winery. Castello di Albola is one of Italy's premier Wine Estates and bottles over 1.5 million bottles a year... and distributes and sells their wines in over 135 countries around the world!

Adventures to Tuscany... the real Italian Villa experience! What makes us different, makes all the difference in the world!

Is it too late to buy travel insurance?

 So someone has reached out and asked: "Is it too late to buy travel insurance?"

As you know from reading your Tour Reservation Form, we always recommend that guests purchase Travel Insurance.  We remind guests that the best time to purchase simple low cost Travel Insurance to protect your investment in your vacation is when you first sign up for a trip and make your very first payment!  Then you'll be protected from the very first day.  To get the most benefits (such as coverage for a pre-existing condition or to buy Cancel For Any Reason coverage CFAR) from a Travel Insurance policy, it's very important to purchase the policy immediately (10 -21 days)  after you make the first payment for your trip.  But for standard travel insurance, it's almost never too late to buy... .  A lot of folks think; Well, it's still over 7 months out till I leave, so  I've got lots of time to consider this... But what you need to understand, is that one of the main benefits of travel insurance is that, once you buy it,  it covers you for the the many months/years leading up to your travel...  and every day you're not insured, you have no protection, and so if something happens to prevent you from going, you could loose your whole investment.

Other folks think: "Why do I need travel Insurance, I'm not going to cancel."  No one ever plans to cancel their trip... As you might imagine, in our 24 years of running multiple trips per year for hundreds and hundreds of guests, we've seen folks cancel for a variety of reasons - from broken legs to broken marriages. We even had a gal from California  get turned away at the Rome airport as her passport wasn't in order. They wouldn't let her into the country.

But travel insurance isn't just about trip cancellation... Most comprehensive Travel Insurance policies cover a variety of health, medical, dental, trip interruption, baggage loss, baggage delay, and even trip cancellation issues for covered reasons (ie: job loss, sickness, accidental injury, death in the family, etc).  Most domestic health/medical insurance including Medicare provides no or very limited coverage when out of the country...  

Many Tour Operators make Travel Insurance mandatory, and every Travel Agent recommends it...  But while we don't sell or make Travel Insurance mandatory, we remind guests that with our very unique Boutique business model, leasing an entire Villa and contracting with so many different vendors for group priced services and provisions (cleaning staff, sanitation providers, commercial laundry suppliers, bathroom amenities, household provisions suppliers, full time chefs, food & wine providers, bands, tour guides, VIP winery luncheons & tours, admissions providers, foreign licensing fees, group insurance, tourist taxes, electricity etc, yes we even pay for electricity), your deposits & all payments are non-refundable...  So if YOU would need to cancel YOUR trip for some reason, your Travel Insurance provider could provide your refund to help soften the financial blow.  Unfortunately, these things happen more often then you can imagine... As a practical application, when guests contact us to tell us they need to cancel, we refer them to their Travel Insurance provider. (it's best if you read that last sentence again). 

You can purchase travel insurance anywhere you choose. Here at Adventures to Tuscany, we are an official partner with, and always recommend  www.InsureMyTrip.com and if you click on this link or click the logo on the right sidebar to purchase your Travel Insurance, we receive a very small referral fee from them at no extra cost to you. We've personally used them for over 20 years & they make it super simple... it takes just 5 minutes.  A basic Comprehensive Travel Insurance plan for a 60 year old to cover the cost of your Adventures to Tuscany Tour can be had for as little as $125... a few dollars less if you're younger, a few dollars more if you're older.  (although you might want to consider also covering the costs of any other non-cancellable/non-refundable items on your itinerary such as airfares).  This is, in our opinion, very inexpensive protection for your investment.

We also remind you that as a very special benefit, Adventures to Tuscany provides to you our exclusive Travel Cancellation Protection Policy outlined in your Reservation Form; This is our guarantee that if Adventures to Tuscany is forced to cancel your Tour for reasons beyond our control, your tour price already includes our exclusive Money Back Tour Cancellation Protection. (This is not intended as a substitute for the personal comprehensive travel insurance we're talking about above, and does not cover you if you cancel)  "If Adventures to Tuscany cancels a tour you have reserved, the entire amount you have paid to Adventures to Tuscany LLC for the applicable tour will be immediately refunded to you within 14 days after the tour's cancellation.  Or, at your choice, you may choose a full dollar value credit to transfer to another tour date.  Once this occurs, Adventures to Tuscany has no other obligations to tour members on cancelled trips including any additional costs or fees related to other travel reservations or arrangements which are not included in your Adventures to Tuscany Tour price." 

If you have a question about your Tour, or if we can help you with anything at all with your travel planning, please reach out to us...  You can email us at AdventuresToTuscany@gmail.com or just pick up the phone and call us anytime 9am - 6pm ET Monday - Saturday @ 610-657-7894. We're happy to help!  click here for travel insurance

So I've of course heard of Tuscany, but where exactly are we going to be?

We're in The Bullseye!

 We're in The Bullseye!

With just a little over nine months before we leave for Italy, we wanted to give you a better idea of just where Tuscany is, and where we're going to be... So Tuscany is one of Italy's largest, and by most people's opinions, the most beautiful and geographically diverse regions of Italy... They call Tuscany The Crown Jewel of Italy!   It sits in central Italy and it's landscapes consist of incredible coastlines from the famous fishing villages of the Cinque Terre down through to the Maremma... the rugged mountains of the Garfagnana... and the familiar rolling hills of Chianti covered with grape vineyards and olive orchards...

click on the map to enlarge

Tuscany is a really large area of over 9000 square miles... and then, in the center of Tuscany is The Chianti...  And then, in the center of Chianti, is the Chianti Classico region... and finally, if you look in the very center of the Chianti Classico, you'll find the quaint & charming medieval walled hilltop village of Radda-in-Chianti...   This village is the closest town to Castello di Albola, the Wine  & Olive Oil Estate that theVilla sets on... Radda-in-Chianti sits approximately at the big red dot above the "N" in Toscana...  So you get the idea, when we say; the very center of Tuscany!

This area is what many call The Golden Triangle of The Chianti Classico, and our Villa sets right in the very center... It is indeed, The Bullseye!  This is truly the area to be, if you want to really see Tuscany, and not spend your whole week on a bus getting to all the sights!  We've picked this Villa specifically for it's location & it's magical setting on Albola's amazing 2200 acre Wine & Olive Oil Estate, as well as the fact that Radda-in-Chianti is one of the three original Medieval Villages in The League of Chianti...  

click map to enlarge

Here you'll see a very detailed map of what's inside the red dot in the map above...  showing the location of The Castello d'Albola (inside the blue circle)  and the surrounding wine estate... and just below it, you'll see a long "white road" heading northwest from Bugialia... This is the private road (driveway) to our Villa  -   Marangole (inside the red circle)

 So we'll educate you more about Castello di Albola in future posts, but suffice it to say, this is not your typical neighborhood winery... It's a very serious world famous Wine Estate... producing a little over 1.5 million bottles per year and shipping it to over 135 countries around the world! This is just one of about a dozen Wine Estates owned by the Zonin Family, Italy's largest private Wine Family.  Their wines are sold worldwide and you'll find Castello d'Albola's Chianti Classico in your local wine store! 

So guys, this is just the very beginning days of The Blog, and we start out slow with short & easy tidbits of information to start... We don't want you tuning out from the beginning... There will be lots of good & useful info that we'll be passing along... You'll begin to notice, that along with these new posts, there's already more resources in the right side bar...  and we'll just keep adding to it... but again we stress; these posts will rarely be longer than a 3 minute read!  The best way to use this Blog and get the most from it is to just click on the quick link that we send approximately every other day and read along...  Our philosophy is for our guests to be totally prepared and have more info before you depart for Italy than most tourists have when they return! Stick with it...and we guarantee you'll have a better trip! 

Welcome to the BLOG

Hi Guys...  

Welcome to your  private "Adventures to Tuscany" Blog... I'm Tommy,  Chief Adventure Officer of Adventures to Tuscany & this is my wife Terese, VP of La Dolce Vita...  We live with our little dog Baci Amore and our two cats Beatricce Berardo (BB) & Zizzie Gelato in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania.  If we haven't met before, we'd like to say Welcome... and Thank You for signing up to join us on our Adventures to Tuscany! We look forward to meeting you in person! But until then, if we can do anything at all to make this experience better for you, please reach out to us... We'd love to talk to you!

Tommy & Terese

We're just a little over 9 months out from your Italy Adventure, so we want to introduce you to & welcome you to The Blog!  The term BLOG is short for "Web-log" meaning a website logged in reverse chronological order... (like a diary) 

This BLOG site is dedicated exclusively to your Adventure to Italy this coming September!  If you're reading this, you're scheduled on one of our two upcoming Tuscany Tours; September 7th - 14th or September 14th - 21st! We'll use this site as our primary conduit to communicate with you about your upcoming adventure trek through Tuscany;  Friends, Food and Fun Under The Tuscan Sun! 

Right now is the time to start planning your trip!  If you haven't done so as of yet, we encourage to start your planning... especially if you're planning pre or post Tour destinations!  The best flights, hotels, rentals cars, etc get snapped up early by the multitudes of people who have been, and are still traveling to Italy in all time record numbers over the last few years since the pandemic... And as inventory of flights, rooms & cars start to dwindle, prices will go up! So be forewarned, they tell us 2024 will be no different!

Our little girl Baci running around in our backyard
with her longtime friend Honey Boo-Boo... Baci
is a full-blooded Bearded Portuguese Fleabag!

We encourage you to check this site regularly,  as we'll use it to educate you about your Trip... We'll feature articles about Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, The Castello D'Albola Estate, The Villa, the geography, our Tour Guides, travel tips, currency exchange, travel insurance, electric converters & adaptors, using credit cards, cell phones, international calling plans, translators, phrasebooks, language lessons, hotel recommendations and reservations, luggage, ATM's,  debit cards, overcoming language barriers, Italian Culture and Etiquette, local weather, packing tips, Foods & Wines, differences in restaurant etiquette, dealing with jet lag, guidebooks, driving in Italy, Italian road signs, espresso bar culture, itinerary ideas, Tipping Etiquette, flights, car rentals, trains, winery visits, maps, gps units, our two-way radios, daily touring activities, Siena, San Gimignano, Greve, Radda-in-Chianti, Panzano, Castellina-in-Chianti, and on and on, and on... and as many of you have told us you're extending your trips, we'll also post articles on Rome, Florence, Lake Como, The Cinque Terre or anywhere else you tell us you'll be visiting in Italy...

That's Zizzie in the back and her sister BB up 
front... all of our little girls are rescues

Don't be underwhelmed by what you see here today...  This is just the very first day. We've learned over 23 years to keep it really simple when we first introduce you to these resources... You'll find that as you check back regularly, this blog site will just keep growing, and growing, and growing!  Not just with our daily posts, but also with all kinds of travel tools, resources and ever-expanding features in the right side bar that will help you better understand the who, what, when, where and how's of your upcoming Italy Adventure! By the way, if you're viewing this on your phone, you may not be seeing the side bar (to the right of the posts)... If you're not seeing the side bar on your phone, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on "view web version." While there's not much there today, there will be tons of resources there as the weeks go by!

Organizing multiple group trips every year over the past 23 years has taught us a lot about "group dynamics" and "managing expectations..."  The most important thing we've learned over the years is that communicating to each  of you what to expect when you get here to Italy helps to manage your expectations by allowing you to more clearly visualize your adventure...   And the easiest way for us to that is through this Blog website...

Take a close look at the Village and surrounding
hillsides depicted in this travel poster... we think, 
when you get there, you'll see the similarities to
Radda-in Chianti, our home-base village with
our Villa with the olive groves & vineyards
on the hillside in the background

We've had these BLOG sites running continuously for each of our Tours over the past 15 years, and for the 8 years before that,  we sent out daily group emails...  We had a little trouble getting folks to embrace the technology 23 years ago, but today we find that most folks understand and enjoy the benefits...  We write and post informational articles and videos specific to your upcoming Tour to this site several times a week... sometimes, even daily...  But most often you'll find that we post about 3 - 4 times a week.  And when we do put up a new post, you'll automatically receive an email notification with a quick link... And most of these posts will take only about 3 minutes or less to read...  Ultimately, if you follow along, the posts that you'll see will be like reading a personalized travel guidebook designed specifically around your trip! You'll find the personality of the site to be light, easy and humorous...

So we're hoping you get here often...  It's a simple formula -  we've found over the years that those who followed The Blog most closely,  seemed to enjoy and get the most out of their vacations!  We hope you enjoy! As always, if you have questions, please reach out to us... You can simply email us anytime at AdventuresToTuscany@gmail.com... And call us or text us anytime 9am - 6pm ET  Mon to Sat at 610-657-7894.  We always try to respond as immediately as possible...  but if we're busy, or on Tour in Europe, we'll certainly try to get back to you within 24 hours! 

We're honored that you've chosen Adventures to Tuscany for your vacation... We hope you're getting excited and we'll do our very best to show you the vacation experience of a lifetime!  If we can improve your experience in any way, please let us know...