Tours
Hills and Roads provided an outstanding custom tour from Florence to the hill towns we most wanted to see. Our guide/driver, Angela, was excellent in every way. She... read more customized the tour to meet our wishes. We let her pick the lunch restaurant, which turned out...More
5 October 2018
Transfers
I think I came across Lucas company from travel and leisure, and I’m greatly i did. It was somewhat last minute and between Christmas and New Years so I... read more appreciate the planning Luca provided. He picked us up on time from the hotel and arranged an itinerary of two wineries in Chianti, both of which were excellent. We also walked with him through a medieval town and he provided excellent knowledge of the area. Early communication was a little delayed but around the holidays I was t surprised. I felt his pricing was reasonable and I would not hesitate to recommend him or use Hilo’s and roads again!
1 January 1970
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We had the pleasure of spending a day traveling from Florence to medieval towns, lunch at a winery with tour and a monastery. Luca was our guide and he was... read more fabulous- very informative, personable and eager to tailor the trip to our interests. I cannot emphasize enough the quality of this experience. We will return to Italy and Luca will be the first call we make!!
1 August 2021Very thorough in the emails. They’re great at designing an itinerary for you if you’re a newbie to Tuscany. Will absolutely use again!
17 October 2018We spent two days with Luca on our recent trip to Italy and we all agree that they were the highlight of our trip. We were travelling as a... read more family of five (mom, dad and children ages 18, 15 and 12). I had emailed Luca and he planned two days in Tuscany for us. While he offered to change anything that we wanted to do differently, we decided that he knew the area better than we did and we went with his suggestions. On both days, it was an excellent mix of small towns (interesting and medeival, not at all touristy), wineries, and seeing the countryside. We ended the second day with a great tour of Siena. Luca picked us up promptly at our hotel in Florence both mornings and had full days planned. He is knowledgable on many subjects and did an excellent job of covering a wide range of topics. He knows a great deal about the history, culture and agriculture of the area. Luca has worked hard to build his business and find opportunities that allow his clients to get a very real sense of Italy. On both days, we had lunch in private homes. The first day was an excellent meal with Francesca and her husband. We felt as if we had found an Italian grandmother and been invited into her home for a very welcoming meal. The second day, we had lunch at the farmhouse of Stefania. Her warmth and enthusiasm was catching and we will always remember the afternoon that we spent in her home. The food was excellent and we felt as if we had chanced on a hidden gem in the Italian countryside. These are days that we will always remember and when anyone asks what we liked best about our recent trip every one of us talks about touring with Luca.
13 April 2011Luca (of Hills and Roads) coordinated with our group representative via email regarding daily outings from our villa in Lucolena. He sent itineraries, we reviewed them, and he changed... read more per our request. We were interested in non touristy activities, and Luca provided just that. Some highlights: marble quarry tour, tastings- cheese, olive oil, wineries. Many of the tastings were set up privately for us as a group, which made a tremendous difference, offering a genuine personal touch at each location. Each of our tastings were fantastic in their own way. We went truffle hunting with an excellent guide, followed by fabulous truffle lunch. Our days and many evenings were well planned and coordinated by Luca and his staff.
We were driven by Luca, Chris and Angela. We looked forward to spending time with them each day! In addition to sharing great information throughout each trip to and from our locations, all were very safe drivers (a welcome relief for those of us who were nervous about many of the winding roads)
We were all completely thrilled by each and every day Hills and Roads planned for us. We presented a few last minute changes and Luca was very accommodating.
30 October 2016 -
My friends and I had a wonderful experience with hillsandroads. Great drivers, unbelievable wineries, food, views and locations. Luca helped us with the itinerary so we could see... read more as much as possible. Especially great for a small group. Would recommend to all!
11 November 2016We just completed our third tour with Luca accumulating approximately 12 days over the past 8 years. I couldn't believe how Luca could recall all of the places that... read more we have toured with him in the past but then he gave us his secret. He actually keeps a record of all of his tours. Luca really outdid himself this year (didn't think that was possible) as he tailored our tours to precisely the type of towns that we enjoy seeing. We asked him to schedule some wine tastings that were more than just sampling various wines. He came through in spades and these were some if the highlights of our trip. If you want to change the itinerary during the day, it poses no problem for Luca who is extremely flexible. We plan to return to Tuscany in the future and touring with Luca will be a must.
10 July 2011I think I came across Lucas company from travel and leisure, and I’m greatly i did. It was somewhat last minute and between Christmas and New Years so I... read more appreciate the planning Luca provided. He picked us up on time from the hotel and arranged an itinerary of two wineries in Chianti, both of which were excellent. We also walked with him through a medieval town and he provided excellent knowledge of the area. Early communication was a little delayed but around the holidays I was t surprised. I felt his pricing was reasonable and I would not hesitate to recommend him or use Hilo’s and roads again!
1 January 1970This is my third tour with Luca 2016, 2019, and May 2022. Each has been perfect and memorable. Luca takes you to interesting places that you would never find... read more on your own or with other tour companies. I consider Luca part of the family. We were a group of 9 and Luca used 2 vans. Christiano drove the second van and he was great too. Don’t look any further. Book Luca today !!!
1 May 2022 -
Another remarkable day with Luca touring through Tuscany. I have booked Luca for transfers and tours many times over the past few years. A few years ago,... read more we spent a day touring several hill towns in Tuscany and participated in a visit to a delightful farm where he organized a private cheese tasting. Fantastic!
This year we toured the countryside around the town of Lucca, and had lunch seaside. Another fabulous tour day!
Luca has as a deep knowledge of the Tuscan area and has lots of interesting facts and stories to share.
Each trip, Luca has also provided transfers to and from the Florence airport to my destinations in the Tuscan hills. He is reliable, punctual, personable and trustworthy. ( **this is extremely important for a solo traveler!)
Without hesitation, I would recommend Luca and Hills and Roads tours and will absolutely book him again for my next trip to Tuscany. Alla Prossima!
4 October 2022I have reviewed Hills and Roads previously and my opinion hasn't changed. Luca and staff are the best. On this trip we spent 4 days with Luca and... read more Christiano. It's not easy for them to plan as we have spent many days touring with them...More
24 May 2019What an extraordinary delight to be introduced to the Tuscany and Chianti countryside by such personable and knowledgeable tour guides at such a reasonable price. we had one day... read more with Christiano, two days with Angela, and one day with Carolina as we toured so many beautiful medieval hill towns starting with a pick up in Bologna and for an incredible tour proceeding through the hills of Chianti to Certaldo with Christiano. Angela then spent two days touring the hills and charming walled hill towns, featuring an exploration of romantic Siena, topped by a visits to Querceto di Castellina vineyard where we had a delicious lunch ( Mama's lasagna was unlike an other ; so delicate and flavorful) and fantastic wines on a brilliantly sunny afternoon in such a picturesque setting surrounded by rolling hills of acres of grapevines. And our hostess, Mary, was so enthusiastic and personable. it was, perhaps, the high light of our trip and why should it not have been as all the ingredients were present to create a lasting memory.
As we were finishing our last tour with Angela, and after we learned that she sang in a band and were obnoxious enough to request a song as she skillfully navigated the narrow roads and oncoming dusk, she sang a beautiful Italian romantic song that just seemed perfect for our 50th wedding anniversary trip. What a delight!
Our final day was with Carolina, equally skilled in driving and a font of historical and political knowledge as she safely continued the tour to its conclusion with a tour of Orvieto, our departure point back to Rome.
And finally there is Luca, who we never met, but who was incredible in the pre trip planning and arrangements. In the end, we placed ourselves in his hands and had no regrets for doing so. Luca was responsive and knowledgeable and the price for everything was very reasonable. Already we have recommended Hills and Roads to several other travelers we met on the cruise back to the States.
4 November 2016Our first tour left much to be desired. Our second tour with Angela was truly the best! Angela is a wonderful, well spoken, knowledgeable, great personality, all and all she... read more is such an asset to Luca of Hills and Roads tour company.
20 September 2018 -
We spent 8 days in Rome and Florence but our two days traveling across Tuscany with Luca was the best thing we did. He picked us up from our hotel... read more in Florence and drove us to each of his hand picked wineries. Each place was unique and we were given private tours and tastings. Views were great, food was great, wine was great and the people we met were great. At the end of the first day he drove us to a hotel in Siena and then picked us up the next morning to see more. At the end of that day he drove us all the way to Rome. You just tell him what kind of experience you want and he will customize the wineries and travel for you. I couldn’t recommend Hills and Roads with Luca more. Wish I could give them 10 stars!!
1 November 2019This was our second tour with Hills and Roads, Luca Garrapa's company. Our first time was May, 2015. We were based in Siena and toured Chianti area. We... read more lunched with a lovely woman (Stefania) and met fantastic Chianti winemakers - small production, but amazing wines. it was all day and we still talk about it. The second tour was in October, 2016. We were based in Montisi. Luca picked us up and we toured Val d'Orcia. During our all day tour, we met two amazing winemakers, lunched at a tiny place in Montalcino, among other things. Prior to the tour, Luca worked with us to come up with an itinerary. He responded to our numerous inquiries and came up with a memorable tour. Luca is passionate about Italy and is easy to get to know and be with. The people you meet are handpicked and you feel fortunate to have met them. We frequently visit Italy, so we are fussy about what we want from a tour. Hills and Roads fit the bill. We strongly recommend them - you will not be disappointed. Grazie mille Luca! We hope to see you soon.
14 November 2016We very much enjoyed our day with Hills and Roads. Our driver Chris was on time, friendly, and informative. We asked to be taken to two wineries in Chianti region.... read more The first winery, Villa Calcinia, was amazing. We got a tour of the whole property...More
17 September 2018I contacted Luca months before our trip to Italy. He responded immediately and extremely accommodating with my requests, which included a picked up at Peretola Airport in Florence and a... read more 2.5 hours drive to Rapallo. Unfortunately because of weather we missed our connecting flight to...More
26 June 2018