Flavors of Italy Reviews

4.8 Rating 22 Reviews

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smarTours is a leading provider of direct-to-consumer, affordable travel experiences to exotic global destinations. The Company offers travelers curated, pre-packaged itineraries to over 50 destinations across the globe. By offering tours directly to consumers, the Company provides premium-quality experiences at value prices, and as a result, has cultivated a highly passionate and loyal community of repeat travelers. More than 200,000 travelers have taken a smarTours trip since the founding of the Company in 1996. smarTours is… the smarter way to see the world.

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New York
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“This was a very enjoyable tour that focused on Northwest Italy. Overall we liked the itinerary and choices of locations, experiences, tours, etc. A number of events were hands on. the walking tours were excellent and in each case were led by very knowledgeable guides. Beautiful countryside and intriguing city sites. Visits to a prosciutto processing facility, a pasta manufacturing facility, a balsamic vinegar site plus several wine venues. The opportunity to eat out at restaurants of our own choice was readily available. We were busy each day and felt that our time was well-structured. Our SmarTours guide, Francesca, was excellent. We enjoyed the comradry of our fellow participants; they were a great mix of interesting and capable individuals, couples and in one case a family. A great tour.”

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Posted 5 months ago

Wow! Thank you so much Philip! We appreciate your kind review.

Posted 5 months ago

“Flavors of Italy was so much fun! Our tour guide Francesca was an absolute gem, she was funny, smart, knowledgable and very kind. The food, the wine and the hotels were all top-notch, we are planning our next tour with SmarTours now! Highly recommend this company and this tour, especially if it's your first trip to Italy.”

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Posted 5 months ago

We are so happy to hear this Virginia!

Posted 5 months ago

“The smarTours Flavors of Italy was fantastic! Our tour guide, Francesca, was a treasure. She had an engaging personality, a great sense of humor, an interesting personal history (food industry in Australia, Buddhist temples in Thailand!), and was helpful in many ways to myself and other tour participants. The tour group was small (16 people) and enjoyable companions on this tour. There were so many highlights: a) the beauty and spectacular preservation of the city of Bologna; b) the fascinating visit to a multi-generational balsamic vinegar establishment in Modena; c) the wonderful family in Chianti who welcomed us and gave us tastings of the many wines/spirits they produced; d) the views of Manarola in the Cinque Terre from the vineyards high above the town and coastline; and e) everything about Turin - the beautiful old cafes, chocolatiers, patisseries, and gelaterias; the food; the museums (Royal Palaces esp the Armory; Egyptian Museum); history and walkability! I will definitely return to these regions of Italy in the future and this tour was an excellent introduction!”

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Posted 5 months ago

Thank you so much Lisa!

Posted 5 months ago

“Flavors of Italy was a wonderful fast-paced tour! We moved quickly but did and saw a lot to maximize the time on our tour. Francesca was an excellent tour guide! We enjoyed the city tours by local guides in Bologna, Cinque Terre, and Turin. Highlights were the Prosciutto di Parma ham and cheese tour, balsamic vinegar tour, multiple wine tours (especially guided visit at the Banca del Vino in Pollenzo), pesto making, and pasta factory tour. San Gimignano was filled with tourists even though we weren't there in peak tourist season (Oct.). Our optional boat tour to Portofino was cancelled due to bad weather but we were still able to visit Portofino and walk around. Cinque Terre we visited via bus, taxi, and train. Truffle hunting was fine but short. We walked along with the truffle hunter and dogs who sought out truffles. It lasted less than 30 minutes and then we tasted local foods/wines from the Chianti region. Note that this tour has limited free time and there is a lot of time spent on the bus moving from one city to the next. We stayed in cities that we wouldn't have thought to have visited had it not been with this tour. Overall, I would highly recommend this tour. We enjoyed the variety of activities and appreciated seeing parts of Italy where we had not visited before.”

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Posted 6 months ago

What a delightful review. Thank you Lisa!

Posted 6 months ago

“This was my 2nd adventure with smarTours, and I’m sure there will be more, in fact, I’m already looking. The value is good, great actually, especially for the price. I like that all I have to do is show up on time and everything is planned for me. It takes the guesswork out of it AND allows me to feel more confident in booking solo travel.”

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Posted 6 months ago

Thank you for your wonderful review Melanie! Always a pleasure to have you travel with us!

Posted 6 months ago

“For only my second trip overseas, Flavors of Italy did not disappoint. Our tour guide was great; she was there when we landed, with us every step of the way, and was there at the end to make sure we all made our flight. The towns and cities we went to were wonderful, different, and really gave you a sense of Northern Italy. The experiences we had were terrific: a prosciutto plant, balsamic vinegar producer, local winery, wine bank, making our own pesto, learning about pasta making back in the day...were all interesting and led by locals. The wine was the best! Food took a close second; I never ate so much delicious cheese and bread. As a vegetarian, the guide made sure food was prepared accordingly. The hotels for the most part were comfortable with delicious breakfasts provided by all. We did have an unfortunate experience in Radda, my friend and I were in the attic and the bathroom was half in darkness and that was never rectified (they gave us a big flashlight), there were also no windows save for a skylight. Small problem. I would highly recommend this tour.”

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Posted 6 months ago

Wow! Thank you for your review!

Posted 6 months ago

“was fun”

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Posted 6 months ago

Thanks Peter!

Posted 6 months ago

“This tour was a great trip through northern Italy that introduced us to magnificent regions glorifying the food, wine and lifestyles of this beautiful country that we so much enjoyed. Our hotels were top notch. There was beautiful scenery everywhere with green hills and farms dotted with centuries old cities that amazingly blend the old with the new. The Italian Riviera had wonderful seaside cities with sandy beaches and charming harbors, mixed with colorful ancient villages that appear to rise out of the rocky shores. Thanks for this wonderful tour.”

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Posted 6 months ago

Wow! Thank you Bob! We are so happy to hear you had a wonderful adventure!

Posted 6 months ago