sources to find small tours/ excursions?

Hi Ashley -
Viator and Trip Advisor are 3rd-party clearing houses for actual tour companies, and most of us don't recommend booking through either of them. Viator, BTW is owned by Trip Advisor.

It's recommended to book directly through the companies who actually operate the tours versus a middleman. If there's a problem with the tour, you want to be working out the snag with that company and not potentially be caught in a disagreement between 3rd-party booker and that tour company.

Which tour companies ones we'd recommend would depend on multiple factors:

A. Which city/town (Italy is a big country). Where will you be traveling?
B. What sorts of things you want to see
C. What you wish to spend per person and/or a group tour versus small group or private
D. If you have any special sightseeing challenges, such as a mobility limitation
E. How many in your group and their ages, if it's a multigenerational group.
F. How long a tour do you want? Full day? 1/2 day or less?

Time of year can be a factor as well; boat tours, for instance, may not operate in the colder months. The more you can tell us about yourselves and your trip, the better we can help you! :O)

Toursbylocals.com

We have booked several tours in France and Italy and have been very pleased. Read the reviews!

Hi Ashley,
In order to save money, I suggest you to skip these big companies since they do not provide tours directly but third party ones, charging you their commissions, booking directly with local providers you can easily find on Rick Steves site!

One more question, Ashley?
I looked back at your posting history for possible hints regarding your upcoming trip. Back in 2017, you'd posted a trip planned for Montepulciano and Montalcinello for a week apiece, and mentioned intent to visit Rome, Siena, Volterra, Florence, San Gimignano, Chiusdino and Montalcino, along with possible other locations. You’d also planned to spend 2 nights in Venice with visit to Padua along the way. You'd had a car for much of that trip.

So you're not a first-timer to The Boot! :O)

You have another post (4/30/2023) inquiring about "must dos" for a planned week at Lake Garda and a week in Lucca but didn't include dates for this trip. As well, it sounds as if you will also have a car for this trip, and are planning a day trip to Pisa and Cinque Terre (from Lucca) and a stop-by in Verona.

Is this the trip you're looking at small tours/excursions for?

Hi Ashley,

If you are interested in bike tours, please let us know where you are planning to visit so those who have done tours in those cities can comment with recommendations. I’ve posted about bike tours multiple times, you may be able to locate in the search options. Same goes for food tours.

I just did a bike tour of the Sorrento coast last week and it was fantastic. I will be posting a trip report soon that will outline it in detail

Ciao!

Crystal