What are our tours like?
Once the tour begins you are under our wings. Outside of air travel we have everything else arranged.
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CULTURE
True to the McFarland way we put a high value on food, culture, experience and education. We want to immerse our groups into the heart of each city we enter. For this reason we may choose a 4 star hotel over a 5 star in order to get closer to the cultural center of a city. That being said we work hard to find clean, comfortable and accommodating lodging. Once you are with us until the end of itinerary we will provide your lodging. You are expected to find lodging the day(s) before and after the tour if you decide to stay longer. We are happy to point you in the right direction.
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FOOD
Eating the best of local cuisine is EXTREMELY important to our experience. Most breakfasts are provided at our lodging but sometimes we go to a cafe. One large meal per day is covered. Sometimes it's family style but often you can just choose from the menu. For wine drinkers we cover one glass of the house wine or a bottle if three people want to share. We go out of our way to find the best restaurants, pastries, sweets, gelato and whatever else is special to each area we explore. The meals we are in charge of are meant to be memorable. We don't want you to get stuck eating food made for tourists. Sadly this happens even in Italy.
TRANSPORTATION
In big cities we walk, take taxis, sometimes metro, and funicular. Once we leave a city we are picked up at our door by our excellent drivers. They are with us much of the trip, dropping us off as near as possible to our destinations and waiting for us to be finished. It is wonderfully stress free. It is quite lovely to not have to take buses and trains (although occasionally its necessary).
We do not arrange for air travel. We recommend you arrive at least a day early to acclimate and make sure you make your flights. We set a time and a place to meet on the day the tour begins and can even help arrange local transportation to pick you up at the airport as we often do. All lodging and ground transportation (unless you decide to veer away from the group) is covered for the duration of the trip.
TOURS
All tours on the itinerary are included. We have close relationships with local tour guides who love and understand their history and culture. Almost all tour guides are PhD level and are hand picked for the kind of experience we hope will remain with you forever.
MAKING NEW FRIENDS
Because we travel in small groups we are able to cover more ground nimbly and quickly. We expect each guest to come prepeared to meet new people, be respectful of others beliefs and for the love of Pete leave your politics at home :) We hope you bring friends and also come to make new ones.
We walk almost every day 5-7 miles depending on the group and location. Walking is a must in big cities as many sites are not accessible to cars. We generally start our day around 8:30-9:00 am and give free time for shopping and exploration through the tour. ​