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Tuscany family vacations

Our guide to Tuscany family vacations explores the joys of long lunches in the sunshine, escaping the cities for the mountains, and letting the kids run wild in nature. In a region that suffers from overtourism, there’s no better way to enjoy Tuscany with the kids than an active vacation in an idyllic rural setting, with brilliant local guides showing you around.

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Tuscany family vacations

Speaking as a veteran of many family vacations, often it’s the little things that can make the whole trip. Listening to the screams of joy as you while away a lazy day by the hotel swimming pool. Knowing that you can share a late dinner with the kids, and not have to worry about getting them grumpily ready for school tomorrow. Watching as they pluck up the courage to jump into the river from a rock, or into a net on a high ropes course. And silently thanking the guide, at whose encouragement they will happily try something they’ve never eaten before, when back home they seem content to survive on breakfast cereal and toast.

Our Tuscany family vacations feel as if they’ve been composed entirely of moments to treasure. You’ll enjoy a host of activities designed to appeal to everyone in the family, long languid meals, and peaceful rural settings where you start to unwind as soon as the bags are unpacked.

“Tuscany is so great for family vacations,” agrees Caroline Phillips, programme manager at our partner Explore Worldwide. “The Italians love children, so it’s a very friendly atmosphere especially at mealtimes. Here, the whole family is up and out late at night and everyone, especially the kids, enjoys that inclusive aspect.”

Tuscany offers families a blend of culture, adventure, and relaxation, which combined with a sunny climate (bear in mind the temperature can reach the mid 30s in July and August) and Italian cuisine makes for an enticing prospect. And for families looking to reduce their vacation’s carbon footprint, it’s very accessible by rail. Both Florence and Pisa are well-connected to other parts of Italy and the rest of Europe.

Our guide to family tours in Tuscany explores where to base yourselves, and what we think are some of the best things to do in Tuscany with kids – in brief, get them out and about in nature!

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What are family vacations in Tuscany like?

Tuscany family activity vacations will often get underway in the city of Lucca, just to the south of the Garfagnana Valley and 80km west of Florence, before moving on to the countryside. With its Renaissance-era walls, fragments of Roman ruins and many handsome public squares, Lucca is an attractive place to spend a few days of leisurely wandering. You’ll stay in the historic center and your tour leader will show you around the tree-lined ramparts both on foot and on bicycle, before you leave the city to roam quiet country lanes.

On a small group vacation, you will be joining other families on a shared itinerary. But when your vacation has a free day included, you’re free to do your own thing, with great local rail connections making it very easy. Visit Florence, with its Piazza del Duomo, Palazzo Vecchio and the Uffizi Gallery home to masterpieces by the likes of Da Vinci, Raphael and Michelangelo, if you want to give older kids a full-on infusion of culture. And having your photo taken as you ‘prop up’ the Leaning Tower of Pisa is, of course, a rite of passage.

But both Florence and Pisa are ludicrously busy due to overtourism and so you might prefer to remain in Lucca, which has a more laidback feel, or simply head for one of the many beaches within reach of the city.

Family activity breaks in Tuscany

We think the best base in Tuscany for kids is Garfagnana, in the north-west. Sheltered by the Apuan Alps and the Apennines, the Garfagnana Valley is close to Pisa, Lucca, Florence and the coast, but nowhere near as busy as any of them.

“With climate change it’s the heat that will be the main problem in Tuscany,” Caroline affirms. “In the summer now, you need to be up high or near water or it’s getting too hot. On this trip you’re up in the mountains so that really helps.”

From Lucca to the town of Castelnuovo di Garfagnana is just an hour’s drive north. “It’s a little traditional Italian town,” says Caroline. “There are a few shops aimed at visitors, but generally it’s quite unaffected by tourism.”

Every day you’ll head out in a different direction for activities led by experienced guides, which spreads the economic benefits of tourism to small communities around the valley. Your guides come from these towns, know them well, and are happy to tell you about life in this region while you hike, paddle and swing your way around it.

These trips are best suited to children aged seven and up (and adventurous grandparents should consider themselves more than welcome too). The beauty of taking a Tuscany vacation with kids is that every day brings the promise of something fun and new, from cycling to canyoning, stand-up paddleboarding to a woodland adventure park. All fuelled by lashings of divine Tuscan cuisine, interspersed with refreshing glasses of lemonade, and slices of buccellato, a sweet bread made with raisins.

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Where you’ll stay on a family vacation to Tuscany

Your vacation may see you staying in a family-run hotel on the edge of town, surrounded by stunning mountain views. After you’re back from your day trips the kids can splash around in the pool. You can join them or stretch out on the sundeck with a book. In the evenings you’ll amply restock all the calories you’ve burned during the day. The homecooked Tuscan cuisine will delight everyone, and many of the ingredients will have been sourced from farms and markets in the local area. As well as filling your plate with the freshest, tastiest food, this supports independent businesses and keeps your vacation’s carbon footprint low.

“When it comes to Tuscan food, I really like these chickpea stews they have,” says Caroline. “In the Garfagnana Valley they have a lot of chestnut trees, so you see chestnut in dishes frequently. Families love the big dinners here. You get the antipasti with cold cuts, local cheeses, risotto or pasta for starters, lots of nice vegetable dishes with aubergine and tomato, all accompanied by good Tuscan wines. The hotel we stay in has a proper restaurant, it’s not just a ‘hotel restaurant’.”

When not eating in the hotel, or as part of the group, there are several restaurants nearby where you can find an excellent meal. Eating out whenever the opportunity arises is, naturally, not only one of the best things to do in Tuscany, but a must wherever you are in Italy.

“Local people run all of the businesses we use on this tour,” says Caroline. “There aren’t many chain places in Italy anyway, but what our tour leaders do when they organise group meals is to seek out restaurants that are independent, locally owned and showcasing genuine Tuscan cuisine.”

Other family-friendly accommodation in Tuscany includes apartments built into an old water mill between Florence, Arezzo, and Siena, or a charming eco-friendly farmhouse near Pisa, powered by solar panels and fed by spring water. Wherever you stay you’ll be well-positioned for enjoying rural Tuscany as well as venturing into the towns and cities.

Highlights of visiting Tuscany with kids

Back to those ‘little moments to treasure’ I mentioned earlier. In Tuscany you’ll savour the family meals – and the downtime – just as much as the thrilling activities. For one of the most memorable moments, join your guide as they lead you up into Orecchiella Nature Park, walking up into the Apennines. The park’s forests hide wild boar, deer, even wolves and black bears. Birds of prey hover watchfully overhead as you spread out on the grass for a mountain picnic with a view.

Forget the crowds of Florence. This is the way to spend a family vacation in Tuscany.