Ending 2025 grateful!

We Didn’t Start This for the Award… But Three Years Later, Here We Are

When The Tuscan Wanderer first began, we weren’t dreaming about awards, badges, or shiny banners on our website. We were focused on much more glamorous things — like answering emails at odd hours, triple-checking pickup times, and making sure there was always cold water in the van.

We were building something small. Something personal. Something honest.

So when we found out that we were awarded the 2025 TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Award — for the third year in a row, we had to pause and really take it in. Not because of the title itself, but because of what it represents. This award doesn’t come from ads, influencers, or marketing tricks. It comes from real guests, real families, and real experiences — and that means everything to us.

This Was Never About Chasing Social Media or Awards

From the very beginning, our goal was connection.

Social media was never the focus. Visibility was helpful, sure — but trust was the real mission. When we started The Tuscan Wanderer, our heart was set on the expat community in and around Lucca. We wanted to be the company you could recommend without hesitation. The one you’d trust with your parents when they came to visit. The one you’d book again when friends asked,

“Who should we use?”

We also set out to build strong relationships with reliable travel agencies — partners who value professionalism, punctuality, and guests actually enjoying their time in Tuscany (imagine that).

But more than anything, we believed in something timeless: word of mouth.

How Word of Mouth Became Our Superpower

We didn’t grow by shouting the loudest. We grew because people talked.

Our expat families told their friends and visiting relatives. Guests shared their experiences and left thoughtful reviews. Travelers found us not through flashy ads, but through consistency — review after review from people who trusted us enough to put their families in our care.

One of the moments that means the most to us is seeing posts in Facebook groups asking,

“Who do you trust to drive me and my family around Tuscany?”

And then watching as our name appears again and again — recommended by familiar faces, expat families, and past guests. Those moments make our hearts smile every single time. They remind us that somewhere along the way — through early mornings, late nights, long drives, and full vans — we did something right.

(Yes, we screenshot those posts. No shame.)

What Winning Three Years in a Row Really Means

Winning the TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Award three years in a row is something we never expected — and something we don’t take lightly.

This award is based entirely on real reviews from real guests. There’s no application, no campaigning, and no shortcuts. It’s simply the result of people taking a few minutes to share their experience — and that level of trust is humbling.

To us, these three awards represent:

• Consistency

• Reliability

• Care

• And a promise to never lose sight of why we started

Growth is exciting, but staying true to our values is everything. We’re incredibly proud that even as we’ve grown, the heart of The Tuscan Wanderer has stayed exactly the same.

Ending 2025 With Full Hearts (and Big Smiles)

As we close out 2025, we’re doing so with incredibly full and grateful hearts. This year reminded us why we love what we do — the people we meet, the families we drive, the stories we become a small part of, and the trust you continue to place in us.

Winning this award again in 2025 feels like the perfect way to end the year — a gentle reminder that kindness, consistency, and community still matter.

And yes… we’re already looking ahead with excitement (and a hopeful little grin) toward 2026 😄 We’ll keep showing up, doing the work, caring deeply, and giving every guest the same experience we’d want for our own family. If that leads to a fourth Travelers’ Choice Award next year, we’ll be honored beyond words.

From the Bottom of Our Hearts, Thank You

To every guest who has ridden with us, left a review, recommended us, tagged us, or spoken our name in a Facebook group — thank you.

To our expat community, our travel partners, and everyone who believes in supporting small, local businesses — thank you.

And to those who have been with us since the beginning and those who have just found us — thank you for trusting us, year after year.

We promise to keep doing what we’ve always done:

• Showing up

• Driving safely

• Caring deeply

• And maybe cracking a joke or two along the way

These three Travelers’ Choice Awards belong to you just as much as they belong to us 🏆

With endless gratitude,

The Tuscan Wanderer

Giovanni & Loreal