About Us

Everything you need to know about Friends of Tuscany

Our Story

We are a family run business providing accommodation, activities and specialised information about the Garfagnana region of northern Tuscany, Southern Tuscany and Umbria.

Friends of Tuscany was founded in 1988 by my father Andrew McKean when he moved with me (Molly) and my mother Susan to the Garfagnana area of Northern Tuscany. Since then we have lived and worked there for the past 3 decades building their knowledge and passion for Tuscany in particular the Garfagnana area. Andrew and Susan, now largely retired live in the beautiful village of Villa Collemandina in Garfagnana, in the vicinity of many of our houses.

Why choose Friends of Tuscany?

As a small family business, we pride ourselves on our relationships with our owners. We know each owner personally, and their properties individually, and regard them as our friends. Our friendly relationship with our owners means we negotiate the best deals for our clients. We listen to your needs and will help you choose the right villa for you based on your requirements.

Support throughout the booking process

We provide you with first hand knowledge during the booking process, and prior to your arrival you will receive a comprehensive personalised information sheet with everything you need to know about the house and area. This includes our favourite restaurants, cafes, shops, local swimming spots, activities and sites to see ensuring you can plan your holiday in advance. We can also give advice on travelling within Italy, help arrange airport transfers, pre-arrival shopping services and home cooked meals for your arrival.

We work closely with local outdoor adventure companies and other activity providers, and can help to arrange things such as cooking, painting and pottery classes, and outdoor adventures, such as canoeing, mountain biking, gorge walking and caving. We also offer all our returning guests a returners discount.

Friendly and trustworthy agency

Friends of Tuscany has been running since 1988.

We are members of ABTOI (Association of British Travel Organisers to Italy), The Federation of Small business’ and The Italian Chamber of Commerce. All credit card transactions are secured by Stripe.

We’re small and experienced

Friends of Tuscany is a family-run business that has been welcoming visitors to Tuscany for nearly forty years. We are passionate about what we do, and about using our know-how to provide you with the best possible experience.

Every one of our properties is selected and vetted by us personally: we know the area, we know the owners, and we can match you with the perfect villa that meets all of your requirements.

We’ll even let you know where the best restaurants are, and what to order.

We know the owners…

We consider the owners our friends and this is where our name Friends of Tuscany comes from. This close and long standing relationship means we can negotiate the best prices for our clients and ensures that the owners are on the same page as our agency in regards to standards.

Returners

We are proud of our high rate of returning customers, and offer all of our returning guests a discount, as a token of our gratitude.

Detailed knowledge of the areas

When you’ve booked with us we will help you organise anything you need through our contacts that we have made over the years. Whether it’s just asking the owner if they can get you some groceries, taxi numbers, finding you a cook, helping organise courses and tours, once you’ve booked through us we help you make you holiday a success.

Some further notes on how we work:

We have a variety of villas and apartments on offer and every one of our properties is hand-picked. We personally visit each villa and familiarise ourselves with each neighbourhood. We have something for everyone.

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Get in touch

If you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact us on +44 (0)131 538 1911 or email us from our contact page.

What did our guests say?

“Best trip ever”

It was so wonderful to be up in the hills of Tuscany and enjoying the outdoors. The house was so charming and historic We were able to walk up to an excellent restaurant in another historic building. As well, it was so close to Lucca and the train station. My husband has been all over the world and he said it was his best trip he’s ever taken! Thank you for the experience!

Sue Mahoney

“The house & location were heavenly”

Molly was very helpful with so much information about the locality and always available to answer questions. The house and location were heavenly, I cried having to leave!

Sonja

“We had a wonderful time”

We had a wonderful time at Villa Olivi! Relaxation with this view is guaranteed! Ample space for 2 families with 8 persons and clean, well-kept pool! Sitting comfortably outside in the evening and seeing deer, badgers and foxes walking over the hustle and bustle was just slowing down! The communication with Molly in advance was great and on site with the owner also completely uncomplicated! For us, it’s clear that this wasn’t the last visit to Tuscany!

Mathias

“Absolutely beautiful & peaceful”

The place was situated on top of a hill that overlooked the entire valley and up to Montalcino. It was absolutely beautiful and peaceful. The horses there were very calm and the dogs they had were very friendly. There were plenty of places to sit and relax, and we were able to use the outdoor cooking area. I would definitely recommend staying here if you’re looking to stay in a non touristy part of Tuscany and experience real Italy. Thank you so much for everything Molly!

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