Thanks for traveling with David McGuffin’s Exploring Europe!

We just finished the Best of Ireland, August 2023. We had the pleasure of David as our guide. The tour was the perfect mix of planned activities and free time. Hotels were nice and transportation was comfortable. There were so many highlights along the way. Here are a few: the beauty of the Dingle peninsula (including Blasket Island Museum), the fascinating gardens at Blarney Castle and the poignant history at LongdonDerry/Derry & Belfast. And we won't forget the sheep. Sheep everywhere. In your free time in Dublin, consider visiting the Emigration Museum (EPIC) and the Little Museum of Dublin.

Jim and I recently returned from Ireland. It was a wonderful trip that we have wanted to take for a long time.

We experienced so many wonderful sites and took so many pictures that it’s hard to pick just a few. We saw beautiful churches and stonewalls that covered the countryside. We had delicious food and enjoyed the bakeries, along with lattes. There were flowers everywhere. And, of course, there were cows and sheep (lots of sheep!) dotted the countryside everywhere. We even visited the town of Bray!

We had a history lesson every day and learned so much about this beautiful country. Everything you’ve ever heard about Ireland’s shades of green are true.

I would also like to give 5 stars to David McGuffin, who guided this tour. Take some time to explore all that he has to offer,

Our trip was called Taste O’ Ireland in 8 days and it was wonderful.

Gone are the days of trying to plan a trip abroad on my own. David McGuffin's tour of Ireland was a God send and a fantastic experience. Our tour guide, Molly, was incredibly knowledgeable, timely and fun! The tour itself is structured expertly to get you the most out of every minute that you are there. After my visit I can say that David has done his homework MANY times over and truly has everything done quite well; from the places I stayed, the restaurants we ate at to the sights we saw. This trip allowed us the thrill of an adventure without the stress of having to know everything and plan it on our own! I'm confident in saying that there is no better way to tour Ireland!

I was a member of David McGuffin's Ireland tour in June 2023. I had a wonderful time! The hotels where we stayed were great and the food was wonderful. I loved the areas we toured, and our tour guides, John and Audra Dupuis, did a wonderful job giving us information about and a history of the areas we toured. The tour was so well organized and we had plenty of time to see the sights and plenty of free time. I had a wonderful time on our tour buses. The bus drivers were great at giving insights and the history of different areas we passed as we traveled through Ireland, and they were so funny!!! I would love to take another tour in Europe with David McGuffin and would highly recommend using his company, David McGiffin's Exploring Europe if you are thinking about traveling to Europe! His tours are the best and so well organized!

We were on David McGuffin's Exploring Europe "The Best of Ireland Tour" in May/June 2023. We highly recommend it. The tour went on without a hitch. David was entertaining and well-informed. All of the tour stops were special. The tour schedule was well-paced, and yet we did not feel rushed. Greatly appreciated was the free time built in, which allowed us to explore the towns, choose our own restaurants, and relax for a bit. Visiting the working-class neighborhoods of Belfast, where the battles between the Protestants and the Catholics raged in the past, was particularly impactful, as the tour guide lived in the neighborhood and experienced much of its violence. All in all, the tour ran the gamut from Ireland’s astounding beauty to its rich historical sites to its delightful and charming residents. This trip seemed smooth and effortless, but we know it required David’s careful attention to detail.

We just completed the Taste of Ireland tour. Every part of this trip was amazing. Our tour guides, Audra and John are very knowledgeable about the area. They navigated us around all the cities and towns, making everything so easy for us. We had structured and free time every day of the tour. It was a great mix of both. Every hotel we stayed at was great. The rooms were super clean, the beds extremely comfortable, and the hotel staff everywhere we went was excellent. I would recommend this tour without question. We are looking forward to booking the Italy tour in the future.

We did the Best of Italy tour in May 2023, our first David McGuffin tour. Ilaria was our Exploring Europe tour guide and she was wonderful. We were shocked to find out that we were the only ones on the tour (except for another couple in Rome) and very happy to see that David didn't cancel the tour because of that.

Ilaria was very easy to be with and extremely helpful - a wonderful guide. We even invited her to stay with us if she travels to this area.

We loved all the destinations (the tour covers a LOT of ground) but have decided that moving every other day to another place is a bit more than we prefer, especially as we traveled mainly by train although there were some private vehicle trips which were much easier. When David suggests packing light, listen to his advice. It was tough pulling myself and my luggage onto the trains each trip.

Hotels were a mixed bag. Usually located near a train station, but in some areas (Volterra, Lake Como, and Venice in particular), we had either a good 15-minute or longer walk to the hotel from the town. We stayed in Lido, not Venice, which added at least 30 minutes to our trip to get into and return to Venice, which was less than ideal.

Water pressure in some hotels left something to be desired, so shampooing was sometimes postponed as I wasn't certain I could rinse out the soap. Keep in mind that you will have food, entrance, and transportation fees in addition to what your tour costs. We were on our own for lunches and half the dinners (and all drinks are on you). Usually, we had a day to ourselves in each city, which allowed us to do and go where we wanted.

Without pinching pennies, we spent approximately $800 each in addition. Ilaria would often give us suggestions on places to eat and give guidance on how to get around when we were on our own..

The other guides in Rome, Volterra, and Siena were all wonderful, although at the beginning, it appeared the guides weren't well informed that tips were included, which made it somewhat uncomfortable for us at the end of each tour not being sure if the guide was aware.

This tour is great for people who are comfortable getting to and from the airport on their own, want to see a lot of places in 2 weeks, are physically able to maneuver their bags on and off trains and up and down stairs and enjoy the mix of group travel and time to do what you want.

Suggestion - remove some items from your bags; you don't need as much as you think.

My husband and I had the good fortune of meeting David McGuffin at the Washington DC Travel and Adventure Show and were impressed by his years of experience in leading small group tours. Equally fortunate, he was offering the 10-day Tuscan Villa experience on the exact dates we wanted to travel - we booked immediately and never had one regret! David has traveled so frequently to these areas that it’s like a second home to him. Even more importantly, he intimately knows the people who live there - the owners of the villa, restaurants, shops and the tour guides that he has done business with for years. The tour guide, Paola, who led us on a private tour of Michelangelo's masterpiece, David, at the Accademia and an impromptu tour of the Uffizi, knew her subject matter so well and yet made it understandable and relatable. Annie’s tour of Volterra brought the town’s history to life, and her husband Francesco’s wine tasting taught us how to select and appreciate wine in general, not just the one label you happen to be sampling.

The itinerary for the Villa experience is very well cultivated. The opportunity to spend multiple blocks of time in Volterra allowed us to get to know the city, explore the back streets, and eat a meal at leisure without feeling rushed to see everything at once. The day trips to Siena, Lucca, and Pisa were an excellent balance of history and time to explore - don’t miss biking the castle walls of Lucca or climbing the Leaning Tower of Pisa!

The stay at the Tuscan Villa at Marcampo is an idyllic setting, the room comfortable, the hostess/owner so gracious. Being able to come back to the same location makes the whole experience much more relaxed. Claudia’s cooking lesson was definitely a highlight - the hands-on experience not only taught the secret tips to making bread and pasta from scratch but had us each making our own bread and pasta dough, rolling out ravioli, collaborating on zucchini souffle, chocolate souffle, and sausage stuffed guinea fowl. The final result? Delizioso! And paired beautifully with the family’s Marcampo wines, which we also got to tour, taste and enjoy throughout our stay.

We were lucky enough to travel with David as our tour leader and enjoyed his easy-going manner and willingness to shift and add to the itinerary. Overall we heartily endorse David McGuffin’s Exploring Europe tours - an experience of a lifetime!

First-time traveler to Italy,(Amalfi Coast), and the tour did not disappoint!

Not being familiar with travel to Europe, we decided to travel with an experienced tour company, and David McGuffin's Exploring Europe was everything that we had hoped for. Everything on that tour, from the quality of the hotels, the comfortable transportation, the great food & wine, and the guided excursions, was everything that David said they would be.

The views were absolutely amazing! There was a nice balance between group tour activities and the individual time that you have to venture out and explore on your own.

Group dinners were filled with wine and laughter!

David's passion for travel and his sincere willingness to teach and encourage others to discover and experience new cultures and destinations is contagious.

Thank you, David, Charlotte, and all the wonderful people in our group, for making our trip a memorable one! We will definitely be exploring Europe again with David and his wife.

Val and I have traveled with David on six tours, maybe seven. We have sincerely enjoyed everyone and are delighted to be repeat customers. On this tour it was just Valerie, me, and David. We went to Barcelona two days early to get acclimated and I wanted to ensure ample time to visit La Sagrada de Famila cathedral, which is simply divine in every way. We also visited the Picasso museum which was a revelation to both my wife and I. It went from Picasso works as a teen throughout his life. With the exception of guenerica Sp…it housed numerous works which we thoroughly enjoyed. We actually followed up with a trip to the Picasso museum in Paris, which didn’t even come close.

With David, you eat well and sleep well. We stayed in nice places and had a lot of wonderful dining experiences. David loves to experience local flavor and some places off the beaten path. Some of my favorite spots were sunsets, having a cocktail, or more likely a bottle of wine on the rooftop terrace overlooking a castle or cathedral, just enchanting! We did the best of Spain tour, and Spain truly exceeded our expectations in every way. We stayed in a small mountain town on top of a hill overlooking a spectacular valley. An open-air rooftop cafe from our hotel started our day. Cookies from the hidden nuns was a new experience….lots of cathedrals and impressive Moorish castles with incredible architecture over a thousand years old.

I absolutely loved this tour and can’t imagine a better experience. We are repeat customers and love traveling with David and Charlotte. You can’t beat the small tours and personal attention.