Hello All,
I will be meeting friends in Florence this March 14th and will be exploring the city together once they arrive. However, i'm arriving a few days ahead of them and will have three days to myself. Since I want to save the major sites in Florence for us to explore as a group, I was thinking of doing some day trips from Florence.
Looking for suggestions on tour companies as well as day trips. I am very interested in cooking and wine tours as well as a hiking tour of Cinque Terre.
Open to all thoughts and suggestions!
Thanks in advance.
Posted by
Chicago
8688 posts
IMHO the must do day trip from Florence is Siena which is easily done by bus from the bus station next to Santa Maria Novella. You can pick up the bus at Porta Romana also but you might not get a seat. Siena is fabulous -- the Cathedral interior is jaw dropping and climbing the Torre Mangia with its view over the Campo a must.
https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2011/09/18/climbing-the-torre-mangia-at-67/
This is just a wonderful day trip. We have spent a couple days here several times and done the day trip a couple of times with various family; everyone loves is. We did a day trip from Montepulciano on my retirement trip.
you can also easily do Pisa and or Lucca from Florence. Lucca is particularly charming and makes a lovely day trip easily done by train as is Pisa. You could stop in Pisa for a quick look at the Field of Miracles and then get back on the train and head for Lucca for the afternoon.
Posted by
OP
Green Bay, Wi
18 posts
Thank you so much! I have been thinking about Sienna too....I have heard wonderful things about it! Thanks for the insight!
Posted by
66 posts
what do people think about the day bus tours that include Sienna, Pisa, San Gimignano, lunch. Is that preferable to taking the train to Sienna for the day ? Or do they cram too much into one day?
Posted by
California
1625 posts
Robbiek- We took the exact itinerary you described with a company called Walk About Florence and did their "Best of Tuscany tour" and we loved it! It was a long 12 hour day, but the bus was comfortable and air conditioned, lunch and the farm tour was fun and it turned out to be a highlight for us. It is just a taste of these places, but it was enough for us to determine where we would like to explore more on our own. OP- This company also does a day trip to Cinque Terre.
Posted by
Washington DC
28453 posts
March weather can be problematic for hiking the Cinque Terre. I would plan to do that on my own (you don't need a tour) so I could make a last-minute decision, based on the day's weather.
I'd consider the Volterra/San Gmignano combo tour since those are both small towns (Siena is often a full-day destination), and I don't think it would be easy to get to both via public tramsportation on the same day. (I haven't checked current bus schedules, however.) I confess that I have a serious philosophical problem with taking bus tours to places I could get to far more cheaply on my own. But many folks do not have that issue.