Travelling to Europe for three weeks in October with two of the weeks in Italy and four of the days being in Florence. Planning on taking a day trip from Florence to Siena by train. Since I am planning and organizing the vacation myself, the prospect of doing one of the guided tours that include a winery light lunch and a stop in San Gimignano is tempting, in order to give myself a break and let someone else take care of everything. What are the downsides of this option?
Posted by
Rural Georgia
2201 posts
Would the guided tour include bus transportation? This Walks of Italy tour looks like it fits the bill. We've used WOI several times and have been very pleased.
I think this would be a great break for you.
Posted by
OP
4 posts
It would. This tour looks fantastic. Thank you for the recommendation!
Posted by
West Coast
209 posts
I'm a solo traveler and not comfortable driving (even a rental car in the US!) so I have frequently used tours like this to get to places I want to see for a half or full day excursion.
I research the itinerary and reviews (especially negative reviews- is the respondant's complaint something legitimate vs just grumbling) carefully. Some tours have shopping stops baked in. Some try to pack in too many stops, for time to do little more than take a photo. But I mostly avoid those that provide hotel pick up and drop off which take away valuable time from your already limited hours. Maybe one or two in a central location, tops.
I have appreciated the option of essentially a safe ride to the "there" and then back. However, more recently I have used options like Tours by Locals for places where having a more in-depth experience has personal meaning.
Posted by
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
4625 posts
The first guided tour I took was for the Colosseum/Forum in Rome and I booked it after tearing my hair out trying to figure out how to get tickets on my own. As it turns out it wasn't the convenience I appreciated the most it was guides helping me understand what I was seeing. I'm not sure if a wine tour will help with historical context, but it could still add something extra to the tour. Plus someone else will be driving while you're tasting.
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Thank you very much for all of your insight and advice. I appreciate it so much!
Posted by
Seattle, WA
407 posts
We spent a month in southern Italy in April. We have previously travelled independently for the most part, other than a guided bike tour in Croatia (2018) and a 2023 trip to France that involved two weeks of independent travel plus two weeks of “self guided” e-bike travel.
Our southern Italy trip was a bit of this and that. 11-day Rick Steves Sicily tour, 8-day self guided e-bike tour and the rest of 30 days on our own, though we did take a 1/2 day guided tour of Pompeii during our “on our own” travel in Campania. Our trip report describes each mode of travel, for what it’s worth to you in making your own decisions. Each mode of travel has its own benefits and drawbacks.
The guide at Pompeii was well worth it. He was efficient, knowledgeable and brought Pompeii alive. The type of guided tours you are describing, one day or so guided tours where they take care of logistics may be more efficient than what you can do independently. Is the cost worth it? We thought so for Pompeii, but it depends on your economic circumstances and feelings.
For our TR, See https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/southern-italy-30-days-three-ways-to-travel.
Buon Viagge.
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Wow, thank you! Look forward to reading the TR.