My husband and I will be visiting Italy in late September and spending four days in Tuscany. We are interested in private driver for this part of our trip for the ease and relaxation; not interested in rental car. We are fortunate to have booked with Luca for Hill and Roads based on a number of recommendations in this forum for three of our four days but unfortunately he is unavailable for the fourth. Do you have any recommendations for a driver you have used in Tuscany in the past and loved? For this day we would be looking for full-day transfer from Florence to Montepulciano with stops along the way - maybe Greve in Chianti, lunch, Siena, etc. Also, for lunch we were considering Dario Cecchini's restaurant in Panzano however are a little skeptical based on recent reviews. Has anyone eaten there recently? Has it become a tourist trap based on the TV series or still worth a visit? Thank you for any and all help!
Posted by
51 posts
I ate at Dario's a few weeks ago and it was the highlight of my two weeks in Italy. The restaurant is beautiful, the view is great and the food is delicious and a bargain when you consider how much they give you. There are three different pricing levels and we did the 40 Euro menu. I went for the free wine and bread at the butcher store first which was fun too. We also bought meat from the store the day before which we cooked at our villa which was really good.
Dario comes around to say hi and take pictures. We also chatted with others at our table.
Posted by
Sunriver
1321 posts
Wow we ate at Dario's in May .... we could not recommend it ... we were seated downstairs (we had reservations) it was cafeteria like and the services was less then stellar... well I'd say the waitstaff did not engage at all just dropping off the plates with little acknowledgement. We were a group of 5 and our Italian friend even tried to engage them and got nothing. We were very disappointed. We mentioned to Roberto ( of ToursbyRoberto and Rick Steves fame) and he told us he would not recommend it to anyone. ToursbyRoberto was great .. we spent the day with him well worth the $$.
Posted by
28 posts
We used Filippo Fattori's Tuscany Car Tours (email: [email protected]) in May. Driver was great: prompt, knowledgeable and accommodating. We went to wineries in Montepulciano and Montalcino, where we had scheduled visits.
Posted by
39 posts
We used "All Around Tuscany" for a lovely day through the Val d'Orcia and Pienza. Lorenzo was a wonderful guide- full of knowledge and humor. He designed a memorable day with a visit to a cheese farm, wine tasting, and lunch in the small cute village of Monticchiello.
Posted by
OP
18 posts
Thank you all.
@caron2580 we were able to book with Filippo for the day and have decided to opt for his recommendation of a wine-pairing luncheon instead of Dario Cecchini's restaurant.