My wife and I would like to do a tour to Siena and San Gimignano and are looking for suggestions for tour companies. I know many on here believe that a full day in Siena is the way to go, but we would really like to see both spots and don't want to deal with the hassle of renting a car. Does anybody have any experience with one of these tours? Does anybody have any recommendations for the best companies? I've seen some tours from several different companies for around $75/person, which just seems very low to me. I'm a little worried about the quality of the tour at that price.
Posted by
New York
95 posts
I didn't do a tour to Siena and San Gimiginano but I did a cooking class with Walkabout Florence. We wanted to get to Siena but saved it for a future trip when we had more time to DIY and stay overnight.
The reason I mention Walkabout is because they run a trip to Siena and San G and are FABULOUS. I am not an organized tour person and prefer DIY, but sometimes you are limited for time and want to get in as much as possible. I have recommended them for other tours to friends and they have done this tour and the Chianti one. The guides are fabulous, it is well-organized, the bus is super comfortable and boy, do you eat! Take a look at them on FB and TripAdvisor. Their prices are competitive.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
753 posts
We used Walkabout Florence Tours for a wonderful day trip to Sienna, San Gimignano, lunch at a winery and then Pisa. it was terrific. I see on Trip advisor its called Tuscany in a Day. I highly recommend it. The guides were terrific, the meal was excellent and I thought we had enough time given all we saw. I have to say Pisa was a pleasant surprise- its beautiful and while touristy, it is fun and interesting. We had purchased the tickets to go up in the tower on our own - the tour gave us the estimated time- but they do offer the tickets. I would purchase them if you want to go
PS - Editing this because i just saw erodgregs post. LOL. Great minds typeing at the same time... both Nyers but we dont know one another.
Posted by
New York
95 posts
Leave it to two NY'ers to talk over each other!
Posted by
Collierville, TN
18 posts
Another vote for the Walkabout tour! We also did the Siena/winery/San Gimignano/Pisa tour. It was wonderful! Hassle-free way to see all those locations in one day! The guide was fun and very knowledgeable!
Posted by
OP
11 posts
Thanks guys, appreciate the responses. Walks of Italy does look good. However, what if we wanted to do Siena and San Gimignano on our own. Is it easy enough to get transportation to both Siena and San Gimignano and then back to Florence?
Posted by
Collierville, TN
18 posts
I know there are frequent and inexpensive trains to Siena from Florence. To get to San Gimignano from either Siena or Florence I think you would need to take a train and then transfer to a bus. There may be buses directly there from Florence. I'm not sure how frequent the buses are, we were there mid-afternoon and I recall the guide joking that if anyone missed the tour bus out they would be spending the night there!
Posted by
California
1625 posts
Another vote for the Walkabout tour. The "Best of Tuscany" is the one that does the Siena/Lunch at the winery/San Gimignano/Pisa. It was such a fun day! The bus was air conditioned and comfortable. I love planning all our travel and figuring it all out, but when I am on a 20 day trip it is nice, for just one day, to just show up and have someone else do all the logistics!
Posted by
OP
11 posts
Thanks again for all the responses. We're definitely going to book a tour. However, we are doing Pisa and Lucca on a different day, so don't want to back to Pisa. There is a tour with CAF tours, that would do just Siena, San Gimignanon and Chianti. Does anybody have any experience with this company?
Posted by
California
1625 posts
You can read reviews about this company on TripAdvisor. They are rated #102 and Walkabout is #1.