I neglected to pre-arrange a tour or tours from Siena for our trip. I d spent too much time concentrating on the "must dos" for our Rome segment last week (Gallerie Borghese, the Vatican, etc). I was concerned that, by not researching the many options here and booking ahead, we d come up short in Siena. So, for those who have put it off I can reassure you that excellent tours are available when you arrive at your hotel in Siena (where I am now, using the courtesy PC in the lobby (the very nice Pension Palazzo Ravizza in the Old Town neighborhood). We simply booked through our hotel front desk, the day before yesterday, yesterday s really rewarding 11-hour tour of San Gimignano, Montalcino and part of the large Chianti region. We used a service named MYTOUR SRL (www.mytours.it) and joined with three other couples (from Austrailia, Scotland and Ireland and our guide and driver Marco for a spendid day with wine tastings at a Chianti vineyard and a Brunello vineyard, a nice lasagna and cold cuts lunch complete with the Chianti wine tasting and lecture and the Brunello tasting at the owner s vineyard toward the end of the day. Marco (and the vineyard owners) were delightful hosts and teachers, especially Marco with his not transparent, but often humorous, loyalist version of the Siena-Florence 200-year war and continued rivalry. This tour was small and intimate enogh that we met and talked and shared tasyings and meals with everybody. The lesson to us. You needn t necessarily book in advance to have a great time touring from Siena.
Posted by
OP
Seattle
149 posts
I should add a PS: The cost was 100 Euros for each of us. The driver and air-conditioned Merc van picked us up and delivered us to our hotel. We figured, aside from the mental work and general wear and tear, that it would have cost us at least 200 Euros and probably two days to do all by local bus and research if we d chosen to reach all those places with those specific experiences on our own. And our six tour companions were an enjoyable group (sometimes you just want to hear any kind of English for just a few hours halfway through an Italian trip.
Posted by
Edmond, Oklahoma, U.X.A.
8 posts
Good news to hear! We're leaving for Italy tomorrow and we have not booked any wine tours yet. Yours (through www.mytours.it) sounds wonderful, but I couldn't find the specific tour on their website that you went on. Could you give me more information? This sounds perfect for my husband and I. We are not staying at a hotel - we are staying at a B & B and it does not have a "manned" front desk throughout the day. So, we might want to go ahead and book this tour. Thank you very much!