Tuscany Day Trip from Florence- not sold on Siena or Lucca

I’ve had two trips where I’ve spent time in Lucca.
The first was for two weeks, the first of which I was taking daily Italian lessons.
The second trip was for 4 days.
I would happily go back again and stay for a month!
It’s not all churches and piazzas.
The wall around Lucca is lovely, for walking or biking or just sitting.
Certain days there a street market going for a long way around the streets, and there is a small botanical garden.
There is music everywhere, and some great cafes and restaurants.
I wouldn’t dismiss it before you try it!

I would consider doing this Walks of Italy Tour. Siena and San Gimigano are closer than Lucca and Montepulciano.

Were you looking at the Tours by Roberto? I found his Heart of Tuscany and Chianti tours. We haven't taken one of his tours, but we've used Walks of Italy before in Florence and Rome and were pleased. From your description, the Heart of Tuscany might suit you better.

We travel independently and rented a car and stayed at an agriturismo. We did a day trip to Siena and another day trip to San Gimignano and Volterra. While Siena is well worth a visit, it doesn't have the country charm that I associate with Tuscany.

We did a tour to San Gimignano and Volterra from Florence. Lots of great Tuscan scenery. It did have tastings included but you might be able to have a more personalized trip just by asking. We signed up through getyourguide.com (yes, a third party reseller!), but the tour is done by Tuscany4Explore. It is a bit expensive, but so worth getting to Volterra, which we liked much more than San Gimignano. Volterra is next to impossible to get to without a car or private transportation.
A very good, plentiful lunch is included. The meeting point at the Biblioteca is easy to find. The tour is limited to 4 total I think. Luciana uses her own vehicle. She is very knowledgeable about both cities and the surrounding area and is willing to stop anywhere you want while riding through the countryside. She asked any number of times also, what we wanted to see, hear about, etc. I haven’t checked to see if the tour is still available.

It is still available.

If there's a tour to Val d'Orcia, and you're not going to rent a car, you need to take the tour.

Not renting a car reduces your possibilities, so in a way the two hours spent on the wine tasting are the price you pay for getting her to the scenery she wants to see.

And oh, the scenery in the Val d'Orcia is what she wants to see — it is definitely that classic Tuscany of one's dreams.

Anyway, my guess is that really only an hour of the wine tasting will be “wasted” to you — as part of it will probably be out in the vineyard, among the vines, admiring the scenery. And if you think of the tour as a scientific and Italian cultural lesson, it's less about the alcohol.

I urge you to go on the tour to Val d'Orcia. visits to Siena and/or Luca aren't going to fulfill her desire.

Lucca is a flat town on a flat plain. Pretty medieval city (not a small village) but not on a hill.
Siena is on a hill. It is also a city, not a small village.
The Val D’Orcia is super far from Florence and would be the last place I would consider without a car.
If you are interested in rolling hills with winding roads lined with cypress trees, you don’t need to go all the way there to see them. There is plenty of that in the hills surrounding Florence in the surrounding municipalities of Bagno a Ripoli or Impruneta, or Fiesole or even closer. From my parents’ condo (near viale Europa in Florence) I could see nothing but hills and cypress trees.
If you are not interested in going all the way to Siena, because you are interested in more rural settings, I would consider a bus to the Chianti hills, for example to Greve in Chianti via the Chiantigiana road or via Ferrone. It is also possible to go all the way to Siena through the Chianti Road. Just be aware that the road is winding (and with plenty of cypresses and also vineyards) therefore if you suffer from car sickness, it may not be a very pleasant journey. Some info on how to reach the Chianti's below. Greve is about one hour by bus from Florence.
https://www.greve-in-chianti.com/getting-to-greve/getting-to-greve-eng.htm

Another possibility is to visit San Gimignano, probably the most popular hill town in Tuscany. It’s about half way between Florence and Siena. You can reach it by bus (bus change in Poggibonsi) or train plus bus (train to Poggibonsi then bus. The train option takes a few minutes longer, but not much of a difference.

If you still opt for Montepulciano, which is popular because of Rick Steves, but not necessarily because it is the best Tuscan town to visit, I would do so only with a rental car or a private tour because of the distance.

AS far as Tuscany4Explore, it looks like the lunch may have been changed. She does have her own website.

Does it have to be a day trip? If you could stay even one night, it gives you much more of the feel of Tuscany. I like both Siena and Lucca. We stayed in both this October. I'd say that Siena has more of the views, and perhaps just by luck we had spectacular meals. But I think it would have felt rushed as a day trip. It is a biggish town and a fair walk in from the train station.

Lucca has the fabulous walls. You can rent bikes and take a ride around the whole town and see some lovely views. But I"m not sure that it is as typically the Tuscan feel you are looking for.

Consider Cortona. About 90 minutes by train from Florence (you'll arrive in Camucia-Cortona and take a bus up to Cortona). It has tons of look outs into surrounding valley (with a peek at Lago Trasimeno). Two beautiful museums, shops, and a wide-variety of restaurants.

Using Siena as a base, there do seem to be day tours that get you the scenery you want. This one, for example, has cheese tasting instead of only wine-tasting: https://www.getyourguide.com/siena-l435/from-siena-pienza-and-montepulciano-small-group-tour-t47141/

I googled on "day trips from Siena without a car."

We too are looking for a day trip from Florence to Chianti region. Some of the ones mentioned above don't seem to be available in March (tours by Roberto) but the Tuscany 4 explore did have them. I've also been researching some by https://www.kmzerotours.com/ I don't have first hand experience, but heard about them through an interview on a podcast. I emailed directly (the website describes several day trip options but doesn't list prices) and got a very nice reply with 3 possible options for the 3rd week in March. (specifically March 20,21, not sure if it matters). At first I thought it was a bit pricey (170-190euro/person includes pickup, transportation, all food, tastings, everything) but comparing to others maybe it's not so bad. You might check it out as it seems like a very nice splurge for a special experience, especially the part about joining a farming family for lunch and getting to know them.
I'd love to hear if anyone has been on any of the KM zero tours.

Hi everyone!

Thank you so much for the feedback so far. To clarify a couple things, we are staying in Florence so any trip needs to start from there, and our hotel is already booked and paid for so it does need to be a day trip. Even if it wasn't locked in, we wouldn't want an additional hotel change on such a short trip.

I did reach out to Tours by Roberto for some more details about that tour- thank you so much for that suggestion! It does sound exactly like what we are looking for but there isn't many details online so we'll have to see.

Some of this info has been super helpful though. It has pretty much confirmed that while Siena and Lucca are wonderful for other reasons, they are likely not the right fit for our goals this trip.

To those advising of how long a trip it is to the Val d'orcia region, I do appreciate the warning. We go into these types of things with realistic expectations; there will be lots of bus time and not a ton of time in each spot. We are ok with that this time around though! In my head, I'm comparing this to a day trip we took in the fall from Galway. We went to the Burren, the Cliffs of Moher and the Aran Islands in one day and it was phenomenal!! Everyone told us not to do it, but it just felt "right" and it ended up being perfect. We may not ever get back to the Aran Islands and I may never get my Mom back to Tuscany so I have to at least try to give her the experience she's envisioning with the time and funds we have available.

Thank you all so much for all the feedback so far

PQ

After many trips to Tuscany and Umbria, Siena is still one of my favorites. You are wrong about Siena!! I enjoyed Lucca but it is on the far west side of Tuscany do not as good for day trips. We enjoyed staying inside Lucca’s walls for four nights.
You must realize that by doing day trips from Florence you are not going to fulfill your mother’s It sounds like a misguided fantasy! Why not stay in a walkable town like Radda or Panzano? We prefer the green in the Chianti towns vs the towns of Montalcino, Pienza etc which are set in a yellow landscape.
How long is your trip? What is the itinerary?
If this Tuscan village part is her dream, why aren’t you staying in one? We have never stayed in Tuscany or Umbria without renting a car the whole time.

Suki,

While I appreciate your feedback, however, all hotels are already booked and paid for, so changes to the larger itinerary are not possible at this point.

Respectfully, I know my mother best, and I can assure you her "fantasy" is not misguided in any way. Seeing the scenery of Tuscany is not her only dream of course. I could be wrong, as of course interpretation is difficult over text, but it feels like you are suggesting that I am not doing everything I can to give my Mom her wish, and frankly, that hurts a bit. If you knew us, you would see that the opposite is true.

She's had a dream of going to Italy for her 60th birthday for 8-10 years now. Because of life circumstances, up until January, we didn't have anything booked because we weren't sure we could make it happen. I am thrilled that I'm able to make it happen for her. We have 11 nights - 1 in Milan, 4 in Venice, 4 in Florence and 2 in Bologna. Another hotel change would make the trip more stressful, which is not what we want. We have reasons for picking these cities, and each contributes to the dream in its own way. She is a multifaceted woman with equally multifaceted dreams, this question was solely aimed at solving but one of them.

We realize that our preferred trip might not be what everyone else would do, but we're not everyone else! We're "us" and I'm just trying to make both of our dreams come true while working within the constraints that life allows right now.

Thank you

PQ

Sienna and Montepulciano should fit the bill nicely. Sienna is a bit busier now than when I first visited 30 years ago, but it is still once of my favorite places to take someone new to Italy.
Both can be day trips from Florence. Buses run from directly adjacent to the train station.

I would add a day trip to Orvieto. Take the train, spend the day. The train ride will let you see some countryside and Orvieto has enough to offer for a memorable day.

I think you are on the right track. Lucca is a lovely place to stay, but as you surmised, it is not what you are looking for. Siena is also great and a little closer, but it’s still not it.

I think you should definitely look for a small bus or van tour that travels around the countryside with stops at a few villages. As you noticed, a lot of them involve wineries. But not all. You have gotten a couple of suggestions that sound promising. I’ll bet you can find one that works for you. Don’t be dissuaded from your goal.

We were in Provence last spring and faced the same situation as you. I found a 12-hour van tour that took us all over the countryside with stops in many of the places I most wanted to see. I was a bit worried it would be too long, and it was for my husband. But I adored it. Was it as good as spending a week in Provence with a car or a personal chauffeur? Of course not. But I got a nice taste of Provence and enjoyed every minute.

I wish you luck finding the right tour and I hope you have a wonderful trip with your mother.

PQ, Check out Tours by Roberto, specifically his Heart of Tuscany tour. I think it may be just what you and your mom are looking for. I took his Clay Hills tour several years ago and it was terrific. You may have to meet in Siena, but he will happily work with you. Here is a link: https://www.toursbyroberto.com/. Have a wonderful trip!

I just heard back from Tours by Roberto and unfortunately it is out of our price range. They said that nobody has currently signed up for the joinable tour on our date so we'd need to be prepared to pay the private rate. At 440 euro plus 70 euro for lunch, that's too rich for us especiallywith the conversion to CAD, although it does look wonderful!

We have gone ahead and booked the 11.5 hour tour with Ciao Florence just to ensure we have something booked. It is completely refundable until 48hrs before so we still have some flexibility in case we find something even better.

We have gone ahead and booked the 11.5 hour tour with Ciao Florence

Assuming it is this tour
https://www.ciaoflorence.it/en/tour-detail/112

That does check all your boxes- doesn't seem overpriced either!
Hope you can make it work

Christine,

Yes!! That is the tour we've booked. I'm hopeful it will give us the experience we're wishing for.

PQ

It sounds like you may have your plan. We are still considering zerokm tours, they've offered 3 options for the days we are interested (20 or 21 March). Based on pricing you quoted for Tours by Roberto, I'm feeling a little better (170-190euro/person for 2 people, they will run the trip for 2 people, if others sign up, max of 6-7 people, they will discount the rate). My only concern is this would not be cancelable/refundable, although if there was a COVID related government restriction they would offer vouchers. I'm just weighing all options before committing, but I think we will do it. It's a big splurge but hopefully unforgettable experience. I'll try to post an update/review if we get to go.

Best of luck on your adventure.

I think if it checks all your boxes you should go for it! This trip has several splurges for us so we wanted to keep this one in our financial comfort zone. We think we'll be getting quite alot for the 80 euros each so this one feels right for us.

Our "big" splurge is our full day food tour in Bologna with Italian Days. These sorts of experiences are why we choose to go the budget route with flights and accommodations though.

Enjoy your trip!!

PQ

Same here! I share your philosophy. Our trip will include Florence, Venice, Rome, all modest (well reviewed) accommodations, mostly cheap train travel, and the requisite museum tickets. I think this will be our only tour, so yes time to splurge. Our other 'splurge' will likely be taxis from Termini to Rome hotel and from Rome hotel to FCO for return flight - I'll be sick of dragging my luggage, no matter how light I try to pack!
Buon Viaggio!

hey hey PQ
even though you did book something. couple other sites you may look at:
comeandseeitaly.com
click from florence and places/things to do comes up
fill in form and send the enquiry. we had something planned couple years ago and you know what happened there.
airbnb.com/ experiences
start your search, florence, "magical tuscan experience"
sightseeingtoursitaly.com
scroll down to florence. then tuscany
many tours do include wine tasting/touring winery and learning how to make it. i didn't really want that, just tasting and cruising the countrysides, but it seems lots of there tours get kickbacks going to certain places and they follow the routine.
tasteatlas.com/ bomboloni
deep fried donut found in a few pasticcerias, scroll down and find where to sit and enjoy a sweet
educatedtraveller.com/ wine windows of florence
learn the history and stories about these windows. we saw them but weren't opened, people remodeled them and opened up as little cafes/shops.
marketsofrome.com
many of them and just fun to walk thru. heard testaccio is up and coming neighborhood. walk around and taste. there is also a market place at termini train station. we like walking in small shops, looking for spices/packets of goodies/small picture from local artist for a memory, sitting down and just people watch with a drink, watch the world go by
we did this in the big market in florence, so much to see
hope all works out, wish my mom was still around, would love to do this even though short time, enjoy it
aloha

PQ, Glad you found a tour that meets your needs. I am sure you both will love it. Buon Viaggio.