Tuscany in a day / tour companies.

You may want to change the title on this thread to "Tour Companies in Florence" or something like that. You will probably get more information. I've been to Florence many times and just did "day trips" on my own via a bus, so can't help, but I know someone else will have more detailed info.

There are many companies in Florence as well as Siena that do tours out to the countryside. Here are a few from Rick's Italy guidebook:

Alessandra Marchetti, a Florentine who has lived in the US, gives private walking tours of Florence and driving tours of Tuscany (€60-75/hour, mobile 347-386-9839, [email protected]).

Paola Migliorini and her partners offer museum tours, city walking tours, private cooking classes, wine tours, and Tuscan excursions by van--you can tailor tours as you like (€60/hour without car, €70/hour in an 8-seat van, tel. 055-472-448, mobile 347-657-2611, www.florencetour.com, [email protected]); they also do private tours from the cruise-ship port of Livorno.

Roberto Bechi, a great guide based in Siena, can come pick you up in Florence for off-the-beaten-path tours of the Tuscan countryside.

I would just take the train to the cities you want to see. It will be much less expensive and you can visit at your own pace. All three cities you mention are very easy to get to by train and are great day trips. I don't think I would try to see all three but you can certainly see San Gimignano and Pisa on the same day. You might want to devote at least 2 days to Sienna as it's very big with lots to see and explore. You can probably arrange for a guide to meet you in each city and not need to pay the expense of someone traveling with you.

Donna

I just went with WalkAbout Florence. They were excellent.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I have the RS Italy book and will look for the tour guides he has listed there and see if we can work something out. Thanks again!!

We're retired, not world travelers and not what some would call "adventuresome". We've been to Europe a number of times and took only one tour (to the D-day beaches--which we regretted--it's a long story, but the bottom line is we'd not do a tour again). I agree with Donna. Since you know where you want to go, (and the places you mention are not great distances apart). I'd forget about a "tour" and just get some train tickets and head out. Go on line to get a feel for when trains run, do some reading--book and/or on line, and have a basic (but only a basic) plan for the day. You'll be in control of your own schedule, save money, and experience doing exactly what you want to do. If you want to make a longer day of it, you can head out early, and return as late as the trains run. An added benefit is: You'll probably meet some interesting people on the trains.