We are staying 3 full days in Florence and we would like to do a wine tour.. we are confused what we should do..
1- Rent a car and visit as many wineries as possible in one day. Taking our time and enjoying the scenery
2- Book one of the online tours
3.- Wait until we get there in 2 weeks and book a tour once we are there..
Any recommendations?
It really depends on what you want to spend. We did a "big bus" tour, where we spent an afternoon on a bus, did 2 wineries, stopped in 2 small towns, and spent E50/person. We could have spend E150/person for a more personal tour with a better lunch. Would I recommend the "big bus" tour? It was probably worth the money, but I wanted to do the more expensive tour and was not able to find one.
Doing a wine tour in Italy is not as simple or as easy as CA. First, almost all, certainly the better ones, require an advance reservation. Second, some of the average wineries are set up for the bus tours -- big parking lots, wide road leading to the winery, etc. Some of the smaller and more interesting wineries will be accessible via car only. The bus tour will give a decent over view of a couple of wineries. A private car and driver would work better. You should check with the TI on the square (plazza) for wine tours.
We spent five days in and around Florence visit three wineries a day. One thing we did that was great but very expensive was lunch at a couple of the wineries. Many wineries will offer a multi-course lunch paired with their wines. There is really nothing more elegant than sitting on a patio overlooks the vineyard having a five course, nearly two hours lunch with matched wines. Close to heaven and it wasn't W Virginia.
We used Tuscan Trails in 2014, and highly recommend them - they still get great online reviews.
The Tuscan Trails sounds great!
Did you all book in advance or when you got there? Is TI , tourist information?. Can you book a tour when we get there, or should I do in advance?
I have been in Italy 20 years ago and I am so excited to get back there.
Thanks!
Another vote for Tuscan Trails! We toured with Todd in March 2023 and loved it. I contacted him via email in early January for the mid March tour. Communication was smooth. We did the private Montalcino tour with 7 of us, ages 16-81. The wine we bought just arrived yesterday & Todd handled the shipping for us.
