Private Tour to Cinque Terre from Florence

Our day in Cinque Terra was wonderful and very well organized. So well organized that we were set up to avoid large crowds on a very busy day. Had a wonderful lunch at an amazing table overlooking the ocean all prearranged for us. Nunzio was a professional, helpful and informative guide and highly recommend him. He even went so far as to prevent forecasted rains. ???? Superb experience.

This three-star rating is in no way a reflection on Nunzio, our driver for the day—he was excellent. The rating is based on the way the tour itself was presented. The website advertised it as a private tour, but in reality, the only private portion was the car ride. Once we arrived in Cinque Terre we had time to explore the charming village on our own. From there, we boarded the first ferry (tickets not included) to the next town, where we again explored independently. All in all the ferry provided great views at the additional expense. A restaurant was suggested, and while the views were absolutely beautiful, the meal itself did not stand out—there were many other options nearby that would have been a better fit. Another point to mention: for two travelers on a five-hour trip, it would have been more fitting to provide a comfortable luxury car. Instead, we were placed in a larger van designed to hold up to nine. In short, travelers should know that this experience is more of a private transfer rather than a guided, all-inclusive tour. For the price point (around $1,000), it’s important to understand you’re essentially paying for transportation and the freedom to explore on your own.

Overall the experience was fantastic and our driver, Nunizo was great! However, there are a few things to know that was not clear in the itinerary. (1) The town stops were different than specified (and this was actually a blessing); our stops were: Manarola, Vernazza where we had lunch, and Monterosso. Monterosoos was not on the initial itinerary but was actually all 8 of our parties (from the US) FAVORITE and everyone agreed we wished we HAD ONLY stopped at this town. (2) The private tour is not a "drop-off" off to each town... you must take either the train or the ferry to get to each location, which is actually nice, yet it takes a significant amount of time away from (about 30 mins between each) enjoying the towns. The ferry cost was $15 for the first and $10 euro for the second ferry. (3) The beach area and more relaxed/less busy but clean and more updated town was Monterosso (which was not on the tour itinerary). Sadly, when we arrived via the ferry we didn't have but 15 mins (not the 1.5 hrs that is stated) to enjoy the cute shops, etc. (4) The added stop to Pisa was well worth it rather than making it a separate day (not a lot to do at this location other than a very difficult to get cool photo opportunity). The driver was awesome to get us super CLOSE so we didn't need to walk a lot. OVERALL a fantastic tour ... but would RECOMMEND for anyone else doing a private tour to just do the town of MONTEROSSO ... if you want to add a ferry tour to see the charming towns from the water see which is easiest and only do two towns.