Tuscany Countryside including Wine Tasting & Lunch - Private Day Trip from Rome

I know this is a long review, but please read through it. I provided this feedback directly to Rome First Choice and was told that they were clear they were sending a driver not a guide. Not sure I agree. Let me start by saying the winery was wonderful!! Definitely a highlight of this tour. We knew from the write-up that the wine tasting was an extra 35 € per person. What we did not know was that lunch was provided at the winery and was an extra 15 € per person. We found that out as we were leaving the winery and presented with a bill. This was not made clear in the description so when we were given the food pairing for the wine we were tasting, we thought the food was all part of the tasting process. Turns out it was an extra 15 € per person. We would have paid it either way but it was not expected by any of us. Additionally, we had a member of our group with a food allergy. Luckily, the winery was able to accommodate her. I also have food allergies which fortunately did not come into play at the winery. It would have been good to know this prior to booking. We pointed this out to Rome First Choice when we returned and was told that it was good that they were able to accommodate my friend with the food allergy. Again, we were well aware that the wine tasting was 35 € per person but he put the blame on the winery for the other 15 € per person and said they probably didn’t tell us because most people stay for lunch. I do think everyone should be well informed in advance. Our driver/guide was very professional, pleasant, and courteous. The vehicle was not comfortable for 8 people. At 5” tall, I sat in the middle front seat and was crammed for the entire 3 hours each way. As pleasant and courteous as our driver/guide was, my group of 8 all felt there was definitely a language barrier. The description said we would have an English-speaking tour guide. We thought that the 3-hour tour would provide us with some historical / general info along the way. As an aside, even if the driver/guide was able to do that, he had no microphone so all could hear. Not being able to speak English, he pointed to things but we didn’t know what we were looking at. We tried asking questions, but he didn’t really understand what we were asking and we didn’t understand the Italian. We made a stop at a gas station market for “coffee” which we did not ask for. The write up says we would get free water and wifi but we got neither. The write-up also says “… the driver will start introducing you to your first stop….” We didn’t get any information about any of our stops so when we got to Siena and we got to the town of San Gimignano we really had no idea what we should see. So we basically just walked up and down a couple of the streets. We had wanted to go straight back to the hotel after the winery, but our driver/guide said one word: “historical” That was about it. We didn’t know what we should look for. As the write-up indicates, since it was a private tour we could be flexible with our itinerary but, although we thought about doing that, we didn’t because of the language barrier. So the bottom line is that the Winery tour was great, but it was basically a taxi ride with two town stops – Siena and San Gimignano. Do your homework first on these two locations to determine what you definitely need to see.

My wife and I had a great time visiting Siena and San Gimignano. Luca, our local tour guide gave us a tour of Siena. he’s very knowledgeable, professional and familiar with the area. he lives in Siena. The wine tasting was a lovely experience! We were brought to a family owned winery where we had lunch and tasted delicious home made Italian dishes paired with 8 different wines. The view along the way was breathtaking. I highly recommend this day tour if you want to see a glimpse of the Tuscan region. Our driver Bruno was very nice and professional.

We were totally blown away! The Tuscany Countryside Day Trip was a mix of history with the most beautiful views I’ve seen of Italy so far. Our driver Bruno was very nice and professional. The tour was peaceful and we made several stops to enjoy the views and take pictures, the wine tasting being the “cherry on top.” I’d recommend this tour to anyone looking to explore Tuscany for a day!