From Florence: San Gimignano, Wine Tasting & Cooking Class

Five days prior it was canceled & we we’re put with a large group tour on a bus instead of the small group van tour. It included an additional stop at Pisa, which made it a very, very long day. The winery, Siena and SanGigmamo were lovely, but very short due to Piss which we did not book originally. Would have loved to enjoy the day as we planned, but unfortunately, our tour got canceled.

Perfect way to see Pisa from Florence. Siena cathedral was impressive, San Gimignano was beautiful and the surprise highlight! Marta, our guide, was lovely, caring, and very informative, and Andreas, our driver, drove safely and got us everywhere on time... Thank you to both of you!

I called the customer service when I got to the meeting point and no one was there, and they said it was cancelled so wasn't able to go :(

First when we arrived in Siena and went to the church Lyla, our tour guide said instructions but didn’t say what the people in our group called the orange group have to meet up at or when to so 10 people including my family got left in a foreign city. Everyone had to pay for a taxi ride to the place we were supposed to go to eat at. When we told Lyla that she didn’t tell us when or where to meet she said that 2 families did get here from our group and that she did say that information but later one person from our group asked the families how they knew when and were to meet and both families said that they saw the green group leave so they just went with them because they also didn’t know, so she lied to us! Later 1 person was running late and she waited 10 minutes for them but for our group she only waited 5 minutes. So she was more worried about 1 person but not as much for a quarter of her group and she counted to make sure everyone was on the bus which is good but why not with us? The end result was no one got refunded for the taxi ride and we missed the first course for the place we went to eat at but now Lyla the tour guide is a family joke getting the nick name “lying Lyla”. This will be remembered for many years.

This tour was incredible! We had an amazing time in each city, and the winery was also fun and just a great experience. Marta and Ricardo were the best too. She explained the history of the area and gave us great suggestions for each town, and Ricardo got us to each destination safely. This was the best day of our Italy trip, and you should definitely book it!

The visits to the medieval towns- were great. Too short a time in San Gimi though. We needed mush more time. The 20 euro charge at the winery for a bowl of pasta was too expensive. The lunch should have included more or cost much less. Felt mislead when booking lunch with the guide

Enjoyed the Siena and San G from Florence transport. Would definitely do it again. However we paid extra for a Siena walking tour that was not even offered for our bus nor was it reimbursed. Those who had lunch at the winery were disappointed in the lunch. We had great gelato at San G instead.

The tour started on time and the instructions to the meeting point were well explained. The townsites we visited are absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately, the wine tour and lunch (additional cost) was extremely disappointing. We were in the middle of beautiful Tuscany behind a rundown building full of garbage, on a dirt road with dried up grape vines. It felt like nothing but a marketing session to push the sale of the overpriced wine. The 20 euro lunch consisted of about .50 worth of pasta and lettuce. Extremely disappointing. The “expert guides” that led the tour did not provide any information about the areas other than where to buy ice cream or chocolates - nothing about the vast amount of info they could have shared about this beautiful region. The countryside is beautiful and worth visiting, but the tour itself was very disappointing.

Was overall a great day! Marco was very personable and informative. Would highly recommend. Perfect day

Amazing tour! Lots of time in each place, and the tour guide Emma was so enthusiastic, knowledgeable and energetic that it was extra enjoyable!

Marco was a horrible tour guide, he didn’t speak the whole time and gave me a second yellow card when I jumped up to head butt the pope

Trip was great and we especially enjoyed our guide Lila. All of the towns are beautiful and the winery did an excellent job of presenting their products.

Free time to enjoy in Siena and San Gimignano. The guide Erica was friendly and shred lots of relevant information.

Marta the tour guide was extremely well versed in her knowledge of the tour. She was very personable and nothing was too much trouble for her The countryside was absolutely stunning. The wine tasting was a lot of fun, the balsamic vinegar had an incredible taste. San Gimignano was breathtaking All in all a fabulous tour. Was sad for it to end.

Bad explanation in the description on meeting time vs departure time. Most of these tours write explicitly instructions and this one never said meet up time and departure time was the same. We left early from our hotel and accounted for some traffic but ran over by 10 mins. We called and informed the tour group we’ll be late. They said the bus departs at the meet up time and only waiting 5 mins. We got there and they claim to have waited for us but when we arrived at the location it wasn’t clear what to find the bus so we ended up missing it. We contacted Viator and if they suggested for us to meet at San Gimignano we would have by train and continued on but unfortunately they claimed their description says to arrive 20 mins earlier (which it does not)

This was a small group tour. I would recommend to purchase tickets for Siena sites ahead of time so that you save time and not stand in cues. The wine tasting and lunch at Poggio ai Laghi in Monterioggioni was so much fun and the views at San Gimignano were spectacular.

Marco was a wonderful guide for the day in these 3 towns in Tuscanny, we enjoyed it very much! He showed us were to find the most important sighrs in each city, gave us some insider tips on where to eat or drink or enjoy sweet delights. Great tasting of wine, olive oil, aceto balsamico. Nice group size of just 15, new friends were made by the end of the day!

This was an incredible experience for my husband and me. Marco was very nice, knowledgeable, upbeat, fun and friendly. What’s great about it is you visit these different areas and you are on your own for a good amount of time (1-2 hours) which is REALLY nice to just explore. Things to keep in mind: Be on time, it’s a LONG day (that is very clear given the duration stated on the tour when booking it), must wear your most comfortable shoes, be prepared to walk on very steep areas to fully explore the city given the allotted time, be cognizant of weather/climate since it will vary from city to city (we came in spring, the morning was very cold but in the afternoon it was very warm) and lastly, if you are prone to getting car sick, pack your meclizine! The driver was great, but roads were very windy. Would I do it again? Absolutely!!! We were prepared and ready for this wonderful experience!!!

Our tour guide Marco was a very friendly person, informative as well and always willing to help and gives recommendations. One of the best things that I would like to mention is for every place you go you have the time to discover it freely on your own pace there is always enough time. Great tour I loved it and I totaly recommend it !

Wine tasting. Visiting Tuscan cities. Enjoyed it all Very good tour guide. Would do it again. Very good tour for money.

Great tour. Long but worth it. Very efficient and comfy buses. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about the locations

It’s a long day but excellent experience!! Beautiful cities and well distributed time. The guide and bus driver were the best!!

Our guides were tentative & excellent. The bus accommodations comfortable. Great tour. Our package included lunch & I do not recommend that. The food was fine along w/location however the service was below average. Finally we left without paying for our one glass of wine because no one came to our table, they brought the wrong wine & regardless of being told we wanted a different o wine from our first (included) glass. Two different waiters were not concerned w/ good service, we were ignored. We attempted to have other staff attend to us but w/ no response. We finally left because we were going to miss our bus. I feel time was wasted at that restaurant. Via toe has a good reputation, if you want to continue that reputation I suggest seriously talking w/ that restaurant. Other than this, we enjoyed our day. Thank you.

The wine tour wasn’t great with 3 wine tastings and the snack was a small cube of stale bread dipped in olive oil. Siena and San Gimignano are great and the tour guide in Siena was lovely and knowledgeable. My description said we get a picnic lunch but the tour operator said they’ve never offered this so some disconnect between viator and go Italy. I raised it with viator and was told we didn’t book the picnic lunch yet in my full description of activities it states the lunch. Everything else on the activity schedule was provided aside from that. Be prepared to hear everything on the bus repeated in 4 languages.

I highly recommend this full day, especially with our two wonderful guides Marco and Julia. They were lots of fun, patient and super knowledgeable. You could tell they are genuinely proud of these locations. The pace was perfect and it didn't feel rush at all but be ready to walk up and down a lot (blame it on the Etruscans, like Marco explained to us). Keep in mind that getting to the pickup place does involve using public transportation. Very clear instructions though. Highly recommended tour! Angela and David

The value is amazing. You get a lot of time in the cities and the wine tasting was great along with Marco!

This tour was fabulous and beautiful. Marco, our tour guide was very informative, hilarious and kind. He even guided us on our Tram ride back to Florence. Highly recommend!

Great trip! Staff was very helpful and kind and knowledgeable. Wine tasting was the only slightly disappointing part - same glass provided for 3 different wines. Countryside was stunning and we loved Sienna ( would have liked another hour there ) and San Gimignano ( another hour as well ). Be prepared for a lot of walking and a loooong day but well worth it all.

Siena is a fascinating contrast to Florence. We were so lucky to see all of the amazing floor in the cathedral, as it is usually partially covered. The piazza must be such a sight when the horses are racing around it. We enjoyed a better wine selection with the simple tuscan fare than at either of the wineries I visited later in the week, and the view was stunning. San Gimignano is a beautiful, tower-topped town, and I wish we could have spent longer there. I wasn't aware of it's reputation for contemporary art and was blown away by the little I had time to see. In fact, I would have happily stayed there and not ticked the "I've seen the leaning tower of Pisa" box.

Wonderful day. Siena tour guide was pleasant. I would suggest skipping the pre fixed lunch, food was just ok and took too much time from the visit. Also Lorenzo winery was beautiful with stunning views but the tasting was just ok.

Some other reviews mentioned there was a lot of walking, but I didnt think it was too bad - it isnt always possible to be dropped at the door, and then you walk around the town anyway, so the walking is ok. We spent the right amount of time at each location. It would have been nice to be able to take a pic of Monteriggioni from the outside where it is possible to see all of the towers. The tour guide was excellent, running the tour in English and Spanish. A full day but the bus ride between locations, and the ice cream, gives you a chance to rest and recharge.

The night before the trip, I started to feel sick, I called Viator to try to cancel this activity and get a refund. They kept repeating the 24 hour cancellation policy over and over again. They didn’t really care if a person with Covid goes to that activity and make 50 people sick. I did not get a refund and on top of that they offered to cancel the trip without a refund for us to be able probably to book others ! I had also booked another activity through Viator that I couldn’t go due to a storm and no ferry availability. Same thing repeating the 24 hour policy and no accommodation. It is very disappointing. I won’t use Viator for my tours again.

The instructions for how you reach the starting point were very clear, which is great when you are in a city you don't know. The coach was comfortable and the staff friendly. The sites were amazing! It would have been good to have more information about them, some stories, told on the coach. It felt the 'tour' elements were lacking. There was a good deal of time spent on the coach so some interesting stories would have really made a difference. I would recommend this one - it is a great way to get a flavour of the Tuscany region in one day.

It was a fantastic day, full of guidance and history shared by our guide. We really enjoyed it. Perfect amount of free time as well.

We enjoyed our time in Siena and Gimignano. The tour guide in Siena was knowledgeable. The Monteriggioni Castle was a waste of time. It was late in the afternoon when we arrived there and it was really hot. There was not much to see or do there at all. The wine tour was good. We saw the cellar, learned how to properly sample wine, and we sampled three out of seven their wines. Our tour guide was not good at all. She acted like a facilitator who just accompanied us from place to place. She did not make an effort to engage with the tour guests at all. She spent more time chatting with the bus driver and the lady she was training to be a tour guide. She expressed no passion in being a tour guide nor in the places we visited. She did the bare minimum and it felt like she was just going through the motions with no excitement at all. We finished our day feeling disappointed in this tour company.

Although this tour was cancelled, we were offered a “like” tour. All needed transfer communication was proper and supportive, to make this tour equivalent. The rendezvous point would have been clearer if you would have published the bus would be parked behind the T1 tram ending point and that there was a restaurant and rest rooms available, both being important for an early morning tour. The winery was an excellent highlight for this new tour, both tasting and lunch. Cutting people loose was inconceivable without knowing how to return to the rendezvous point. The tour guide in Siena disappointingly limited the converging historical forces to feuding families and horse racing. The bus air conditioning was inadequate.

This trip was one of the best things/most memorable we did, it was so enjoyable. We were only a small group of 8 which was lovely. Very well organised with the meeting point/arrival etc. Jonny, our driver was fairly new at the job but he was great and really friendly. First stop at Monteriggioni was lovely, so picturesque and quaint. We had a chance to grab a coffee and wander. Siena was gorgeous and our favourite stop. We had plenty of time to ourselves to explore, have some lunch and an aperol sprtitz or two, and we opted (of our own accord) to go up the main tower in the piazza for the most amazing views!! It was a challenge to get up there but was so worth it. Onto the Chianti wine tasting after. Another picture postcard location. The tour was really informative and it was fab to see and learn all the various wine making stages. Wine was lovely and we bought a couple of bottles (under no pressure or obligation at all). Then our last stop was San Gimignano. Sadly it had started to rain, heavily, and we had to dash between shops to keep dry. But it was another beautiful part of Tuscany to see and explore. A shame it was so wet as we would have loved to explore more like we did in Siena, but we chose to not stay for too long here as it was hammering down. Some people on our minibus weren't happy we didn't stay longer but we had almost an hour there and the weather wasn't improving so we voted to give in and head back. There was no real benefit to staying as you couldn't even sit and relax with a coffee or ice-cream outdoors with the heavy rain. No one's fault at all. But overall, a really great trip, with lots of photo opportunities to capture memories of a fabulous day!

The well informed and happy staff. "Manni" was a great help at all times for all questions. The tour was not drawn out and we had enough free time to look around.

Extremely well organised and enjoyed it all. The tour leader was great as was the destinations. Wine tasting was great and seeing the sights was excellent.

We loved Siena and enjoyed our guide’s superb description of the different communities in Siena. The stop at Monteriggione was too short to enjoy much (45 min.). The visit to San Gimignano was an on-your-own stop not involving our guide. Likewise was the stop at the winery. Our guide was excellent as far as it went but she really wasn’t called upon to do much more than herd cats, with the exception of Siena, where she was an excellent tour guide.

The countryside is beautiful, as well as the cities that we wisited. The guides provided good information and were very kind and helpful.

The day was long but the guide and driver gave excellent service. The hostess at the winery spoke so fast that you couldn’t understand her. More time at San Gimignano would of been welcomed

What an outstanding day out, the coach trip was very comfortable, the scenery was amazing and every location we visited was packed with interesting and historic features. We especially loved San Gimignano. Gloria was our guide and I couldn't recommend her highly enough. Thank you for making our day out one of the highlights of our trip to Europe.

It was fun to meet new people and enjoy lunch together. Our guide, Julia/Ulia was informative, told interesting stories & kept us on schedule. Unfortunately by the time we reached San Gemignano it was starting to rain and at the end of a long day. The wine tasting was good & informative but more than 3 samples would have been preferred.

This tour had the potential to be amazing however it comes down to poor timing at each village. We spent hours & hours at Siena. The lunch break was way too long & as a result there was too little time available at the big namers. San G & Mont. We were literally running around to see everything. Very poorly timed & spaced tour. The wine tasting was also a waste of time. Suggestion. Switch the tour around. Start with: 1.5hrs San G 1.5 hrs Mont. With lunch 1.5 hours at Siena. We felt robbed from valuable time wasted & taken away from San G especially. Very disappointing 😞.

Despite a bit of confusion with the start of the event, we had the best time! San Gimignano was gorgeous! Despite the weather the food and views were stunning!! The Wine tasting was also fantastic and super worth it, staff at the venue were amazing. Our guide the whole day was incredible!!

We throughly enjoyed our experience :) it was a big day so we were very exhausted at the end but we’ll worth it :)

A relaxed trip without the hassle of driving. Pickup and drop off was super organised and our guide was very knowledgable. However, it was a long day and the times at towns seemed a little random. We would have liked longer in Monteriggioni, we only had 15 minutes, and less time at the end of the day, when we were tired, at San Gimignano, nearly 2 hours!

Gloria was our amazing guide! She is so knowledgeable and helpful and was so kind with my older mother. She was a gem. Sienna is gorgeous and a must see! We had a wonderful time! Just be prepared for lots of walking including up, down, stairs and twists and turns. Enjoy!