Siena, San Gimignano & Chianti Wine Tour

So I booked this tour to take the stress out of driving. I had a man in front of me almost in my lap due to a broken coach seat. We will look at it when we get back to base was not really good enough. As usual, when you go on these trips, there was not enough time spent in any of the areas we visited. We paid 195 Euros to be dragged around on a leash. The guide, although very nice, did just walk on up ahead with her flag, keep up, or get lost, basically. There were elderly people on our trip, and if any of them had fallen or taken ill, she would not have known. The day following this trip, we made our own way to Pisa and Lucca on the train. Much cheaper, I mean 140 Euros cheaper and a much more relaxed day.

I have mixed feelings. We booked direct through our hotel and it was easy. Location for picking up was straight forward. Once on the coach I had a man almost sitting on my lap the whole journey due to a broken coach seat, there was no option to move as the coach was full. When we stopped, other than Siena we did not get enough time in any of the locations. The time walking to and from meeting points was eating into our short time in each location. The guide, although very pleasant was just walking on ahead with her flag expecting everyone to keep up. We had a few older people on our trip and had they fallen or taken ill she would never have known. She walked to fast and at the back no one could hear her, which left confusion over some of the meeting times. Wine tasting was all about locking you in as their captive audience so they could sell you 60e bottles. Not for me an I won't book another coach tour. We thought we would just try something different this time. Do yourselves a favour hire a car and do the trips as day trips independently. It's cheaper and you can manage your own schedule. I felt like I was just driven to a stop , tipped into a shop or two, left to spend and then be picked up at the end.

My family and I booked a private tour to visit the beautiful countryside and see towns like Siena and San Gimignano. Our tour guide Cristian, was so knowledgeable and he really helped us see the beauty of Italy and its different wonders. He was so easy and fun to talk to as we bonded over our culture and background. We were so grateful to have gotten him as our tour guide and we couldn’t have asked for a better one 💓💓

Christian took excellent care of us, gave us great suggestions and treated us like family.

Christian was a great guide and provided a lot of helpful information. He enhanced our first time in Italy both on the way to our destination and gave helpful recommendations for the rest of our trip.