Tuscany Day Tour from Rome - HELP!

[CoolChange37]

There are 10 of us and we are looking for a private tour to Tuscany from Rome for a day enjoying lunch and wine and some time for walking around?  We don't want to do the train as part of this trip as some of our group is visually impaired. We'd rather have a private guide throughout - as we did for Normandy last year from Paris and it was perfect.   I have been to all the Trip Advisor and Viator sites, and many others, and it seems that every one of them go to the same places which leads me to believe they are paid by these places to bring masses of people to their venues.  Not what we want.  Can anyone tell me or refer me to a company or private guide that you have actually done/used that would be able to accommodate 10 of us?  This is a "must do" for our group.   TIA.  

[cruisemom42]

Hi -- you've posted this same question twice before and both times Rome in Limo (a company with one of the best reputations among cruise passengers) was recommended to you.

 

Did you check them out?  Do they not meet your needs?  If not, perhaps give us a bit more than this basic info to go on. "Tuscany" is a region, and a rather large one at that. Where specifically do you want to go?  What do you want to see?

 

Private tours in Italy are just that -- private. If you don't see what you like among the suggested tours on their websites, good companies will work with you to come up with a truly personalized tour. You just have to have some idea of what you want.

 

[CoolChange37]

Cruisemom42 - thanks for pointing that out.  You are right I have, but apparently wasn't asking the right question.  As I've said, I've looked at all the recommendations and they are all doing the same tour(s)  (which means a lot of people showing up at the same time on huge buses) and we don't want that. We will be doing enough of that with the tours from the ship.   We want off the beaten path.   We went to Fattoria il poggio the year on a tour from the ship and had so much fun and would like do do something like that again with this year's group.   So I tried again.  I want advice from someone that actually went on one or knows someone personally that does this from Rome.   Sorry for the repeat question.   Won't do it again.   Will try another way.   Thank you.

[CruiserBruce]

As @cruisemom42 stated, if you start talking to a vendor,  like the great Rome in Limo, they will build a custom tour. Don't just look at their website and their pre-designed tours. CONTACT them and say "we would like to do something like this". They will try to build you a custom tour, if it can be done.

[Hlitner]

9 minutes ago, CoolChange37 said:

Cruisemom42 - thanks for pointing that out.  You are right I have, but apparently wasn't asking the right question.  As I've said, I've looked at all the recommendations and they are all doing the same tour(s)  (which means a lot of people showing up at the same time on huge buses) and we don't want that. We will be doing enough of that with the tours from the ship.   We want off the beaten path.   We went to Fattoria il poggio the year on a tour from the ship and had so much fun and would like do do something like that again with this year's group.   So I tried again.  I want advice from someone that actually went on one or knows someone personally that does this from Rome.   Sorry for the repeat question.   Won't do it again.   Will try another way.   Thank you.

You have a few issues to ponder.  Tuscany is a very large province and most of it is not even accessible (from Rome) on a day driving trip.  Just consider that Siena, which is on the Rome side of Tuscany is a good 5 hours round trip (if driving).  If you wanted to go to San Gimignano that would be about 6 hours (round trip) and that is just one town.  Cortona (an interesting town) would be a 5 hour (round trip drive).  And these driving times are increased, depending on where you are in Rome and the traffic.

 

Instead of thinking "Tuscany" you might want to consider some of the places closer to Rome.  Tivoli is an interesting day trip.  In Tivoli you would have two major attractions (Hadrian's Villa and the Villa d'Este's gardens.  There are other sites in the area, plenty of places to eat a nice lunch, etc.  And the best part is you would not spend more than half the day just getting to and from the area.  We think that Tivoli is one of those areas wrongly overlooked by many tourists.

 

As to avoiding the tour buses, this has become increasingly difficult in this over touristy world.  If a place is cute and worthy, it has likely been put on tour itineraries.  Keep in mind that cruisers and cruise excursions are just a very tiny part of Italian tourism.  Many more tourists are on bus tours, driving tours, etc.  We once tried to escape the big tours by driving up to the Marche part of Italy (way off the normal beaten path...or so we thought).  We had not reckoned on that part of Italy being on the major tour routes of bus tours coming from other parts of Europe such as Germany and and Austria :(.  We were shocked to see many tour buses in Urbino!  Most folks have never even heard of Urbino and Ascoli Piceno!  You will not find any cruise folks in these places, but the intra-European bus tours are everywhere!

 

Hank

[CoolChange37]

Hlitner, thanks so much.  I appreciate your input. I would like to have our group experience something in the area (outside of Rome - as we did all of Rome last year) that would be memorable for the first timers and something new for us.  

[CoolChange37]

20 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

As @cruisemom42 stated, if you start talking to a vendor,  like the great Rome in Limo, they will build a custom tour. Don't just look at their website and their pre-designed tours. CONTACT them and say "we would like to do something like this". They will try to build you a custom tour, if it can be done.

I have contacted them and asked them, but have not heard anything back.  We've had luck with contacting vendors directly, and had good experiences and bad experiences.   Was just hoping for some personal experience recommendations.  I was a Travel Agent for 20 years (sold the business 20 years ago - due to the internet accesses) and always relied on personal experiences.   Guess things have changed.    Thanks.    

[CruiserBruce]

4 minutes ago, CoolChange37 said:

I have contacted them and asked them, but have not heard anything back.  We've had luck with contacting vendors directly, and had good experiences and bad experiences.   Was just hoping for some personal experience recommendations.  I was a Travel Agent for 20 years (sold the business 20 years ago - due to the internet accesses) and always relied on personal experiences.   Guess things have changed.    Thanks.    

I have interacted with Rome in Limo 8 times, including a couple of custom tours, with one being out of Florence into the surrounding areas, including Siena and the Chianti region. Not quite what you seek, but certainly custome tours. 

 

If they can do it, they will. 

[CoolChange37]

2 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

I have interacted with Rome in Limo 8 times, including a couple of custom tours, with one being out of Florence into the surrounding areas, including Siena and the Chianti region. Not quite what you seek, but certainly custome tours. 

 

If they can do it, they will. 

Thanks!

[euro cruiser]

It sounds like you don't necessarily need to go to Tuscany, just something that isn't Rome.  Do I have that right?

 

If so you might consider Umbria instead.  Just as beautiful but closer so you'd spend more time actually there, vs. getting there and back.

[marazul]

Consider the Castelli Romani area just outside Rome.  It has beautiful views (Lake Albano, hills), towns, wineries. Some of the towns are Frascati (wine), Castel Gandolfo (Pope's summer palace), Ariccia (where bruschetta originated), etc.

Rome in Limo can create a custom tour for you.  Cruise tours never go there.

[cruisemom42]

6 hours ago, marazul said:

Consider the Castelli Romani area just outside Rome.  It has beautiful views (Lake Albano, hills), towns, wineries. Some of the towns are Frascati (wine), Castel Gandolfo (Pope's summer palace), Ariccia (where bruschetta originated), etc.

Rome in Limo can create a custom tour for you.  Cruise tours never go there.

 

Love this area!  Also located here are some smaller Roman ruins that are not always open to the public but can be arranged for a visit (I'm sure companies like RIL can do this)....such as Tusculum, where Roman notables from Cicero to the Emperor Tiberius had villas...

 

And don't forget Ariccia is the home of porchetta. YUM!!!!!

[marazul]

18 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Love this area!  Also located here are some smaller Roman ruins that are not always open to the public but can be arranged for a visit (I'm sure companies like RIL can do this)....such as Tusculum, where Roman notables from Cicero to the Emperor Tiberius had villas...

 

And don't forget Ariccia is the home of porchetta. YUM!!!!!

Oooops! Of course, I meant "porchetta", not "bruschetta" originated in Ariccia. 😳🤪

[CoolChange37]

My friend wanted us to check out Orvieto and Civita Bagnoregio.   Has anyone been there and what did you think?   

[Hlitner]

14 hours ago, CoolChange37 said:

My friend wanted us to check out Orvieto and Civita Bagnoregio.   Has anyone been there and what did you think?   

Two darling hill towns worthy of a short visit.  You could easily arrange a custom tour that would take you to both those places on a day trip from Rome.

[cruisemom42]

Yes, to add to Hank's reply, Orvieto is a larger town and Civita Bagnoregio is much, much smaller but they both perch on hill tops with gorgeous scenery. Orvieto has a large, ornate cathedral, several decent museums, lots of ceramics stores, and good restaurants. CB on the other hand is almost a ghost town -- only a few families still live there. It is more difficult to access, requiring a bit of an uphill trek, so not recommended if anyone has mobility issues.

 

[PurpleTraveller]

Orvieto is one of my favourite towns in Italy. Beautiful views, stunning Cathedral, lovely laneways, gorgeous ceramics, shops and good restaurants.