take_time_2_travel

My husband and I were going to rent a car for the Tuscany (Greve) part of our 10 day 20th anniversary trip. (We will go from Venice to Cinque Terre to Greve to Florence).

I am now wondering if we would be better off hiring a driver to tour places in Tuscany. Any suggestions?

If we should hire a driver, how do we get ahold of a reputable/informative/friendly driver? (We were not well-received by taxi drivers in Italy last year when we tried to make conversation, so definately want to avoid that type experience during a time we could be enjoying ourselves!)

Thanks!

P.S. If we decide on a car rental, I know we will need a good map. We will probably take our GPS too!

Weadles

Most posters will tell you to rent a car, since it makes tourimg the backroads of Tuscany easier. But we found that it was a real luxury to hire a driver/guide for a few day trips, especially after wine tastings!

The driver I'd recommend is Luca Garapa of Hillsandroads.com. He will customize itineraries to suit your interests. We had a wonderful time with him, and enjoyed not getting lost, but for some people that's part of the fun!

Anyway, I found out about Luca here on the forum, and have since recommended him many times. I know that he is getting very popular these days, so if you're interested, definitely e-mail him as soon as possible.

take_time_2_travel

Thanks Weadles. We will definately consider your advice. What was the cost/day...and how long of a day(s) did you do?

Any other opinions?

tt2t

take_time_2_travel

Also...is tipping expected? If so, how much?

Thx

TJinSOMA

Per the earlier posts, we like having a car as it's flexible. We did hire a drive for a day to take us to some vineyards. It was perfect as we could drink and also the wineries over there are difficult to find (unlike Napa where most are on two roads). I think the company name was Chiantimania. Enjoy

brooklandsbuttercup

Take time,
Luca sounds good, but if that doesn't work out, I wouldn't hesitate to drive yourselves unless you dislike driving. The roads through Tuscany are not difficult to navigate, and if you have good maps, it's really not hard, and gives you so much flexibility. In either case, you're sure to have fun!

wlzmatilida

Hi Take time,

I was in Greve for a week last year and drove everywhere (and some places I didn't intend to!)

You can get maps when you pick up your rental car, and you can get a car with a GPS; what you can't count on is bad signage, which you will run into, all over Italy, but that's just part of the adventure!

Regards,

Melodie

Weadles

take time,

We went out with Luca two summers ago, for about 4-5 hours at a time. It cost us about $30 US/hour for the four of us. We thought that was quite reasonable! Tipping is not expected, but we did tip anyway, since we thought Luca was really wonderful.

Flame123

Another great big YES to Luca Garapa. We used him for two separate touring days back in March and absolutely loved those days. He is smart, funny, interesting, an excellent driver (with a big van on those tiny roads!!) and we felt it was money well spent. We took entire days out, between 7-9 hours each, and while we did not tip him, we did buy him his lunch on the second day. We will be renting a car for our next trip in October (for the first time and am quite anxious about it) because we will be there for a longer time this time.

Good luck. And don't be discouraged if he does not answer your e-mail right away. He is VERY busy and does not get to see the mail as often as he would like.

take_time_2_travel

Thanks all!

I'm thinking we might try to get ahold of Luca for at least one day...then rent a car for a few days.

Can't wait!

constant

Another good guide with an air-conditioned car is Angela www.greve-in-chianti.com/angela.htm . She will propose itineraries or design one to suit your wishes. Her prices are on her web page.

take_time_2_travel

Thanks Constant. I have just e-mailed Angela in hopes that she is available. (We had tried Lucca, but he was unavailable.)