We will be a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 college-age kids) in Italy in May.

We would like to explore outside of Florence (Sienna, San Gimanignano (sp?)) for a day. I'd prefer to avoid a formal tour.

Any receommendations for a good driver/tour guide for hire? And some idea of the price would be great. We could rent a car for a day but might be more fun to leave the driving to another...

Thanks for your help!

Luca Garrapa is terrific. If you know where you want to go, he will tell you if it is feasible in a day. If you don't know where you specifically want to go, tell him what you're interested in and he will suggest an itinerary.
www.hillsandroads.com

Another vote for Luca.

If you are travelling from Florence I recommend Slow Days. They offer a day in Tuscany with a small group but also do private tours. We took one last summer from Florence to the Val D'orcia region of southern Tuscany and visited Montepulciano, Pienza and Montalcino in a day. Beautiful- if you get the chance, do it.

The price for the day was reasonable (for two of us) compared to some other driver/guides we came across online. Looking again at their website www.slow-days.com it doesn't mention private tours so it maybe worth an email to find out if they still do them.

If you are going to San Gimignano make sure you go really early or just after the day trippers have left: it will make a big difference to your day as it is well and truly on the tourist trail.

Thanks for the advice!!

We used Luca Garapa of Hills & Roads on our last trip - and have him booked again for this coming April. He was great! We were able to customize our trip to fit our desires..