travelnewbie

Hi-

My friends and I just got a last minute trip to Italy in March.

The good news, getting to explore Italy for the first time. The bad news, we only have 3 days in each Florence, Rome and Venice. We will also be in Italy over Easter.

We have lots of questions and are scouring websites for advice and itineraries. Our main question though is that we would like to do some sort of a vineyard tour at some point during the trip. I have been looking around online and have lots of options leaving from all three cities.

Obviously, we feel as though we need all three of our days in Rome to spend exploring the city. So, does anyone have any advice or preference on a vineyard tour/tasting out of Florence vs one out of Venice? Any other Italy advice is also appreciated!!!

ceilidhoh

I've been to all three cities and I think you will find that 3 days should suffice for Florence and Venice. I've heard that the best vineyard tours are from Florence- into Tuscany. Can't recommend a company though. Stay in Venice once you're there- you will have to take a water taxi to get off the island- it will take a while and is at least 6 euro each way. Enjoy just strolling through the streets there!

Big_Red

I would think that your vineyard tour is best done out of Florence.

I don't know your budget, but a lot of people would hire a car and driver for a day. Typically that cost about $400 (total) for up to 3 people, maybe 4. There are a few vineyards that are walking distance to a train station but most are not that close.

travelnewbie

I should have mentioned that we are students, so our budget is probably on the lower end. We would prefer to only spend around $100/each, so $300 total. But, everyone has to have one splurge on their vacation so $400 wouldn't be out of the question.

But, we by no means need a private tour. We would be more than happy with a less expensive group tour.

LoveItaly

Hi travel, have you gone onto Google and search for Tuscany vineyard tours or winery tours? I would imagine you will get some information there. Have a wonderful time and don't worry about what you don't see this trip..you will go back..everyone does!

Big_Red

I would post a topic here "Wineries near Florence?" or something like that. Maybe you could then do your tour via taxi. There are some books on wines and wineries that you can buy, but unfortunately, you don't have a lot of planning time left.

Enjoy your trip. Enotecas are relatively new and might be a similar experience to a winery tour.

Steve_James

Hi Newbie - The bus tour companies CAF and SITA do excursions to the Chianti area from Florence:

www.caftours.com/en/regtoursac.htm

http://tinyurl.com/yw6hx3

Alternatively -

http://www.italy.artviva.com/italytr...r/tuscany_tour

For a personalised tour, Luca (?) at 'Hills & Roads' has had numerous recommendations here:

www.hillsandroads.com

Hope this helps ...

Steve

ira

Hi T,

Do you want to see how wine is made, or do you want to taste wine from different vineyards?

I wouldn't take time from a short visit to Venice or Florence to visit a winery.

You can visit Enoteca Italiana for a very good selectgion of Italian wines when you visit Siena from Florence.
Enoteca Italiana
Fortezza Medicea
Siena
011-39-0577/288-497

JMWF

i'd rent a car from florence for a day... you can be deep into chianti in about an hour or less... take the SS222 road - it is amazing driving and it will get you out of the city for a day.

personally if i spent 3 days in each of 3 cities in italy without seeing the country side, except from a train, i would feel gypped.

there is a great tour for first timers at Castello di Brolio... www.ricasoli.it

there is also a great tasting room in greve in chianti where you can sample a ton of local wines.

if you are driving through panzano in chianti check out Dario Cecchini's butcher shop (best butcher in italy - apparently people drive from rome on weekends) for some tuscan 'sushi'

have fun!

akila

I would spend two days in Florence, rent a car and drive directly from Florence through Chianti/Umbria, then drop your car off in Orvieto or Chiusi on the fourth morning, and take the short train 1 1/2 hour train ride to Rome. That is definitely the cheapest way to do things and driving in Tuscany is super easy.

I would also maybe think about your trip plan --- are you sure that you want to do all three cities plus the wine tour in just nine days? I would recommend maybe skipping Venice (our least favorite place --- although I know others disagree) and just concentrating on the other areas.

travelnewbie

Thanks for all of the advice!

We wanted to actually go to a vineyard, see the grapes, see the barrels, etc. I know this is something we could do in the US (Napa, etc), but we thought this would be a fun way to get out of the city.

LCBoniti

Check out www.accidentaltourist.com for several options. I personally did their Cooking class which included a winery tour, but they have several other tours as well. They are out of Florence. The cost extremely reasonable and the experience was a highlight of our trip.

LJ

Having spent a week in March on a property that was a vineyard in Tuscany (about 20 minutes by train from Florence),I would definitely make this trip an optional extra. There won't be any grapes, its too early. In fact, when we were there, it snowed. At its best the vineyard was a sea of mud-very picturesque, but not much fun for walking around and no al fresco wine-tasing lunch.

Now, the wine was still fine-very fine! But, then, you can get a glass of brilliant wine on any corner in Florence and not use up one of your few precious days.

Just a thought...

travelnewbie

We just got back! We did manage to visit a vineyard while in Florence. Surprisingly on Easter day, but I guess business must continue no matter the holiday! It was an interesting experience though, the Duomo and Easter mass in the morning, wine and vineyard in the afternoon.

We really enjoyed it. Although there weren't grapes on the vines, it was a break from our whirl wind tour of Italian cities. It was nice to see (a little of) the countryside. It was actually one of our few opportunities to be outdoors in Florence as it rained our entire visit but there was no rain at the vineyard.

The vineyard answered a lot of the questions we had been formulating about Italian wine throughout the trip and gave us a great appreciation of Chianti.

The tour was only ~$50/pp and worth it. We booked it after receiving some brochures from our hotel and from the travel info office across from the train station.

Jean

Bravo! And thanks for reporting back.