Jennifer

We will be based in Rome the week of June 4th. My husband is in love with Italian wine and would love to go to Montalcino to see some vineyard/wineries. I have been looking for day tours from Rome to this area but haven't found any. <BR> <BR>I found out it is only 125 miles from Rome which I believe is even closer than Florence. Our travel agent said we could hire a driver to take us anywhere we wanted for the day. Any ideas on whether this is do-able? ANy experience hiring private drivers and what that would cost? Or any reco's on where to find day tours of Tuscany from Rome? Thanks in advance. <BR> <BR>Jennifer

Jon

I've never hired a driver for the day, but I'm sure it's possible. I'd contact the concierge at my hotel for info. <BR>If it's just Montalcino you're after, perhaps renting a car for the day would be more fun. <BR>Have a great trip, <BR>j.

TJBrown

It is possible. We did it two years in a row. Each time, we were based in Tuscany (Cortona) and took day trips to Rome. The first year we drove to Rome (about 3-4 hours, as I recall). We explored Tuscanny by car on our own--just hoping on the autostrad and getting off at interesting cities (Assisi, Perugia, etc.) The second year, we took the train from Arezzo (an express). Get an early start with either mode of travel.

joe

My feeling is that Tuscany needs to be savored over a couple of days at least. To drop in for a few hours won't really be very satisfying. Maybe you could save Tuscany for another , more relaxed time period.

lisa

Hi Jennifer. We are flying into Rome FCO airport and renting a car and driving immediately to where we are staying in Montalcino. The woman at the place where we are staying told me to expect the drive to take just under 3 hours. <BR> <BR>You are correct that Montalcino is closer to Rome than Florence is. However, Florence is an easy train ride whereas unfortunately there is no train to Montalcino. <BR> <BR>One possibility is to take the train to the Umbrian hilltown of Orvieto and rent a car there. I believe the train from Rome to Orvieto is only about an hour. From Orvieto the drive to Montalcino and other hilltowns is not very long. I did some research into this and found out that the car rental places in Orvieto close around noon on Saturday and are closed all day Sunday, so I believe this would be best done on a weekday.