I was wondering whether anyone has personal experience with either Giovanni Sirabella of Sunflower Tours or Paolo Bonetti of Unforgettable Tuscany as a tour guide? We will be in Livorno, and want a short stop in Florence to visit the Uffizi and then to spend the remainder of the day seeing a little of the Tuscan countryside. It is my daughter's first trip to the region, and this is her request.

Any feedback on either of these guides would be most welcome. Thank you in advance.

I can recommend Giovanni Sirabella from personal experience. He is a calm and excellent driver and guide, and - this is important - he has the requisite licence to drive into the centres of traffic-restricted towns such as Florence. Livorno, Florence with the Tuscan countryside is one of his specialities. He gives many useful details on his web site http://www.sunflower-tours.com

Good Morning:

Sunflower Tours sounds interesting vs doing a tour with the cruise company upon arrival into Livorno.

I wonder if it's possible to cruise into Livorno..have Giovanni Sirabella waiting for us to do a tour into Florence/Tuscany and then return us to Livorno to cruise to Rome? Has anyone experienced this?

That is what we plan to do welig12. I have corresponded with both tour guides by email and both seem very nice. Right now I'm just torn between the two...

Yes, Giovanni Sirabella does exactly that - shore excursions from the cruise ship dock. You should make your reservation with him well in advance and he'll be there waiting for you.