Private tour guide in Florence?
Dec 3rd, 2006, 02:26 AM
#2
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 1,480
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I can highly recommend Luca Garapa of www.hillsandroads.com. If you do a search on this board, you will find many MANY glowing reports about him. He will tailor-make a day trip (or more) for you depending on your likes, abilities, etc. We used him for 2 days trips in Tuscany back in March and I know there are many others here who have been pleased with him.
Whether he actually does trips within Florence, I am not sure. But I would check with him. Let me know if there are any other specifics I can help you with.
Whether he actually does trips within Florence, I am not sure. But I would check with him. Let me know if there are any other specifics I can help you with.
Dec 3rd, 2006, 07:33 PM
#5
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 6,343
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Another recommendation for Luca Garapa of Hillsandroads.com. I'm not sure if he does tours of Florence, either, but if he doesn't, he may be able to recommend someone to you. YOu can also check TheAccidentalTourist.com Good luck!
Dec 3rd, 2006, 08:27 PM
#6
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
If you're looking for a tour guide who places an emphasis on art, I have a wonderful private guide for you in Florence, KIRK DUCLAUX. He's an American, an art historian who has studied and lived in Florence for about 10 years. He met me and my husband at our hotel and the three of us spent the day walking through museums, churches and some of the key sites around Florence. He is brilliant, interesting, fun, insightful... an expert scholar and a wonderful storyteller... and he had tickets to bypass the long lines at the Uffizi and the Accademia. His email is [email protected].
Dec 3rd, 2006, 08:42 PM
#7
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 1,480
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I used Kirk Duclaux for a full day tour of Florence with my Mom and sister. While indeed being fun and interesting, you need to know that he is VERY expensive. He charged us 500 Euros for the day, which was about 7 hours I think (maybe 8). I personally felt a bit rushed through some of the museums, in retrospect we should have opted to delete one or two of them and spent more quality time in the others. But the one thing that really irked me was that at the last place we visited, the Duomo museum, he actually asked us to pay for his entrance (3 Euros) because as opposed to all the other museums where he had a pass, there he did not. I don't know but at the end of the day where you are getting paid 500 Euros, it just seemed to be nit-picky to me. All that said, if you have the money and are willing to spend it, I cannot say the day was not enjoyable. With hindsight, I would not have chosen to do it this way.
Nov 26th, 2011, 06:29 AM
#8
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hello Flame123. I recently visited Florence with my husband for the first time. It was a beautiful trip. We got in touch with a local guide and his explanations made us discover this wonderful city. It is very disappointing to hear your guide asked you to pay his ticket. As far as I know licensed tourist guides have free access to every museum. Our tour guide in Florence wore his license during the half day we spent together and he did not pay any of the museums tickets we paid. He was very professional, brilliant and competent. Just in case you’re heading back to Florence, I would really recommend to get in touch with him. His name is Fabrizio and the website I booked through is www.florence-city-tours.com The fee we paid was not cheap but affordable.
