Rather than renting a car to see some of Tuscany, we have decided to take a 1-day tour. We could do this while we're in Florence, or Siena (where'd we'd like to spend one night to see it after the day-trippers are gone).

Any suggestions for guides, etc.? Thank you.

Out of Siena I highly recommend Roberto:

http://www.toursbyroberto.com/

I have gone on tours with him two different times and they were highlights. He is very funny and passionate about Tuscany and the Etruscans.

There is another person from his company who does a Siena tour and I understand she is good as well. But nobody could beat Roberto!

We have used Luca Garapa of www.hillsandroads.com and were very very pleased with him. We took 2 one-day tours with him to the Tuscan countryside. He is an excellent and very safe driver, very important on those roads!! He is smart, witty and fun to spend the day with. He put together an itinerary which was perfect for our needs and wants and he is highly recommended.

Judi and Flame - thank you, thank you!
Your guides sound wonderful. Can I just ask our guide to show us around wherever he thinks is good, or do I need to give him specific towns, sights, etc.?

By the way, I see that one of the male guide's is named Luca. I have to respond to someone who wrote me whose name is Luca. Is it safe to assume that he is also a man? Thanks.

Maire - Yup. Safe assumption

Steve

We also highly recommend Luca. We did several day trips with him a few years ago, and had a great time. If you tell him what your interests are, he will customize a tour to your liking.

Maire,

You are welcome.

You do not have to give the guide any specific towns that you are interested in, although that might help him put together a better itinerary for you. But you can tell him what are your likes, interests, capabilities, disabilities (if any) (for us, this was a category since my Mom was with us), etc. etc. and he can put together an itinerary for you, send it to you by e-mail if you request that and you can decide what you want to do, what you don't, etc. etc. I had many many e-mails with Luca before I had our days put together the way we wanted and it was never a problem and he always responded politely and kindly (albeit not always right away since he is usually out touring during the day).

Thanks, Steve. Thanks Weadles & Flame. I will definitely try to book Luca.

Also,do you know if it’s possible to begin with a tour guide in one town and end your day (and your time with the guide) in a different town? Or is a round trip required? Can you bring your luggage with you, and if so, is it safe to leave it in the trunk of the car while you're sightseeing?

I am not sure I understand your question. We took a tour wherein Luca picked us up at our hotel in Florence and we drove through the countryside, stopping along the way at various small hill towns, wineries, lunch, coffee and potty breaks. We started out in Florence, and ended up back in Florence at our hotel at the end of the day. We brought a small bag with us to keep things like raincoat, umbrella, water, etc. but did not have real luggage.

Maire, Yes, you can definitely start in one town and end up in another. Last Sept, I used Luca on three different days. Each time he picked me up in one town and dropped me off in another. This is a very efficient way to make the most of your time with him, as it means you don't have to find another means to get to your next town.

As mentioned, if you give him an idea of what you're after, he can make suggestions for an itinerary.

Thanks, Susan. When you got to your drop-off town, did you spend the night there? Did you take your luggage with you, and did you have any concerns about that? I ask this, because I've read so much that advises against leaving any belongings in a (rental) car.

Flame, sorry I didn’t explain it too well. I was wondering if Luca could pick us up in one town (say Florence), tour with us, and then leave us in another town where we could spend the night (say, Siena or Montalcino—although I don’t know if those specific towns would work; I’m not sure of distances yet). We would be on our own at that point, and we could stay there or continue by train elsewhere (unless we booked another tour, I guess.)

Yes, I spent one or more nights at the drop-off point, so of course I had my luggage. To tell you the truth, I really didn't even think about a problem leaving the luggage in his van, although I had read the same things you have. We had no problem. As I said, I used him to get from town to town and visited the things I wanted to see inbetween rather than backtrack to the original location.

Thanks, Susan. It sounds wonderful to do it that way.

By the way, when you're spending the day with a guide and you stop for meals, do you pay for the guide's meal?

Also, how much do you tip your guide? (Don't groan, Fodorites, I know you hate tipping questions, but at least I'm not tipping the pilot--that was such a funny thread.)

OK, now I understood what you meant about going from one town to the other. Since we spent all our week in Florence, we did not have that to worry about. But as Susan wrote, if you are planning to stay in different towns, you surely can use Luca to pick you up in one town, tour with you during the day, and drop you off in another town.

As for meals, Luca's prices include the price of his meal. On our first day, we wanted to pay for his meal but he was insistant that we not. However, on the second day, I went up to the waitress after we finished eating and "secretly" told her that she should put everything on one bill and I kind of grabbed it. He was shy and very cute about it and of course very appreciative. So it really depends on you. You don't have to, it is already included in his fee, but if you want to, you can.

As for a tip, no we did not tip. I believe, like I know many others here do, that when someone charges a fee for his services, he asks for a fee that he feels is worthy of the service he provides. No tipping needed. This is true, by the way, in all of Italy. No one really expects a tip for something that he is already getting paid for. Only if someone really and truly goes way beyond the call of duty, should you tip him and then, only a much smaller tip than what you would normally tip in the US. Different country, different customs.

Thank you for the great info, Flame!

I also recommend Luca from Hills and Roads... what a very nice, very intelligent man. His prices are extremely reasonable, and we all learned so much from him. He's also such an easy person to be around... a good quality when you are spending an entire day with a virtual stranger.

We had him pick us up in Florence, with our luggage, and then drop us off in Rome at the end of the day. There was a surcharge for this, but I believe it was because he charges an additional 100 euros to go into Rome. You shouldn't have a surcharge if you are going to have him drop you off in Siena. This will be a big time-saving AND money-saving luxury for you to spend more time in Siena.

He also wouldn't let us pay for his lunch AND, on top of that, TWICE he managed to pay for my coffee when we made coffee stops. Needless to say, I got back at him with a large tip at the end of the day!!

I've booked Luca again for our trip this August. I'm really looking forward to more of his tours.

I also tried to pay for Luca's lunch, but he wouldn't accept it. I did tip him a little because I was very happy with his service. Especially when he dropped me off at the Orvieto train station...he went in and got the ticket, carried my luggage down some stairs and up others to get over to the correct track, and even stayed until the train came so he could just lift the luggage up to me. Of course, I could have done all that, but with my arthritic knees, it was nice to not have to! I thought that was definitely above and beyond the call of duty.

If you want some ideas for possible itineraries or things that might interest you, here is my trip report:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34687434

Thanks, Amarena. I better book him fast...if I could just get my plans organized.

Thanks, Susan. What great information in your trip report; I will definitely refer to it when making my final plans for that area.

I really like the fact that the tours can be at your own pace.