Cost of Private Tours/Guides (Italy)

I am interested in finding out how much you paid for tours in Florence/Pisa and in Rome. We are considering private tours in these places, but do not yet have someone to share with us, so the cost is a little intimidating.

I've got a few quotes, but have not settled on anything yet.

Haven't gone yet, but we hired a driver to take us to the Tuscany area (San G and Siena) for 780E for a full day tour in Oct 2007. Our driver/guide is one of the higher priced drivers but he has had a ton of positive recommendations on these boards. There will be 8 of us on this tour so it's reasonable when sharing costs. All 8 of us met on the roll call for our sailing. Try sharing costs with others you can meet on your roll call---Nancy

We did a Med cruise this past summer and used private guides in almost every port. Our costs were;

Villefranche 600 Euros

Livorno 350 euros taxi service to and from Florence (with a stop in Pisa), no guide, booked in advance)

Naples 550 euros

Rome 600 Euros

This prices were per van, not per person. Some were for up to 6 people, some were for up to eight. We had a family of four and I added people from our roll call so we always had 6 or 8.

It was very easy to get others from our roll call to join us. I booked some of the most popular drivers almost a year in advance. I would highly recommend going the private driver route. It can end up being less expensive but the main benefit is that you get to costomize your tour and do exactly what you want to do.

Have a great time!

KathiB

We just returned. Most were around 600e + admissions. These were for 8 persons. We also added on a 10% tip. In addition the two hour separate guide in the Vatican was +100e as was the two hour separate guide in Pompeii. All were excellent and worth every penny. We saw much more than those who used the ship's excursions. We offered lunch to each driver but they took care of their own lunch. Also, not one single driver counted the $ when we paid at the conclusion of each tour....very trustworthy and professional.

Marty

Hello, We used a great company called Benvenuto Limos. They were great however I can't remember how much we paid. I do know they weren't much more than the next company based on my research. The service was impeccable and the driver spoke excellent English and the car was practically brand new. We love to refer these guys as they were so good.