Looking for wine tour that is not private and not through the ship

[stacymills99]

We will be arriving Livorno and really want to do a trip to wine country. The problem is everything is private and super expensive and the ship tours don't get fantastic reviews. Has anyone found a non private tour for this kind of trip that was also not through the ship?

[CathyCruises]

We will be arriving Livorno and really want to do a trip to wine country. The problem is everything is private and super expensive and the ship tours don't get fantastic reviews. Has anyone found a non private tour for this kind of trip that was also not through the ship?

 

I'm not sure what other options there would be between ship and private! One suggestion would be to join the rollcall for your cruise and see if you can hook up with some other people and share a private tour, thus reducing the price for everyone.

[CruiserBruce]

Rome in Limo, a wonderful operation mentioned a lot here, has a tour share portion of their website.

 

While on a private tour with them in June, had a wonderful tour and tasting at a Chianti operation outside of Siena. A great day!

 

The tour share idea CathyCruises mentioned is a common solution to this question.

Edited January 19, 2015 by CruiserBruce

[Hlitner]

We agree with Cruiser Bruce that the best solution to your problem is to join with a few other couples (you can try to do this on the CC Roll Call for your specific cruise) and split the cost of a private tour. Otherwise, the best option would be to simply rent a car and drive yourself, but that does mean the driver has to be very disciplined at the wineries :).

 

Hank

[Tyskie]

We have a RIL tour booked for our September cruise (RC) & I have to agree with OP that if we don't get 2 more couples we'll have to scrap the tour as it will be too expensive.

 

I'm not comfortable driving a car in Italy but it's always a possibility to think about and YES, one of us will be the DD :D

[Hlitner]

We have a RIL tour booked for our September cruise (RC) & I have to agree with OP that if we don't get 2 more couples we'll have to scrap the tour as it will be too expensive.

 

I'm not comfortable driving a car in Italy but it's always a possibility to think about and YES, one of us will be the DD :D

 

Well, guess we should give you couple of tips, in case you do give strong consideration to renting a car (we have done over 10,000 miles of driving within Italy). If you stay out of congested cities (such as Florence) driving in this region is relatively easy. But, nearly all rental cars are manual shift so the DD does need to be able to handle a stick shift. A GPS (whether rented or your own) makes life much easier. And for renting a car at Livorno, we can recommend the local Hertz franchiser who is called Sifracar (Sifracar.com) who usually will arrange for delivery/pick-up right at the pier (avoiding the cost and hassle of needing a taxi) for a slight extra charge.

 

Hank

[Tyskie]

Well, guess we should give you couple of tips, in case you do give strong consideration to renting a car (we have done over 10,000 miles of driving within Italy). If you stay out of congested cities (such as Florence) driving in this region is relatively easy. But, nearly all rental cars are manual shift so the DD does need to be able to handle a stick shift. A GPS (whether rented or your own) makes life much easier. And for renting a car at Livorno, we can recommend the local Hertz franchiser who is called Sifracar (Sifracar.com) who usually will arrange for delivery/pick-up right at the pier (avoiding the cost and hassle of needing a taxi) for a slight extra charge.

 

Hank

 

Thanks Hank! You have been a wealth of info on these boards, do appreciate your insight from a complete novice. :) Jane

Edited January 19, 2015 by Tyskie

[slidergirl]

Remember - your iPhone/iPad can be your GPS! I bought a SIM card for my iPad Mini and used it for my navigator when I drove from Rome to Florence, through Umbria and Tuscany. Used Google Maps as my app - I also had another app loaded, but I didn't like it as much. 't was great - it even found the tiny little roads through Chianti and re-directed me when I messed up.

 

If you do an internet search on wine tours from Florence, you will find several operators who do the kind of tour I think you want. Also, check TripAdvisor to see if anything there sounds interesting/promising. I have zero experience with any of them (I'm a solo DIY person), but I just wanted to give you this info.

[stacymills99]

Thank you for all of the suggestions. I will be in contact with my Roll Call board, just wanted to see if there were other options if we did not get enough people to join in a private tour.

[Linzstur]

I was also interested in this topic so reviving the thread in case anyone had other recommendations :)

[MAFRESCH]

If you get a chance, i suggest you try to get to the Verrazano vineyard and take part in their Wine and Food experience. We've been there 3 times and plan to go again on our trip in April.