See the Best of Tuscany in One Day With Walkabout Florence

I knew I wanted to see beyond Florence this past trip to Tuscany, but I didn’t have much time. So I set out to find the perfect tour that fits my style (I don’t normally do tours). I loved that Walkabout Florence offered stops at multiple Tuscan towns, a vineyard with wine and lunch (most only offer wine), but most importantly that they gave you your own time to explore the towns separate from the group.

That was key for me. I love introductions to a city, but then I want to be able to explore on my own. Of course, the amount of time you get in each town isn’t nearly enough, but it helps give you a glimpse of Tuscany, and an idea of places you’d like to return to!

Tuscany in one day tour

The duration of the tour lasts 12 hours in the summer and 11 hours in the winter. You meet at 8:30 a.m. and board a comfortable coach bus that will be driving you around Tuscany. A friendly guide joins you and tells you more about the day as you make your way to your first stop. Our guide was Angela, and she was awesome! Here’s how the full day is broken down:

• Visit Siena
• Tuscan lunch at a Chianti vineyard (one of Jorge’s fave wines!)
• Visit San Gimignano
• Visit Pisa

Click here for the latest prices and to book your amazing tour through Tuscany

First stop in Tuscany: Siena

Who knew Siena looked like this? This is definitely a town that Jorge and I will be returning to! We had roughly 2 hours to explore Siena. The first hour was spent with a Siena local guiding us and sharing facts about this beautiful medieval city.

We learned about the world’s oldest bank, Europe’s oldest street, and explored the square where Europe’s most famous horse race, Palio di Siena is held. The remainder of the time we were free to roam on our own, and I took full advantage with my camera at hand!

Second stop: Lunch at Fattoria Poggio Alloro

I have a feeling this is everyone’s favorite part! I know we absolutely loved our experience at the organic farm, Fattoria Poggio Alloro. If you’re ever in Tuscany, you can also book an overnight stay at the farm! Imagine how amazing that’d be?

Click here to book this Tuscany tour

When you first arrive, they give you a tour of their vineyards and introduce you to some of their sassy cows — loved them!

They show you their olive trees that help them make their delicious olive oil. It’s honestly the best olive oil we’ve ever tried, and we’ve tried many back home. They then guide you toward an area where they’ve set up a handful of communal-style tables for lunch.

yes, I’m charging my phone lol!!

They give you an informal wine lesson before serving their yummy pasta, salad, cured meats, and some of the best cheeses I’ve ever tasted. We were able to try four different wines: 2 Chianti’s, 1 Vernaccia (my fave), and 1 Vin Santo dessert wine that’s paired with biscotti. They placed full bottles of the first three wines per half table during lunch, so there was plenty to go around. We basically had 3 bottles to split between 2 other couples.

source: fattoriapoggioalloro.com

Something else worth noting is that the lunch is all organic with ingredients grown on their very own farm. The whole meal is delicious and worth the trip alone. Of course, they have a shop where you can either purchase their items or get them shipped to your home. It is incredibly difficult or expensive to find these specific wines elsewhere.

So, we bought 6 bottles of wine haha, and also a bottle of their delicious olive oil. The best part? We went on this two week trip with one carry-on each, so you can imagine how fun it was trying to fit all that wine in our luggage.

Third stop: San Gimignano

For the life of me, I cannot pronounce the name of this place, but oh man is it pretty. We were all full and happy after our Tuscan lunch, and San Gimignano was the most enchanting place to walk it off. We were free to explore the town on our own, yay!

Look at that stunning ivy!

Stuffed or not, we still made our way to the award-winning gelato shop named Gelateria Dondoli. We happily beat the crowd and enjoyed some of the best gelatos we’ve had in all of Italy.

After we got our fix, we simply did what we love best — walk the streets and take pictures. San Gimignano is a beautiful medieval city, with tons of photo opportunities. Yet another place we will be returning to.

Last stop: Pisa

To be honest, I could have done without Pisa, but that’s just the type of traveler I am. I’ve never seen the leaning tower, so that was cool to see, but I just wasn’t interested in the cliché photos. The city is also having a big issue with girls pickpocketing people so it isn’t the safest city to wander.

everyone trying to keep the tower from falling

Either way, Jorge and I were determined to find some charm in super touristy Pisa, and I think we did a good job. However, we won’t be returning to this Italian city.

I would have liked it better if we had more time in Siena and San Gimignano to explore on our own, and Pisa was cut out of the tour. But to each their own, right? 

After Pisa, we headed back to Florence (exhausted and content) and made it back by 8:45 p.m.

Final Thoughts 

As you can see, you get a lot of bang for your buck with this Walkabout Florence tour. I do highly recommend checking them out. Especially if you’re nervous to drive in Italy on your own or you simply want to explore further but have limited time. They definitely provide a memorable experience. If you’re interested in this awesome Tuscany day trip, click here for the latest pricing and booking.

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Thank you to Walkabout Florence for sponsoring my tour through Tuscany. As always, all opinions are my own. This site contains affiliate links. I may receive a small commission for purchases made through these links at no extra cost to you. In turn, it helps to support this blog so I’ll be forever grateful.