Private Val d'Orcia Tour: Experience Montalcino, Pienza and Montepulciano in Tuscany's Heart

Experience the heart of Tuscany on a private Val d’Orcia tour. Explore the enchanting towns of Montalcino, Pienza, and Montepulciano, and indulge in the world’s best wines.

Duration: 9 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Florence - Experience the quintessential “Tuscan rolling hills” in the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Val d’Orcia. This enchanting region captures the essence of Tuscany with its scenic beauty, charming villages, rolling hills, cypress trees, and endless vineyards! Your personal driver will pick you up directly from your accommodation in Florence. Then, simply sit back and enjoy the views from the window of your private, luxury vehicle. Your driver will be happy to assist you with anything you need. The picturesque drive from Florence to Val d’Orcia will take about two hours.
  • Montalcino - After traveling through the most beautiful landscape imaginable, you’ll be eager to explore a small town! Your first stop will be Montalcino, the land of the world-renowned Brunello wine. Your driver will drop you off, and you will have an hour and a half to independently explore this hidden gem in the green countryside! Wander through labyrinths of cobblestone streets, visit small wine shops, and admire the essence of medieval Tuscany still shining through Montalcino! As you walk uphill through the town, you will inevitably end up at the town’s majestic Fortress. Here, you can find breathtaking views of the surrounding rolling hills, ancient oak trees, scenic roads, and perfect vineyards! Whenever you are ready to continue your journey, your driver will be happy to pick you up.
  • Val d’Orcia - One perk of booking a private tour is the ability to make stops along the way! Ask your driver to first bring you to the Chapel of the Madonna di Vitaleta. This is one of the most photographed spots in Tuscany - the small, charming chapel contrasts magically with the bright, green rolling hills, and it is perfectly framed with a line of cypress trees. Not only is this spot picture-perfect, but it is also extremely sacred. Legend has it that this was the exact spot where the Virgin Mary appeared to the shepherds.

Next, you can ask your driver to head to the gladiator’s home in Ridley Scott’s Academy Award-winning “Gladiator.” Although the film primarily focuses on Rome, the gladiator character (played by Russell Crowe) heads home to a serene paradise surrounded by rolling, green hills and cypress trees. This tiny slice of heaven was filmed in Val d’Orcia. Your private driver will be happy to take you on the exact path of the film until you reach the gates to the home.

  • Pienza - Next, your driver will take you to Pienza, which stands high upon a hill and dominates the Orcia Valley with extraordinary views! The city stands out in Tuscany, as it was rebuilt to be an idealist-Renaissance town by order of Pope Pius II. It represents the first application of humanist urban planning concepts. Spend an hour and a half exploring the picturesque alleyways at your leisure and admire the atmosphere of harmony and peace that surrounds you. Don’t forget to try some of the town’s famous Pecorino cheese before heading to your next destination!
  • Montepulciano - Your last stop of the day will be in Montepulciano, home to the exquisite Vino Nobile vineyards. More recently, the town also became world-famous for being the location of the vampire film “New Moon.” Spend an hour and a half of your free time discovering the most elegant village of the entire Val D’Orcia - full of majestic noble palaces, Renaissance buildings, and imposing churches. Be sure to grab any last-minute souvenirs from the wine enotecas and artisanal shops!
  • Florence - When you are ready to return to Florence, simply sit back, relax, and enjoy your private transportation directly to your accommodation. Don’t miss out on this magical opportunity to explore the postcard scenery of Val d’Orcia!
What's Included
  • 9 hours of chauffeured service
  • Onboard Wi-Fi access
  • Complimentary bottled water
  • Explore Montalcino, Pienza, and Montepulciano at your own pace
  • Convenient hotel pick up and drop off
What's Not Included
  • Guided tours in the villages - Free time only
Additional Information

Embark on a journey through the captivating countryside of Val D’Orcia, guided by your private driver. Have your personal chauffeur guide you through the magical Val D’Orcia, a region famed for its breathtaking landscapes, charming villages, undulating hills, and cypress trees! Discover the charming towns of Montalcino, Pienza and Montepulciano at your own pace and taste some of the finest wines in the world! We first visit Montalcino, home to the globally admired Brunello wine, featuring narrow, cobbled lanes, cozy wine shops and Romanesque churches. Next, we go to Pienza, perched atop a hill, offering stunning views of the entire Orcia valley. Our final stop is Montepulciano, renowned for its Vino Nobile vineyards and noted for being a film location for the vampire movie ‘New Moon’. Take some time on your own and enjoy the most sophisticated village of the whole Val D’Orcia.

Location
Florence
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.9
(23 Ratings)
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Thomasbj2849ze
Jul 6, 2024
Beautiful Tuscany - I think our tour guide's name ( from Czechia) was Stanislava and our driver was Paulo. Both of them were excellent. Staniskava was kind, knowledgeable, and very polite. Paulo was a great driver. I would highly recommend this tour as the wine tasting was superb and the Tuscany towns were so beautiful. The wine makers were entertaining and informative, and the wine was tasty, too.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lillian
Jul 2, 2024
Great Day in Tuscany - My husband and I recently did this private tour with an amazing tour guide - Cristian. There are average guides and then there are rememberable tour guides and without a doubt Christian is in the memorable category! Counsel, lucky if you were able to spend a day touring with Christian . He is extremely knowledgable with respect to the history of the area, but can also answer questions with respect to general knowledge, the culture, landmarks and customs. His enthusiasm and passion for the area evident, and in general conversation, he was able to discern our interests and customize the tour for us. Cristian the basic skills of a tour guide, being organized, punctual…. But what makes him exceptional is that he is engaging and return goes the extra mile with add-ons and thoughtful decisions to ensure he delivers an amazing day for his guests. Thank you. Cristian a memorable and amazing day in Pienza, Montalcino and Montepulciano. It was the highlight of our time in Florence. Gracie Mille!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Courtney_c
Jun 28, 2024
Tuscan Sun - This tour is the perfect escape out of busy Florence. Ancient roads lined with spiraled cedars, roaming hills, and bell towers galore. This was my favorite day in Italy.
Review provided by Viator
V7584mjcourtneyc
Jun 26, 2024
Tuscan Redemption - What an incredible day! This tour is the perfect opportunity to leave the busy overcrowded streets of Florence, relax and see pictureeske Tuscany at it's finest. Small villages, shaded streets, bell towers galore and ancient Roman streets lined with spired cedars. Not to forget, great prices on souvenirs. Our fantastic tour guide, Christian, customized our tour for an amazing day, making all our meeting spots a breeze.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Matthew_m
May 31, 2024
Outstanding Tour - Christian was an outstanding tour guide. He went above and beyond to ensure we dodged the rain clouds and hit all the right spots. Tuscany is a dream land and Christian was the perfect local guide to make sure we had the best experience.
Review provided by Viator
Garry_r
May 24, 2024
Awesome Tuscany Day Trip - We had such a great day on this tour. And our driver Tiziano made it so much better. He made some extra stops and suggestions to show us the best of the Tuscany countryside. Would recommend this for anyone who wants a real taste of Tuscany.
Review provided by Viator
Solstace
Apr 28, 2024
Wonderful Experience! - We had an amazing full day exploring the gems of Val D’Orcia. Our driver Cristian doubled as a wonderful tour guide throughout the day - and to top it off we had the tour all to ourselves! We were so happy and impressed with Cristian’s knowledge and warm demeanor - taking us to the towns and picturesque places, plus an additional stop and drive by to fulfill my mothers desire to see some famed places. The farmhouse for the wine tasting & lunch exceeded our expectations - 5stars to them as well! Molto grazie Cristian you made the tour wonderful, it was a beautiful day spent in the Tuscan region and was the perfect end to our holiday! We would recommend this tour very much!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Haileymg120ao
Apr 21, 2024
AMAZING tour with the ABSOLUTE BEST driver, Christian! - We had Christian as our private driver to Montalcino and Montepulciano and he was THE BEST!!! He was super lively, talkative, funny, and we got to know each other well throughout the day. Our family and I could not recommend him enough and he was super well-versed and knowledgeable about the area and its history. At our first stop at our winery, we spent too much time there (which was completely our fault) and the timing of our day ended up being a little bit thrown off, but Christian gave great recommendations to change our day around for the better and instead of lunch on our own in Pienza, we had an amazing private lunch at a winery that was AMAZING! Our family had the best time on this tour and couldn't recommend both the tour and Christian more - it was our favorite day of our trip!!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Boardingpass212959
Apr 16, 2024
A Great Tour of Tuscany! - Gabriel led our group on a wonderful tour of Tuscany, providing excellent I formation and guidance at every stop along the way. The pace of the tour was perfect to take in each of the three cities within the Tuscany tour, and gave us ample opportunity to explore the cities.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
A30ytsarahb
Nov 3, 2023
Great day, great wine in Val d'Orcia - We really enjoyed the day trip to Montalcino, Pienza, and Montepulciano and would definitely recommend it. The wine was delicious and we were able to get a good price on bottles of wine to ship back home. Our guide was helpful and informative. We were also given some downtime in each town to explore, and our guide gave recommendations for what to do. The only snag of the whole day was that we were not told in advance that there was an optional lunch in Pienza, which was cash-only. We did not have enough cash with us, so we opted to find our own lunch in Pienza instead. We found a great restaurant so it ended up working out really well, but we still wish we knew about the optional lunch in advance. I definitely would recommend this tour, especially to people who love Brunello!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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September 2024
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