Booking choice: The half-day two-winery tasting, from $62 per person. Check dates Tour details
There are really three products sold as a Chianti day from Florence. The half-day tasting: five hours, two wineries, snacks. The full wine day: seven to nine hours, two or three wineries and a seated lunch. And the town-hopping day: ten and a half hours, Siena, San Gimignano and Monteriggioni with one short tasting at the end.
All three are good value for what they are. The mistake is booking the third when you wanted the first.
The quick answer
Pick a half day if wine is the point and you want your evening in Florence: the Gray Line tour ($62, 5.5 hours, two wineries) or the eight-seat Classico half day ($170). Pick a full wine day for a long lunch at the winery: the olive oil trail ($122) or the semi-private day ($237). Pick the Siena and San Gimignano day ($74) for towns, knowing it pours only two or three wines.
Should you do a half-day or full-day Chianti tour?
A half day for most first-timers. Pick a full day only if you want a long winery lunch, or if seeing Siena and San Gimignano matters more than the wine.
Five hours is enough to see the Chiantigiana road, walk a vineyard, stand in a cellar and taste six to eight wines. It leaves the rest of the day for Florence. Full days earn their length with a seated lunch and slower pace, and they suit a trip with time to spare.
If you are in Florence for two or three days, a half day is the better use of them. With a week, a full wine day is the one you will remember.
Two wineries, six to eight wines and home before dinner: the half day most people choose.
Check dates for the half-day two-winery tastingHalf day, full day or town-hopping day: how do they compare?
The half day is the most wine per hour, the full wine day the best food, and the town-hopping day the most sightseeing for the least money.
The three formats side by side, using the tours on this site:
| Half-day tasting | Full wine day | Town-hopping day | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Example | Two-winery half day, Classico half day | Olive oil trail, semi-private day | Siena, San Gimignano and Chianti |
| Length | 5 to 5.5 hours | 7 to 8.5 hours | 10.5 hours |
| Wineries | 2 | 2 to 3, plus an oil mill on the trail | 1 |
| Wines | 6 to 8 | Tastings plus wine with lunch | 2 to 3 |
| Food | Cheese, salami, bruschetta | Seated lunch | Snacks; lunch on your own |
| Group | Coach up to 50, or 8 seats | Minibus up to 20, or van of 8 | Coach up to 50 |
| From | $62 / $170 | $122 / $237 | $74 |
| Classico zone? | Yes | Partly | No |
What happens on a half-day Chianti tour?
A coach or minivan down the Chiantigiana, about an hour at each of two wineries with a vineyard or cellar walk, then back to Florence.
The Gray Line half day meets at Piazzale Montelungo, by Santa Maria Novella station, and runs in the afternoon. The first stop is an organic winery near Greve where the owner walks you through the cellar; the second is a family estate in the Sienese part of the Classico zone, with a vineyard walk and at least four wines. Wear flat shoes: the listing warns that wineries sit on hilltops and visits start with a walk on the slope.
The Classico half day does the same route in an eight-seat minivan from Porta Romana, with up to seven wines. Staying in Siena? The Siena half day starts at the station and adds a stop in Castellina in Chianti.
What does a full-day Chianti wine tour add?
A seated lunch at a winery, more estates and a slower pace. Expect seven to eight and a half hours.
The wine and olive oil trail visits three wineries and an olive oil mill and serves a three-course lunch, by Mercedes minibus from Via dei Vagellai. One guest's warning: "you start sipping wine at 10:15 am, if you're ok with that". The semi-private day picks you up at your hotel at about 8:00, stops at Piazzale Michelangelo, gives you San Gimignano, then a long lunch at an estate near San Casciano with its wines and oil.
The lunch is the part people talk about afterwards: pasta, cured meats, oil on bread, the estate's wine poured freely. It is hard to get that in five hours.
Three wineries, an olive oil mill and a three-course Tuscan lunch, in a minibus of up to 20.
Explore the wine and olive oil trail Tour detailsIs the Siena and San Gimignano day a real wine tour?
Not really. It is a sightseeing day with one winery at the end and two or three wines, and the estate is outside the Classico zone.
The Siena, San Gimignano and Monteriggioni day is excellent value at $74: a guided walk in Siena from the Campo to the Duomo, an hour in San Gimignano, about an hour in Monteriggioni, then a tasting in the hills outside San Gimignano. Lunch and the Siena cathedral ticket (about EUR 7) are extra.
Guests like it and rate it 4.7. They also find it fast. One wrote that it "felt rushed especially at Monteriggioni (only 30 mins for toilet break and coffee and quick snaps)". If wine is your reason to leave Florence, book a tasting tour; if towers and piazzas are, this is the one.
Three towns in a day with a Chianti tasting at the end, for less than most half days with lunch.
Check dates for the Siena, San Gimignano and Chianti dayWho should pick a half-day Chianti tour?
Short stays, first-timers, light drinkers and anyone who wants Florence in the evening.
- Two or three days in Florence: a morning in the Uffizi, an afternoon in the hills.
- Light drinkers: six to eight tasting pours over five hours is plenty.
- Budget trips: $56 to $62 for two wineries.
- Wine lovers on a budget: the eight-seat Classico half day gives more time at the cellar door than many full days.
In winter, check the start time: an afternoon tour from November to February comes back in the dark.
Who should pick a full-day Chianti tour?
Food lovers, people with a week in Tuscany, and anyone who wants hotel pickup and a small van.
Book a full wine day if the long lunch is part of the dream, or if you are travelling with someone who wants scenery and San Gimignano while you taste. The semi-private day is rated 4.9 and caps the van at eight. Active types can make a full day of it on two wheels: the Vespa tour and the e-bike day both end with lunch at a winery. Their pros and cons are in Vespa, Fiat 500 or e-bike.
Hotel pickup, a van of eight, San Gimignano and a long lunch at the winery with its own wine and oil.
Explore the semi-private Chianti day Tour detailsCan you fit a Chianti tour around Florence sightseeing?
Yes. Afternoon half days leave the morning for a museum; full days take the whole day, from about 8:00 to the early evening.
The Gray Line half day is an afternoon tour from Piazzale Montelungo, a few minutes on foot from the station. Book the Uffizi or the Duomo climb for the morning and you lose nothing. Full days start early: the semi-private van leaves Hotel Boccaccio at 8:00, and the olive oil trail is pouring by mid-morning.
Which month suits which format is in the best time to go.
An afternoon in the Chianti hills, a morning free for Florence: the two-winery half day.
Check dates for the half-day two-winery tastingFrequently asked questions
How long is a half-day Chianti wine tour?
About 5 to 5.5 hours from Florence: the drive out along the Chiantigiana, an hour or more at each of two wineries, and the drive back.
Is a full-day Chianti tour too much wine?
Not usually. Full days spread tastings over seven hours with a seated lunch; the town-hopping day pours only two or three wines.
Which Chianti tour includes Siena and San Gimignano?
The Siena, San Gimignano and Monteriggioni day ($74) visits all three towns and ends with one Chianti tasting. The semi-private day includes San Gimignano and a winery lunch.
Can I do a Chianti tour on my last day in Florence?
Yes, an afternoon half day works if your train or flight leaves the next morning. Allow a buffer: tours can run late.
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Choose your tour
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before on every option. Prices are from-prices in USD and move with the season.
Half-Day Chianti Tasting at Two Wineries
- Two winery visits with cellar and vineyard walk
- 3 to 4 wines per winery with local food
- Air-conditioned coach from Piazzale Montelungo
Chianti Wine & Olive Oil Trail with Lunch
Three wineries, an olive mill and a three-course lunch
Siena, San Gimignano & a Chianti Winery
- Guided Siena walk with headsets
- Free time in San Gimignano and Monteriggioni
- One winery with 2 to 3 wines and snacks
