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Ultimate Tuscany extension


Jammy Bun
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Looking at a cruise from Venice in July 2020 which has an option to take a pre cruise extension covering Florence, Sienna and San Giminiagno (sp?).  
the brochure description sounds wonderful.  Have any of you already done this extension - and would you recommend it?  I’m slightly concerned that there will be long periods of time spend on buses!

Thanks in advance for any information or advice on this subject.

janet

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1 hour ago, Jammy Bun said:

Looking at a cruise from Venice in July 2020 which has an option to take a pre cruise extension covering Florence, Sienna and San Giminiagno (sp?).  
the brochure description sounds wonderful.  Have any of you already done this extension - and would you recommend it?  I’m slightly concerned that there will be long periods of time spend on buses!

Thanks in advance for any information or advice on this subject.

janet

We have done lots of extensions on our Viking cruises.  The Ultimate Italy Tuscany extension is by far the best, most inclusive extension we have done with them.  Almost all meals are included.  Full days of excursions (all included).  Because you are staying in a Villa about 35-40 minutes from Florence, you do not have the long drive from Livorno to Florence.  Thus, you can decide to spend your day ported in Livorno to either go to Pisa (not as far as Florence) or Lucca or go to one of the museums in Florence and save the walking tour of Florence for the extension.  The drive from ship in Venice to or from the Villa Is broken up with a stop at Modena at Villa San Donnino where they make traditional Balsaamic where you have a tasting (quite interesting) and a buffet lunch.  The day touring San Gimignano and Siena is fabulous with nice lunch. One night was a wine tasting and dinner at a winery.  

 

I highly recommend it.  

 

Edited by LeRenardrouge
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7 hours ago, LeRenardrouge said:

We have done lots of extensions on our Viking cruises.  The Ultimate Italy Tuscany extension is by far the best, most inclusive extension we have done with them.  Almost all meals are included.  Full days of excursions (all included).  Because you are staying in a Villa about 35-40 minutes from Florence, you do not have the long drive from Livorno to Florence.  Thus, you can decide to spend your day ported in Livorno to either go to Pisa (not as far as Florence) or Lucca or go to one of the museums in Florence and save the walking tour of Florence for the extension.  The drive from ship in Venice to or from the Villa Is broken up with a stop at Modena at Villa San Donnino where they make traditional Balsaamic where you have a tasting (quite interesting) and a buffet lunch.  The day touring San Gimignano and Siena is fabulous with nice lunch. One night was a wine tasting and dinner at a winery.  

 

I highly recommend it.  

 

Thank you so much!   Our cruise will start in Athens and end in Venice (I’d mis-read the website details and thought it was the opposite way round) and so this will be a post-Cruise extension for us.  No matter - we’ve been to Venice many times before so will be happy to get off the ship without spending time there, and transfer to the Florence area to see an area which will be totally new to us.  Your reply has made me feel totally confident that the extension will be worth the expense, so thank you once again.

Janet

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We did this extension 2 years ago and it was fabulous. As stated above, most meals were included and the longest bus ride was to Venice. The villa was excellent and the meals there were top notch. You have to like red wine because white was frowned on. Our tour guide was the best we have ever experienced.  The 2 hour lunch in Florence was unbelievable . The food just kept on coming. Our group had only 16 passengers.

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We did this extension in 2018 and LOVED it!  It was our favorite extension and we are hoping that the Ultimate Italy - Umbria will be almost as nice.  Our tour escort was wonderful ... she took care of all of us like a mother hen from start to finish!  The villa was epic and the food was fresh and definitely homemade!  We also had the good fortune of travelling with a particularly friendly and considerate group!  That can make or break any trip!

 

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We did this as a pre-cruise extension in April and loved every minute!  Loved our villa La Veronica, enjoyed all the tours, and the food and wine were excellent!  Our tour leader, Francesca, was the best, keeping an eye out for those of us with some mobility issues and keeping the group moving with enthusiasm and humor.  I highly recommend this extension!

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Jammy Bun, I am glad you made the leap and booked this extension. We were there with LeRenardrouge and her husband. I wanted to see more of that incredible country and this extension brought us to so many breathtaking vistas. I felt we were very well taken care of by our knowledgeable guide and our driver, even when we hit some nasty weather. It is one busy 3-day excursion where you are on the go each day with lots of walking, visiting great little restaurants, touring villages and cities and learning the history.  Makes me want to go back to see even more! Well worth it!

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