From Rome: Tuscany, Montepulciano Tour with Wine & Lunch

About This Experience

VEDITALIA runs this 12-hour coach day from Piazza del Popolo to two Tuscan wine towns, Montepulciano and Montalcino. It is one of two tours on this site that pair both towns in a day (the other is Moranditour's Montepulciano and Montalcino wine routes day), and it starts from $121 per person on the English Tour Option. It holds 4.6 from 259 GetYourGuide reviews.

The coach drives about 1.5 hours, stops for a 20-minute break, then drives another hour to Montepulciano. You get about 1.5 hours in town with a tour leader, including streets used as a set for the Twilight film New Moon, and the walk has a gentle incline. Lunch and the tasting take about an hour. Then you ride an hour to Montalcino for 1.5 hours of free time, and return via a 20-minute break at Fabro.

Lunch is served in the old friars' refectory of a winery dating from the 1200s, which also holds a 2,000-year-old Etruscan tomb. You get local charcuterie and cheeses, then a plate of pici with meat sauce (a vegetarian version is available). A sommelier pours Nobile di Montepulciano and Rosso di Montalcino. In Montalcino, wine tastings and the Temple of Brunello museum are extra.

Pick this tour if you want Montepulciano and Montalcino in one go and do not mind a long day on the bus. The guide works in Spanish and English, and several reviewers found the constant switching tiring. Some felt rushed in Montepulciano or said the tasting was brief, and a couple of groups lost hours when a coach broke down. It is not suitable for people with mobility impairments.

Highlights

• Montepulciano and Montalcino in one day from Rome
• Lunch in the friars' refectory of a winery from the 1200s
• A 2,000-year-old Etruscan tomb inside the winery cellar
• Sommelier tasting of Nobile di Montepulciano and Rosso di Montalcino
• About 1.5 hours of free time in Montalcino
• Twilight: New Moon filming locations in Montepulciano

What's Included

• ✓ Round-trip transport by air-conditioned bus
• ✓ Bilingual tour leader (Spanish and English)
• ✓ Headsets
• ✓ Wine tasting of Nobile di Montepulciano and Rosso di Montalcino with a sommelier
• ✓ Lunch of local charcuterie, cheeses and pici with meat sauce (vegetarian version available)
• ✓ Visit to the medieval winery and its Etruscan tomb

Not Included

• Wine tasting in Montalcino
• Temple of Brunello entry ticket
• Hotel pickup (the tour starts at Piazza del Popolo)

What to Bring

• Comfortable shoes

Good to Know & Caveats

• The guide speaks Spanish and English, so expect each explanation twice.
• The day lasts about 12 hours, with two short rest breaks on the road.
• The walk through Montepulciano has a slight incline.
• Lunch has a vegetarian version of the pici; ask for it when you book.

Meeting Point

Piazza del Popolo, in front of the Leonardo da Vinci Museum next to the church of Santa Maria del Popolo. Look for the guide holding a Veditalia sign marked MONTEPULCIANO.