Which one to choose
Three formats, three kinds of traveller.
- Vespa: for those who have a car licence, want to see Chianti in a day from Florence and don't feel like pedalling. It is the most photogenic format and also the most restrictive: no under-18s driving and no children on the pillion.
- Bike and e-bike: for those who want to move at their own pace and stop wherever they like. An e-bike takes care of the climbs, of which Chianti has plenty. Also suitable for teenagers, within the age limits each operator sets.
- Horse: for those with an extra day to spend towards the coast. The Maremma is the place, but there are also short rides in the countryside and among the vineyards of Montepulciano.
If you only have half a day and are in Florence, the simplest option is an e-bike in the hills of Fiesole or a morning Vespa tour. If you are in Lucca, hire a bike and ride round the walls: there is nothing to book.
Tuscany Vespa tours
How they work
Tours leave Florence in the morning or early afternoon and last six to seven hours, with two or three stops in Chianti: a castle or a farm, a wine and olive oil tasting, sometimes a lunch. You ride in single file behind the guide, on minor roads and a few stretches of gravel road (strade bianche).
To give a precise example, the vintage tour by Walkabout Tours lasts 6 hours with departures at 08:20 or 13:00, costs from €130 on the operator's website and includes an automatic Vespa, a helmet, a short riding lesson and tastings at a Chianti estate. Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before. The private version starts from €520.
Licence and age
- You need a valid car driving licence, which you must carry with you. A motorbike licence is not needed: the Vespas used on the tours are automatic, with no gears.
- In Italy a category B licence lets you ride scooters up to 125 cc. If your licence was issued outside the European Union, ask the operator whether they also want an International Driving Permit.
- Minimum age 18 to drive. Rules on passengers vary: Walkabout does not take children, Florencetown accepts passengers from age 13.
- If you don't feel up to riding a Vespa, some tours offer an electric car option, and Walkabout has a tour in a vintage Fiat 500, also from €130. In either case, ask which licence you need.
Prices on the platforms
Florence: Chianti Vespa Tour with Wine & E-Car Option
(1,033 reviews) from €114.75
Book on GetYourGuide
From Florence: Tuscany Vespa Tour with Lunch & Wine Tasting
(71 reviews) from €149
Book on GetYourGuideThe cheapest group tour starts from €114.75 on GetYourGuide and also offers an electric car option. On Tiqets, small-group tours with lunch start from €136.74, and the classic tour from Florence from €150. The other GetYourGuide tours, with lunch or extra tastings, cost €149–150. In general a group tour costs €110–160, a private one €400–600 or more. Partner platform prices change and we check them regularly.
The main difference between the offers is the lunch: a sit-down meal at a farm or a board of cold cuts during the tasting. Look at the group size too, because ten Vespas in a line on the Chiantigiana road are a very different experience from four.
If it rains
A Vespa in the rain is unpleasant and, on gravel roads, not very safe. Don't expect the tour to be cancelled, though: Florencetown, for example, states that it never cancels for rain, and if you decide not to go you can change the date or take a voucher valid for a year. Tuscany Bike Tours also says it goes out in any weather. On the platforms, the conditions written in the listing apply: read them before you pay.
Tuscany cycling tours: bikes and e-bikes
Chianti and the Val d'Orcia
Chianti by bike is beautiful and hard work: the hills are short but steep, and between Greve, Panzano and Radda you are constantly going up and down. That is why nearly all guided tours from Florence use e-bikes and put a tasting halfway round. Market prices are usually between €100 and €180 with a tasting and lunch. Plain hire usually costs €25–60 a day, more for an e-bike.
Florence: Chianti E-Bike Tour with Tuscan Lunch & Winery
(54 reviews) from €149
Book on GetYourGuide
Montepulciano: Val d'Orcia E-Bike Tour to Pienza and Monticchiello
(3 reviews) from €78
Book on GetYourGuide
Florence: E-Bike Tour with Olive Oil in the Tuscan Hills
(230 reviews) from €55
Book on GetYourGuide- On Tiqets, the guided e-bike tour in Chianti with lunch and tasting starts from €99.
- On GetYourGuide, the version with lunch and a winery visit starts from €149, seven hours.
- From Montepulciano there is a four-and-a-half-hour e-bike ride towards Pienza and Monticchiello, from €78: excellent if you are staying in the Val d'Orcia.
- The Fiesole ride with an olive oil tasting, from €55, is the shortest and starts from the city. More details on the olive oil page.
GetYourGuide also lists a six-hour e-bike tour in Chianti with lunch and two tastings from €22.50. For what it promises, that is an unusual price: before you book, check what it really includes.
You don't need a licence for a bike, and pedal-assisted e-bikes ride just like a normal bicycle. Each operator sets its own minimum age and minimum height: with children under 14, check the tour listing before you pay.
The right website for Tuscany Bike Tours
If you are looking for the Florence operator Tuscany Bike Tours, pay attention to the web address. The domain without a hyphen, tuscanybiketours.com, is not theirs: it points to a generic tourism portal. The real site is tuscany-biketours.com, with the hyphen. The operator is based in Via Ghibellina, in Florence. On its website the classic Chianti bike tour costs €95 (€85 for students): about 20 km in six hours, with lunch and a tasting at a castle, and the e-bike is extra. You get a full refund only if you cancel more than 72 hours before. Our appraisal is on the Tuscany Bike Tours page.
Lucca: the walls by bike
The walls of Lucca form a 4.2 km loop on top of the ramparts: tree-lined, flat and closed to cars. It is the easiest bike ride in the region, suitable for children too. Bike hire shops are near Piazza Santa Maria and at the gates, and there is also a municipal bike-sharing scheme. Online, daily hire starts from €20.
If you want more, you can follow the four-hour self-guided tour, from €18, or cycle to Pisa on a self-guided route from €29, coming back by train. The guided e-bike tour with a winery visit, from €119, takes you into the hills around the city.
L'Eroica, at Gaiole
L'Eroica was born at Gaiole in Chianti in 1997, with 92 riders. Today it is held on the first weekend of October and draws enthusiasts from all over the world onto routes from 45 to about 211 km, mostly on gravel roads. You ride vintage racing bikes: the traditional rule calls for frames built up to 1987, down-tube gear levers and toe clips on the pedals, and wool jerseys. The rules are precise: read them before you enter or look for a bike to hire.
Even if you don't ride, Gaiole is one big party that weekend, with free shuttle buses and bike hire on site. In other months you can visit Casa Eroica, the permanent museum in the village, and follow the waymarked routes on your own. The same organiser also runs Eroica Montalcino and the Nova Eroica gravel events. On that weekend rooms and restaurants around Gaiole fill up: book early.
Horseback riding in Tuscany
The Maremma and the butteri
For horseback riding in Tuscany the place to go is the Maremma Regional Park, between Alberese and the sea, in the Maremma and Saturnia area. The park authority promotes guided rides and publishes a list of riding guides with their phone numbers. Some stables accept complete beginners.
Along the trails you may meet the butteri, the mounted herdsmen who raise free-range Maremmana cattle. They carry a long hooked stick, which they use to open gates without getting out of the saddle.
The best times are spring, September and October and clear winter days; summer is very hot. Dogs are not allowed in the park, not even on a lead. Check the park's notices before you set off too: roads and bridges sometimes close for works, and some routes change their starting point.
The park authority does not publish prices. As a rough guide, a one- to two-hour ride costs €40–70, more for a half day or for experiences with the butteri.
Other rides
Florence: Horseback Riding Tour with Wine Tasting & Transfer
(150 reviews) from €165
Book on GetYourGuideOn the platforms, a one-hour ride in the countryside starts from €69, and the ride among the vineyards of Montepulciano, an hour and a half, from €85. From Florence there is a three-hour tour with transfer and tasting from €165: it costs more, but it solves the transport problem.
Age, experience and weather
Minimum age, maximum weight and the required level vary from stable to stable: be honest about your experience, because it is used to choose your horse. Wear long trousers and closed shoes with a small heel. Weather decides here too: when you book, ask how refunds work.
Wine, roads and safety
Chianti roads are narrow with no hard shoulder, and at weekends in spring and autumn there are plenty of cars and cyclists. A few practical tips:
- on an e-bike, set off with a full battery and ask what the real range is with the climbs on the route;
- on gravel roads, brake before the bends, especially on a Vespa;
- in summer, choose morning departures and take plenty of water;
- if it rains, it is better to postpone than to go anyway.
Related pages
For tastings without the pedalling, see the wine tours. For more outdoor ideas there is the hot-air balloon flight and the list of experiences in Tuscany. If the operator matters more than the activity, compare the pages on Walkabout and Florencetown.