In short: when to go and what to book
If you want white truffles, come between October and December and, if you can, time your hunt for a November weekend at San Miniato. Book a hunt with a dog in the San Miniato hills: on partner platforms it starts from €145 with truffle tagliolini, and the next morning you can go to the truffle fair. If you are in Tuscany in summer, the hunts still run, but the quarry is scorzone, the summer black truffle. If you don't have a car, there are full days from Florence with transfer, lunch and wine, from €275.
Truffle hunting seasons in Tuscany
In Tuscany you can't just go truffle hunting whenever you like. Regional law no. 50 of 1995, in article 13, sets a calendar for each species. The dates below are the ones in the law.
| Species | Common name | Harvesting season |
|---|---|---|
| Tuber magnatum | prized white truffle | 10 September – 31 December |
| Tuber melanosporum | prized black truffle | 15 November – 15 March |
| Tuber aestivum | scorzone, summer truffle | 1 June – 30 November |
| Tuber uncinatum | uncinato, autumn truffle | 1 October – 31 December |
| Tuber albidum (borchii) | bianchetto or marzuolo | 10 January – 30 April |
| Tuber brumale | brumale | 1 January – 15 March |
| Tuber brumale var. moschatum | musky brumale | 15 November – 15 March |
| Tuber macrosporum | macrosporum | 1 September – 31 December |
| Tuber mesentericum | mesentericum | 1 September – 31 January |
Three practical rules follow from this table:
- White truffle season starts on 10 September, not "at the end of September" as you often read. For a white truffle hunt, though, the best period runs from October to December.
- Nothing may be harvested in May. If someone offers you a truffle hunt in May, ask what you will be looking for.
- There is no hunting at night. The law also sets the hours of the day when hunting is allowed, month by month: in November from 06:30 to 17:30, in December from 07:00 to 17:30.
- January: good
- February: good
- March: good
- April: good
- May: not recommended or closed
- June: good
- July: good
- August: good
- September: good
- October: best time
- November: best time
- December: best time
best time good not recommended or closed
White truffles are harvested from 10 September to 31 December, and the San Miniato fair is in November. In summer the hunt is for scorzone, and from January to April for bianchetto. Harvesting is banned in May.
San Miniato and the white truffle fair
San Miniato, in the hills of the province of Pisa between Florence and the coast, is the name most closely tied to white truffles in Tuscany. The Mostra Mercato Nazionale del Tartufo Bianco delle Colline Sanminiatesi (the national white truffle fair of the San Miniato hills) is held every year over the last three weekends of November. It is promoted by the Fondazione San Miniato Promozione, which publishes the programme and dates.
The fair takes over the whole old town, with more than 150 food stalls spread along more than a kilometre of uphill streets. The truffle dealers gather at the top, below the Rocca di Federico II: that is where truffles are weighed, sniffed and haggled over. In Piazza del Duomo and Piazza del Seminario the Officina del Tartufo hosts cooking shows by chefs.
During the rest of the autumn the villages of the municipality hold smaller fairs. The one at Corazzano, for example, usually takes place in early October, with a truffle-dog demonstration on Sunday afternoon and a truffle dinner that you need to book. Check the dates on the San Miniato Promozione website.
Several dealers and hunters in the surrounding hills run hunts for visitors. Savitar offers an hour's hunt with a truffle hunter, with a guide who translates into Italian, English, Spanish and Portuguese, and several lunch options. The price is on request, at cacciata@savitar.it. Gazzarrini Tartufi, in business since the early 1900s, offers a "Truffle Hunting & Tasting Experience".
San Miniato lies halfway between Florence and Pisa, and pairs well with either.
The Crete Senesi and San Giovanni d'Asso
The other historic white truffle area is in the Crete Senesi, south-east of Siena. San Giovanni d'Asso, which became part of the municipality of Montalcino on 1 January 2017, has a Truffle Museum in its castle. In November the village holds a market fair for the white truffle of the Crete Senesi: the exact date changes from year to year, so check it before you set off.
The area combines well with a day in the Val d'Orcia, with the abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore and with Siena. In practice you need a car.
What a hunt with a dog is like
The format changes little from one organiser to another:
- Meeting the truffle hunter, usually at a farm or at the edge of the woods. He explains the species, the seasons and the harvesting rules.
- The search in the woods, one to three hours depending on the package. The dog searches with its nose and marks the spot, then the hunter carefully digs the truffle out.
- Tasting or lunch: truffle on bruschetta, eggs or homemade pasta, sometimes a full lunch with wine.
Wear closed shoes that can get dirty and long trousers: you walk through the woods, often on damp, sloping ground.
One detail to clear up beforehand: in white truffle season, the truffle is not always included in the price. With some packages the truffle served, or any truffle you want to buy, is charged separately at the market price per gram, which for white truffles is high. Ask when you book.
Before paying, ask the organiser four questions. How long is the actual search, not counting explanations and lunch? How many people are in the group? What language does the truffle hunter speak, or is someone there to translate? And what do you eat at the end: a taste on a bruschetta or a full meal? The answers almost always explain the price difference between two packages that look the same.
Prices and what to book
The truffle hunts bookable online that we list are all on GetYourGuide. Partner prices change and we check them regularly.
| Package | Length | Price per person |
|---|---|---|
| Hunt at San Gimignano | 2 h | from €90 |
| Hunt with tasting | 2.5 h | from €120 |
| San Miniato, hunt with a dog and tagliolini | 3 h | from €145 |
| San Miniato, hunt and food experience | 3 h | from €195 |
| From Florence: San Gimignano, hunt, wine and lunch | 8 h | from €275 |
| From Florence: hunt, lunch and wine tasting | 7 h | from €300 |
| No. | Option | Platform | Rating | Duration | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Truffle Hunting in San Gimignano cheapest | GetYourGuide | 5.0 (106) | 2 hours | €90 |
| 02 | Tuscany: Truffle Hunting Experience with Tasting | GetYourGuide | 5.0 (36) | 2h 30m | €120 |
| 03 | San Miniato: Truffle Hunting with a Dog and Tagliolino | GetYourGuide | 5.0 (3) | 3 hours | €145 |
| 04 | San Miniato: Truffle Hunting, Food, and Gourmet Experience | GetYourGuide | 4.6 (9) | 3 hours | €195 |
| 05 | Florence: San Gimignano, Truffle Hunt, Wine Tasting, & Lunch | GetYourGuide | 5.0 (26) | 8 hours | €275 |
| 06 | Florence: Truffle Hunting, Lunch, and Wine Tasting Tour | GetYourGuide | 4.9 (15) | 7 hours | €300 |
How to choose:
- You have a car and want white truffles: San Miniato, from €145. It is the area most closely tied to the white truffle, and in November you can combine it with the fair.
- You are already in San Gimignano: the two-hour hunt from €90 is the cheapest option.
- You are in Florence without a car: one of the days with transfer, from €275. It costs more because it includes transport, lunch and wine: compare it with a wine tour plus a hunt you arrange yourself.
- You want a tailor-made experience, perhaps a private one: write directly to a local hunter such as Savitar and ask for a quote.
See the truffle hunt at San Miniato from €145
"Guaranteed find"? Better not
A truffle is a fungus that grows underground, linked to the roots of certain trees. Even someone who knows a wood well cannot tell in advance whether there will be a ripe one that morning. A good truffle hunter knows the spots where the odds are highest, and a good dog covers them all. But especially with white truffles and early in the season, you may come back with little or nothing.
That is why you should be wary of listings that promise a certain find: ask how they can guarantee it. Take the hunt for what it is: a walk in the woods with an old craft explained by someone who practises it, a dog at work and a tasting at the end. If you find a truffle, good. If you don't, the experience is still worth it, as long as you knew that beforehand.
Mistakes to avoid
- Booking in May and expecting a real hunt. It is the month when harvesting is banned.
- Thinking you can find white truffles in summer. From June to early September the hunt is for scorzone.
- Going to San Miniato on a November weekend without booking lunch. It is the busiest time of all.
- Assuming the truffle served is included. In white truffle season, always ask.
- Paying for a day trip from Florence when you have a car. Going on your own costs much less, even though lunch and wine are extra.
In autumn truffle hunting pairs well with the olive harvest and the new oil (see olive oil) and with a cooking class. For more ideas, see experiences in Tuscany.