A private tour in Tuscany is reserved for your group alone: priced per group, with hotel pick-up and a plan that can change on the day. A semi-private tour shares a small van with a few other travellers on a fixed route, 8 guests at most with us. Coach and “small group” tours carry 12 to 55 people. Choose by group size first.
| Coach tour | “Small group” tour | Semi-private tour | Private tour | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group size | 40 to 55 people | Often 12 to 25, the label is not regulated | Capped per tour (max 8 with us, 10 on the Arno boat) | Your party only (up to 15 with us) |
| Vehicle | Full-size coach | Minibus | Van | Van, or two vans for larger groups |
| Who you travel with | Strangers | Strangers | A few other travellers | Only your own people |
| Pick-up | Fixed meeting point | Fixed meeting point | Fixed meeting point | Your hotel or apartment |
| Itinerary | Fixed | Fixed | Fixed route and schedule | Timing, stops and pace can change on the day |
| How it is priced | Per person | Per person | Per person | Per group |
| Best for | Tight budgets, famous towns in a hurry | Solo travellers who want company | Couples and solo travellers | Families, friends travelling together, anyone who wants control |
What do “private”, “semi-private” and “small group” actually mean in Tuscany?
Nobody regulates these words. A booking platform can call a minibus of 20 people a “small group” and nothing stops it. So here are the four formats as they really work on the roads out of Florence.
A coach tour is a full-size bus with 40 to 55 passengers. The timetable is fixed and the stops are chosen because they can handle 50 people at once: large tasting rooms, big car parks, set-menu lunches.
A “small group” tour usually means a minibus. The number changes a lot from one operator to the next, and in the listings we see it often lands between 12 and 25. The route and the schedule are still fixed.
A semi-private tour is a van shared with a handful of travellers who booked the same departure. With Out of the Box Florence that means 8 guests at most, or 10 on the Florence Boat & Wine on the Arno. The route is set in advance, because everyone on board signed up for the same day.
A private tour is your party and nobody else. It is priced per group rather than per seat, the guide collects you where you are staying, and the plan can move while the day is happening.
The label tells you very little. The maximum group size tells you almost everything.
How many people are really on a Florence day tour?
Look for the number, not the adjective. If a listing does not state a maximum, write and ask before you pay. A serious small operator answers in one line.
Here are our numbers, so you have something to compare against. Out of the Box Florence private tours take up to 15 guests, travelling in two air-conditioned vans that seat 8 and 7. Semi-private departures are capped at 8, with one exception: the Florence Boat & Wine on the Arno takes up to 10. We do not run large shared groups at all.
Why does the number matter so much? Because it decides where you can go. The Chianti Classico estates we work with are small family producers who receive guests by appointment only. Most of them have no room for a coach in the yard and no staff to pour for 50. A van of 6 fits. A bus does not.
It also decides how the tasting feels. With 8 people round a table you can ask the producer why this vintage tastes different from last year’s, and get a real answer. With 50, you get a speech.
What changes on the day between a group tour and a private one?
Take our Chianti Classico Wine Tour, which we run in both formats. Same region, same guide, same two organic estates, same lunch at the winery.
On the semi-private version you meet the group in Florence, at Piazza della Libertà in front of Caffè Lietta. The route is fixed, and the day is for adults only, because you are sharing a wine tour with people you have just met.
On the private version we pick you up at your hotel or B&B. Children can come. You can stay longer at the first estate if the conversation is good, add a third winery, or start from Siena instead of Florence.
That is the real difference. A semi-private tour gives you the small group; a private tour gives you the small group and the steering wheel.
The same logic runs through the Cinque Terre Hiking Day. Semi-private guests leave at 7:30 from Piazza della Libertà and follow the set plan. Private groups are collected at their hotel and can come back later in the evening if the day deserves it.
Private or semi-private: which one should you book?
Start with how many of you there are.
Book semi-private if you are a couple or travelling alone, you are happy to share a van with a few like-minded people, and the published route already covers what you want to see. You get most of what makes a small tour good, and you pay for a seat instead of the whole van.
Book private if any of these apply to you:
- You are travelling with children, or with teenagers on a wine day.
- Someone in the group walks slowly or needs more breaks.
- You want pick-up and drop-off at your accommodation.
- You are staying in Siena rather than Florence (we also run day trips and tours from Siena).
- You want the freedom to change the plan on the day.
- You are a group of 5 or more.
That last point surprises people. A private tour is priced per group, so the cost per person falls as the group grows. On our Chianti Classico Wine Tour, a private group of 7 or 8 pays less per head than a single seat on the semi-private departure. For couples the maths runs the other way: private costs noticeably more per person, and what you are paying for is flexibility, not space.
Not sure yet how long to stay? Sort that out first. Our guide on how many days you need in Tuscany walks through the options, and the 3-day Tuscany itinerary from Florence shows a sample trip built on real tours.
When does a coach or big group tour actually make sense?
Honestly? Sometimes it does.
If your budget is tight and the choice is between a coach tour and no Tuscany at all, take the coach. Siena and San Gimignano are worth seeing even from behind 40 other heads.
A big group also works if you want to tick off as many famous towns as possible in one day and you do not mind the pace being set by a timetable. And some solo travellers simply enjoy the company.
Where it goes wrong is wine. A tasting room built for coaches pours for volume, and a guide on a fixed timetable cannot stop because something interesting is happening in the vineyard. If wine is the reason you came, a coach is the wrong tool. Our local’s guide to Chianti wine tours from Florence explains what to look for instead.
It also goes wrong if crowds are exactly what you are trying to escape. We wrote down our position on that in slow travel in Tuscany.
How do cancellation rules differ between private and semi-private tours?
At Out of the Box Florence, semi-private tours can be cancelled free of charge up to 48 hours before departure.
Private tours need more notice, because the whole day, the van and the guide are held for your group alone. Cancel 15 or more days ahead and you get a full refund, minus a 10% booking management fee. Between 14 and 8 days before, you get 50% back, minus the same fee. Under 8 days, there is no refund.
Booking fees charged by third-party platforms are non-refundable in every case. The full conditions are on our Terms of Booking page.
How do you check a tour operator before you book?
Ask these five questions, in this order.
- What is the maximum group size? You want a number, not a word.
- Who will my guide be? A small operator can give you a name. “One of our experienced guides” is also an answer, just a different one.
- How many departures a day go to the same place? Several buses leaving the same pick-up point a few minutes apart means the day has been built around logistics, not around you.
- Does the operator take commissions from wineries, restaurants or shops? Ask directly. We do not: we receive nothing for bringing guests to a producer or a restaurant, and nothing on the wine you buy.
- Is it a licensed travel agency? Ours is registered with the Comune di Firenze under SCIA N° 9701/2020/SUAP, filed on 29 September 2020.
Then read the reviews, starting with the one-star ones. Complaints about crowding, rushed stops and headsets tell you more than any amount of praise. And look at the review count itself: a listing with tens of thousands of reviews has, by definition, moved tens of thousands of people.
Which Out of the Box Florence tours are private, and which are semi-private?
Semi-private departures, the first two with a private option:
- Chianti Classico Wine Tour: 5 hours, two organic estates, lunch at the winery.
- Cinque Terre Hiking Day: 10 hours, a 4 km coastal hike, and a boat ride from April to October, sea permitting.
- Florence Boat & Wine on the Arno: one hour on the river, up to 10 guests.
Our walking days are kept small too. The Chianti Classico wine hiking day and the Fiesole hike with lunch and wine are listed for 7 guests.
Private days, reserved for your group:
- Val d’Orcia and Brunello di Montalcino
- Cinque Terre without hiking and Cinque Terre & Pisa
- San Gimignano & Certaldo
- Truffle hunting with lunch and the home cooking class in Chianti Classico
Fully custom. When nothing in the catalogue fits, we build the day or the whole week: see our tailor-made Tuscany tours, or book a private driver in Florence and Tuscany and keep the planning to yourself.
The whole catalogue, with the group size on every card, is on our tours page. For a wider view of where to go, start from our complete guide to the best day trips from Florence.
Frequently Asked Questions
A private tour is reserved for your own group, priced per group, with pick-up from your accommodation and a plan you can change on the day. A semi-private tour shares a small van with a few other travellers on a fixed route and schedule, and you pay per seat. At Out of the Box Florence, semi-private groups are capped at 8 guests.
A full-size coach day trip from Florence to Chianti, Siena or San Gimignano usually carries 40 to 55 passengers. Tours sold as “small group” often mean a minibus of 12 to 25 people. These labels are not regulated, so always check the stated maximum group size before you book.
It depends on the size of your group. Private tours are priced per group, so the cost per person falls as the group grows: on the Out of the Box Florence Chianti Classico Wine Tour, a private group of 7 or 8 pays less per person than a semi-private seat. For couples, private costs more and buys flexibility rather than space.
Not on every tour. The semi-private Chianti Classico Wine Tour by Out of the Box Florence is for adults aged 18 and over, while the private version welcomes children and adapts the day to them. The Cinque Terre Hiking Day has a minimum age of 12 because of the coastal trails. Families usually do best on a private tour.
Yes. Out of the Box Florence collects private groups directly from their hotel or apartment in Florence and brings them back at the end of the day. Semi-private departures leave from a set meeting point, Piazza della Libertà in front of Caffè Lietta, which is confirmed by email when you book.
Private tours take up to 15 guests, travelling in two air-conditioned vans that seat 8 and 7. Semi-private departures are capped at 8 guests, except the Florence Boat & Wine on the Arno, which takes up to 10. Out of the Box Florence does not run large shared groups.
At Out of the Box Florence, semi-private tours can be cancelled free of charge up to 48 hours before departure. Private tours are refunded in full, minus a 10% booking management fee, if cancelled 15 or more days ahead, and 50% minus the fee between 14 and 8 days. Under 8 days there is no refund.
Book at least 2 to 3 weeks ahead for travel between April and October, and earlier for multi-day trips, truffle hunting or wine days at small estates that only receive visitors by appointment. Small groups fill faster than coach tours because each departure has only a few seats. Last-minute requests are sometimes possible.
