Assisi and Cortona Day Trip from Florence

It was a wonderful trip with Giulia and our driver. Everything was well organized and Giulia was very clear about the time we were expected to meet to help us manage our expectations.

First I want to acknowledge that Victor customer service was top notch. I had trouble booking this day trip, but the agent I got on the phone was great. That being said, we were very excited to see Assisi and Cortona. It’s a long ride from Florence; our first stop was supposed to be Cortona. The guide told us that he had a special surprise stop at this beautiful lake. We got off the bus and figured out after 10 minutes that it was a cigarette break for the driver. Yes it was a pretty lake but there was absolutely nothing significant about it. So on to Cortona. A very charming old world town! Very special - we had some free time, so it was really nice to explore. Back in the bus to Assisi. We arrived and were shown the first restaurant and were told they had the best food, the best service and were reasonable. Of course, we all went in. There was one waitress for all of us (you couldn’t help thinking the tour guide knew the people there) she didn’t speak but a few English words - could not make change when it was time to go - needed an interpreter ... We were then passed along to the local guide. She was nice of course - but she talked while walking, and she was out of breath most of the time so it was difficult with her accent to understand. The group consisted of others who spoke no English, so she had 3 interpretations to go through. It felt as the time went on that she spent less and less time in English. We spent a LOT of time inside the beautiful churches along with many other groups - tricky to keep up and hear anything of value. After she was finished she passed us back to our guide from Florence. The schedule was then supposed to allow us 1.5 hours of exploration on our own, but the guide from Florence told us that we were going to see another church down the hill and we could go to their bookstore (!). We got there and it was in town (away from all the charm and history of Assisi) and there was only a church and some vendors along the street selling souvenirs. That was such a disappointment!! And a total waste of our time. So, between the lake stop cigarette break, and this end of the tour ‘bookstore’ stop, we felt truly gypped out of the best experience we were looking forward to on our trip. I only hope that one day I am able to return and try again ...

All you have to know is that the time spent is worth every cent. Cortana is cute, lunch is recommended - do the recommendation, its delicious, and the view of Assisi is just stunning.

A great day out of Florence. Cortona was a nice town but the visit was too short but understandable as we were heading to Assisi. What a wonderful town it is, the history and sights were outstanding. We had a some free time to enjoy a small lunch, a coffee and a wander around the town. A guided tour through the town and the Cathedral were great. In fact i could spend a whole day in this lovely town.

We had a wonderful day! Our tour guide was great as was our driver.Beautiful city of Cortona was the setting of the movie Under the Tuscan Sun!

Gabriele was the consulate host on this glorious trip to Assisi. As English speakers, guide Elizabeth helped Our group once we reached Assisi and did an amazing job!

What an amazing experience. Gabrielle was host extraordinare as we toured Cortona and Assisi.Blessed with terrific weather, our adventure into the Tuscan countryside was all we had hoped it to be.

This tour tries to do too much in a day. The guide had a weird way of repeating himself constantly and yet never actually said much of value. Special guide in asissi was great!

Good tour. Florence traffic was terrible and took away a lot of time. Not much time left for Cortona, but Assisi was really the highlight. Guide for Assisi was very good, but tour did not give enough time to the Giotto frescoes. Tour guide was terrific (Julia?)

Very enjoyable day with an excellent guide for the tour, and an exceptionally knowledgeable and inspiring guide in Assisi. The amount of time spent in each location was perfect.