What is a reasonable price for a guided tour? Let’s make a comparison: when you are on holiday, one of the main things you have to choose is restaurants. You have a wide range of choices, from the expensive Michelin-star restaurants who make sure you have an amazing dinner, to the cheap fast-food chains for you to save as much money as possible. None of my customers ask me for these two types of restaurants, simply because if they make the choice to have dinner in any of them, they don’t need my suggestions. People always ask me for a place where they can enjoy good typical Italian food, for a reasonable price.
The same goes for guided tours: If you don’t want to spend money on it then you don’t hire a guide. If you want to spend as much as possible then there are plenty of agencies happy to take your money. What we can offer you is a tour with a good typical Italian licensed guide, for a reasonable price.
After all, isn’t this what a holiday is about? Isn’t it about eating local food, enjoying local attractions, chatting with the locals and building amazing memories?
Florence Tour prices
Maybe you landed on our private tours list, clicked on one of our tours and you’re wondering if our price is high or low. I might say, just browse around and you’ll find out. What will you find? You’ll find that our private tours have very reasonable prices, from 40 to 60% less than any private tour provided by an agency, but also less expensive than a group tour, if you are a group of five or more.
How? We cut out the middle man.
“I want a five-star treatment, money is not an issue”. Go for a private tour provided by an agency: the agency will hire me to provide the tour paying me the same rate I’m asking you.
How is this worse for the tour guide? It is not, it is worse for you, the tourist. You will pay double if not more for exactly the same service.
So why do I want to help you save money? Because if I’m not available, the agency will hire one of the other 3000 tourist guides in Florence. I would like to give you the best private tour of Florence possible, and I would like to be the person who is paid to do so.
“I’m on a budget, the price is the main factor for me”. Go for a group tour (the fast-food chain), but remember: our private tours can be cheaper for groups of five or more.
On top of this, even if you spend slightly less for a group tour, here are some of the issues you might face (by my experience):
- You can’t hear what the tourist guide is saying
- Other people are late and the tour isn’t starting (you have to wait)
- Your/other’s children are disturbing the group
- You want to ask another question on Botticelli’s Birth of venus, but the five minutes scheduled in the group tour timetable for this painting expired and you have to move on with the group
- Another tourist asks too many silly questions and you can’t ask anything
- You missed the chance to use the toilet, the tour lasts two more hours and the guide can’t stop the tour just for you
- Headsets aren’t working and the tour starts late
Of course with a private tour you get personalized attention and you avoid any issue like the ones above. We know how Florence tickets work, we know when it is convenient to buy the Firenze Card, and we are “real” local tourist guides (click on the link to understand what I’m talking about).
I suggest group tours when there’s no alternative: attractions like the Vasari Corridor, for example, can only be visited joining a group. We collaborate with (what we think are) the best agencies in Florence, providing quality group tours for low prices. Contact us if you want more info on this. You can also browse around the Tours and Activities section: we carefully scanned the group tours offered by agencies and based on our experience we selected the best ones to choose.
I hope I have explained clearly the best reasons for booking our services, but if you have any questions or concerns, want me to explain pricing policy in another way or just want to give your opinion please contact us, we will be happy to reply within 24 hours.
Leave a Reply