Tuscany Photo Tour
May 22 – 29, 2027
cost – $7000/person
Spend nine days photographing Tuscany in the golden light of poppy season — cypress-lined roads, medieval hill towns, and a private Renaissance villa you and 17 fellow travelers will have entirely to yourselves. From sunrise shoots in the Val d’Orcia to a private tour and dinner at Banfi, this is a trip built around getting you to the right light, at the right hour, with instruction from Bobbi and Lee at every stop.
Who this trip is for: photo enthusiasts of all ages, and experience are welcome to participate in a modestly active travel adventure designed for capturing the best photos with any camera gear, iPhones welcome here!
The Villa
We have the Villa booked from Sat. afternoon on May 22 to the morning of May 29 leaving by 10. Transportation is provided to and from Florence on those days.
The main house has 8 en-suite bedrooms (two ground-floor suites with king beds, six upstairs queens/kings) plus an independent cottage with its own living room and en-suite queen bedroom — comfortably hosting up to 18 guests. You’re 5km from the walled town of Buonconvento, and within easy reach of Montepulciano, Montalcino, and Pienza for wine, cheese, and hill-town photography whenever you want to slip away from the group.
Bobbi and Lee provide over 100 years of combined photo expertise to help you take your photography to the next level, and experience the photo-adventure of a lifetime! There will be scheduled critics, informal one-on-one instruction, and uniquely designed photo excursions.
Tuscany is a charming and beautiful place to visit under any circumstances, but to be able to stay at an amazing villa and have Bobbi and Lee as your guides to some of the most picturesque and photogenic parts of the region is a bonus. It’s a fun and lively time, with the flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances or new opportunities. For photographers of all levels it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Villa Mariolina sits on a 300-hectare organic farm estate in the Val d’Orcia — UNESCO-protected countryside between Siena, Montalcino, Pienza, and Montepulciano. Renovated in 2014, the villa pairs old-world Tuscan character with real luxury: a pool, jacuzzi, sauna, billiard room, and panoramic views from nearly every window.
⬅ Click on the gallery to the left to see images of the villa
Click Here to reserve your spot now with $750 deposit
Included in the Villa:
Welcome dinner by local chef includes 3 course dinner with local ingredients.
Pizza night, 3 courses, with professional pizza maker in the outdoor wood fired pizza oven!
Breakfast food and snacks. You will make your own breakfast, or we will do it as a group! There is a small vegetable garden that is harvested every day for our use.
No alcohol is provided but there is amazing wine everywhere, including the wine made on the Villa’s property!
Swimming Pool, Jacuzzi Spa and Sauna. Satellite TV, Wifi, Ping Pong, Pool Table, Maid Service
Extra fees: Personal Massage, Horseback Riding and Yoga class
Included on the tour:
- Lodging for seven nights at a luxurious villa
- Transportation to and from the Villa from Florence.
- Van and driver for photo excursions and explorations
- Admission to various locations and tours
- Photo instruction and critique from Bobbi and Lee.
Transportation during the Photo Tour:
We will have a driver and van for most of our excursions around Tuscany. Final transportation details will be shared with confirmed guests closer to departure. Lee and Bobbi will also have a rental car that we can use for quick trips to the town and locals, but we will only be able to carry 3 people plus us. It is an option for you to rent your own car if you feel the need for more independence. We will discuss further.
We will have several lunches and dinners while we are out, and they are paid for by the individual participants. We can take turns making dinner for the group at the Villa, too!
The Landscape
Travel through the Tuscan countryside and visit iconic sun drenched landscapes
Click on the galleries below to see example images
The Hill Towns
Our Tuscany adventure includes visits to some of the many medieval hill towns including:
- Casole d’Elsa
- Pienza
- Montepulciano
Each town offers a unique experience of sights, sounds, local cuisine, and crafts. We will also visit some wineries, and of course, sample many of the local wines.
⬅ Click on the Gallery to the left to see example images.
Click Here to reserve your spot now with $750 deposit
The Abbey of San Galgano
The Abbey of Saint Galgano is a fascinating gothic building with nearby vineyard. A popular location for events, and incredible photo opportunities. There is a restaurant next door, and the famous “Sword-in-the-stone” of Montesiepi Chapel just up the hill from the Abbey.
Click on the gallery to the right to see example images ➜
Click Here to reserve your spot now with $750 deposit
Siena
The villa is relatively close to Siena, one of Italy’s loveliest medieval cities. The city sits over three hills with its heart the huge piazza del Campo. The Duomo of Siena is one of the most amazing cathedrals in the world, and definitely a must visit attraction!
⬅ Click on the gallery to the left to see example images.
Click Here to reserve your spot now with $750 deposit
Banfi Winery
Banfi winery is at the center of wine production in Tuscany—home to the amazing Brunello varieties. We explore the winery with a private tour that takes us through the entire production process and ends with a meal at their 5-star restaurant.
Click on the Gallery to the right to see examples from our 2023 tour ➔
Click Here to reserve your spot now with $750 deposit
Behind the Scenes
And many of us enjoyed playing Scrabble using an Italian set with a “wonky” distribution of letters several evenings
The villa was indeed a gem.
Participants on the Tuscany Tour have all traveled with us before. Last year was our inaugural trip, and everyone was thrilled with the amazing, fun, luxurious, photo adventure.
⬅ Click on the gallery to the left to see our group in action.
Click Here to reserve your spot now with $750 deposit
I joined Bobbi and Lee on their inaugural trip to Tuscany and found it a bit magical. The villa we stayed at was a gem. I woke up at sunrise every day and put my head out the window to capture the most beautiful sunrises with fog and beautiful countryside opening out before me. The sites we went to while we were “hunting for cypress trees” was a blast. Each site was unique and loads of fun to wander around getting good shots. I have some of my favorite shots of Italy from this trip…..and I have been to Italy many times. This is a unique trip with having the villa at our disposal. Lots of camaraderie amongst the other tour members. We happily made breakfasts and lunches for ourselves. And relaxed as much as we were working hard at our photography.
Itinerary
General Itinerary
We chase light, not a rigid schedule. Sunrise and sunset shoots anchor each day — the Val d’Orcia’s cypress roads and rolling wheat fields are at their best in that first and last hour — with hill towns, wineries, and rest time filled in around them. Weather and light dictate the exact order, but here’s what a typical week includes.
Highlights:
Full Day trip:
Morning to Casole d’Elsa, an artistic hilltop town northwest of Siena. The streets are literally lined with art and the entire town is an artist colony as well as a beautiful and historic Etruscan settlement.
Afternoon to Siena, a beautiful medieval hilltop town and a UNESCO site. It features an outstanding Duomo, filled with art and amazing floor tiles and has a unique striped tower. There is much to do and see in Siena including the fan shaped plaza, that Rick Steves called the pretty plaza in Italy. We have dinner at a restaurant in the plaza.
*Early morning shoot:
The landscape in the Val d’Orcia area is sublime, filled with rolling hills of vineyards, olive trees and wheat fields. There is a road between San Quirico d’Orsia and Pienza that covers some of the most popular photography spots: I Cipressini, the Madonna Chapel, and Podere Belvedere. The drive is about ½ hour from the villa, so be prepared to get up at O-dark 30! The morning is spent exploring the gorgeous landscape and we will be there during poppy season with fields of red blooms.
*Early morning shoot:
*Poggio Covili is at the base of another castle hill top town, Castaglione d’Orcia. This is the famous row of Cyrpesses leading up to a beautiful farmhouse. The castle town is small, but there is a great view from below.
*Afternoon
*Pienza is a charming Renaissance hilltop town filled with art and history with great museums, shops and stupendous views. Known for its amazing Pecorino cheeses and it’s association with Pope Pius II and III! A wonderful location for lunch, and an opportunity to shoot panoramas of the beautiful Val d’Orcia valley from lofty viewpoints. For movie buffs, Zefferelli’s Romeo and Juliet used the Palazzo Piccolomini for the first encounter of the lovers.
*Afternoon trip
The Abbey San Galgano is the ruins of the first gothic church in Tuscany. It was built early 1200’s. Nearby is the Chapel where legend says that Saint Galgano plunged his sword into the stone to give up his life of fighting and begin his life of faith and peace. You can see the sword in the stone under a plexiglass cover! The ruins of the church are wonderful and there is a lovely café on the property for lunch or snacks.
*Sunset shoot
*Cypresses of Montalcino are the iconic image of Tuscany. A grove of Cypress trees set in the middle of a green field on the side of a hill, it doesn’t get more Tuscan than this!
*Sunset shoot
*Podere Baccoleno is near the town of Asciano and features a Cypress lined winding road to the farmhouse. Another classic Tuscan scene!
*Day trip
**Montepulciano is the perfect Tuscan hilltop town renowned for its Vino Nobile, medieval architecture, sumptuous food and its underground. Yes, you read that right! We will do the Underground Tour of wineries and tasting of their amazing wines, as well as cheese, olive oil and salami. We will have the hop-on hop-off tour of the above ground, bringing you to shops and the top of the city at the Piazza Grande. We will spend quite a bit of time before and after visiting the city to photograph the surrounding landscapes, the most gorgeous area in Tuscany!
*Afternoon/evening trip
Private Nature Preserve on the Italian West Coast – We have the option to spend an afternoon and early evening at a private nature preserve on the West Coast, near Grosseto. We will meet the ranch managers in the parking area where horse drawn carts will deliver us to this beautiful and remote nature preserve, with green forests and dramatic beaches. The preserve boasts a herd of white, long horn Maremma cows, native to Tuscany, and wild horses. The beach is stunningly gorgeous, and the cowboys will bring the horses to the beach! It’s an exquisite place to explore and photograph. We top off the day with a delicious dinner on the beach, watching the sun as it disappears into the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Since access depends upon the weather, we won’t know till we arrive if this is possible. It is an add on for an additional $200 USD, but includes dinner and wine!
Landscape photo ops:
https://www.tuscanyphotographytours.com/articles/the-ultimate-photo-location-guide-to-tuscany/
This website lists the most amazing places, which are in bold above. We will visit most if not all of them.
Medieval Hill Top Cities:
Pienza
Siena
Montepulciano
Casole d’Elsa
Abbey San Galgano
Tour Extension
We suggest that you arrive a couple days early to explore Florence. We will have transportation arranged to take us from Florence to the Villa outside of Buonconvento. We will be picked up in the morning from Florence and have a leisurely drive with a lunch stop before arriving at the Villa in Buonconvento. The transportation to and from Florence is included in the Tour Fee. Lee and Bobbi will be in Florence and will be glad to accompany you on Thursday and Friday around Florence. Florence is not included in the tour price, and all expenses are on your own. When we have more info, we will suggest hotels, museums and tours.
Florence’s museums, palaces, and churches house some of the greatest artistic treasures in the world. The most popular and important sites in Florence include the Cathedral, the Baptistery, the Uffizi, the Bargello, and the Accademia. The churches of Santa Maria Novella and Santa Croce are veritable art galleries, and the library of San Lorenzo is a magnificent exhibition of Michelangelo’s architectural genius. Wander some of the oldest streets in the city until you reach the Arno River, cross the Ponte Vecchio, and experience the “newest” area of Florence, the Oltrarno. Be sure to set aside time to see the vast and varied art collection housed in the Pitti Palace. When you grow weary of museums and monuments, head outdoors. Spend a day at the Boboli Gardens or climb the hill to the church of San Miniato al Monte to experience an enchanting view of Florence, Italy.
Tour Fee
18 spots, first come first served
B & L’s Tuscany Photo Tour Fee:
$7000 per person, double occupancy — includes 7 nights at Villa Mariolina, all transportation to/from Florence and during excursions, photo instruction and critique throughout, welcome dinner, pizza night, and admission to tour sites.
• Private room: +$500 ($6,000 total)
• Non-photographing spouse/partner: –$500
This is a small, personally-guided group — max 18 guests — so we can give real one-on-one instruction at every location, not just a bus tour with a camera.