La Dolce Vita Wine Tours

Utterly Umbria

A gourmet wine tour in Assisi, Orvieto & Montefalco

Trip Notes:

Airport

Florence or Rome

Pre-tour

Plan to land in Italy a day before the tour begins; that’s necessary to be at our starting point on time. We strongly suggest spending the preceding night in Cortona. From Florence, Cortona is an 1hr20min train ride; from Rome, it’s 1hr50min or 2hr30min, depending on the train. Cortona has two train stations: Camucia and Terontola. Either is fine, but if you’re arriving from Florence, Camucia is recommended because a) it’s closer to Florence, and b) it has a bus every 30 minutes that takes you from the train station to the center of town, whereas Terontola‘s is every hour. Alternately, you can ask your hotel to arrange a car service to pick you up upon arrival. If you’re arriving from Rome, there are more options to Terontola, mostly express trains that take just 1hr50min.

Meeting point

Our meeting point will at a designated piazza in Cortona. (We'll provide precise details in your information packet.)

Departure day

On our final day, we’ll shuttle you to the train station of Orvieto. From here, there are many trains to Florence and Rome. During the tour, we can help buy your return train tickets.

Italian train schedule

Click here for an English-language version of TrenItalia. Be aware that the schedule is posted only several months in advance, so if you're looking for long-range dates, try something sooner, just to get an idea of departure frequency and trip length.

Trip extensions

Rome or Florence are obvious places to spend a few extra days. But if you’d rather explore more of Umbria, we’d suggest you rent a car in Orvieto after our tour. From here, you could do an itinerary that includes Todi, Spoleto, Cascia, Norcia, and Gubbio—all quaint medieval villages, full of history and worth exploring.

Travel insurance

This is recommended to protect you from needless loss caused by last-minute cancellations, lost luggage, and more. Two sources are Travelex Insurance: www.travelexinsurance.com, (800) 228-9792; and CSA Travel Protection: www.csatravelprotection.com, (800) 348-9505.

Weather

Go to KnowItal.com to find out average temperatures in Umbria for any week of the year. This site is also useful to see the forecast when you’re packing, as is Weather.com. Go to “Assisi, Italy” to get a general idea of temperatures and forecast.

Reading

Articles by La Dolce Vita Wine Tours cofounder Patricia Thomson:
"Saints Alive! The Resurrection of Sagrantino," coming soon in the September/October 2014 issue of Tastes of Italia.