Truffle hunting experience with Riccardo near San Miniato, with rich lunch
Wine & Food ToursDuration:3,5 hours
Rates
CAN A LITTLE DOG DO ALL THIS?
A real treasure of the Tuscan underground is the typical white truffle that grows in the region together with the more common black truffle. Throughout the year, there is always a kind of truffle for us to find! Arianna & Friends organizes half-day truffle hunting tours joined to a rich truffle based lunch at one of the most famous truffle hunter’s in Tuscany.
The truffle hunting wood near San Miniato
It is an unforgettable experience both for your nose and your mouth! A private tour leader meets you at a meeting point near San Miniato and accompanies you to the premises of a local truffle hunter. Together with the hunter, his dog and the guide you walk into the surrounding woods, in the charming area of the Pisan hills, for a truffle hunting session of 1.5 hours. The destination in the woods varies according to the season because the several kinds of truffle available throughout the year grow in different areas.
A delicious rich lunch with truffle-based products and fresh truffles
After the walk in the woods, you get back to the hunter’s place, which is also a famous retail shop of fresh truffles, and enjoy a whole truffle-based lunch. The lunch includes a plate of mixed Tuscan cold cuts, cheese and truffle honey to join with it, a plate with bruschettas topped with truffle-based sauces and truffle olive oil, a plate of seasonal vegetables or beans with truffle dressings, a pasta course with fresh truffles shaven on top and a little dessert. The meal is complete with water and local wine.
What you taste
This is a list of specialties that you are likely to sample as part of the program of this tour. Please, note that the specialties of the tasting session and/or lunch may vary according to the season and the availability of the products in the day of the tour.
The kind of truffle available is subject to seasonal change.
Between September and December the precious White Truffle of San Miniato will be served.
In the other months, Scorzone black truffle, Marzolino white truffle or Nero Pregiato black truffles will be served instead.
In our tour we like showing you places off the beaten track and introducing you to Tuscan people with their personal stories, careers and characters.
You will have one of our guides with your party during the whole tour. Please, see below all the guides who can be with you.
During this experience you can also meet some of the Tuscan friends involved in the events. Please, see below which friends you are likely to encounter.
Nebbia is a fantastic dog, partly a lagotto romagnolo, born in 2007. She is particularly skilled at finding even very small truffles up to 40 cms under the surface of the soil. She is the protagonist of our truffle hunting tours in the area of San Miniato with her master Riccardo. 
Riccardo is one of the most renowed truffle hunters of Tuscany. Together with his wife, he runs a business of truffle trading to all the world. He welcomes truffle passionates from all the world in his little property near San Miniato for private truffle hunting sessions with truffle-based lunch. 
Video Gallery
The total rate for this activity varies according to the number of people in your party.
Check rates in the table below.
|
Truffle hunting experience with Riccardo near San Miniato – WITH full LUNCH BLACK TRUFFLE SEASON – RATES 2024 – |
|
|---|---|
| Number of people in your party | Total rate |
| 2 persons | € 520 |
| 3 persons | € 650 |
| 4 persons | € 780 |
| 5 persons | € 910 |
| 6 persons | € 1040 |
| 7 persons | € 1170 |
| 8 persons | € 1300 |
| Extra person | € 130 |
| Extra teen (12-17 yrs) | € 115 |
| Extra child (4-11 yrs) | € 95 |
| TRUFFLE HUNTING EXPERIENCE WITH RICCARDO NEAR SAN MINIATO – WITH FULL LUNCH
WHITE TRUFFLE SEASON – RATES 2024 – |
|
|---|---|
| Number of people in your party | Total rate |
| 2 persons | € 590 |
| 3 persons | € 760 |
| 4 persons | € 930 |
| 5 persons | € 1100 |
| 6 persons | € 1270 |
| 7 persons | € 1400 |
| 8 persons | € 1570 |
| Extra person | € 170 |
| Extra teen (12-17 yrs) | € 130 |
| Extra child (4-11 yrs) | € 105 |
Rates include
- A private English speaking tour leader for the whole tour. Also available in French, German, Spanish and Russian
- A visit to the truffle shop
- A walk in the wood with truffle searcher and dog
- A full truffle-based lunch at the hunter’s place
- Tax
Rates do NOT include
- Transportation
Transportation is not included in the rates above. For more info on transportation, please see the box “Transportation options”.
This are the words of Katie and Micah after joining Massimo for a private truffle hunting tour with Riccardo across the hills of San Miniato
Caio Massimo!
We just wanted to send an email letting you know what a wonderful experience this was. It was far more than we even expected and are so great ful we decided to do it.
Ricardo was wonderful, informative, and so nice as well as Monica. The lunch after was unforgettable! Everything was so great and will be one of our favorite memories from this trip.
Thank you so much for your help and service.
Katie and Micah
This is a message from Sharon who took her teenager children and her husband to Tuscan for a full experiencial holiday with many of our tours
Arianna, thank you! I hope, by now, that you and the team have recovered from the Bocelli concert!
I’m sorry not to have written back before now, but we have been very busy putting life and the businesses back in order upon our return.
We had the best, best time, and I have already begun giving out your business cards to friends and acquaintances who have inquired. We all feel that we got to know the area of Tuscany rather well during our stay, and could not have thought of a way to make the trip better.
No vacation will ever quite be the same, as my standards have now changed because of Arianna and Friend’s great offering of activities.
Although the family cannot agree on any ONE activity we felt was our favorite, we all agree that the San Minato day of chocolate, Lee’s bio-dynamic winery, and the truffle-hunting was probably our most memorable day as a whole.
Thank you, again, for helping me to be a hero within the family. If you or your team are ever in Southern California, you’ll always have a place to stay.
Please give our heartfelt greeting to Massimo and the rest!
XO
Sharon
This is an email we received from Libby and her husband who spent two days with us, including our truffle hunting tour:
We spent two days with Massimo touring a cheese factory, an olive mill and the greatest adventure of all — truffle hunting with a man and his dog. All three experiences were some of the best I’ve had in Italy mainly because Massimo tailors the tours to your individual needs and expectations. He is extremely knowledgeable and a pleasure to be with. He explained in detail the processes used in each industry as well as the history of the region. I learned more about truffles and olive oil than I ever knew in the twelve years I’ve been coming to Italy. I highly recommend Massimo, as well as the company Arianna & Friends, for a very special adventure tour in Italy.
This is an email we received from Jennifer and Kris who met us for a truffle hunting tour:
Dear Massimo,
Thank you for what was definitely the highlight of our trip to Florence. Kris and I had such a fantastic time truffle hunting with you, Riccardo, Stella and Nebbia. It was such an unforgettable, unique experience, and Monica and Riccardo couldn’t have been nicer.
I told my travel agent what a fantastic experience it was using Arianna & Friends and that I absolutely recommend your trips. Kris and I have already decided that when we go back to Italy, we want to spend the entire time just taking your tours! Not only did we have a fantastic time in San Miniato, but we truly enjoyed talking with you in the car on the way there and back – we learned so much from you and had so much fun!
As promised, here are some of the pictures we took that day.
Again, thank you for your amazing hospitality and kindness. We’ll definitely call you before our next trip and can’t wait to use Arianna and Friends again.
Jennifer and Kris
Riccardo and a couple of visitors show what they found in the truffle hunting walk
A Spring truffle hunting walk in search of Marzuolo truffles
The truffle hunters and our guests in the truffle shop near San Miniato
This tour takes place in the area of San Miniato, in central Tuscany, between Pisa and Volterra. about 30 km from Selvatelle, 40 km from Volterra, San Gimignano and Montaione
MEET-UP LOCATION:
Unless differently specified, the tour guide meets you at a meeting point in or near San Miniato.
DURATION:
This program takes 4 hours (transportation not included).
AVAILABILITY:
Available on Tuesdays and Thursdays
Between September and December: white truffle season
Between January and August: marzolino or black truffle season
LANGUAGE:
This tour is available in English language. German, French, Spanish, Russian or Italian are also available with no surcharge.
DIFFICULTY LEVEL:
Medium
CHILD FRIENDLY:
Ideal for children
CLOTHING:
Comfortable shoes recommended. As we walk in woods, we recommend to wear no shorts nor sandals.
FOOD RESTRICTIONS:
The foods served during this tour might contain gluten, lactose, nuts and alcohol. If you have any food restriction, please inform our personnel during the enquiry process.
TRANSPORTATION:
This program and its rates do not include transportation and are set on a self-driving base. For further information see the box "transportation options".
The destinations reached during this activity are in the Tuscan countryside, in areas off the beaten track that cannot be reached by public transport. We highly recommend renting a car or a scooter in order to reach them. As an alternative, we can offer a valued service by chauffeured car, van or minibus. Any cost of transportation is to be added to the rates displayed on the rate table of this page.
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