You might want to browse there for France: http://www.gites-de-france.com/location-vacances-appartement-maison,gite.html

Many people with small children in France feel that a "gite rural" is the ideal holiday solution.

Hi,

Your title is a little misleading because agritourism usually implies staying on a farm in fairly simple accommodations, although some can be high-end as can gites in France.

Typically, nether serve meals because kitchens are part of the cittage or converted barn or flat. Many have beautiful grounds, private or shared pools and can have or be near vineyards. There are always exceptions, I believe some agrotourismos in Italy serve meals family style.

If you are looking for a hotel, what is your budget?

Of the areas you're considering, Biarritz, while beautiful, can have rain coming in off the Atlantic which is less likely on the Med.

cittage = cottage

I'll look at that website and look into "gites" thank you Michael and kerouac.

@Cathinjoetown I think our budget for a hotel will top off at $200 / night or so. Thank you in advance for suggestions!

If you're open to the Dordogne region in France, I highly receommend Le Chevrefeuille http://lechevrefeuille.com/

We stayed there with our then 4 and 6 year old in July 2011. We rented one of the family rooms. It was perfect for children, they cooked lovely dinners, and close to many sites in the region. We blogged about the Dordogne if you're interested in reading more: http://familyineurope.travellerspoint.com/12/
Please send me a message if you have further questions.

Perhaps Cathinjotown only was referring to France, but agriturismi in Italy typically do serve meals and they don't only serve them family style.

But your target Italian regions of Puglia or Sardinia pose quite a few problems for your 'dream" with a toddler in summer. I suggest that you look instead in Umbria or Tuscany.

You can use booking.com to find farmhouse stays in Umbria with a restaurant, and you can further refine your search to specify your budget, your travel dates, and to include amenities like wi-fi and a swimming pool or "family stay" or whatever else your dream is, and you can read user reviews

http://tinyurl.com/amnvd4c

You can do the same for Tuscany

http://tinyurl.com/ap9gzgl

If you stay in the Maremma area of Tuscany, you can have access to beaches as well. For that, you might want to look beyond booking.com to this website:

http://tinyurl.com/b4tjkma

You can also do the same searches for Puglia and Sardinia, but those areas of Italy are much harder to get to with a toddler (plane changes) and offer, I think, less in the way of service and towns of great interest and beauty.

here's a website listing many agriturismi all over Tuscany:

http://www.agriturismo.it/en/farmhouse/tuscany

I was flat-out wrong. I had no idea so many Italian agriturismi had restaurants.

Hpluss1, some of these look like perfect options for you.

annhg,

Your link is actually the same website I gave to the Maremma agriturimsi. If you know the Maremma and the Monte Argentario areas or Tuscany, I think it really does match hpluss1's wish list very well, more than any other area of Tuscany that comes to mind.

hpluss1,

If you begin to think that the Maremma area of Tuscany would work for you, then I recommend that you also ask questions on the Slow Travel message board for Italy, because there are a couple of people who regularly post there who have some fairly detailed knowledge of its towns and beaches.

Cathinjoetown,

The Italian government at various levels provides a lot of incentives for farm owners to develop an agritourism business, and it is somewhat traditional in Italy, if you are attracting guests to a rural location, to offer to feed them as part of the deal, and to advertise the quality of your kitchen, and the ingredients used from the farm. It is normal even for hotels to compete on the basis of their kitchens, and in places like Florence and Rome, the Michelin'starred restaurants are usually found in luxury hotels. Even in small towns, the majority of quality restaurants have rooms where you can sleep after your meal. I have enjoyed such inns in rural France and Spain as well, but I think in Italy, this kind of tradition in hospitality is more the norm.

I think I found the perfect countryside place for us near Montalcino and Maremma. Then we are thinking of doing a second week in Dubrovnik, which would satisfy the "seaside" part of our vacation plans. I think it's good for us because it's a city so there's a lot to do, but not too big of a city so it's walkable, pretty, smallish, quaint but with enough restaurants and historical sites to keep us occupied and keep our toddler interested (he loves sculptures and museums, most likely because they look like giant toys). And the beaches look gorgeous, and seems like a lot of the hotels and "grounds" and grassy areas for little ones to run around. We've never been, so it would be exciting to go somewhere new!

hpluss - I'm sure you'd love Dubrovnik. we went so many years ago it was before the fall of the Yugoslav republic, but I'm sure that the beaches are just as good, and with any luck the standards of service have improved somewhat.

we stayed in a place called Cavtat which had a lovely beach and was within easy reach of Dubrovnik itself.

Do you want to post a link to the place you've found near Montalcino?

Actually it's near Florence. We were thinking of staying here since our toddler could run around and enjoy outdoors but we'd be right outside Florence: http://www.marignolle.com/ We're thinking 5 days here and then 4 days in Rome. Anyone know a place like this in Rome?

Annhig, what do you think of Dubrovnik vs. France (saw that guys post about wine regions in France and it made me start thinking of Strasbourg and Reims instead of Dubrovnik. Never been to Strasbourg either . . . thoughts?

hpluss - the marignole looks lovely, and i assume that there's a bus that goes nearby as it'll be too far to walk into the centre of Florence and back!

as for Dubrovnik v France, certainly when you are talking about Strasbourg & Reims you are comparing apples and pears. I don't know Strasbourg, but Reims is a very large french city with champagne and a cathedral. They are the sorts of places that i think might make an ok day trip with older children, [in fact we took our kids to Reims on a day trip when they were about 11 and 8] but not what i would think of as a fun destination for a toddler, particularly after Florence and/or Rome.

I'm sure that after spending time there, a week on a croatian beach would provide a terrific contrast.

Thank you Ann! Ok we'll do Italy and Dunrovnik then. I lived in Trieste and always love the Adriatic!

Aargh I really can't decide number of days though .... 5 in Tuscan countryside ( exact location tbd), 3 in (next to) Florence, then 6 Dubrovnik ? And maybe stop in Rome or Milan or Paris for 3 nights on the way back?? That's a lot of traveling but we are going all the way there .....

Actually just read someone's thread about Croatia and everyone is saying 5 days in Dubrovnik is too much so rethinking that ... Maybe we 'll head to somewhere else instead. ..... Any city come to mind that had lots of parks ?? Amsterdam ? Or should we reconsider the Loire Valley, where there are so many gardens and castles and we could stay at this family friendly hotel. Http://www.lefleurayhotel.com/: and then go to Paris ........ Or what about Paris and Antwerp for the second week? does antwerp area have nice countryside hotels? Sorry to be annoying but love travel planning

aarrgh! before you jettison Dubrovnik, do look at a few guide books or the fodors destination guide above; it seems that you don't have any really fixed ideas which can make planning VERY difficult.

Actually i love the Loire and if you like gardens they can be nice places to spend time with a small child, though chateaux interiors are not so child friendly; and it makes a good pairing with Paris of course. BTW the link to that hotel isn't quite right - i think this is the right one:

http://www.lefleurayhotel.com/

it looks vey nice.

thank you Ann! You're right. We're serious Italophiles (is that a word?) and we loved our vacation to Liguria last summer, so trying to create a vacation as wonderful as that one was. We're sure about at least a week in Tuscany & Florence, and the rest is up in the air. For the second week we're choosing between Loire and Dubrovnik, or another beachy area still in Italy. I think we should leave our comfort zone and visit another country, but my husband needs to be convinced . . . But there are so many beautiful places! You're right about the guidebook - will order one now!! I like the hotel you listed as your "favorite hotel" in your Fodors profile, seems like one I'd also love, so do value your opinion, thank you.

hi hpluss,

i know how difficult it is to narrow a trip down to something manageable and to decide which option to take. Too many choices.

one aspect i haven't seen you consider yet [i'm sure you've thought of this but I thought I'd mention it] is how you're going to get from Tuscany to your next destination. Paris is pretty easy - you can fly from Pisa [or Rome] to CDG [and then you'd need a car for the Loire] - but I'm not sure about Dubrovnik.

as you are italiophiles, I'm sure I don't have to mention how busy italian beaches can get in summer, plus their regimented rows of umbrellas and sun-beds is not exactly most anglo-saxons' idea of a relaxing beach holiday. but if you enjoyed Liguria in the summer last year, presumably you know what you're in for. you might think about trying the adriatic beaches of course, but i'm not sure that from a crowd point of view they would be much better.

for a complete change that is reasonably easy to get to, I might think about the Dolomites.

Yes , you're right. I just by chance got asked about an apartment swap in Paris so we might do that , so one week around Florence and tuscany , with a visit to the Maremma beaches, and then one to two weeks in Paris where we don't have to pay for accomodations. Phew!!! Traveling is so amazing but always soooo expensive, and with a baby/toddler it's better to have our own place anyway. =) The expenses were really starting to stress me out. Miss the pre-euro prices of 12 years ago! ha

OR one week around Sardinia .... Just to go back to the original "near the water" agriturismo idea I just found this place in Sardinia that is 38 euros for a room, or 55 euros if we have dinner there (which we would). So yes you can find italian charm on a budget! This is exciting. The "escursioni in barca" looks like it's right up our alley. Consider me officially obsessed with agriturismi. http://www.borgodicampagna.it/ The boat excursions: http://www.borgodicampagna.it/attivita/36-escursioni-in-barca-nell-arcipelago-della-maddalena-e-tavolara.asp

If you are thinking that you can visit beaches from the relais near Florence, it is too far to go for a day trip, especially if you are trying to reach the Maremma. But even if you are willing to go to someplace like Forte dei Marmi, you should take a look at the drive times. They are very long, and it will land you at the beach during the fiercest part of the day for intense sun. If you are determined to go, then do it after lunch -- but then you will face driving back part of the time in the dark.

if you are willing to book a separate stay on the Tuscan coast, many of the beaches in the Maremma are wild beaches, meaning they have no faciliteis for renting umbrellas or lounge chairs, so if you want to avoid that, you can.

However, with a toddler, you might want to invest in some kind of sun shield - either renting one or you can buy one for 15-30 euros (somtimes a b&b will lend you one as well).

I wouldn't take a toddler to the Dolomiti. It is expensive and most of the trails are not toddler friendly, and the drives in a car are quite demanding, not pleasant rambles through the hills.

hi hpluss,

We were typing at the same time.

If you can find a way to get to and from Sardegna easily, could work out for you well.

Tuscany, Sardegna and Paris looks like a good mix to me.

there are various ferries from the italian coast [eg Livorno, Civitavecchia] to Olbia and some other ports on Sardegna - see http://www.directferries.co.uk/livorno_olbia_ferry.htm

and easyjet fly from Olbia to Paris Orly.

Some great suggestions so I'm bookmarking this for when I get home

Two years ago, we enjoyed a 2-night stay at the Hotel I Ginepri in Marina di Castagneto Carducci: http://www.hoteliginepri.it/ I have very fond memories of the excellent dinners, the golden sand beach and swimming, the pleasant, shaded garden, and a spacious pool.

The hotel has 51 rooms, about half face the water. Some of these have private terraces. The hotel is on the beachfront; the beach is their private beach. The hotel is not luxurious but in excellent condition and well managed with pleasant staff.

The oldest houses in the town appear to have been built at the beginning of the 20th centuries. There are cafes, restaurants, and gelaterie. There is a walking/bike path, shaded with pine trees, that links this town to several along the coast.

About 5 miles away is Castagneto Carducci, http://www.abctuscany.com/livorno/castagneto-carducci/index.cfm a pretty hillside town with a selection of restaurants, cafes, a couple of attractive churches, etc.

Nearby is the wine route of the Etruscan Coast: http://www.lastradadelvino.com/it/Default.aspx with such famous wineries as http://www.ornellaia.com/ Most of these wineries are clustered between Castagneto Carducci and Bolgheri, a beautiful little town.

There is also a little, old-fashioned children's amusement park on the outskirts of Marina di Castagneto Carducci.

Thank you. I think after looking at all the photos I'd rather stay in Tuscany near Florence and/or Montalcino and drive an hour to the beach one day if we want beach. Tuscany hills seem much prettier than the beach areas of Maremma.

Not sure if it would meet your needs - but have have a look at Spannocchia.com. I go there as often as possible. Close to Siena and a fabulous place for a relaxing stay. Not high end, does have a pool, serves breakfast and dinner (except weekends) and you get to dine and interact with interns and staff, who are always delightful. In addition to rooms in the villa and fattoria, they also have houses on the property if one wants to cook. Have fun whatever you decide!

Thank you Shanna ! That place looks amazing! Will definitely email them for more information. Is it a school of some sort?