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Finding Somene to Share the Cost of Car Rental with Driver to Tour Southern Tusacany in Mid Oct 2013

Finding Somene to Share the Cost of Car Rental with Driver to Tour Southern Tusacany in Mid Oct 2013

Old Jun 14th, 2013, 05:27 PM
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Finding Somene to Share the Cost of Car Rental with Driver to Tour Southern Tusacany in Mid Oct 2013

I will be in Siena from 13 Oct 2013 to 15 Oct 2013.

I undertsand that moving around in Val d'Orcia could be difficult without the wheels. As I do not have international driving license, so the only option I could go for is to hire a local driver to drive me around to hunt for hidden spots for scenic Tuscan landscapes.

After searching from the internet, I managed to contact a local photographer there. She does also provide a driver service to bring travellers around Val d'Orcia / Crete Sensei for scenic landscape hunting and photography. The quotation I received from her is EURO 70 per car for one person, and EURO 120 per car for 2-4 persons travelling together. Both are for a 3-hour tour.

I have booked her for 3 hours in the morning of 14 October 2013 (Monday) with pick up and drop off point being at Siena train station. So far, I'm alone, meaning I would have to bear the full cost of EURO 70. As I'm travelling in budget, I would love to find someone else to join the trip with me so that we can share the cost proportionately.

Please do drop me a line if you are interested and available on 14 Oct 2013, or alternatively on 15 Oct 2013 if need be, to suit your availability.
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Old Jun 14th, 2013, 05:33 PM
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>

It's not a license - it's a permit which is a translation of your driver's license. You can get one at AAA even if you're not a member. The cost is less than $25 with the photos.
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Old Jun 14th, 2013, 05:43 PM
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There is no such thing as an international driving license it is really a permit and just a translation of your license - so cops who don;t speak English know you aren;t showing them a state park card or whatever. As noted available from AAA and practically free (esp compared to the cost of a private car and driver).

All you need to rent in Italy is your regular license and this translation permit.
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Old Jun 14th, 2013, 05:49 PM
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Hi Adrienne,

Thank you very much for your prompt advice.

The other reason that I consider having a car rental with driver service is to have a peace of mind since I have never been driving outside my country before. So, it's a bit daunting for me to do so considering that I'm alone and the driving direction in Italy is opposite to that of in my country.
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Old Jun 14th, 2013, 05:58 PM
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Hi nytraveler,

Thanks for the explanation. Will explore more info on the permit but the option of hiring driver will still stay open to those who share the same concern as me of driving in foreign country.
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Old Jun 14th, 2013, 07:07 PM
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Are you only wanting countryside, not towns. Three hours is not very long to reach hill towns in Val d'Orcia from Siena.

You can book all kinds of day tours out of Siena to towns like Pienza, Montalcino (easily reached by bus from Siena), Montepulciano.

There are also a lot of bike or walking tours if that interests you. Last time I stayed in Pienza and caught the bus to Siena, a walking tour rode from Pienza to Siena with us. They had taken an early bus or were transported from Siena to Montepulciano. They walked from Montepulciano to Pienza and caught the return bus to Siena. Where do you want to go?

http://www.sienawalkingtours.com/country-tours.html

YOur hotel in Siena will have brochures about other companies.
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Old Jun 15th, 2013, 06:16 AM
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Hi kyaboubon,

Thanks for the suggestions.

I would also want to visit Pienza, Montalcino and/or Montepulciano. However, I'm not that worried about getting to those towns as they are reachable by bus from Siena. As such, I would not include those towns in my 3-hour tour. Instead, I will try to fully make use of this expensive yet precious 3-hour tour to countryside that is not reachable by bus or foot to hunt for scenic landscapes for photo shooting. This is my main purpose of hiring a car with driver so that I can go to less travelled paths and ask the driver to stop as I wish for photo shooting.

As for the guided tours provided by local tour agencies, most of them go to the towns mentioned above with wine tasting etc which is not to my liking as I can go there on my own by public bus and it saves a lot. Moreover, with these tours, you can only see the landscape out of the coach windown while on the road, and you can't ask the guide to stop anytime for you to take photos.
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Old Jun 15th, 2013, 02:34 PM
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May I know what is the colour of earth like in mid October in Val d'Orcia and Crete Senesi? Thanks.
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Old Jun 15th, 2013, 03:47 PM
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>>>However, I'm not that worried about getting to those towns as they are reachable by bus from Siena.>>Moreover, with these tours, you can only see the landscape out of the coach windown while on the road,>>3-hour tour to countryside that is not reachable by bus or foot to hunt for scenic landscapes for photo shooting.>>May I know what is the colour of earth like in mid October in Val d'Orcia and Crete Senesi?
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Old Jun 15th, 2013, 04:28 PM
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Hi kyaboubon,

Thanks again. You hav been very informative and helpful. Will look into your advices but

>>>Perhaps you missed the walking/biking part. Walking tours means you are walking, not on a bus. Southern Tuscany has tons of white roads (Google white roads Tuscany) which are just gravel lanes. A lot of people walk them between towns. There are areas you can reach on foot just at the edge of Siena that would make great pics.

In fact, before considering hiring a car with driver, I did email to few bike rental agencies enquiring about rental of electric bike. Unfortunately, they are not Pienza based and thus, won't transport the bke to me in Val d'Orcia. Do you know of anyone else renting electric bike in that area?

As for walking, how far is the distance between Pienza and San Quirco and how long does the walk take? Having said that, I try not to walk to much in order to save my stamina for more walks in Dolomites after Tuscany.

>>>I'm curious where you think that would be. You would need some kind of plan. You could only go 1 1/2 hours distance from Siena since you would have to allow the time to return. Travel is slow on these roads as they are curvy.

No where and no plan as long as I could get picture perfect landscapes. As the driver is a photographer, I believe she should know and have in mind where to bring me to for photo shooting. By the way, I will clarify with her again on the plan.


>>>The fields get plowed (much larger clumps than in the US) early September so you see a lot of brown in Val d'Orcia and a lot of gray in Crete Senesi (it's more clay).

Oh, my dream on Tuscany is almost destryoed by looking at the colour of the earth. I expected it to be having at least 50% green. Is the green totally gone in mid October?
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Old Jun 15th, 2013, 05:10 PM
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If you want 50% green you should go there in April to mid May. After that it begins to turn brown, unless Tuscany is experiencing an unusually wet spring.

Pienza to San Quirico is about 5 miles.
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Old Jun 15th, 2013, 08:00 PM
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We were there in mid October last year and I 'm glad I knew ahead of time to expect the fields to be plowed or I would have been very disappointed to see so little green. It was still scenic but not the photogenic classic Tuscany image. Ireland has their 40 shades of green; Tuscany could have 20 shades of brown in autumn. Deborah
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Old Jun 15th, 2013, 08:26 PM
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It is still beautiful in October. Like a patchwork quilt in shades of browns and tans. The fields are fenced and each section is like a piece of the 'quilt'. I was disappointed at first but then I realized how beautiful it was.
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Old Jun 15th, 2013, 10:16 PM
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Noted. To be positive, I suppose each season has its own beauty. This will be an excuse for me to go back to Tuscany again in future to see the other face of Tuscany in spring. Thanks.
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Old Jun 18th, 2013, 04:14 PM
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This scenery seems to be very popular among photographers and it represents one of the typical Tuscan landscapes.

http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=4583382

So, may I know from where can I find this angle of scenery? Is the house in the foreground called Belvedere Villa? What is the nearest village?

As I will be in mid October, am I expecting to get this colour of landscape?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/giusepp...no/5075885059/

Thanks.
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Old Jun 18th, 2013, 04:42 PM
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Here are some shots in south Tuscany in both April and October---easy to tell which:

http://www.slowphotos.com/photo/show...y.php?cat=3827
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Old Jun 18th, 2013, 05:47 PM
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costa777...that is exactly what it will look like in October. You will find the 'typical Tuscan landscape' by driving up and down the tiny roads connecting the towns. If you have a driver they will know which roads to drive for the best photos. Also, as he drives around you will recognize many of the famous shots. We stayed just outside Pienza and found some great photo opportunities right in our area. We got up before dawn one morning to get some sunrise shots. The area is gorgeous, you will love it, as all of us do.
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Old Jun 21st, 2013, 05:20 PM
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Thanks both bobthenavigator and michele_d for the advice.
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Old Feb 14th, 2014, 04:23 PM
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I had been back from Italy for few months. So, just want to drop by and update how was everything going during my trip.

I ended up renting an electric bike instead of hiring a driver to move around Val d'Orcia which was great. And, the colours of earth in October which I initially worried about turned out to be of my liking as they looked special. Of course, there were still some patches of green there.

Anyone who is interested to look at my photos may follow this link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/travel-...7640966164074/
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Old Feb 14th, 2014, 05:07 PM
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Fantastic photos! I love the ones of Camogli under a glowering sky.
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