9 days in Umbria and Tuscany-what would you do?
 

We are honeymooning here in early July and I'm having a hard time narrowing down which towns to stay in and how long. Flying into Rome and out of Pisa. Want to visit spoleto, spello, bevagna, san gimignano, sienna and florence. Budget is around $250 a night.

so far i'm thinking 3 nights at genius loci in bevagna and potentially 3 nights in relais capuccina in san gimignano. Totally open though-don't want to be driving the entire time so I thought we could spend some time near the center of florence or siena, or perhaps luca. Thanks!

Here's a guide book itinerary.

Week one:

http://frommers.com/destinations/tus...247020794.html

Week two:

http://frommers.com/destinations/tus...247020795.html

thanks-that's helpful!

My husband and I went to Italy for our honeymoon in June 2006. LOVED it!!!! We flew into Pisa, got a car, and drove to Siena, which we made our base for the next 5 days. We liked the idea of being able to walk to dinner (so we could enjoy wine without worry of driving on small winding roads) but of still being able to explore tuscany.

we loved the place we stayed in siena--just outside city gates, so quiet with a beautiful patio with incredible view of tuscan countryside, where we ate breakfast every morning... called hotel santa caterina. it was pretty cheap too, only like 105 euros per night. if you stayed there, i would ask for bigger room and countryside view--we had tiny room (very clean though, but TINY) and looked onto street.

We then did day trips from there:
san gimignano is a really cool town, on the way there from siena we stopped at little tiny town called montoreggioni, which was SO cute and authentic feeling, less touristy. colle val d-este is another little town which we LOVED.
next day we did castellina in chianti --- loved that town too, radda and panzano in chianti---an adorable, majestic town, and greve in chianti...all great places.
next day we did montalcino and montepulciano, 2 big wine towns and both beautiful.

we then drove to spello and spent a night there, exploring that town, also adorable.

after that we went onto Rome and to Positano for 5 more days.

Hope this is helpful!

that trip sounds great and I will definitely look into your hotel in Sienna. Thanks so much!

any other opinions about where to visit-is florence better as a day trip or to stay in the city. we are the type to visit museums in a short amount of time and spend more time people-watching and eating.

Would think it would be difficult to drive into Florence.

If you could take the train in, that would make it easier.

You can't drive in the city center anyways.

It depends on how many of the museums you want to see, whether you want to go inside the Duomo, etc.

I think Florence deserves a couple of days at least. Whether you want to drive or take the train in more than one day is up to you.

You can look at itineraries for Florence and see if there are more attractions you want to see than you can fit in one day.

I've narrowed it down a bit

Arrive in Rome
3 nights Bevagna at Genius Loci
(visit Spoleto, Perugia, Piano Grande, etc)

2 nights ?? (maybe Gubbio or Pienza)
this is where we need help!

2 nights Sienna at Pallazzo Ravizza

2 nights Florence (not sure hotel)

Drive/ Train to Pisa Airport

Thanks for all your suggestions!

Congratulations honeyluna!

I fear you will not be happy moving around so much if you try to split the days between Pienza (better than Gubbio for multiple days) and Siena. Plus, you lose at least half a day every time you move. I suggest staying in or near Pienza for 4 nights and skipping Siena this time. There are plenty of towns and places to visit within 30 minutes of Pienza to keep you busy for 4 days. Also, it's July, so you will want a place with a pool.

I suggest Fonte Bertusi-

http://fontebertusi.it/eng/default.htm

Also, drop the car off when you arrive in Florence and take the train to the Pisa airport.

Have fun!

You do not want Gubbio---too isolated. Pienza is a great base location but Siena is only :45---why both?

so you'd suggest pienza instead of siena? i picked siena since a few friends have been there on semester abroads, but I'd be happy to do it as a day trip from pienza. Would you recommend that over san gimignano, which sounds a bit touristy?

Great idea to train to Pisa and leave the car when we arrive in florence

My feeling is that the most beautiful area of Tuscany is the Val D'Orcia. Pienza is smack dab in the middle of the Val D'Orcia. Besides the beautiful countryside, I like the quantity of great small towns in the area. I prefer it much more than the area around San G, and I like the towns better than San G (yes, it is quite touristy.

Guidebook writers tips:
-you have chosen a beautiful place, Genius Loci near Bevagna, the pool will be your haven, July can be pretty hot
-why not circle out from Bevagna visiting other towns, see itinearies on elegantetruria website
-San Gimignano is touristy but if you go against the grain (late pm) and tour bus schedules you'll do ok.

Add a no-plan day where you can just explore and relax. That's how I had some of the best moments!

We're thinking of staying either in montepulciano or pienza. Any hotel recommendations in the $200 range (or less) for montepulciano? Venere had great reviews of a place called Il Rondo.

Thanks!

We stayed at Palazzo Ravizza last fall, and loved it. Very nice staff, and such a pretty garden setting in the back. Parking is great. We LOVED being able to walk to the Campo each evening for a glass of wine and watch the people. One evening, there was a fabulous parade including the various families who take part in the annual Palio horse race. It was one of the spontaneous highlights of our trip. annie

I love how Palazzo Ravizza looks but we've decided against staying in Siena.

So far we have
1-probably stay in Rome to adjust to time difference
2-4 Genius Loci in Bevagna
5-7 ??
8-9 Hotel Davanzati in Florence

Palazzo del Capitano in San Quirico or Fattoria Tregole near Castellina--have fun !

thanks! one more thing-is staying a night in rome a good idea or would you recommend just heading to umbria. We're flying overnight from new york and arriving mid-morning. I've never been on an overnight flight so I don't know how tired I'll be! Thinking of the Hotel Villa San Pio in Rome.

I have done both and prefer just heading for my destination. You can stop for lunch along the way and arrive at the afternoon check-in time. I found that after I started driving I felt fine (something about being excited at being in Italy again!). And I had traveled from the west coast.