Hi. My husband and I are planning a trip to Italy in early June with another couple and we're trying to decide between either the Amalfi Coast or Tuscany. We would like to rent a villa or vacation apartment for a week and use it as a home base. Specifically, what we're debating is:
-Is one week at AC too much?
-Will we be spending lot of time driving if we do Tuscany?
-If we do AC, should we stay in Positano or opt for something more private outside of town?
-Will Tuscany be warm enough for "pool weather" in early June?

We're fine with renting a car, if needed. Any thoughts or suggestions? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

A week on the AC is fine.
Positano is my choice--Praino is also good.
Yes, you need to drive to see Tuscany.
Early June will be iffy for swimming.

Both are excellent---your call !

I would not get a car for the Amalfi coast - use the bus or boat system instead.

The Amalfi Coast & Tuscany are like apples & oranges.

If the weather is rainy/cold, I think the AC could get a little old after about 4 days. Not so in Tuscany.

In Tuscany, if you don't want to do a lot of driving, stay in the Val d'Orcia near Pienza & don't venture beyond there (Pienza, Montalcino, Montepulciano, Sant Antimo, San Quirico, drives in the beautiful countryside), except for a day trips to Siena and another to San Gimignano/Volterra.

Stu Dudley

If you opt for Tuscany, you might choose your base so that you have a train station nearby. It doesn't need to be a city, but a palce with decent train connections. In that way you'll be able to spend most of the time woth no need of a car, hiring one only for the most remote trips, say one or two days.

Good choices could be, for example

Montelupo Fiorentino
San Miniato
Certaldo

The weather in early June might be anything between fresh/rainy spring and hot/sunny summer. It's a very unpredictable period.

Hi MarinKat,

I agree with Bob, you don't need a car for the Amalfi Coast, but you really do need a car for Tuscany. Bus and train connections in Tuscany are not exactly convenient and half the fun in Tuscany is exploring, getting a little lost and stopping for photo ops whenever it strikes you! Besides, renting a car for only 1 or 2 days will cost you almost as much as a whole week.....

How much driving or moving around you do in either place is completely up to you. What do you want to see?

On the Amalfi Coast you can easily spend a week especially if you want to include Pompeii/Naples Archeological Museum and Paestum (highly recommend).

Tuscany is also easily good for a full week. It will fly by as there is no end to towns, abbeys, wineries and restaurants to visit.

Buon viaggio!

Although I was thrilled to be driving the Amalfi Coast on our trip there in August 2003 and thoroughly enjoyed the ferry to Capri, we were pretty much over it after three nights. I can do "relaxing at the beach" here in the States. For me, traveling to Italy was to discover something new! Not a whole lot of 12th century churches to explore here in Georgia. As for driving in Tuscany - that's the whole point. The views, the finds around each bend, the exploring.

Whichever destination you choose, I know the 4 of you will have a wonderful trip. We've traveled to both areas and loved them both. I'd have to give extra points, though, towards Tuscany. Here are some of the pluses of each:
Tuscany - Pienza, Montepulciano, Montalcino, San Quirico
Amalfi Coast - Sorrento, Positano, Ravello, Capri
Tuscany - Sant'Antimo
Amalfi Coast - Pompeii
Tuscany - Brunello
Amalfi Coast - seafood
Tuscany - Florence
Amalfi Coast - Naples
Tuscany - the views
Amalfi Coast - the views

I guess where I'm going with this is that there are fabulous attributes to each area and you won't go wrong with either. We based ourselves in Sorrento while in that area, it was a good choice given our itinerary. While in Tuscany (with another couple), we based ourselves between Pienza & Montepulciano - also a good choice given our itinerary. Hoep this helps...keep us informed of your decisions.

Hi. Thanks everyone for the information. It's so hard to decide...it sounds like both would be good. If we stayed in Tuscany near Montepulciano area, how long of a drive is that to Florence? Does anyone have an opinion about northern vs. southern Tuscany?

Hi M,

>If we stayed in Tuscany near Montepulciano area, how long of a drive is that to Florence?<

See www.viamichelin.com and www.mappy.com

Another vote for Tuscany.

http://www.tuscanweb.com/region/

Hi, if you choose to stay in Montepulciano, Florence will be rather distant. Maybe 2 hours by car. You'll need to go to Sinalunga, take the highway to Siena, bypass Siena and then take the highway to Florence: total distance about 130 km.

Southern Tuscany is better for landscapes, tranquillity and country life.

Northern Tuscany is more populated, better served by road/train infrastructures and has most of the artistic cities that are the usual touristic attractions.

Your choice now...

if your choice is Tuscany let me recommend
Villa Luciano www.villaluciano.com
close to Florence, in Londa
Londa is a small and quiet village, excellent base for visiting Tuscany.
We had such a wonderful experience with our group!
Enjoy italy!
Mindy

Good morning from Italy

Italy is full of beautiful place to see, so in my opinion the best choice is make a tour, in 10 days you could see good both Tuscany and Amalfi Coast, of course this kind of vacation is more impegnative, but you are in 4 person if I understand good so with a little extra you could rent a car or make a private tour of Italy, enjoyng more

Stay 7 days in the same place is like have a Ferrari and take it in the box
Of course this is only my opinion

Buon Viaggio!!!
Gianni

Hi ,Marinkat,
I agree with the OP about staying somewhere near a railway station, especially if you want to go to Florence. we were there at the end of October, and the traffic was some of the worst I've seen anywhere.
IMO, siena makes a great base, if you want to stay in a city/town. There is plenty to see there, great restaurants, easy access to the countryside, and buses/trains for getting to other places, especially florence.
Staying in the countryside would also be great, but you'll do a lot more driving, and getting to florence would be a lot harder.
Have a wonderful time!

HEllo, I think the AC is an awesome choice. We loved Positano as a base as it's a small quaint village with the most awesome views. Driving can be tough on the AC so would recommend local transport or even a private car to drive you around. We liked seeing the coast this way. We used a great company called Benvenuto Limos. Their website is www.benvenutolimos.com Enjoy your time in ITALY as it's jus lovely.