Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Are cabs readily available in Panzano?

How many of you are there? How far are you going for dinners? You might solicit the help of your villa owner in setting up a relationship with a local driver willing to be on call at night. It's possible that most of the licensed drivers in that area specialize in taking people around during the day for a hefty fee, and aren't necessarily on call at between 7.30 and 10.30pm. If what you need is multiple taxis or a van for a larger group, you will probably need to contact a tour company like Elena Tours. Look on tripadvisor for more names.

Something else you could consider is hiring someone to come in and cook for you rather than you going out. Sometimes taxis in rural Tuscany are really quite expensive. If you are planning to go to neighboring towns beyond Panzano, you could end up spending 30 euros or more each way (and keep doubling that if you need more than one taxi). You might find it more economical -- and more interesting -- to hire a local cook.

Another strategy for villa dwellers is to have a fabulous lunch as the main meal of the day, enjoyed at an excellent restaurant, and spend your evenings at the villa opening bottles of Chianti and making meals of local cheese, cured meat, tomatoes, bread, beans (this is Tuscany), frittati. Keep it no-cook or low-cook. There are no doubt plenty of places in Panzano to buy prepared foods.