plambers

is this a good location? we are looking for a villa in both tuscany (close to pienza) and then one in umbria near le marche.
https://www.vrbo.com/498378ha#reviewsPage2

massimop

Maybe it's just me, but I'm not sure I understand what you are asking. In and of itself, this is a nice location in Umbria for visiting both Pienza and parts of le Marche (like Urbino), because they are only 90 minutes away on scenic roads.

But the wording of your question suggests you are looking for 2 villas -- one in Tuscany near Pienza and one in Umbria near le Marche. In that case, this villa is not in Tuscany, and it's not clear why you want to stay in Umbria or why you want to be near le Marche.

plambers

sorry massimop-i do want a second villa in tuscany. was wondering if this was well located for the umbrian portion or if we should look more southern umbria. seems this is close enough to tuscany, le marche and umbria, all areas we wanted to explore.

first villa in in val d orcia. we are looking for a second location-not sure if this is a good spot.

massimop

It really depends on where you want to go in le Marche, and in Umbria. It's a good location for visiting Urbino and some other places in northern le Marche. However, if you want to go to Ascoli Piceno in le Marche, you'd be better off somewhere closer to Spoleto.

What do you want to see in Umbria and in le Marche?

plambers

still researhing that. our teens make it tough bc they want to stay active and i could just enjoy small towns and relaxing. the lake looks good for activities and maybe a visit to the seaside. i would like to see the caves-not sure if they are too far...

massimop

You might want to peruse this website for active sports in Umbria. Most of the places mentioned are closer to the southeastern part of Umbria. That would mean that your forays in le Marche were more focused on its southern half -- but if you stay somewhere near Spoleto and Perugia you are still within 90 minute reach of the Frassasi caves, and 90 minutes to Gubbio, and there is plenty that is closer by to make for interesting hikes and day trips to interesting towns

http://www.bellaumbria.net/en/itiner...ing-in-umbria/

(there's even an "active park" and a water park nearby)

http://www.activopark.com

massimop

sorry, I just now clicked on some of the links in the article and see that they either lead to defunct pages or for-pay tours. But I think with some creative googling you can figure out how to locate the activities mentioned within Umbria.

massimop

http://www.raftingumbria.it/?lang=en

http://www.asgaia.it/en/rafting-in-u...he-corno-river

http://www.sanpotente.it/en/activiti...isi-and-spello

http://www.fattoriadivibio.com/en/ho...ing-umbria.php

http://www.ecologicotours.it/bike_rental.htm

massimop

Meant to add that anywhere you stay in Umbria or Tuscany you will be too far from either sea coast to comfortably do a day trip to a beach.

HappyTrvlr

I question whether the location is too remote for teens. Would they feel cooped up? When we rented a villa for our entire family, there were several teens and we wanted them to have the option of walking into a town. We found one and it worked so well, giving the kids some freedom to explore on their own.
Also, would you be able to go out for dinner or worry about driving back after a bottle of wine? Friends complained about that aspect of their hill top villa in Italy. Just some things to consider...

StCirq

I'm just throwing this out because you are concerned about your kids staying active. I have stayed here twice, once with kids and once without. There were plenty of kid activities, and they all seemed to be enjoying themselves, yet the private villas/chalets/lofts were really nice, and plenty of things to see and do in the vicinity. Not exactly a villa rental, and maybe too low-scale for you, but I loved it:

http://www.vacanzeideali.it

Many lovely spa towns within a short distance, too.

plambers

Happytralr, the first house in Tuscany is walkable to the village for the reasons you state. I am trying to find walkable, but that is a challenge!

StCirq, as always thanks for your help. we like our own pool, and don't like sharing, but your place does look lovely.

how is this location? more central? love that it has a baby grand as my husband can play...have asked if anything is walkable..

https://www.vrbo.com/638216a

plambers

or this one-in le marche. walkable to village and lake fiastra, sibollini mountains and ocean under an hour..
https://www.vrbo.com/8063058ha#map

HappyTrvlr

I understand how difficult it is to find a villa that is walkable to town. It is terrific that you have found one. Good luck finding one more perfect spot.

jamikins

The one in Le Marche is close to San Ginesio which is a really small village that was heavily damaged by the earthquakes last year. We visited it this summer and there wasn't much to do. Lots of the town was blocked off due to damage and we couldn't even find a Café open to have a coffee. The area around is beautiful but there is not much to do. Tolentino is a small city but we didn't get to visiting it so I can say how it fared in the earthquake.

I would look for something closer to a bigger town like Corridonia.

plambers

Jamikins, thanks for this update. I thought things were being repaired and I did not realize San Ginesio was so small.

jamikins

Things are being repaired but slowly. We could not believe the damage to the towns in the vicinity. The damage was extensive and while they have put up supports around buildings and towers many streets were closed in many towns near there. Businesses had moved out of the historic centre and almost all churches were closed due to exams not haven taken place yet. The locals are getting on with it but the repairs had not really started yet.

jamikins

If you want lively towns look at the bigger ones like Fermo, Corridonia, Macerata...a lot of villages in the area you are looking are quite small.