I am planning my Honeymoon for soon-to-be-wife and me.

We have decided to go to Italy. Our wedding is April 25, 2009 and we will spend 12-14 days in Italy. We will be leaving the US (NYC area to be exact) on Sunday April 26, 2009 and likely arriving the morning of Monday the 27th. We are planning - this is subject to change of course since I haven’t booked anything yet - to fly into Rome, spending 3 nights there (Mon, Tues Wed). Then we will take the train to Venice and spend two nights (Thurs and Fri). From there I figure we will take the train to Florence. We would like to spend our next week/6-nights in the Tuscan countryside.

I am looking for some help and recommendations on where to stay in Tuscany – including town and accommodations. We are 28/27 years old. I have been to Italy before (Rome, Florence and Venice in about 6 days) and she has never been to Italy. We would like our week in Tuscany – our second week - to be a more relaxing week. We will use our hotel/villa/apartment as a base of operations from which to explore Tuscany; we’re planning to rent a car. We’ll take day trips to the big cities – Florence, Siena, Pisa, etc.

First, the town: We want to stay in the countryside rather than a main city, but we do not want to be too far removed. We would also like to stay in a town where we can spend a full day or two and not feel claustrophobic and bored; somewhere where the will be places to go to eat and drink and occupy our time – other than museums. Based on the research I have done I am thinking of something in the Chianti region, particularly Greve or Raddah. I like Chianti because of its proximity to Florence and Siena and because of its wine and beauty – from what I have read it is the Tuscany you see in postcards.
Are the any recommendations regarding these towns or other towns in the Chianti area? Are the any objections to the Chianti area or suggestions or other/towns areas?

Second, the Accommodations: We are looking for something more than just a standard hotel - maybe a villa or an apartment. We want something romantic, but we are not the type of couple who will lie in bed all day – we are a bit more active. Of course, since we’re in Tuscany we want something rustic and picturesque, but we want some modern conveniences – especially a private bathroom and air conditioning. I would like to spend around $2,000 – 2,500 (yes, U.S. Dollars) for the week.
Any suggestions? Again, I am very interested in suggestions in the Chianti region, but I am also open to other areas.

I appreciate any help or insight I can get.

The Chianti region is a good choice. You can take many day trips from any of the small towns in this region. Although it may be a bit small for you, we liked Panzano, which isn't too far from Greve. We stayed in an apartment in Il Palagio, which has several different apartments and a gorgeous view over Tuscan hillsides. It has a pool and is within walking distance of the center of Panzano, which has two restaurants, a bakery, butcher, grocers, weekly market. Most accommodations like this in Tuscany are for 7 days, from Saturday to Saturday. Panzano is a good base for exploring San Gimignano, Siena, Greve and any of many smaller towns. Plus there are some fabulous restaurants to drive to from there, including a restaurant in LaMole. If you want more nightlife than Panzano can offer, Siena is probably your best choice. If you want peace and quiet, beautiful views and a small Tuscan town to enjoy, Panzano is perfect.

The geographical center of Tuscany is somewhere just south of Siena. From there you can easily reach the Val d'Orcia to the south and Chianti to the north.

I suggest that you seek out an agriturismo in that area. Another option is in the vicinity of San Gimignano which is to the northwest of Siena and also proximate to Chianti.

BTW, we prefer the Val d'Orcia over Chianti...

Look into open jaws flights, flying into Venice, out of Rome. Then do your Tuscany time in between. Not only does that make geographic sense, it's better to stay a few days in a city to get over jet lag. A city offers lots of different sightseeing options according to the time of day and your degree of sleepiness. Venice is particularly good for this purpose because wandering in a daze is appropriate sightseeing in Venice. It's much more laid back than Rome and, like everybody else, I think wandering around getting lost is the best thing to do in Venice.

Do spring for a hotel in Venice proper, not Mestre or the mainland and not the Lido. It's so relaxing to be away from car traffic. And I would add at least a day to Venice for getting over jetlag. And wedding fatigue.

You can pick up a rental car in Venice at the Piazzale Roma, drive over the causeway to the mainland, and on to your Tuscany location.

For villa/apt reviews -- and much other useful information -- look at www.slowtrav.com. The problem is most such rentals are Saturday - Saturday.

I am not familiar with the Chianti area and am prejudiced toward southern Tuscany. But I am sure all the other similarly prejudiced Fodorites will tell you about that area. You could consider Siena for a base. It's an easy bus ride into Florence.

After Tuscany, you can drop your car at some convenient location and take the train into Rome.

Efficient planning ahead of time will get the maximum out of your honeymoon. You probably think 12 - 14 days is a long time, but it isn't. The time will fly and you will vow to come back to see all the things you missed.

I agree- fly into Venice and out of Rome, stopping in Tuscany on your way south.

I too suggest staying in the Val d'Orcia area of Tuscany. It is so beautiful, relaxing and yet there are plenty of nearby towns to visit.

Here's a place to stay that should be perfect for your honeymoon-

http://www.la-bandita.com/

If you google La Bandita you can find a few articles and reviews.

Best whishes!

I agree- fly into Venice and out of Rome, stopping in Tuscany on your way south.

I too suggest staying in the Val d'Orcia area of Tuscany. It is so beautiful, relaxing and yet there are plenty of nearby towns to visit.

Here's a place to stay that should be perfect for your honeymoon-

http://www.la-bandita.com/

If you google La Bandita you can find a few articles and reviews.

Best wishes!

I agree with Tuck--you want south of Siena and will need a car to explore the area. Click on my name to find my list of favorite accommodations in Tuscaany.

Also look at villa/apartment reviews on slowtrav.com after you have decided on a location.

Day Trips from Montepulciano
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35156587


What’s your favorite Tuscan town?
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35141526


Do we want Orvieto or Montepulciano for my October trip?
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35141079

cfitz,

Hard to choose when nearly everywhere in Tuscany and Umbria is wonderful. (I haven't visited Le Marche yet!)

Second trip we stayed in the TINY village of San Sano, 20 min drive north of Siena on the Chianti hwy. Check out the web site for Residence San Sano, a lovely ****. Our visit is now becoming dated, 2000, but we loved San Sano and thought it was the most perfect place of a 3 week trip.

From there we did day trips to Siena, Greve, La Badia di Coltibuono (excellent lunch and cellars/garden tour), Castello di Brolio (tasting), and a very long day to both San Gimignano and Volterra.

The only thing is the Chianti roads are slow going and you may not go very far after all!

Also have stayed in Montalcino (Brunello) and just loved it. Il Giglio***, very good value for the money. Montalcino is small, but offers several restaurants and awesome views. This really is the Tuscany you see on calendars and postcards - not Chianti. I didn't venture any further than Grappolo Blu, delicious.

Another special place to check out, but in Umbria. Spello, and the Palazzo Bocci****. The best place of my last trip.

I also recommend flying in to Venice - min of 3 nts, then heading on and flying out of Rome, min 4 nts.
Buon viaggio!

Radda and Chianti are all very well, I suppose, but I cannot get enough of south Tuscany.

No,let me revisit that statement: I actually do not like the Chianti region. Too twisty, too spread out, too touristy.

For the wedding trip of my dreams, I would choose Montepulciano, hands down.

Just my opinion, of course.

Thank you all for your responses. I have begun to rethink the trip a bit know and am leaning toward southern Tuscany - maybe near Pienza or Montepulciano. I really like La Bandita which looks like a great recommendation.

Please continue with the suggestions, they're much appreciated!

Check out Villa Vignamaggio in Greve. It is a working winery and the birthplace and childhood home of the Mona Lisa. They have rooms, apts, 2 pools, tennis courts, bikes to borrow and are just a couple of miles from Greve. If you go there, make sure you go to Lamole for dinner one night. Also if they have a winemaker's dinner while you are there, be sure to sign up for it. We were there in 2006 and really enjoyed it.

cfitz, I stayed at Terre di Nano last October near Monticchiello:
http://www.terredinano.com/ There are apartments or a B&B option with fantastic views. We loved the location and Giorgio the manager was a pleasure to work with.

Here's another vote for the more southern areas of Tuscany. Chianti is nice, but in terms of wine, we prefer Brunellos to Chianti. Also, I feel the terrain and views in southern Tuscany to be more varied and interesting than those in Chianti (though Chianti is gorgeous too).

I know that lots and lots of people choose to spend a week at a villa or agriturismo and love it, but DH and I haven't ever done that, because we prefer the variety of more than one location. Use mappy.com or similar websites to map distances and times from any one location in Tuscany, and decide if you want to make multiple day trips from one location. If you stayed in two locations, you'd probably still make day trips, but could have the possibility of not having as far to drive each day. You may be fine with one place for a week, but think through the pros and cons.

Another factor to consider, and you already may be doing so, is where you will eat dinner each night. Driving after dinner on narrow, windy Italian backroads is not fun, and they take drinking and driving VERY seriously. We prefer to stay IN a town, so that we can walk to dinner and both of us can drink without worrying. Then, after dinner, we can wander around the charming town we're staying in. Of course, if you're thinking you might rent an apartment and eat in some nights, then this is less of a factor.

The place we've stayed in several times in Tuscany is San Gimignano, that amazing, touristy little town. I love the way it empties out of tourists at night, and during the day, we're always driving around to other places. I don't know know that I'd spend 6 nights in San G, though. Siena may not be the direction your thoughts are headed, but it's definitely a big enough little city to have a lot to do both during the day and in the evening.

Enjoy your planning!

We spent a week staying just beside Montepulciano in May at www.s.benedetto.it/azienda.en.php. Can thoroughly recommend this immaculate and character filled agriturismo with its stunning views of Montepulciano. We stayed in the separate annex and couldn't believe the views! It was an excellent location to explore the southern tuscan area. I had only found 1 review of the place before we left and was a little apprehensive but we struck gold! It's by one of the local busy roads but it was super quiet at night and during the day we were often out and about so it didn't bother us a bit. If you can't get the annex do ask for one of the apartments away from the road side.We later spent 4 days in Northern Tuscany before travelling to the CT for 3 nights but the highlight was the Val d'Orcia area around Montepulciano/Pienza/Montichello/Montalcino. Have a wonderful honeymoon - you can't go wrong with southern Tuscany.

IF you are visiting Tuscany, there are so many romantic towns and cities including Florence. For accommodation, i would recommend the many online travel sites. These sites do really offer excellent deals.
Good luck with your honeymoon.

I think the fly into Venice and out of Rome idea is great. Venice is much better and more gentle with jet lag and I think the most romantic city in the world. We spent our honeymoon there at the Pensione Accademia, a villa near the Accademia museum. If you fly out of Rome, you will be acclimated and energized for this very exciting but also very tiring city.

In Siena, there is a wonderful hotel called Pensione La Ravizza, another old villa with a big garden, rooms with frescoes on the ceiling and view of Tuscan countryside.

If you want to rent an apartment try Vacanza Bella www.vbella.com; we have used them three times, all happilly. If you have money to splurge consider the rooms at LA Chiusa, which has a Michelin starred restaurant and a great view of the country side.

Buon viaggo!

Hey - Your plans sound awesome. We did a similar trip for our honeymoon back in June 2007. We flew into Milan, took the train up to Varenna on Lake Como for 3 nights (highly recommend!), trained down to Venice for three nights, and then took the train to Florence, stayed there one night and then rented a car and drove an hour south of Florence (town is called Greve in Chianti) to our agriturismo where we stayed for the next week. We eventually flew out of Pisa. It was all so wonderful, and I wanted to recommend where we stayed in Greve, because it sounds like you are looking for the exact same things we were looking to do for our trip.

Here's the website - http://www.borgo-di-sugame.com/.

It's a young family, British wife and Italian husband, three young kids who started their organic vineyard a few years ago. They were wonderfully accomodating and easy to work with. We stayed in the little cottage on their property. It was perfect for a week of relaxation. We took day trips with our car to Siena, Volterra, and Lucca, we spent a couple of days in the area doing wine tasting/vineyard tours (including one at Vignamaggio that someone else mentioned above), and took a couple of days to just hang out and relax by the pool. Our cottage had a picnic table out the front door overlooking the vineyard and the sunset. We made dinner a couple of nights and just sat out there for hours drinking wine...it was heaven.

I'm sure you won't go wrong with whatever you decide. Have fun!!

If your marriage turns out to be as successful as your honeymoon plan you'll do great. Buon Viaggio!