Help with not enough time in Tuscany!
 

We have 10 days...
We are flying into Florence-- arriving July31, Thursday, noon. We plan to stay in Florence for two nights spending the next day, Friday, sight seeing. We will leave Florence early on Sat. From there we wish to get out into the countryside and see as much of Tuscany until we go to Venice, late the following Friday. That gives us 6 nights to see Tuscany. THIS IS WHERE I NEED HELP!! (then... we plan to stay in Venice for two nights before returning home from there early Sunday, August 10.)
1. Where are "not to be missed" towns and where she we stay? We love small, intimate places where we can feel a part of the experience.
2. Should we stay in one place as a base or move around?
3. How should we go about getting the car? In Florence, back out at the airport, or train it to someplace in Tuscany to start that part of the trip?
3. Any specific recommendations on places to stay?
4. What is the best way to get to Venice? I presume to go back to Florence and take the train would be best?? How is the schedule?

I have copied 17 pages of notes from past postings, but I have so much info, I am confused.

Stay near Siena for 3 nights (for Siena, Monteriggioni, San Gimignano, Volterra, etc).

Stay near Pienza for 3 nights (for the Val d'Orcia area: Pienza, Montalcino, San Quirico, Sant'Antimo, Bagno Vignoni, Monticchiello, Montepulciano, etc).

And Yes... get a car in Florence and you can return it in Venice.

dmtraynor53,
E-mail me and I will send you some ideas for Tuscany, it is too long to post.

Henry

Tuck has a great plan there. And, buy the book TOP 10 TUSCANY by Reid Bramblett to fill in the rest.

I agree with TuckH on location.

Stay in San Gimignano for 2 nights. On Saturday visit Volterra (shops will be closed on Sunday & maybe Monday morning also). On Sunday take the Chianti driving tour that's outlined in the Michelin Green Guide. Since you're staying in San G - there is no need to allocate time to visit it - just enjoy it in the morning or evening - that's the best time to visit it anyway. Shops don't close in San G on Sunday.

Monday, take a scenic drive to Siena (any portion of the Chianti drive you missed on Sun) & visit Siena. Some shops may be closed Monday morning, so arrive just before lunch, have lunch there, then explore Siena after lunch.

Stay at the Palazzo del Capitano in San Quirico for 4 nights. San Quirico, IMO, is the best place to experience village life in Tuscany.
http://www.palazzodelcapitano.com/rooms.htm

If you have 17 pages of stuff that has been posted here, you probably have my many driving itineraries for this area of Tuscany. If not, e-mail me at [email protected] & I'll send you my Italy itinerary that has a heavy dose of Tuscany.

I would return the car in Chiusi and take the train to Venice. I would also consider adding a day to Venice.

Stu Dudley

I would rent the car in Florence and drive south on SR 222, The Chianti Road for a very scenic drive.

Whether you change locations or just stay on 1 depends on what towns you want to see and how much you want to drive.
If you would stay in or near Montalcino Siena would be an hour's drive and San Gimignano would be 1.5 hours. Pienza is just minutes away.

We stayed at Il Giglio in 2005 in Montalcino and at Palazzina Cesira in 2007. Loved them both. Small, clean, excellent food. Montalcino is a great little town with some very good restaurants and wineries producing Brunello are all around.

http://www.montalcinoitaly.com/eng/home_cesira.htm

http://www.gigliohotel.com/en/aboutus/

Yes, you could go back to Florence and drop the car or perhaps opt for Chiusi for a drop off point. The train station is close to some of the car rental offices. A train leaves Florence about every hour for Venice and the same is true for Chiusi.

[email protected]

Hi D,

I would agree with dividing your stay in Tuscany between north and south. I would however add a day to Venice. 2 nights is NOT enough.

Where I've stayed and loved:

Chianti - Hotel Residence San Sano ****, 20 min, drive north of Siena off the Chianti hwy. www.chitantinet.com
Had a wonderful lunch at La Badia di Coltibuono (Lorenza Medici's family home).

Montalcino - Il Giglio***. Dine at Grappolo Blu.

Highlight was mass in Gregorian Chant at Sant' Antimo abbey. Go early and miss the tour bus hours.

Buon viaggio

Have you thought of renting a villa or castle accommodation for a week? They usually rent Sat. to Sat. and are a good value.
We stayed at Castello di Montegufoni, about 20 km SW of Florence, and did daytrips. It was an unforgettable experience! Some of our sidetrips included Florence, Siena, Montalcino, San G. and Cinque Terre. Several days, we just hit the wineries in our area and shopped at the day markets in the little hilltowns nearby.
We rented and dropped off the car in Florence, and just trained from there.

I'd love to be able to repeat that trip!

We always split our stays between Chianti and Val d'Orcia. We then finish in Florence ,where we return our car, and train to our next destination (usually Rome).

A friend and I stayed six nights as well in Tuscany, and saw a lot. Get a good map, group your must-sees geograhically, and drive!

We stayed one night in the San Gimignano area, one night in Siena, and 3 nights in Montefollonico.

When I return I'd prefer two nights in the Chianti region, skip overnighting in Siena and just day-trip in (our least favourite city), and the balance of time in the Val D'Orcia (my favourite).

We rented our car through AutoEurope. Took a brief cab ride from Florence's airport to the pick-up spot (can't remember where, sorry). We dropped the car off at the airport. We found driving in Florence to be the most challenging of the trip but certainly doable.

On another trip we trained between Florence and Venice (didn't visit south of Florence that trip) and it's easy. About a 3 hour trip. However, you might want to drop-off the car in Venice which would allow you to see more.

Have a great trip.