Help with Tuscany for a week late May/early June
 

Hi all,


I am helping a friend plan a trip for herself and her husband - both in their late 70's - active and sharp people.

They have never been to the Chianti area or the Val D'Orcia region and are hoping to do both areas - and here's the kicker - without a car as they don't want the hassle of driving. They are willing to hire a private driver for some days (may end up being most days...we will see).

Thinking 4 nights in Chianti and 2 or 3 Val D'Orcia.

So, my questions are as follows:

1. Where to stay in these areas - looking at Greve/Panzano, Castellina for Chianti area and Montalcino, Montepulciano or Pienza for Val D'Orcia. . If anyone can recommend upscale hotels with a pool, on site restaurant and (not sure that this exists) an onsite driver to do short trips into the closest town, that would be terrific. They will probably be best staying close to, if not in town, in these places. For Pienza, was looking at Il Chiostro di Pienza which looks like an option.

2. Private drivers - does anyone have any suggestions in this regard? I know of Luca from Hills and Roads.

3. Cooking classes and nice wineries with lunch restaurant on site - any suggestions regarding these are so welcome! I am compiling a nice list.

Thanks

I would think Montepulciano wouldn't be ideal for an older couple. The town is long and narrow, strung out along a ridge, with lots of ups and downs.

Pienza is smallish and level. Montalcino is on a hilltop, but the center of town is pretty flat.

Staying in Pienza, they could visit Siena, Buonconvento, and Montepulciano by bus (but not all on the same day). That might save them some days of paying a driver. I've never stayed in any of the Chianti towns, but Greve, Panzano, and Castellina are all on the same bus line, so some day trips by bus might be possible there as well. For convenience using the bus, it might be best to stay in the farthest out town, because the schedules are geared towards traffic towards Florence in the morning and back out in the evening. Castellina has very limited bus service, so Panzano might be best.

I agree that staying in town would be best if they won't have a car, but that might make it difficult to find a larger hotel with a pool. Rural "country houses" or agriturismi are the most likely to have a pool.

Check out Adler Spa in Bagno Vignoni in val orica..

>>>Thinking 4 nights in Chianti and 2 or 3 Val D'Orcia.<<<

I would put the 4 nights in Val D'Orcia and 2 in Chianti, but depends on what they actually want to see.

Luca of Hills and Roads is based in Siena so he would be convenient for most of those towns, but one Fodorite complained that they were switched to another driver.

These small towns don't have typical upscale hotels like in large cities. I don't recall any hotels within Montepulciano having a pool.

In Pienza, beside the one you mentioned,these hotels have pools.

Across the street from the old town.
http://www.sangregorioresidencehotel.it/en

A couple of minutes walk to the old town, has hot tub, but no pool.
http://www.hotelcorsignano.it/

A 5 minute walk (not upscale at all).
http://www.albergorutiliano.it/

These two transportation options were listed on the Pienza Portale website.
http://www.portalepienza.it/Siti_com...o_inglese.html
http://www.taxi-cab.eu/en/

In Montalcino.
http://www.deicapitani.it/web/index.cfm

Montalcino is bigger than Pienza and has a few more tourist services (wine tours, etc.). The tourism office should be able to provide some lists of tours. Taxi info (no English version):
http://www.prolocomontalcino.com/it/...axi-e-noleggio

There are some countryside resorts that are more upscale in these areas that might be able to arrange transport, but I don't know of any especially convenient to a town. Here's one example.
http://www.castellodivelona.it/

Thank you all for the replies so far. I am going to check out all of the suggestions. Tuscany without a rental car is certainly trickier!

Yes it is tricky---the local transport is not good.

I suggest staying in Siena where local busses are more frequent to Montalcino, Pienza and San Gimignano. It is the hub for that region. Are you sure a car in not an option?

I agree, for the trip they want, a car makes the most sense. Unless money is no object and they can hire a private drive/tour for most days.

Pools will not have warm water!

A rental car is not an option for the week.I will need to find them a private driver for at least a few days of their trip. Are taxis common in some of the larger towns (Panzano, Montalcino) so that they will be able to take a taxi to dine in the evening or is that not common? (When I was there we rented a car so I had no need for taxis or private cars.)

I don't remember seeing taxis in any hill towns. Montalcino info is bigger than Pienza but it's still quite small. They could walk to dinner on a relatively flat street if they stay at Il Giglio hotel in Montalcino.

Panzano is a small town. There are restaurants in town, so one can walk. The some streets are quite steep. I stayed in a house and had a car. There is a local bus that goes to Florence and to Greve but I would not depend on that for going out for dinner. Greve is a larger community than Panzano. You can arrange for a driver and car, but you are not going to see a taxi stand in any small town.

you may want to look at :
http://www.chianti.info/chianti_without_car.

http://www.panzano.com/tours/tours-eng.
and :

Thank you all so much.
I have found a couple of drivers for the trip and am in the process of providing them with some daily itineraries to price out the options.

For the wine lovers...any fav wineries to visit where one might enjoy an outdoor lunch? Either near Greve or Montalcino (Banfi is the biggie I know about). Thanks.

I love Kybourbon's suggestion of Hotel Corsignano in Pienza. Both times I've visited Pienza, I walked by that hotel and thought how lovely it looked from the outside. And it is a short walk to the town, so no need for taxis to find restaurants and such for dinner. I've promised myself that one of these years I'm going to stay in Pienza - they have a lovely lookout to enjoy the evening passeggiata!

La Chiusa restaurant in Montefallico is one of the nicest meals in the nicest ambience I have had anywhere. Michelin star. Worth being driven to.

<i><font color=#555555>"A rental car is not an option for the week."</font></i>

I've got a few decades before I hit my late 70's, but I would never want to visit Tuscany without a car. The utter lack of convenience can easily DESTROY a rural experience. At my current age, I have little patience waiting for other people to show up when I request their service. I can only imagine what I'll be like in my elder years. The language barrier and communication requirements will add another layer of complexity and frustration. I wouldn't want to endure any of these challenges at my current age.

If the budget is not restricted, the elderly couple should consider taking a third person to work as their driver. When all is said and done, there could be cost savings in the end by doing so. If a family member or friend is not possible, then I would do some research and find a local-for-hire (like a college student in Florence), someone who speaks English and Italian, who would be their driver for the entire trip. This option would be more expensive, especially if the driver has his/her own room at the couple's hotel, but having someone on-call is the best option for a trip like this.

If the couple were just going to relax and have a resort-style vacation, where they don't mind being "on the property" 24/7, then perhaps no car in Tuscany can be enjoyable. But to actually see and experience the gorgeous countryside, stop in neighboring towns and hamlets, and stay overnight in more than one area, being without a car will not be fun.

I've experienced many travelers who visit Lake Como without a car (where you truly don't need one) and were determined to visit some of the better restaurants in the hills. Lake Como does offer some public transportation along the lake, but to go up and visit a hill town or destination, you have to hike very steep elevations. Taxi service is available in most towns along the lake, at least that's what your hotel will tell you. People often call for one and are told no car is available at this time, which turns out pretty horrifying for some. Or they're told the car is coming from two towns away, the wait will be an hour. And there's no place place to sit while you wait. Not fun. And how much is that 7-minute taxi ride that you waited over an hour to arrive: a whopping $38. Pain in certain vacation destinations can be expensive.

Thanks all. A lovely trip has been planned and I will let you all know how it goes in June!