debbiev

We are planning a trip in October (4 adults). We will be flying in and out of Rome. We plan on spending 2 days in Rome, upon our arrival and then head north to the Tuscany area.

We will rent a car as we leave Rome. Need some help in decding to rent a villa for 6 days in the Tuscany region and take day trips for hiking and seeing the sights or should we move to differnt areas. We are not much in to nightl life, but love the outdoors and enjoy getting off of the beaten path.

I have seen many post on hiking in the Cinque Terre, but that looks to be a little more North than we had anticipated. We normally hike 5-6 hours a day. We have also looked at taking a cooking class through Accidental Tourist - does anyone have any good or bad experiences with that company?

I would be happy with any suggestions on places to stay, if you think that we should move around more. Our vacations are normally pretty active so am concerned that if we stay in one location, we may run out of hikes/day trips.

thanks for your help
debbie

bobthenavigator

If you have a total of 8 nites to sleep in Italy, I would get the car at FCO and drive to your Tuscany base for 5 nites, then drop the car at Orvieto and spend your final 3 nites in Rome. You will not run out of things to do in south Tuscany---5 days is about right. Here is a list to help:

BOB’S FAVORITE DIGS IN TOSCANA

A. RURAL LOCATIONS: All have parking and good food options nearby

1. Relais La Saracina www.lasaracina.it 230 to 300E
Fabulous country home near Montepulciano—helpful owners

2. Cretaiole Agriturismo http://www.cretaiole.it/ Good value for families

3. Terre di Nano www.terredinano.com 100 to 155
Both rooms and apartments at rural Agriturismo near Monticchiello

4. Casanova di Pescille http://www.casanovadipescille.com/ 100E
Rural B&B 3 KM from famed San Gimignano—we loved the views of San Gim.

5. Fattoria Tregole www.fattoria-tregole.com 110E to 180E
Has both B&B and apartment accommodations. Near Castellina in Chianti

6. Agriturismo apts. near San Quirico— www.poggiolo.info/ About 110E

B. IN-TOWN LOCATIONS: For walking convenience to shops & ristorantes.

1. Palazzo del Capitano www.palazzodelcapitano.com 130 to 180E
Very nice small hotel in center of San Quirico—perfect location to explore.

2. Vecchia Oliviera www.tuscany.net/oliviera/ 130 to 180E
Nice 4 star hotel at the gate into lovely Montalcino---has pool.

3. Palazzina Cesari www.montalcinoitaly.com 80 to 110E
Lovely small B&B in heart of Montalcino—great value—2 night stay minimum.

4. Locanda di San Francesco www.locandasanfrancesco.it 180 to 200E
New boutique B&B in a lovely location in Montepulciano—great reviews !

5. Politian apartments http://www.politian.com/ Good value apts. with
minimum stay of 3 nights in Montepulciano---helpful host---85E

6. Palazzo Ravizza www.palazzoravizza.it 130 to 180E
Very nice & popular hotel in Siena with parking.

7. Fattoria Vignale http://www.vignale.it/eng/ Four star hotel in Radda in the heart of Chianti. About 230E for double

tuscanlifeedit

I think you have to have this book:

http://walkingandeating.com/

It is informative and full of great sounding hikes. I've read it twice and recommend it.

zoecat

I think tuscanlifeedit's book recommendation is excellent. I have stayed in southern Tuscany, the Val d'Orcia near Pienza, several times and have done many hikes in the area. There is plenty to keep you fullfilled for 5-6 days. There are also many hikes not included in the book. Many are on the white dirt roads and tractor tracks through farmland. There are great hikes in the nearby Crete Senesi area and Mt Amiata.

The Rough Guide Tuscany and the Insight Guide Tuscany are two guides I have used to point me in the right direction when visiting the area.

Be sure to enjoy the seasonal, fresh porcini mushrooms while there.

I always enjoy my stay at the agriturismo Fonte Bertusi. It is located just outside of Pineza and in a beautiful countryside location. Each apartment has a patio and kitchen. There is also a stone BBQ for guests to use. Breakfast is lovely and the hosts are wonderful.

http://fontebertusi.com/eng/

franco

I'm not a hiker, but there are two landscapes in Italy that are as beautiful as to tempt even me to go hiking: the Cinque Terre that you've already mentioned (I already did hike there, actually, and it was exhausting yet great) - and the Piano Grande in Umbria, thus way farther south than the Cinque Terre. Italy's most beautiful non-coastal landscape.

zeppole

When in October is this trip? There is a big difference in weather between the beginning of October and the end of October.

If by "hiking" you mean putting on hiking boots and getting a work out from walking challenging trails, I'm with Franco that the Italian Riviera and the Piano Grande in the Monte Sibillini are tempting Italian hiking routes.

If what you mean by hiking is off-pavement walking through rolling hill farm country, then that describes most of tourist Tuscany (ie., Bob's list).

When you say you like to "get off the beaten path" do you mean you want to get beyond the art cities? Because then most any part of rural Tuscany will do. But Pienza and the val d'Orcia, le Crete Senesi get thousands upon thousands of tourists. They are very much on the tourist map -- as is le Cinque Terre.

It takes about 3 hours to drive from Rome to the hiking areas of the Monte Sibillini, and what you would find there is a fantastically beautiful mountain park with great hiking. There are many tucked away hilltowns with charming accommodations and fantastic food.

http://www.sibillini.net/en/index.html

You might also consider hikes around Assisi and Spello, along with a cooking class.

http://www.ecologicotours.it/walking_assisi-spoleto.htm

You could combine both areas -- Monte Sibillini and the Assisi area -- for a mix of outstanding cultural sights and pristine dramatic nature.

debbiev

Thanks all for your replys..
October 6 - 15th
By hiking i do mean hikig. We have done hikes Carter Lake, OR, Glacier National Park, MT, Calgary CA. 2-5 mile hikes up to 2/3 hikes per day is what we usually do (up to 10 miles in a given day)... we are not HUGE into art, but when in Rome - we should spend some time in appreciating the art . We are not big city folks, 2 days is usually the most that we can take of cities and then it's off to explore the area.

Do you think that we can spend it all in one place or would we need to move a couple of nights. Were open to both

A cooking class is definately in the plans!
thanks again for your help...

zeppole

I think if you spend it in the mountainous parks of Italy, you won't have to move unless you want to. One of the most mountainous regions of Italy is the province of Abruzzo, which is actually very convenient to Rome (just due east), about 100 km). Again, the Monte Sibillini is no further than Tuscany.

But one problem I think you will run into is that with the exception of le Cinque Terre, most English-speaking tourists don't come to Italy to hike, and therefore most of the information about it is in Italian. You can find tons of information about "walking" in Tuscany. Or Umbria. But not hiking.

Rest assured however that wherever you go, you will find lots of accommodations, towns and restaurants and art. It's not the wilderness. It's supremely civilized. It just isn't a famous tourist destination.

You might try getting in touch with an international hiking club in the US or England to get tips. And you might find these websites contain some pointers for you:

http://goeurope.about.com/gi/o.htm?z...uzzo/parco.htm

http://goeurope.about.com/cs/italy/a/abruzzo.htm

http://www.girosole.com/italy-walkin...s/abruzzo.html

http://goeurope.about.com/cs/italy/a/abruzzo.htm

http://www.italianfoodforever.com/if...blog&Itemid=67

http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/r...e-vettore.html

http://www.gorp.com/hiking-guide/tra...ev_057476.html

franco

Need to move, definitely not. Spending six nights in either the Cinque Terre or on the Piano Grande (which means in Castelluccio, the only village around there) is certainly not a bad idea. Nor is it a bad idea to split the time between two locations - that's a matter of personal preferences. What I wouldn't do, though, is splitting my time between the Cinque Terre and the Piano Grande - too distant from each other, you'd lose one entire day driving. What you could do, if you prefer to split, is adding the Garfagnana or even the Lunigiana to the Cinque Terre (mountainous backwaters in northern Tuscany, not far from the Cinque Terre, and no doubt interesting territory for serious hikers), or the hilly part of Umbria to the Piano Grande (thinking of the region between Todi - Gualdo Cattaneo - Giano dell'Umbria, another backwater with a landscape on the gentle side).

franco

zeppole, what you are saying about hiking information in English will probably be true - but that doesn't mean that information is available in Italian only. An excellent website on hiking in Italy is this one, in German: http://www.italienwandern.de/ - Christoph Hennig, one of the authors, has written some of the very best guidebooks on Italy; unfortunately, they're available in German only. But who knows, maybe debbiev reads either Italian or German, or at least knows somebody who does - plenty of time to do translation homework until October.

zeppole

Jah, franco.

debbie, I'm also thinking that for an October trip, another nice split would be Abruzzo and the Sorrentine Peninsula (Amalfi coast) or the Cilento National Park, to hike with views of the sea. It would be a four hour drive between the two. Or just split Cilento with the Sorrentine Peninsula after leaving Rome.

http://www.discovercilento.com/

http://www.sherpa-walking-holidays.c...inn/jcndos.asp

http://www.summerinitaly.com/plannin...ento_capri.asp

http://www.whenever.it/



Were it me traveling in October, I wouldn't book anything in advance so I could watch the weather. You wouldn't have trouble finding places to stay, even four adults, in rural areas.

Gillian2

Have you thought of going to a little known, but incredibly beautiful area of Italy, the Abruzzo? It's a short drive from Rome to it's main city. My husband and I have been going there for years, and find it an incredible,less expensive, and off the beaten track, way to enjoy Italy without being surrounded by tourists. In May, we spent four days, arranged through Le Fornacelle di Lucoli, hiking, eating and touring in the area. Check out the following website to learn more a bout it: www.vacationinrome.com.

julia1

Gillian2, I believe your link is incorrect - should it be .eu, not .com?

Gillian2

I'm so sorry. The correct link is: www.vacationinrome.it

debbiev

We have an update on our "plans".
Here is what we have so far 10 days (total)
Rome 8am 2/3 days
Tuscany - 2/3 days - 1 day cooking class (accidental tourist) 1 day hiking
Cinque Terre - 1 day - hike the 5 cities and then boat back to car?
Italian Alps 1/2
Back to Rome for 10is departure
Is this a manageable itinerary?
We plan to pick up the car on our way out of Rome and then drive to the different locations. Does this look doable? Does anyone know how many hours of driving per destination?
Thanks for your input!

zeppole

Italy has several sets of Alps, and even if you mean the Apuane Alps, the trip isn't doable if you need to get back to Rome to catch a flight at 10 in the morning. Most of all, it doesn't sound particularly enjoyable (at least not to me!) and if you get rain your last days, you'll get no hiking whatesoever on your trip.

You originally described your desire as being about getting off the beaten track and doing energetic. Maybe you allchanged your mind, but this itinerary has very little hiking and is 90 percent the mega-tourist magnets.

Where is the cooking class? What town?

I'm guessing you're already locked into your cooking class. I would to find a hiking place to stay within daytrip distance of your cooking class. For instance, if your cooking class is in Florence, you can stay near the Apuane Alps, and go hiking there and along the coast, and still get into Florence for the day of your cooking class.

That would be my suggestion, and if you post the location of the cooking class (and still want to hike), maybe people could help you find a base for outdoor activities.

zeppole

For instance, you could stay here and be within daytrip driving distance of both Florence and le CInque Terre

http://www.eliseo.info/bed-breakfast.php

I've never stayed there, but I'd seriously consider if it I wanted to hike!

franco

I agree that this new plan is, ummm, surprising. If by "Italian Alps" you mean the above suggested Lunigiana and Garfagnana, there's no chance of reaching a 10 a.m. flight out of Rome from there - you have to spend the last night near the airport. Which leaves you, if you start early from the Cinque Terre, about three hours (or 1 day and three hours) to explore those two mountain regions. Perhaps you should spend some time on Mappy or Viamichelin or Google maps and make a reasonable plan, taking into account distances and driving times.

zeppole, sleepless in Camogli?

zeppole

franco, such is life that working world time zones have been rendered meaningless by the internet. But it's also true I haven't had a fixed bedtime since I was a child, and the Italian pausa is nice for beauty sleep.

franco

Of course, I wasn't talking about the bedtime issue... I just thought it may still be so hot in Liguria that it's impossible to get any sleep.