We will be staying in Tuscany (anywhere) for about 2 weeks - where would you stay? We are on a budget, so places that are 1,000 Euros per week or less would be great (although if it's a bit more and really worth it, I'd love to hear about it). We like small ins/B&B type places, but we'd like some privacy as well...

Thanks for your suggestions!

SusanAlexandra,
See slow trav http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/reviewsdb/
for rental reviews, southern Tuscany would be my first pick. check out agriturismo (apartments on vineyards) for good prices and privacy. Feel free to e-mail me for more information.

Susan, what time of year are you going.
Location is always the key. I would suggest south Tuscany, or within 30 miles of Siena. Start your search at slowtrav.com--some experts on Tuscany hang out there. Read the articles first, then look at the property and hotel reviews. With 2 weeks I would suggest 2 locations--perhaps even in Umbria as well.

Congrats! YOu will love Tuscany. I'd stay a wk S of Siena near Montepulicano and a wk N of it in Chianti region.

We stayed at Frances Lodge just outside Siena and found it to be a perfect location. Check out franceslodge.it.

swalter518,
About the Frances Lodge...
How close is it to the walled city part of Siena?
Could one walk?
Could you take the bus?
What is the surrounding area like?
Thanks!
-Bill

have you tried www.tuscany.net?
we stayed at the villa il patriarca in Chiusi. we loved it.

Thanks for all of your help. The resources/B&Bs/farms, etc are endless.

What would be your #1 choice of lodging (not town) in Tuscany if you were on a moderate budget honeymoon in late Marchg/early April?

Thanks so much!
Susan

Bill, Sorry it took a few days for me to check back. Frances Lodge is "one hilltop" away from downtown. It's a 2 minute drive (10 min. walk) to a busstop at the bottom of the hill that takes about 5 minutes to get inside the walls. The setting is absolutely gorgeous with a veiw of the city, a pool, a nice courtyard to eat when it's warm and great hosts-Frances and Franco. If you have more specific questions, let me know.
Sue

Susan, Are you driving? If so, look at www.santaantonio.it Location should be your top criterion. If not, you should stay in Siena.

Bob: That website isn't working for me.

Susan: Are you interested in an apartment, farmhouse, etc. or do you just want B&B's/hotels?

There are 2 apartments in Montepulciano which rent for 400 - 500 euros a week. They gets rave reviews here on Fodors:
Politian Aparments
http://www.politian.com/accommodation.htm

Try www.santantonio.it.

Bill, I just got info from Frances Lodge that they are redoing some of their rooms, including the one we stayed in to "freshen them up". The newly refurbished rooms are supposed to be ready by April. We stayed in the Moroccan room a year ago October and thought it was fine.

Thanks for the info on Frances Lodge Susan.
Did you use this as a base for visting the surrounding area? If so, where did you go?
Thanks again,
-Bill

Bill, we stayed there for four nights and travelled through Tuscany and the Chianti region. We visited Siena (obviously), Montalcino, Montelpulciano, Cortona, Pienza, Greve, Castellina, Radda and San Gimignano. As you can imagine some stops were shorter than others. Frances was particularly helpful in planning our routes and helping us weed out what should be short v. longer stops. The longest drive was a little over an hour on the scenic route to Cortona.

We would stay at a B&B, farmhouse, apartment or hotel - just as long as it has charm and is reasonably priced!
I think that we are less into apartments because then we would have to go out and get groceries, etc...
But we are definitely open to many suggestions!
Thanks!

Susan:
It's not a "b&b", but you might find this interesting. Hotel Palazzo Ravizza is within Siena's city walls. They provide parking nearby, which is a major consideration in Siena. The hotel itself gets excellent reviews.

I thought it was out of our budget, but on their website they list "loft" rooms at 100 to 120 euros a night. From reading people's comments, I've gotten the impression they are rather separate from the rest of the hotel. These rooms get very high marks at tripadvisor.com and here on Fodors. (Search for "Ravizza&quot.
http://www.palazzoravizza.it/

You can look at the following Website for ideas on Tuscany accomodations, things to do etc. It is near the area of the caves made famous in Mel Gibsons movie "Passion of the Christ".
Diane and Guiseppe provide many extras such as Guide Service, translation even an Italian Cooking Course...what fun!! Hope it helps!! artuscany.net

Thanks for all of the help.

So, do you think that we should do 1 week in Chianti and 1 week in Tuscany (with day trips), or 10 days in Tuscany (with day trips) and a few days in Cinque Terre? We are pretty active, but we don't want to run around too much...

Also, if we are renting a car, we have been told to fly into Zurich because it's less expensive to rent there - does anyone else have tips like this? Or any suggestions for where to fly into and which order to do this?

Thanks so much to all of you for helping to make this a trip of a lifetime!

Jeanne B, Hotel Palazzo Ravizza looks amazing! Thanks!

Susan

Susan, If you do fly into Zurich then change your total itinerary to include Luzern and Lugano, and get the car in Lugano. But, that also means returning the car in CH.