My wife and I and another couple are planning<BR>to spend about ten days in the Tuscanny <BR>area of Italy in September. We feel that<BR>the most reasonable (costwise) way to see<BR>Tuscanny would be to rent a car, stay at a<BR>home (or farm, or hotel) and then, venture <BR>out daily to a different area or city, returning to the same place for the evening,<BR>sometimes eating out and sometimes doing some of the cooking at our lodgings. <BR><BR>I am sure that this subject has been discussed here before. Could some of you<BR>experts in Italy give me your opinion,<BR>suggestion, etc. We are not trying to travel in an ultra budget way, (El Cheapo) but on the other hand, we do not have large sums of money to spend. <BR><BR>Any comments, web sites, car rental places, accomodations, will be appreciated.<BR><BR>Thank you in advance.... LARRY

Larry, that is exactly how we have done Tuscany for several years and I want to tell you, I think it can't be beat!!<BR><BR>You will get better value in my opinion doing a farmhouse stay (agriturismo) than in an expensive city hotel. The car will cost you, but it will give you great freedom to see not only the usual places, but many off-the-beaten-track spots that you would never get to otherwise.<BR><BR>The only recommendation I would make is to spend a couple of nights in Florence to see that city, either at the beginning or end of your stay. We found that after driving in to Florence, and spending the day sightseeing, we were too tired to enjoy a nice dinner in a restaurant. We needed an hour or two of &quot;down time&quot; in our hotel before going out for the evening. <BR><BR>Also, locate your main stay in an area central enough to get to a lot of destinations. We stayed near Siena and found that very convenient for San Gimignano, Volterra, Montalcino, Pienza, Montepulciano, Chianti country, etc.

To each his own, and what you propose would appeal to many. The one thing to consider is -- do you really want to sit at this rental villa every night for ten nights? I guess, the idea sounds appealing, but I know I'd want to be in a city at night and venture out to do things and stroll the town. Driving through the Tuscan countryside at night after having a nice meal and bottle or two of wine to get back to my &quot;home&quot; just doesn't appeal to me. Maybe if the villa were right on the outskirts of a larger town?<BR><BR>And with two couples, perhaps you would enjoy each other's company nightly after a long day of sightseeing. Prepare your dinner and sit around for the evening. It's just not me -- but perhaps it is you!

We rented an apt. at a lovely villa about 10k from Florence. It also had it's own very nice restaurant on premises. Very reasonable when booked direct with owner at tuscany.net. Had kitchen facilities and we could sit outdoors. Great COOP nearby in Montelupo for groceries. We would have our &quot;big&quot; meal at noon and walk it off during the day. Then have salads, cold cuts, pasta etc. a lot of evenings back at the apt. Also a nice pool there. Podere Torricella.

Patrick:<BR><BR>While many agritourisms (or farmstays) also offer dinner, many more do not. Besides Tuscany is not that wide! You might pick a couple of such places in two differente areas of Tuscany (there is a complete list of agritourisms at www.agritursimo.regione.toscana.it, it is the official site of farmstays in Tuscany and lists each and every such place there is!), stay there for 3-4 days and daytrip in the surrounding area. Let's say: a couple of nights in Florence, 4 nights in the Chianti area and 4 nights in the Amiata area (less touristy but even more lovely than Chianti!) would make a great trip. You might daytrip to places that are no more than 45 minutes from your base, and therefore have plenty time to enjoy the evening before going back to your agriturismo. On the other hand if you pick the right place, the evenings around the table with an Italin family migh really be a highlight. personally I love long dinners, with lots of different ofoods and being able to chat with the other gests and the owner of the farmstay (in the best places you do not eat in a restaurant-like room, you eat in the family's dinning room!).

I would recommend arriving in Tuscany on a thursday or Friday, and enjoying a hotel in a town of whatever size you choose - - and then start your house/villa stay on the customary Saturday check-in day. I would NOT recommend arriving in Italy, dealing with the time zone difference, renting a car, figuring out where you are going, where to find groceries, etc all on that demanding first day. Remember that markets and such are almost ALL close on Sunday, so it DOES require a little forethought to shop the day you arrive at your rental.<BR><BR>You will learn a lot on the website www.slowtrav.com - - including dozens and dozens of (amateur) &quot;reviews&quot; (I don't this in a disparaging way - - just not written by professionals with a consistent format to the information provided) of self-catering properties.<BR><BR>DO give a little though to how far out in the country - - away from leading tourist &quot;attractions&quot; yu want to be as you think through rental choices.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex Bickers<BR>Westerville, Ohio<BR>

Oh, I forgot that the original question was about costs. I will be spending 4 nights at an agritourism not far from Siena and San Gimignano. It's called &quot;Fonte di sopra&quot; and it's located in Radicondoli (actually Belforte, which is a small village near Radicondoli, if you reasch for it on the map you must search for Radicondoli though). 2 people, 4 nights + 4 breakfasts + 3 normal dinners + new year night special dinner will cost us 360 euro.

topping, for Larry<BR>

Patrick, when we did this we usually had dinner in a nearby town. It’s true we had to drive home afterwards, but we were able to experience many charming towns in the evening when most of the tourists had left and the locals were out for a stroll or a gelato. It was well worth it! I also enjoyed staying a few nights in Florence, for a change.

Larry, If you want to economize on the lodgings, &amp; have more monies for your other activities; I would suggest staying either at a convent or monastery in the Tuscany area. <BR>There are two very good books probably in your local library which tell about them, with addresses, phones, faxs', etc. Some even have kitchen facilities.They typically go for about 60 to 70 euros (includes breakfast). Some serve dinners &amp; lunch too. <BR>Book names: Bed &amp; Blessings and Lodging in Italy's Monasteries (not sure of this latter title??)<BR><BR>As a &quot;bonus&quot;, the &quot;Lodgings&quot; book has a sample letter with BOTH Italian and English for requesting rooms, etc. <BR>Hope this helps. Ken L