Is 9 Days in Tuscany Enough for this?
 

We are planning a trip to Tuscany next year.<BR><BR>Initially, we thought we'd take 9 days and see San G., The Chianti region, and Montalcino, Montepulciano, and Pienza. <BR><BR>We also thought we'd stay 3 places - San G. so we could see it at night, Chianti region, and Pienza, to cut down on driving time. We planned to stay in hotels.<BR><BR>Now in talking with friends we wonder if it would make more sense to rent a villa in the Chianti region for a week, and see that area well and do it justice. The villa rental seems much more economical.<BR><BR>Our reservation is plane fare, which is not cheap. My husband's feeling is to stick with our original plan, but our friends said they did a similar trip and were exhausted.<BR><BR>Thoughts?

I personally wouldn't stay in 3 different places. <BR>We just got back from Tuscany and stayed in Monteriggioni which is very centrally located to visit both north (Pisa, Lucca), central (San Gim, Siena, Volterra) and southern (Pienza, Montalcino) Tuscany.<BR>Distances between cities are not that long and the scenery on the road is so breathtaking that driving never became boring.

Don't miss staying at San Gimignano! Staying there at night has been the highlight of three of our trips to Tuscany. It is lovely at night and very close to great areas for day trips. Check Fodor's Exploring Florence and Tuscany for very interesting itineraries.<BR><BR>I think you would enjoy staying at two or three different places, and it would cut down on driving time. We have done that several times and did not find it exhausting at all.<BR><BR>We did not think that Pienza was as interesting as San G.,and it seemed a little out of the way to drive to. However, there are many lovely places to visit in the same area.<BR><BR>Look at Fodor's book suggesting different drives through Tuscany. It will give you an idea about time and distance. There are so many good possibilities that I don't think you can go wrong. You just won't have time to go every where. <BR><BR>We have also stayed in villas there, but we really enjoy staying in a small town so we can explore it at night when it is not crowded. We usually compromise and spend a night or two at a villa that also serves dinner and the rest of the nights in one or two small towns.

Debbie, My advice is to spend an hour at www.slowtrav.com and then rethink your plan. Three locations is not required, but 2 is a good idea. A weekly rental, even if you only stay 5 or 6 nites, also makes good sense.

If you intend to stay at a villa, think about this: <BR>I've been in Tuscany many times, but I wonder to stay for a long period to know it with more details.<BR>So after a homework I decide to rent a villa in the outskirts of Siena. That<BR>was a lovely experience!<BR>From this point we went to the Chianti region, San Gimignano, Florence<BR>(twice), and south of Siena to Montalcino, Montepulciano, Pienza, etc.<BR>A car is a must. The roads are great and the little back roads very nice.<BR>Le Meridiane &iacute;s a villa in Siena. It could suit you.<BR>&gt;&gt;My wife and I have been at Le Meridiane, for a week, last year.<BR>&gt;&gt;We liked it very much. The accomodations are very clean, large (you can<BR>see the bedroom where we slept at the website), comfortable and has all<BR>amenities. It has all cooking facilities and we had many meals at home.<BR>There is a good view to the gardens with many olive trees and to a valle<BR>with a avenue. It is located at the outskirts of Siena, fifteen minutes by<BR>car to the Centro Storico and very near to the auto-route to Florence.<BR>&gt;There is a small grocery store nearby and a supermarket (COOP) a ten<BR>minutes ride near the railstation.<BR>&gt;&gt;The street, with many houses, ends at a cul-de-sac at Le Meridiane in a<BR>small plaza where you can park your car. We had a car (leased from Renault<BR>in Paris) and we've made many trips to the Chianti Region and south of Siena<BR>(Montalcino, Montepulciano, Pienza, Sinalunga, etc.). Twice we went to<BR>Florence (50 minutes by a no-toll auto-route). La signora Ana, who is in<BR>charge of the villa, is very helpful and lives in another house nearby. I<BR>looked for the website and I found it:<BR>http:www.rpilo.it/meridian/meridian.htm<BR>&gt;&gt;I'm a travel consultant in Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais State) in Brazil<BR>and I'll be glad to give more informations.<BR>&gt;&gt;Ismael<BR>

How people can have different opinions ...<BR>I would never want to stay in San Gimignano. It was a nice town but nothing special to me. We have been there during the day and at night.<BR>On the other hand, Pienza was one of the highlights of our trip. <BR>We stayed at a luxury agriturismo in the centre of the Chianti region. They also have 2 appartments to rent.

Debbie,<BR><BR>I think you plan is do-able. Most villa/farmhouse rentals are Saturday to Saturday, so if you are planning on spending nine days you stay one night somewhere at the beginning of thr ip and one night at the end of the trip and a week at your farmhouse. Speaking from experience, it was better all the way around staying at a farmhouse - we stayed just outside Gaiole in CHianti. <BR><BR>Airfair was pricey, depending on when you are going you may catch a break (ie. it is less expensive to go in the Spring than summer, and if in summer try to go before June15 as airfair really hikes up) We flew in and out of Pisa, and it wasconsiderable less than any of the other major airports we looked at (Rome, Florence, even Venice) We spent the first night in Pisa after getting in, and then drove to chianti the next day after we picked up the car, and spent the last two nights in Lucca. I would not recommend staying in Pisa - way too $$ for what it is, but maybe close by -Lucca or just south along the coast maybe? Or depending on whne you arrive, maybe pick up your car and head to San G. for the night ( it's about 1 hr drive from Pisa). I agree with looking at slowtrav.com, if you have further questions email me and I'd be happy to answer them.<BR>

Jill:<BR><BR>While villas are probably Saturday to Saturday. most farmhouses rent rooms 8often with dinner) with no such restristions, usually. Yet, agencies and operators my find it easier to rent them on a weekly basis. My suggestion is to take a good look at www.agriturismo.regione.toscana.it and contact directly the farm owners of the agritourism of your choice. This will bot reduce your rent and allow you to contract the numenr of days you want to spend in the varous place (or one place). One suggestion, do not spend the whole 9 days in the CHianti area. Move south and explore the Colline metallifere and the Amiata areas.

Alice,<BR><BR>We did rent a farmhouse directl;y from the owners back in June. Their rental agreement is Saturday to Saturday, as was most of the other owner rentals we contacted. It may be different in the off season. I thought using Chianti for our base was perfect, I had been to Italy before and knew there was no way we were going to hit everythignin 10 days, so we opted to immerse ourselves int he countryside and enjoy the ride. It worked out wonderfully for us, we saw a great deal, met some wonderful people, and have incredible memories.

Make sure to dine at La Chiusa. It's outside of Montepuciano. Best meal you will ever have!!!!!! It'ws pricey so try lunch if that is an issue. It's a Michlin 3 star.

Jill and Myriam -<BR>Where did you stay and where did you find your rental?<BR><BR>

Debbie,<BR>We stayed at Azienda Agricola Fattoria Il Colombaio near Monteriggioni (www.fattoriailcolombaio.com). I found them when looking through various sites for agriturismo and contacted them on their email addresss which is [email protected]. Within 2 days I got a very friendly reply from the hostess Rossella who is very fluent in English. Il Colombaio is a brandnew 4* agriturismo and rooms and appts can be rented by the day (in Sept at least). They don't serve dinners yet although that might be the case in the future. I can highly recommend this place.

Jill:<BR><BR>I have been renting rooms in many different agritourisms all across Tuscany and other areas of Italy several times, in every season of the year, and never once was asked a Saturday to Saturday stay. On the other hand, I have never rented full houses or villas, which I already stated may adopt different politics.

Hi Debbie,<BR><BR>Obviously, there are so many wonderful choices you can't go wrong. Personally, I think you've got a great itinary. We just returned home from a very similar trip except stayed in Cortona - not Pienza. And I'd have to say - out of all the hill towns (and we went to just about every one) both Cortona and Pienza were our favorites. In fact, we took two separate day trips to Pienza because we liked it so much. San G. is beautiful - you may get varying opinions about it because it is also very touristy during the day. So your choice of staying there might be a good one so you can see it at night when the crowds are fewer. Enjoy your trip!<BR>-Linda

Jill -<BR>If you are our there - tried to email you and mail got returned...<BR><BR>Could you let me know what property you stayed at in Gaoile and how you found it?<BR><BR>thanks.

Debbie,<BR><BR>We stayed at Le Miccine in Gaiole. You can check availability and rates ontheir website lemiccine.com. The owners are from Chicago, and you can contact them via the site and they will be able to answer any of your questions about the property. It is so beautiful, you can't help but be drawn in by the vineyards and gardens.

You have received some very useful replies. Both Pienza and San G. are beautiful towns but neither merits more than a day. Last year we stayed near Castellina and from there visited Cortona, San G., Volterra, Pienza, Montepulciano and Siena, as well as the Chianti region. Some have suggested staying near Monteriggioni and that is good advice. It is very near the highway and you can get almost anywhere you want to go within an hour or so. I definitely recommend booking a week somewhere, and you really should consider an agriturismo.

I would definitely recommend trying a villa/agriturismo/apartment rental, and I think it will save you money.<BR>Go right away to www.slowtrav.com as they have many tips & insights about this type of vacation, as well as recommendations of the best agencies to rent through & reviews of propoerties. I think it would be fairly easy to find something that would be central enough to allow easy daytrips to all these places. But take care to find something very close to a major roadway. Many of these places are really out in the countryside, down dirt roads, so even though they're centrally located can take forever to get anywhere. <BR>We met some folks in Siena who were staying at a farm just 12k outside the town (which means very central to the places you mention), an agriturismo with a 2-bedroom 1-bath apt. (4 people) around $400/week. For an extra $12/person/day, they owner made them breakfast & dinner & the food was fabulous. Alas, I didn't catch the name, but I do know they found it on the web somewhere. That's the best deal I've heard of. But it's easy to find self-service apartments for around $1000/week. You can save some money by making a few meals yourself. I'd be willing to bet you'll save money doing it this way.