Seriously considering renting Villa in Tuscany for several weeks this fall. does anyone have any experience with this? looking at Parker villas- prices seem reasonable, but wondering if car/gas is prohibitive. Also wondering about the logistics of doing this- is the time spent driving worth it? thanks
Susan

Do NOT make a move until you sit and review the postings at the following link:
http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/vr/reviews.asp

I have rented villas in Spain, Ireland, and France as well as apartments in Rome; the absolute best lodging option if you have decided to enjoy a city/region for 3 days or more.

Location is the key. Do not look at properties until you read enough to KNOW what location[region] you really want. I have seen many people get enamored with a place and then regret it later. I agree that slowtrav.com is a good place to start. Have fun !

We have used www.villavacations.com mentioned on the slowtrav.com web site.

We nearly went nuts trying to figure out where to rent a villa in Tuscany. It's b-i-g and unless you know exactly where you want to be and what you want to do, daunting.

Having said that, after we gave up the first time searching, I started again, and found a villa in a suburb of Florence and we WILL BE going there in early June. There was one review on it, but that was good.

We think we did pretty good as we can use the bus to go into Florence, and use our car to visit other towns in Tuscany. The owners have been extremely helpful with information. http://bit.ly/ImkNm7

thanks for the info will go to those sites

Parker Villas is a good "upscale" resource and their marketing is excellent. In putting together a couple of these types of trips (multiple couples for 2+ weeks), we have come to understand the challenges.

There are other and cheaper resources and you will get plenty of suggestions. As Bob said--"Location is the key". Poll your attendees and see what they want to see and do, then find places that are within range of a reasonable day trip. The best looking place which is isolated and not convenient for excursions won't please the crowd.

Cars are a must in most rentals and yes, its worth it. Driving is fun and not difficult for most of us. Don't rely on one car/van for more than 2 couples as it reduces flexibility and is impractical for hauling luggage to and from the entry/exit points (when you have passengers and luggage).
Gas is expensive but in no way prohibitive when considering other expenses.

Have fun and good luck--Fall is coming soon!
Paul

Rentvillas.com has lots of good properties. Most of their booking agents know the territory, which helps, and can give you advice by e-mail. And you mostly can pay in dollars, which makes the actual cost less uncertain. Also look at VRBO.com (vacation rentals by owner). DO also check tripadvisor.com for reviews. You really do need a good detailed map of Tuscany, now, while you are looking.

The time spent driving depends on where you stay, of course, and how you plan to use the villa. If you are interested in touring areas that are fairly far apart, consider staying in two places. For us, staying in a dream villa 45 minutes from Orvieto (not in Tuscany but at the southern tip of it). was worth it a million times!