I've been to Italy. My husband has not. We're planning a 12 day visit in March for our 30th anniversary. We fly into Rome, fly out of Venice. Planning to rent a car. Florence is not a "must".
So where to go? I've always wanted to see Portofino and the surrounding coast. Silly to go in March? And what about Tuscany? Best town? Can we do coast, Tuscany and the two cities in the time we have?
Looking forward to your savvy responses. Thanks.

Do you have 12 full days on the ground - or does that include arrival and departure days?

I wouldn;t do Portofino in March - too early for much to be going on.

Given that time I would do mostly Rome and Venice, renting a car when leaving the first and spend a couple of nights in one of the hill towns to see some of Tuscany (which should be green in March but not too many flowers yet).

With Rome and Venice as givens, I will suggest only one more destination and my choice would be rural Tuscany. I would stay south of Siena and see the Pienza, Montalcino areas. Actually, staying in Siena and using it as your base is not a bad idea in March. The coast will not be good that early.

There isn't really a "best town" anywhere. It's what is best for you. Do you want it to be quiet, or lively, or pretty, or full of shops, or churches, or be especially good for art? You will have to tell us, then we can advise you.


I would probably plot a line from Rome to Venice, with maybe two (no more) stops in between. But I wouldn't pick towns without knowing what you like to do or hope to see.

As for Tuscany: Stay at an Agriturismo in Sovana . . . Siena and San Gimignano are also fantastic.

Thanks for your suggestions. To answer your question, our total on the ground is 13 nights. There seems to be a consensus here regarding Tuscany. Next question: how should we split our time? How many nights in Rome, how many in Tuscany and Rome?

Thanks again!

I would do 5-4-4

P.S. To Tuscanlifeedit: We like lively and pretty, which seems like a do-able combination from what I've read about Tuscany.

Susan

One last thing....thank you to chickenlittle -- Agriturismo looks like a dream!!

You are welcome -- although I didn't mean Agriturismo Sovana specifically (it does look nice though) -- I actually meant that you may want to stay at an agriturismo -- there are many in tuscany to choose from: http://en.agriturismo.it/.

I was in Tuscany in July. We stayed with friends who live in Saturnia, however, other friends we were traveling with stayed here and they highly recommend this place: http://www.hotelsovana.com/territory/ . . . the restaurant by the same owners is http://www.tavernaetrusca.com/ . . . the food there was fantastic.

http://www.appi.it/links1.htm -- some more links for farms.

Montemerano and Sovana are beautiful areas we visited and ate at a few of the farms in that area. (Agriturismos are strictly regulated in Italy -- they are supposed to only serve products grown on their farm with a few exceptions, I was told that even the exceptions must at least be grown locally and all organic.)

If you hit either of these towns during your travels -- know also that they are close to Saturnia which is known for it's hot springs. (which I can personally attest to partaking of and enjoyed it immensely).

hi ssloane,

just to add another option into the above, you might like to consider returning the car at orvieto, rather than driving into Rome. spend the rest of the day/night in orvieto [worth it just for the fantastic front of the cathedral, but lots else to enjoy as well] and then in the late morning get the train into Rome, aiming to arrive at about 2pm by which time your hotel room should be ready.