Noriboating

We are flying into Rome (arrival early AM late August), and staying 3 nights- a given. The rest of the plan is flexible; I must say up front we want to spend time seeing the Tuscan countryside as a priority....but one can't skip Florence....( my husband has never been there).
Please comment on the following plan: Pick up a car at the hotel when leaving Rome .(Cavalieri Hilton is on the outskirts and, per concierge, should be easy to navigate to the autostrada without driving in the city. Stay four nights in Greve? Cortona? Sinalunga (near Siena)? Each location has a fabulous villa (inn), thus these choices.
Then we can drive to Florence for 3 nights. We leave from Florence airport.
We could consider staying in Fiesole. At the present we were thinking of Villa de Medici in Florence. We will spend up to 375 euros or so per night as we like nice places but some of our choices have been twice that and eliminated.
I guess we would return the car on arrival to Florence (where?) with this plan as we will not need it there.
Any faults with this or do we need Plan B?Any recommendations are welcome.

mamcalice

Have you been to Italy before? You are giving your destinations a very short time if you haven't. For that and many other reasons, I wouldn't stay at a hotel on the "outskirts" of Rome. The best way to get the true flavor of a city is to stay right in the central area. We like the Piazza Navona/Pantheon neighborhood best. In order to avoid driving in the city, take the train to Orvieto and rent the car there. Then drive to Greve (or whatever town in the countryside you choose).

If you can, turn your car in in Greve and take the bus to Florence. If not, drive to Florence and drop the car. Again, stay in the center of Florence and make a trip to Fiesole. You should be able to find a lovely hotel at your price range. We like the Hotel Lungarno which is within your price range.

lowcountrycarol

I second the above posters thoughts. I read here some posters train up to Chiusi to get a car...maybe more/better choices than Orvieto?

kfusto

"I wouldn't stay at a hotel on the "outskirts" of Rome. "

I completely agree and would not stay at the Hilton. While a nice hotel, it is not convenient.

"We could consider staying in Fiesole. At the present we were thinking of Villa de Medici in Florence. We will spend up to 375 euros or so per night as we like nice places but some of our choices have been twice that and eliminated."

I prefer Florence to Fiesole. For that price you can afford the Westin Excelsior, convenient and lovely yet out of the fray near the Duomo. Or my personal favorite, Antica Torre Tornabuoni, a small and special boutique hotel in the center.

We prefer not to rent a car so others will be more helpful with Tuscan countryside recommendations. We stay in the city and make day trips.

bobthenavigator

You seem to be typical of those travelers who shop hotels as their destination. I take a different approach and always pick my location first.

Dayle

I second most of the above advice. Stay in central Rome and pick up your car in either Orvieto or Chiusi.

I would not choose any of the towns you listed for the Tuscan countryside. Greve is not that charming. Cortona is not very central for most of the places people want to see in Tuscany. Cortona is a very nice town, but also very steep. Sinalunga is not that great of a base either, although the inn there is supposed to be fabulous.

10 days is VERY short. Rome should have at least 5 of those.....personally, I would do Rome 4, Tuscan countryside 4, Florence 2.

If August is you only option, then go. Again, I would never go at the peak tourist/heat season of summer unless I was only going to the Dolomiti.

Buon viaggio!

Noriboating

Thank you all. Perhaps I did not give enough info. We have been to Rome before and that is where we were able to fly to-therefore we chose a beautiful hotel which has a pool overlooking Rome and a 10 minute shuttle to the center of town. We will treat that portion of the trip as a resort vacation with culture. After 3 days we should be unjetlagged and ready to move on. For various reasons we cannot change the Rome portion. We cannot add dates or change from late Aug/early September.
We chose the itinerary (Tuscan countryside and Florence) and then looked for hotels in those locations- not the opposite.
I will check out your hotel recommendations in Florence. Thank you. The question still is- Should we split the remainder of time between the countryside (4 days) and Florence (3days ) or daytrip from one location? Any recommendations for what area to stay in? Near Siena?
I really appreciate all the input! Too many great plkaces- too little time to see them all

annhig

Nori - notwithstanding that you are having a "vacation" in Rome, I would still think about staying in the countryside aftr Rome, with perhaps day-trips to Florence and siena. pick somewhere with swimming, bikes, and other activities for your boys, who will not thank you for spending boiling hot days trapsing round museums in Florence, or alternativly spending the heat of the day in a darkened room.

even better, think about the Amalfi coast [though you will have to sacrifice Florence, you can have Pompeii], which will bring you closer to Sicily [I've read your other thread]. you may be able to get a ferry to Sicily from Naples which would be fun for your boys, and wouldn't be too much of a sacrifice, given the time you've got. on the amalfi you can sightsee in the mornings, have a long lunch, then swim/siesta, and a passegiata in the evening.

have a great trip!

Noriboating

Thanks annhig but you may be confusing me with someone else. It is just my husband and I traveling and we have already done the Amalfi coast.

bobthenavigator

Good advice from Dayle---I concur.
I would pick 2 locations in Tuscany, but I would stay in downtown Florence. In rural Tuscany I would stay south of Siena---tell us more about your tastes and if you prefer rural to a small village.

CStoneTX

We stayed in Southern Tuscany in Montepulciano last August. I highly recommend the town as a base for exploring Tuscany. Do a search on my name for the trip report. Plenty of restaurants and things to see in town, but also a short (relatively speaking) drive to many other villages in Val d'Orcia. Siena is close, as is Cortona.

You can drive from Montepulciano to the Florence airport, and drop your rental car off there. Then take a cab into central Florence. We loved our stay at Antica Torre Tornabuoni.

I would recommend more time in Tuscany and less in Florence, particularly in August. The hill towns are much cooler and more pleasant that time of year than Florence. We also enjoyed the slower pace. However, many people love Florence, so it really depends on what you want to do!

On a previous trip to Italy, we stayed in Chianti and drove into Florence for the day - I would not recommend that. Traffic was bad, parking was worse, and we were in a bad mood before we left the car. Staying the night in Florence and experiencing it after the sun sets and the buses of tourists had left was so much better, at least for my husband and me.

Have a great trip!

annhig

mea culpa noriboating, I was answering another thread. I've never understood how other people do that, and now I've done it myself.

ekc

Nori, we did your trip in reverse in 2009 - flew into Pisa, spent 3 nights in Florence, 3 nights in the Tuscan countryside and then 3 nights in Rome, flying out of Rome. It was a fantastic trip and I loved have the break of city, then countryside, then city. For the Tuscany portion we stayed at Castiglione del Bosco outside of Buonconvento and spent 3 days driving around and visiting Siena, Pienza, Montalcino, Greve, Panzano, Sant'Angelo, etc. Lucky for you, however, you split it up you will have a great time!

Dayle

OK, Nori with your additional information and the fact that you are already set on the Rome portion,

Rome 3
Tuscany 5 (Montepulciano, Pienza, Montalcino, Buonconvento)
Florence 2

I would stay somewhere in southern Tuscany.

2 nights in Florence would be more than enough for me in August. Be sure to get A/C and a place with double-paned windows/a courtyard facing room. It's a very noisy place and you will want to sleep with your windows closed and the A/C on!

Buon viaggio!

Noriboating

We will listen to you all! Rome 3, Tuscany 5, Florence 2. We are considering
Castiglione del Bosco in Montepulciano area per your recommendation, ekc. It is over the budget but may be worth the splurge.Looks incredible.
Booked Antica in Florence, kfusto. The views are amazing. Should I be requesting anything? I think I chose the top room category as there was not much price difference.
Re:my tastes- rural vs small village- I would consider both. We want to stay at a place with a pool and lots of charm but not too basic. It could be in either setting. We would like to dine in several places-not just at the villa,(B&B,hotel).We walk a lot and soak in the beauty.
We always vacation in this time period and we have been lucky to have near perfect weather, including Rome. Hope our luck continues.
Lots of planning. Now I know why we usually cruise!

ekc

Trust me Nori, CdB is worth the splurge. I would have loved to have been there in August so we could have enjoyed the pool. Our italian friends stayed there in August 2010 and said it is still as great as ever. it is a great mix of true countryside (we saw a couple of chingiale one morning while walking the vineyards) but very close to Buonconvento and easy access to the other towns. I posted our trip report from that trip somewhere - if not here than probably slowtrav. If you can find it send me a message and I will email it to you! We are going to Rome and Sicily this year (having done northern Italy in 2010) but your post makes me want to return to Tuscany!

kfusto

"Booked Antica in Florence, kfusto. The views are amazing. Should I be requesting anything? I think I chose the top room category as there was not much price difference."

They used to allow you to select a specific room on their website but I see that feature is no longer available. I alwas booked the 4th floor and had a room with a private terrace. The hotel is lovely and the views over the rooftops adds to the ambiance. We always take a bottle of wine up to the rooftop terrace honor bar in the evenings and enjoy the views and the peace and quiet.

Enjoy!

Noriboating

Cstone, Your travelog is AMAZING!!!!! If you are not a writer, you should be.
I am still reading. Everyone should. Tourism would pick up.
Now to the car issue. The Cavalieri Hilton is actually in Rome, just not central but, as previously mentioned, the concierge says it is easy to navigate out of Rome from their location. Doesn't it make sense to pick up the car (at the hotel) when leaving Rome and drive to CdB, perhaps stopping on the way for lunch? We will have luggage- probably too much.
To return it, we could go to the airport and then cab to Florence or, as was suggested drop it off in a smaller town (where?) and bus or train to Florence (but luggage!)
Booking CdB if still available.
Thank you all.

Noriboating

One more thing- Ekc
We were only in Sicily one full day on a Seaborn (?) cruise and absolutely loved it! We walked in Taoromina and then headed to a private lunch at a vineyard. As a group from Ravenswood Vineyard in Napa was cruising with us, it was an amazing experience.
We were told by our guide that the Sicilian cannolis are the best in the world and I agree. Mangia!

kybourbon

If you have much luggage, it won't fit in your car.