Need advice on Italy itinerary
 

I am planning a rather lengthy trip to Italy in May for my husband and myself. We already have our air tickets. We will be seeing Venice, Florence, Tuscany (Cortona), Sorrento and Amalfi, Aeolian Islands, Sicily and Rome. At the end of my trip planning I have found that I have 4 more days than anticipated. Now I would like to add the four days to one of the areas that we will be visiting. The options I have been looking at are adding the 4 additional days to Tuscany around the Pienza or Montalcino area. Maybe visit the hot springs. (We are already staying 1 week in Cortona) Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Without knowing how many days you're planning on staying in each place - or what your special interests are its hard to make a recommendation.

Will you be using a car?
With your week in Cortona you'll be able to see a lot of Tuscany and maybe a little Umbria. If your route is to go to Sorrento from Cortona,I'd think about 4 days in Umbria or Montalcino on your way there.

Yes, we are going to Sorrento from Cortona and we will have a car in Cortona. I had thought to see quite of bit of Umbria from our week in Cortona. That is why I thought about adding Montalcino or Pienza at this point so that we could see more of Tuscany. However, I have been having trouble finding hotels in the Montalcino/Pienza areas. We will be staying in the countryside in Cortona and would like to stay more in the city (small towns/villages) in Montalcino/Pienza area. Any ideas there? I had thought about adding more time to Florence, but my husband is not sure that he wants more time there. I am leaning more and more on 4 more days in Tuscany if I can just determine where. Thanks....

Here are 2 great options that are in wonderful small village but still very nice accommodations:
www.tuscany.net/oliviera
www.palazzodelcapitano.com
You will like south Tuscany.

This message is for jabez and bobthenavigator:

My sincere apologies for not thanking you for your input. I wrote down the info and then promptly forgot I had posted this message. I didn't know that I could view my previous posts until I was reading about it on another thread. Thanks to your input I have opted to spend the additional 4 days in south Tuscany. I found a wonderful apartment in Montepulciano called Al Poggiolo. Thanks again for your help. I am really looking forward to my first trip to Italy.

Norma

You are welcome.
Have a great trip . I will be staying in that area in early May as well.

Prego--you made a good choice.

How do we know if there are good choices here or not? Still no info on whether this is a 10 day trip or 40.

Oh well... have great trip, whatever is the duration.

Bet wishes,

Rex

The impression I have is that they will spend no less than a month (sounds like more than that)on their trip.

This is a 30 day trip. I know we have packed a lot into this trip but we just had a hard time deciding what to take out. This is our first trip and we are guilty of wanting to see it all. Thanks.

Granbury: I have booked Al Poggiolo in Montepulciano for a week in September. Would I be able to contact you after your trip to get your thoughts on the apartment? If so, please e-mail me offline at lewbart(@)hotmail.com.

I have sent you an email