Need help with Tuscany Trip Planning
 

I am in the process of planning a trip to Italy from July 25-August 7, 2005 and would like to get your thoughts as well as help in finding a place to stay on the last night of our trip.

We are flying into Venice and were planning to stay at the Hotel Abbazia for two nights before heading to Florence via train (I'm assuming this is the best option)

We only plan to stay in Florence one night and have booked that at Porta Faenza Hotel.

We plan to rent a car before leaving Florence and will be heading to Castellina in Chianti for three nights at
planning to stay at Palazzo Squarcialupi Hotel.

We like the fact that this is walking distance to town and I believe a good location for touring the surrounding area.

After that we plan to move to Panzano in Chianti for three nights at the B&B Fagiolari. I know this is a short distance from Castellina but we wanted to experience one location where we could walk into town and have dinner and my wife likes the idea of this B&B where which I believe is slightly more remote but might be a more authentic tuscan experience and they offer a cooking class at the Inn.

From there we plan to head south to spend three nights in Montalcino at Palazzina Cesira.

We were then thinking we would head up towards Pisa and spend one night there before flying out of Pisa early the next morning.

Pisa isn't the easiest place to find a reasonably priced hotel that has positive feedback on these boards. Any thoughts since we will have a car as to where we might stay for one night (Saturday, August 6th) that would be convenient to the airport and would allow us to quickly tour Pisa and Lucca?

Would appreciate any help or thoughts on this itinerary.

Looks like a good plan to me with some alteration. First, you need more time in Venice--at least 3 nites. Also, it makes no sense to move 20 miles for another 3 nites. Why not stay 2 nites over near Volterra at the end of your trip and be an hour from Pisa airport.
The lady at Fagiolari has a sister with a nice place near Volterra. Six nites in Chianti is 3 too many.

Hotel Villa Principessa in Lucca is only about 20-30 min. from the Pisa International Airport. It's been written up as one of the best hotels in Italy, although we found the rooms slightly rundown for the price. Still, the hotel has palatial grounds, a lovely pool, candlelight dining, and easy access to Pisa.

Thanks for the replies. Bob, I've adjusted the intinerary to spend an extra night in Venice. Couple questions, should I consider picking up our rental in Venice and driving to Tuscany and making Florence a day trip, or do you think it makes more sense to stick with our original plan to take the train from Venice to Florence spend one night and then pick up the car and head south into the hill towns? Given your advice to only spend three nights in the Chianti region, do you think we are better off in Castellina at Palazzo Squarcialupi or in Panzano at the Fagiolari B&B. This is our first trip to Italy and we're trying to stay on a budget of 100-120 Euro per night for lodging.

Hi Yukon,

>heading to Florence via train...We only plan to stay in Florence one night ....We plan to rent a car before leaving Florence and will be heading to Castellina in Chianti <

It is 2 1/2 hr from Venice to Florence. Unless you are leaving Venice very early and picking up your car very late, I suggest you skip Florence. It is worth at least a full day and a full night.

Adding a day to Venice was a good idea.

Enjoy your trip.

We stayed at Palazzo Squarcialupi a few years ago and loved it. The rooms were large and had beautiful views. Excellent breakfast and helpful staff, also. Dinner at Le Torre was very good and there is an excellent pizza place across the street. I highly recommend staying in Castellina.