Starting in rome, have 4 nights in tuscany, renting a car, driving to ,deruta, montelpulciano, siena, san gimignano,volterra, chianti and then up to pisa, lucca and forte dei marmi, then on to venice with a stop in bologna.
I was going to stay in forte dei marmi( was there many years ago for a few hours and really thought it was so nice) but realized now it might be hard from there to go visit alot of the small towns. Also, want to go hiking at cinque terre.
can anybody recommend a place to stay that might be more convenient to seeing all these places? Or should I just stay 1 night in different places.
Thanks, really need help
carol

Assuming 13 nites to sleep in Italy I would pick 4 destinations max. Are you staying in Rome? It seems that Rome, Tuscany, the CT, and Venice are your choices. If so, I would plan 4-4-2-3 nites in that order. Start there then add details.

You lost me. You have 4 nights between Rome and Venice, and you want to visit 10 towns in Tuscany (including some hiking in Cinque Terre) and 1 town in Umbria??? How is that possible?

You haven't given us enough info--How many nights will you be in Italy? 4 nights in Tuscany and???

Are you sure you can arrive Rome and drive to Deruta on the same day? Or is that what you are intending?

sorry for not explaining myself better. Staying in rome for 4 days then touring around tuscany for 5 days and then going to venice for 3 days. i was trying to decide if i should just try to stay in a central location or while driving from Rome see what i can do in a day get a hotel room and each day travel around tuscany and find a hotel room wherever the last stop of the day might be. is it hard to find hotel rooms at the last minute this time of year?
thanks, carol

There is no "central location" from which to visit all of these places in five days. IMO, you need to develop a more realistic itinerary.

Traveling without lodging reservations requires flexiblity in the level of quality and lack of amenities you're willing to accept or how much you're willing to spend. Some people love to travel this way, and others wouldn't even consider it. Late September and early October are still very much high season in Tuscany.

Deruta is not in Tuscany or anywhere close to where you will be.

You are contemplating an extremely ambitious itinerary--9 days for everything but Rome. I won't even attempt to sort it out and would never recommend it. As for finding a hotel room at the end of the day--Have you been to Italy before? It takes patience, energy and time and then you will have to be lucky and adapt to your surroundings. Italy does not have national chains with neon signs announcing their presence and availability. The hotels, inns, albergos and agriturismos are most often discreetly signed and hidden away. Best to ask around and get suggestions but then you will be directed to the advisor's cousin, aunt or friend--Good luck!

You are not going to have time to see 2 different towns each day because you are going to spend a lage part of the day finding a place to spend the night.

Suggest you get a good map, check out viamichelin.com for driving distances and times between these places (you will be on local roads - not highways) and plan an itinerary that makes sense. (You cannt "see" these towns in 30 minutes - it will take that long to walk from the parking lot outside the walls to the main sqaure in the center.)

Also strongly suggest getting hotels now - if there is anything decent left - so you don;t spend the bulk of your vacation looking for a place to stay.

I am always surprised when I read posts like this one. Trips in high season to very popular destinations and, though leaving shortly, no concept of travel time, no basic itinerary and no lodging arrangements.

Boggles my mind.

Me too !

I have traveled around italy by car but mostly stayed in the big cities. I have looked up hotels around the areas i think I might be after a day of sightseeing and there are rooms available. You make a good point nytraveler, I would be thinking about a room all afternoon so it is not worth waiting.
thanks for the website, it is very helpful.