I am considering a 9-day visit to the lower Maremma region. Can I please get some feedback on my thoughts so far?
Fly round trip to Pisa; use public transport but would possibly rent a car for day trips when necessary:
Upon arrival in Pisa, move to Talamone (via Grosseto); stay 2-3 nights, primarily interested in hiking and enjoying beach in Natural Park of Maremma --Is there another town you would recommend for easy access to the park as well as good dining options in the evening?
Also, is there another place north of Grosseto you would recommend? (So far, in my research only Massa Marittima sounds interesting)
Move to Pitigliano for 2-3 days, visit nearby Etruscan towns. Alternative: stay in Capalbio.
Move to Porto Ecole (or Porto Santo Stefano) for 2-3 days. I realize this is similar to our first stop, but we love small coastal towns with an emphasis on fishing and also wish to visit Monte Argentario.
I know these places are quite close together, but we are very slow travelers and like to just hang out, hike, eat. We prefer changing locations to day trips.
Return to Pisa for last night before departure (or that morning if flight is late enough in afternoon)
I appreciate your feedback on destinations and time spent in each--grazie!

We love both towns on Argentario, they have a feel of the 1950s about them. Lots of good restaurants but be warned this a coastal haunt of the Romans and prices for hotels/rentals can be high.

We stayed here

http://www.torredicalapiccola.com/

Incredible views and reasonable.

Il Pelicano (hotel) is world famously posh and expensive, it has been revamped to the standards which entertained the stars in the 1950s.

We also love the walks at Albarese and the Maremma pine forests. The view from the hills down over the pine forests in the morning is spectacular as the light catches the pines like clouds.

Of the other towns in the area, Piombino has a spectacularly awful surrounding area, just full of industry. The old coastal town is fine but you have absolutely lost heart by the time you get there. Marina di Grosseto is your standard Italian coastal resort, Punta Ala is through the roof exclusive and lacking in soul. We loved Castiglione della pescaia, it has old architecture, a sleepy fishing port and a vibrant beach scene. I probably think this is what you are looking for, no idea about hotels there though.

One possibility is a trip to Elba from Piombino. It is an hour on the ferry and a different world to the mainland. We love it and great walking, try the cliff path from Portoferraio to the old tuna factory. Great for a one night stopover.

http://www.villaottone.com/hotel.php?lang=ita

Is a stunning building but the food/service is average.

thanks! We have considered Elba but with have limited time so not sure. The reputation as a getaway for the rich does give me pause. Airfare will dictate where I get to this year.

Where are you flying from?

Washington DC. Pisa is looking good, also Venice, but my dream of Bari (for Puglia) will have to wait another year.

I am having terrible luck trying to get reasonable pricesvtomthe US from the UK.

Good luck!

It depends on your budget.
If you are travelling with children I guess you are looking for a kids-focused place to stay. If so, I suggest you should think about http://www.residenzaprincipina.it/en which is a low budget residence in Principina, very close to the Park entrance with playground for kids and special menus for them.

No kids, and about 200 euros. We like a good view and hope for a good breakfast. Other than that, we are very easy to please.

yorkshire - i spent a week in Orbetello [on a direct train line from Pisa] doing a language course with excursions in the afternoon /evening, and i loved it. Easy access to the countryside, good restaurants, shops and cafes, and the position of the city in the middle of the lagoon is lovely.

and it's quite different to the other places you mention.

Massa Maritima I also liked a lot, as i did Pitigliano, but I'm not sure I'd want to stay in both of them - they are quite similar.

Thanks so much. Still vacillating on when to pull the trigger on airfare. If we purchase, I'll be back for nailing down the itinerary.

So, in this case Torre di Cala Piccola is definitely the hotel you want with that stunning view!

Hi all, I'm topping this thread because this trip is on, 2 years later!
This time we will be renting a car throughout, but we're still deciding whether to do so at Pisa airport (DH not keen on driving after an intl flight; I concur--but for less than an hour, we will consider) or taking the train to Grosseto for a night before picking up the car (which unfortunately eats into our 10-night itinerary).
I am still considering most of the same places, so just looking for recent impressions of the area from fodorites.
I am especially interested in determining the best place to stay near Maremma park, where we will visit at least two times for all-day exploring--not sure if Talamone is it yet. Monte Argentario looks our speed except for the lodging (too $$$).
Annhig, is there a place in Orbetello you can suggest?

yorkshire, if you'll have a car, I think that probably the only viable hotel is one in the new town - not far from the old city though:

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/....2177518?hl=en

I didn't stay there but it looked ok [has a car park] and it's not too far from the wonderful restaurant I pescatori [fish restaurant run by the local fishermen] and has bike hire which you might find useful. if you stay in the old city there is car parking but it's not guarded or indoors - just the public car park, so far as I know.

this one says it's got an ample car park but if it's full, i think that the message is that you'll be in the public one next door [i got lost in the last sentence so i may be doing them a disservice]:

https://www.sanbiagiorelais.com/servizi-orbetello/

lots of restaurants and bars around, plus nice little shops, the Duomo, etc.

https://www.sanbiagiorelais.com/servizi-orbetello/

thanks so much! You may have noticed food is high on my list of priorities so I Pescatori was one of the main reasons Orbetello appealed. Coincidentally (or maybe not--I guess it is a common name for seafood restaurants), we had one of the meals of our life at a Pescatori in Lerici.
Now I just have to wait for the dude to do some research so we can get on the same page.

I found other great restaurants in Orbetello [in fact it was hard to find a bad one] and if you go to the Terme di Saturnia [near Pitigliano] there were several nice looking restaurants in the nearby village; shame I can't remember the name of the one we ate at.

[the one in Orbetello where we had a cookery lesson including how to make octopus salad which you can imagine has come in very useful, was called L'Ovovsodo I think; sadly no website but I suppose it doesn't need one]

The Pescatori in Orbetello is the only one I've eaten at but I would agree that they are very good.