petepat

Next September and October my wife, I and another couple will be traveling to Italy, Austria, and Germany. We are looking for some suggestions for lodging (and/or any other good ideas you may have.) We are especially interested in bed and breakfasts, farmhouse lodgings or anything unique. We plan on renting a car so we are pretty flexible. Our itinerary includes: 2-3 nights in Rome, 3-4 nights in northern Tuscany (a central location from which we can visit Florence, Lucca, Pisa and Cinque Terra), 1-2 nights in Venice, 3-5 nights in the Austria/Bavaria region (Innsbruck, Salzburg or Munich; we are still deciding) and the rest of the vacation in the Pfalz region of southern Germany. Any other suggestions as to places to visit, wines to taste, foods to eat, etc, would be a great help. I retired from teaching after 34 years this past June, and this is a trip that we have been talking about for years. Thanks for any help you may be able to give.

petepat

mitchdesj

This is where we stayed in Tuscany for 9 days; the location enabled us to day trip every day...... The property is beautiful and their cantina might be open now....

http://www.fontedemedici.it/eng/index.php

bobthenavigator

Hello Pete, Spend some time at slowtrav.com for reviews of rental properties, but many are by the week.
Also, do you mean this Sep or 2005?
You may want to consider planning your itinerary to start and end in the same country to avoid a hefty drop charge. Prices are much lower in Germany. I would do this:
Munich--to Bavaria
To Lago Garda
To Tuscany location near Lucca
To Venice
To Salzburg via Dolomites
Depart Munich

I have done this route twice. Save Rome for next year and add the Amalfi coast. Good luck !

travelchic

My husband and I stayed at this vineyard in Tuscany on our honeymoon in 2002. We loved everything about! We too had a car and the location of this vineyard was perfect for us. We drove to Siena and Florence. Also there were some smaller towns near by that we enjoyed exploring!

Two sisters run the property and they are very friendly and helpful!

Salvadonica
http://www.salvadonica.com/eng_main.htm

petepat

Hello everyone - Thank you for your help and ideas. We're traveling with another couple so we'll be showing them the replies we received. Any more ideas would be very much appreciated. Thanks again.
Pete & Patty

kybourbon

venere.com has hotels, b & b's, apartments, etc. After you select your city click on which type of lodging you want.

SalB

ttt

bobthenavigator

If you just want to shop Tuscany options then go to www.tuscany.net and pick your location. However, I would lock in the itinerary first so you know how many days you will have. Always set dates first--how else can you book places?

sherry1

We stayed at Castel Bigozzi last year and found it a wonderful base. We made day trips from there to Florence, Sienna and the small towns around there and at the end of the day, we were thrilled to come back to the little town where it was and have such a quiet and peaceful place. It's a converted castle but very small with just a few rooms and for 3 of our 4 nights we were the only guests (at was before the season really started). They put out the full breakfast spread for us and couldn't have been nicer. We ate at 3 restaurants they suggested, all of which were great and one night brought a picnic back to our room (which had a kitchenette in it where we kept drinks etc.)

We had the room that had a big patio/deck and we sat out early mornings and afternoons and enjoyed the countryside.

They are listed on Tuscany.net.

moo

Check out the 'Karen Brown' book series and web site www.karenbrown.com for unique places to stay in all of your locations. We spent a week throughout Tuscany using her recommendations. Lived in Salzburg as a student -- it is lovely. Salzkummergut region is beautiful (what isn't?) Munich is more lively. In Rome, check out Ostia Antiqua, Rome's ancient port city that has been excivated and is open to the public, very uncrowded, easy to reach by car from FCO (Rome airport). Plan on an entire day! Don't drive in Florence. You can park your car at the main train station or check out a good city map for car parking information. In Tuscany, the Chianti region is wonderful, exceptionally warm people, great food and wine. Lots of great places to get lost. Personal favorites include Castellina in Chianti and Gaiole in Chianti. In Venice, travel with light luggage due to crowded and narrow streets -- you may have to walk a bit to get to your hotel. Rent a car from a major rental agency, Hertz/Avis or use Auto Europe which rents through the major agencies and includes ALL of the appropriate insurance otherwise you may be stung at the rental counter. Another helpful book series is the ACCESS series by Richard Saul Wurman. Have FUN!