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Pt 2 (San G, Siena, Orvieto) of 31 day Italy itinerary-can you help?

Pt 2 (San G, Siena, Orvieto) of 31 day Italy itinerary-can you help?

Old Jul 11th, 2012, 11:31 AM
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Pt 2 (San G, Siena, Orvieto) of 31 day Italy itinerary-can you help?

Hello all,

I am posting this itinerary in several parts, hoping to get experts on the areas we'll be visiting.
To briefly summarize, I'll be traveling to Italy in 12 days (!) with DH and two teenage sons (14, 16), and I'm hoping that the experts out there can help me to refine our itinerary.

Here’s the overview of the whole trip:

Fly into Venice. Stay 4 nights
Train to Florence. Stay 5 nights
Drive to San Gimignano. Stay 2 nights
Drive to Siena. Stay 4 nights
Drive to Orvieto. Stay 1 night
Train to Rome. Stay 4 nights
Train to Naples, private driver to Positano. Stay 7 nights
Return to Rome. Stay 2 nights
Fly home from Rome

This post relates only to the San G, Siena, and Orvieto part of the trip.


Part 2: San Gimignano, Siena and Orvieto

Day 10: San Gimignano
We’ll pick up a rental car at Hertz in town (ug-last time it took about 2 hours—does anyone have a better suggestion on how to get the car?)
We’ll drive to San G, perhaps visiting Greve or some other small town first, to avoid the mob scene at San G. Plan to arrive at San G around 4:00, and spend a little time exploring the town. Possibly we will visit the museum if it is still open. We’ll be staying at La Cisterna in San G, where we have stayed before. We love the view from their outdoor balcony.
Dinner at Il Trovatore

Day 11: Get an early start, and take the museum tour if we didn’t get to it the day before. Go up to the fortress and possibly have a picnic lunch if it’s allowed. Then perhaps a cooking class? Other options might be a day trip to Lucca or Volterra. I’d be very interested in your thoughts on these days in San G and how we might best enjoy them.
Dinner at Cum Quibus

Day 12: Siena
This will be our base for driving around to some of the other small towns in Tuscany. After check-in at Palazzo Ravizza, we can explore Siena, go to the Campo, tour the Duomo and museum.
Dinner reservations at La Taverna di San Giuseppe, where we have eaten before, and it’s one of our favorites.

Day 13: Road trip! Towns I’d like to visit would be Pienza and Montepulciano, which we visited last trip and loved. It might be too much to try to get to San Antimo Abbey as well, but it would be nice to go when we’ll be so close. Any thoughts on this?
Dinner at Antica Osteria da Divo

Day 14: (Sunday) Knowing that many things will be closed on Sunday, I’m still looking for something to do that day. We could possibly visit the home and chapel of St. Catherine, but that won’t take very long.
We still don’t have a dinner reservation, but I’m working on it.

Day 15: Still open—I’d like to do another road trip. Any suggestions on favorite towns?
Dinner: Zest Ristorante

Day 16: Orvieto
We will get an early start and drive to Orvieto, where we will drop the car. We’ll only stay one night, but I’ve never been there and really wanted to get there this trip. We’d like to visit the Etruscan Museum, Duomo and possibly Civita di Bagnoreggio. Does anyone have any suggestions on how best to accomplish this?

Dinner: Duca di Orvieto

Day 17: train to Rome
I have not booked these tickets, because I’m still working out the Orvieto part of the day. Can anyone offer any suggestions on which train would be the best to get to Rome, and if I should pre-book, or just wait and do it there?

Thanks for reading thus far, and I truly appreciate your assistance, as the day of departure is quickly approaching!
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Old Jul 11th, 2012, 12:16 PM
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Wow, your post is longer than some trip reports.

Two major comments. Save Rome until the end---no reason to stop after Tuscany. Keep your car and drive from Tuscany to Sorrento to drop the car---then, a driver to Positano.

And, why stay 2 nites in San Gim. and then 4 in Siena? They are too close for that.
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Old Jul 11th, 2012, 02:15 PM
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>>>Save Rome until the end---no reason to stop after Tuscany.>>We’d like to visit the Etruscan Museum, Duomo and possibly Civita di Bagnoreggio. Does anyone have any suggestions on how best to accomplish this?>>Day 17: train to Rome
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Old Jul 11th, 2012, 05:04 PM
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Hi Bob and kybourbon,

You both are correct that it's more efficient to do Rome at the end. My hotels are all booked now, so we'll stick with the original plan for this trip. My thinking at the time was that I was trying to alternate urban/rural types of locations, and that a week in Positano would be a nice and relaxing way to end before returning to the craziness of our "real" life. The 2 nights in Rome at the end were just to avoid a return from Positano/jump on a flight the next day. So we'd have one last day and two last nights in the Eternal City.

We drove in Provence and the French Riviera last summer, and I did not enjoy those cliffside roads with the 6" protection barriers (if we were lucky!). So, that's why we're taking the train to Naples and letting a private driver take us to Positano. Especially since we've never been to that area, and I've read some scary posts about the roads there, for our first trip it seemed like the best bet.

I do appreciate the tips on the train, especially about the 1-4 minutes stop time!

While in Orvieto, I definitely would not want to miss visiting the Duomo, and I was thinking of the Archaeological Museum, which is supposed to have a nice collection. Do you think we would be better off just going to Civita di Bagnoreggio?

Thanks again for taking the time to help me with this.
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Old Jul 11th, 2012, 05:38 PM
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There are no cliff side roads on that drive.
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Old Jul 11th, 2012, 05:57 PM
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Regarding Siena, I recommend a visit to the Basilica of San Francesco. Read about the Eucharistic Miracle beforehand:

http://www.therealpresence.org/eucha..._pdf/Siena.pdf

I also went to Church of San Domenico where there are relics of St. Catherine (a thumb and head are displayed)

Antica Osteria da Divo and La Taverna di San Giuseppe were my favorite restaurants in Siena.

Also, the view at sunset from the Palazzo Ravizza is stunning.

Have a great trip!
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Old Jul 11th, 2012, 06:07 PM
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Hi cybertraveler,

My first impression is that you seem to be spending this trip almost completely in places you have been before and only 1 nt for Orvieto, the only place you haven't been! I don't get it, but then it's your trip and you seem completely set on this itinerary.

I like all your destinations (except Positano for a whole week, as I like other towns on the Amalfi better). If it were me, I would go to new towns, smaller towns and spend more time there.

Orvieto is worth more than 1 nt, especially if you plan to visit Civita, which I highly recommend as a short half day.

Have you been to any of the Umbrian towns? Assisi, Spello, Bevegna, Montefalco? Wonderful!

Buon viaggio
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Old Jul 11th, 2012, 06:33 PM
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Hi again,

Bob, what a relief about no cliff side roads! However when I get to posting about Positano, I hope that you’ll jump back in with suggestions for our time/touring there.

Joannyc, thanks for the suggestions on the churches and the restaurant recommendations.

Dayle, we are returning to some of our favorite spots to share them with our sons, but we still want to get to some new spots like Volterra, and Lucca nearby. I would like to visit some of the Umbrian towns as day trips. I’ll get on Google Earth and see how they could fit in. I thought maybe we could catch Civita on the way to Orvieto. It is a challenge to fit it all in, even with this much time, and still leave time to just soak up the beauty of Italy.

Thanks again!
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Old Jul 11th, 2012, 08:01 PM
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i would stay ouside sienna in the countryside
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Old Jul 16th, 2012, 04:14 PM
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Just wondering if anyone could offer suggestions on a day trip from San G to either Lucca or Volterra?
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Old Jul 16th, 2012, 05:00 PM
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Volterra makes more sense than Lucca. It's about 45 min to Volterra vs almost 2 hours to Lucca from San Gimignano.

It is a nice drive and stunning views from the town. There is a Roman theater and Etruscan ruins. Since you are only in San G for 2 nights, this makes more sense. (Lucca makes more sense as a day trip from Florence.)

I would recommend the Touring Club Italiano map of Tuscany should you be looking for one.
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Old Jul 16th, 2012, 05:50 PM
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You have lots of towns close to San G. you could visit. Volterra, Certaldo, Monteriggioni, etc. I wouldn't drive all the way to Lucca.
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Old Jul 17th, 2012, 08:12 AM
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mama and kybourbon-thanks for the suggestions. I think we'll visit Volterra; I've always wanted to see the ruins and I think the boys would enjoy it.

Any suggestions on towns that are the most enjoyable near Siena?
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