Sharronbic

will be flying to Florence Sept.28 2015 and would like some advice as to where to stay in Florence and also the Tuscany region. Have 2 weeks before we do a cruise from Venice to Rome In that time would like to do either agrotourimos stays or B&BS in the Tuscany regions. then we are headed Trieste for a couple of nights then to Croatia for few nights, then to Venice. Would it better to take trains or rent a car for all of this or maybe part of the trip. Any suggestions as well as to where to stay in Venice for the 2 nights and all the towns I have mentioned before we broad the ship thanks

nytraveler

Suggest you post with a much more specific question - everyone here wants travel help.

As for you other queries - how many of you are there and how much luggage will you have (more than a small amount on a train can be a major PIA). But also can be an issue unless you rent a large car.

Also - for hotels/agriturismos what is your nightly budget - specific amount in euros please since "reasonable" can mean very different things to different people.

bilboburgler

No cars needed in Florence/Rome/Venice.

Tuscany is a big area. AgriTs will be available in Sept, certainly a good idea. Look in the area down near Pienza, Montepulciano etc is good, or you could stay near St Gim or in the valley area between Pisa and Siena for instance. (this latter one you could do by train) but for most of the others you might want a car.

sandralist

You definitely need a car if you want to visit the scenic wine country in Tuscany, and whether you need one in Croatia depends on where you are going in Croatia. It is a very long drive from the scenic areas of Tuscany to Trieste (where you will not need a car), so I would suggest that you rent a car in Florence, visit the Tuscan countryside, and then return the car to Florence and take the train from there to Trieste. If you need a car after that, you can rent one in Trieste and return it in Venice.

The most scenic areas of Tuscany are the val d'Orcia, the Chianti hills and le Crete Senesi. You can look at pictures of agriturismi on booking.com. Try looking for ones in the vicinity of the towns of Pienza, or Montalcino, or Greve in Chianti. You can also find a wide selection of b&bs for Venice, Florence and Trieste.

Ackislander

I would second and add to Sandra's suggestion by encouraging you to rent the car at the airport unless you are massively jetlagged. Then follow hers or bilboburgler's suggestion for your rural visit. THEN return the car to the Florence airport and tour Florence. Do the rest of the trip as far as Trieste by train.

I am a huge Croatia fan, but it is too much to add to Italy on a ten day trip. You will drop exhausted onto your cruise ship. You would need more than two nights to see any of the Good Stuff, whereas those nights added to Florence, Tuscany, or Venice could make a huge difference in what you can see and do.

sandralist

Actually, my suggestion was to land in Florence and stay there, visiting Florence, until you are ready to visit the Tuscan countryside.

I don't have an opinion about keeping Croatia in your itinerary, but if you keep it, then something you could consider is driving your car to an airport and flying to Croatia before returning to Trieste, and then Venice. Or if for some reason you need to go to Trieste first, you could drive through the Tuscan countryside to the airport in Rome and fly to Trieste from there.