My husband and I are flying to Florence on Sept 22. We are communicating with Initaly and will probably book everything through them. We are finding planning for this trip overwhelming -- too many choices. Drive or not drive -- train?? We really want to just see beautiful countryside -- Lucca, Sienna, Cinque Terre and maybe Venice. Will only be there 7 days. May eliminate Venice, as we don't want to pack too much in. How do I find best hotels? Initaly seems to post hotels that are more expensive than we like. Would like to spend under $100 per night. Is that possible? Any tips that would be helpful at all??

I sense that this is your first trip there; hopefully there'll be many more.

Therefore I suggest K.I.S.S. - Narrow down the scope, pick a specific area (any area) and thereby confine your choices to a relative few. Don't try to do too much; try to maximize your enjoyment by jumping around less frequently.

Since you're committed to Florence (an excellent choice), I suggest you spend your entire time of (only) 7 days in Tuscany - including Siena, Lucca, etc.

Go to Venice and the Cinque Terre another time.

I shudder to think that I would advise anyone to ever skip Venice. However, I agree that with only a week, you should concentrate on Florence and it's surrounding areas.

Don't forget to add an afternoon in Fiesole, which is a short 20 minute drive away and provides spectacular views over Florence.

I take it you will not be staying in Florence?

Certainly go to Siena, it is lovely.
If you wish to stay in a city, then a car would probaly not be the best bet due to parking.

Venere.com is a great site for scoping out hotels,
Sleepinitaly.com also has a good site.
Have you done a search here?
This will give you lots to read.

Just type in things like
Hotels in (name that city),
or
Best hotels in Tuscany, etc.

We stayed in a lovely place outside of Siena for a week,
Castello Montalto,
rented our car in Forence and drove down from there.
Used the car to do daytrips .

I agree , Venice is well worthwhile to visit, but not if you only have 7 days and wish to see cities in Tuscany.
good luck and get busy ;-)

In 7 days--I assume 7 nites in Italy--you can hit 3 destinations if you hustle. I would do it this way:

Land Florence--get car--drive to Levanto or Monterosso for 2 nites--stay at Villa Margherita[find via google]

Drive to Siena via Volterra and San Gim. on S-68--stay at Piccolo Hotel Oliveto--just outside south gate-2 nites

Drive to Florence airport--drop car--taxi to hotel--stay at Hotel Casci.

That will optimize your time and budget.
I wish you had 9 nites, but this is doable in 7 nites. Good luck !

Thanks for all the good info -- have printed it out to reference for the trip.

Hi,

It is with no small trepidation that I disagrre with Bobthe Navigator, but I think his plan is too ambitious for a first timer. It lacks a certain respect for "il dolce far niente".

With only 7 days, I suggest staying in Florence or Fiesole and taking trains or buses to Lucca/Pisa, Siena/San Gim.

You might want to look into a tour of Florence with www.accidentaltourist.com.

I booked our whole trip myself using this board and various guide books: Rick Steves, Fodors, Lonely planet. Mainly this board to be honest. Hotel Dali in Florence is an affordable option, hoteldali.com. If you do keep Cinque Terre see cinqueterre.it and rent a cheap room from there, in Vernazza if possible. Lucca, San Gimignano, Volterra, Siena are all great small towns to see. YOu don't need a car in Florence or 5 Terre so plan accordingly. We rented a car for 5 days and really enjoyed the driving optins and visiting small towns. I think you can hit the ones you want via a bus (not a train) but I think a car gives you more flexibility. If you decide to rent a car, get a farmhouse near Siena to explore from. www.tuscany.net. Enjoy!

I don't want to hijack afsimon's thread, but e-roz, could you tell me how you liked Hotel Dali? Or do you have a trip report posted that might have that info. in it?

I am planning on staying there while in Florence in a few weeks and would appreciate any info. about it.

Thanks!
Jennie

Of course you are correct Ira. I just had a gut feel that they would choose to do the CT regardless of what we say.

I agree with ira. Keep it simple and use public transport.

If this were my trip, and keeping to the simplest format, I would choose ONE (centralized) place to stay and day-trip from there. Luggage and belongings are safely kept there, scheduling and picking up-and-moving is nil and being "overwhelmed" is minimized.

Not only that, enjoyment-time is maximalized!

Well, you've gotten a lot of different opinions here! Bear in mind that everyone has a different definition of what a good traveling pace is. If you "really want to just see beautiful countryside" then you will love spending a few days in Florence, and the rest of your days visiting hill towns and wineries in Tuscany (the Chianti road, SS222, is a good one to take). You can even find posts on this forum with recommendations for drivers/guides. We loved Castellina, San Gim, Volterra, Siena, and Monteriggioni. I agree with saving Venice for another trip. The Cinque Terre was a highlight of our visit but, again, I think it depends on your priorities and energy level. We did it in one day because that's all we had; we hiked for 7 hours and saw 4 towns. But...others may have had a heart attack!

For Bob the Navigator: I notice that you recommend Piccolo Hotel Oliveto. Could you highlight why this is the best option in Sienna?

I have another question re booking hotels, etc. I like the Initaly web site very much and would like to have them assist with hotel reservations, car rental and transportation to airport on departure. The room rates seem to be high. Is this typical of going through someone like Initaly? Can we do much better on our own?

Hi af

You are getting down to the wire here.

Have you gotten your airline tickets yet?

Have you worked out your itinerary?

Initaly is going to be more expensive than doing your booking on your own, but you should expect to pay for the convenience.

Best combo of location and value if you have a car and plan to day trip from there. It is very near the Santa Caterina, but has better parking and not as costly. Just outside the walls.

Yes, we have had the airline tix for quite some time. Have been to Europe several times, but many years ago, and all arrangements were made by employer. Never to Italy, and it just seems so overwhelming to select a hotel -- hope to keep the cost of accommodations to around $100/night. Ordering a cab or car to get us to the airport for a very early flight back home is another consideration, as well as where to pick up a car when we arrive in Florence. All of your comments are most appreciated and helpful -- am checking out all the accommodations you have suggested. So glad I found this site!