Tuscany accomodation / transport ?
 

Hi,

We will be visiting Italy in October 2013 for our honeymoon. We will be travelling from Venice to Florence, and then Florence to Rome.

We are looking at staying 4 nights in Tuscany. I was originally only considering Florence, as we don't feel confident driving around too much and feel other areas will be less convenient.

I have, however, researched the Castello del Nero, in Tavarnelle Val di Pesa, around halfway between Siena and Florence. Has anyone stayed at this hotel or know of it? What are your recommendations? They offer a complimentary shuttle service to Florence and Siena, which I thought was good as we are able to see more of Tuscany than just Florence without needing a car.

We do however want to visit the Pisa, so I was thinking if we do stay at Castello del Nero, we could leave our bags at the train station when we arrive from Venice, go visit Pisa for the day, and then get the train back to Florence for the afternoon shuttle to the hotel. Alternatively, we would consider hiring a car or a vespa to day trip to Pisa and make see more of the Chianti wine region. What are your thoughts on this? We definitely want to limit our driving in Florence but this may be more convenient than taking public transport. The only issue is we will probably have to rent and return the car/vespa to Florence, which means getting the shuttle in and out.

Any alternative suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I really like the look of the Castello del Nero, and it is right in our budget (around 290 euro a night, our max would be 350 euro), but if anyone knows of any alternative hotels/b&b's that would be appropriate I would greatly appreciate your feedback!

Many thanks in advance!

I have to say that the best way to really enjoy staying in Tuscany is to have a car. (Do NOT, I repeat do NOT rent a vespa - unless you ride one regularly already and are VERY comfortable with it. Just search the topic on here and you will hear many true horror stories of people renting vespas).
It really is not that difficult to drive through Tuscany - although a GPS is key!! Can't speak to the Pisa issue, after 3 trips to Italy and twice being in the Florence/Tuscany region we still haven't made it there!!

Thanks jgg - I will take your advice and take my romantic idea of a vespa ride through the tuscan countryside out of my head - haha!

The only issue is, being from Australia, we drive on the "wrong" side of the road. Have you, or anyone else, had to drive on the opposite side of the road to usual - how hard was this?

Also, if we were to hire a car, is the best place from Florence Airport or are there any other car rental locations away from central Florence (in Siena/Pisa or easy to get to on public transport from any of these places)?

Hey keedm002, lots of us on Fodor's are Australian and lots of us have dealt with driving in Europe. It takes a little while to get used to and it's a good idea to start somewhere with less traffic if possible.

We picked up our first car at Pisa airport and my husband spent about 5 minutes driving around the carpark while he got the hang of everything being reversed. Most of the hire cars that are available are manual, so make sure you can drive a manual before heading off. It is possible to get an automatic, but they aren't as plentiful as you might like.

Under no circumstances, if you do get a car, drive it into Florence itself. There are lots of areas marked for the locals only, and if you can't read Italian you won't realise and will drive into the restricted areas and much, much later a hefty fine will arrive in the post.

I agree that a GPS is a great idea, from memory it was about 7 euros per day in 2008. It was worth every cent. The car hire company will set it up so that it speaks to you in English.

I can't help with your accommodation question, sorry.

The car rental pick up locations in Florence make it easy to exit the city and get on to the autostrada.

Also, there are many more beautiful and charming places to visit than Pisa, please reconsider.