Pat

We've recently returned from Tuscany, where we rented a villa (Casa al Bosco through www.drawbridgetoeurope.com) in a small town called San Donato in Poggio, very close to the autostrada between Florence and Siena. The house was great, 3 bedrooms and 3 baths with a washing machine. There's a terrace on 2 sides of the house, we'd sit out and watch the sunset and drink the fabulous wines we had bought throughout the vineyards in Chianti. <BR> <BR>The private grounds were beautiful with lots of pine trees and potted plants and flowers. And there's a pool, altho it's closed after September. <BR> <BR>It got a bit cold at night and after a couple of nights spent shivering, we asked the owners of the house to turn the heat on. We paid for heat and I gotta tell you, it was expensive (about $90 for 3 nights!!) but worth it. <BR> <BR>The owners of the house also own a restaurant in town called La Toppa. Mama Mia! the food was wonderful and the hosts are the nicest folks. For such a small town there were several really good restaurants. <BR> <BR>The location was perfect for exploring Tuscany. We were about a 1/2 drive to Greve or Radda via the smaller roads. About 1/2 hour to Siena or Florence via the autostrada. And about an hour to Volterra and San G via smaller roads. Our hosts gave us a map of Chianti and pointed us to a couple of castles and small towns worth seeing. They even told us where to park in Florence to avoid going into the city center. We parked our rental at Porta Roma, which is a city gate at the south end of Florence, just outside the city center. We parked all day for about $7 and took a taxi to the city center and back, for about $5 each way. <BR> <BR>There are pictures of the house at the web site but the pix do not do the house justice. We loved it and plan to go back!

Sebastian Ciotti

Sounds great, I am curious as to the cost. We just returnedd from a six week stay in Italy. Through a friend we rented a 4-Br 3-bath, kitchen living-dining area, terrace, high on a hill overlooking Porto Santo Stefano. Our total cost for the 6 weeks was $ 900.00 including electricity and local phone calls.We used it as a base and traveled throughout Tuscany and Umbria.Hard to beat the price. We found the most delightful hill towns, including but not limited to Pitigliano, Gubbio, DeRuta, Castellina in Chianti, Greve, Radda and many others.

Pat

Our cost was about $1300 for the week, not including electricity or heat. Did you mean $9,000 instead of $900 for the 6 weeks rental?

Shanna

Yes, Sebastian, please - was that really $900 for six weeks? Maybe $900 each - and a lot of people? Otherwise, I'm packing my bags today!

Terry

Sebastian: Yes, please clarify the price. Per person/how many? I'm definitely interested. Thanks. Terry

Susan

Here's another request for clarification on that $900 price. Can that be for real? Also, did you find you would have trouble in these small towns if you don't speak Italian? Thanks.

Marco

I'm not Sebastian, but the quoted rent of 900$ for six weeks seems completely reasonable, considering the location and the implied period, late October - November. <BR> <BR>Porto Santo Stefano is a beach resort, not Rome or Venice, and as for all the other beach resorts the first of September is no more high season; by the end of the month -let alone October!- the season is all but ended. <BR> <BR>Last year I rented an apartament for two person in Ortisei in the last two weeks of September for as little as 250.000L/week (which would be roughly 120$ at today change). For the last week of August it would have been four times that at about 1.000.000L/week. They didn't bother to offer it in October, and October is a much better period for the Dolomiti than for the beaches ... <BR> <BR>Similarly a friend of mine -which certainly isn't a millionaire- was able to rent an apartment in Porto Ercole or Porto Santo Stefano for a few months in _late spring/early summer_ just for using it as a weekend base from Rome... <BR> <BR>Marco