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My travel plan to Tuscany; feedback please
Hello everyone!
I am in the very early stages of planning a trip to Italy. Un buon viaggio! I've more or less decided to concentrate on Tuscany and Umbria, with perhaps a side trip to Bologna and The Cinque Terre. I'm thinking about 6 - 8 weeks, budget permitting :)
I'm not sure yet as to how I will travel or stay. I like the idea of staying in several places, each for up to a week or so and using it as my base to explore the surrounding region; for example:
- Pisa - to explore Northern Tuscany, Central Coast, San G
- Florence - for Florence
- Siena - to explore Sienese hill-towns such as Montepulciano, Chianti, Southern Tuscany and Val D'orcia (plus side trip to Urbino)
- Assisi - to explore places like Gubbio, Perugia and Spoleto.
The above approach allows me to stay in one place for awhile and not have to be constantly on the move, going from one accommodation to the next.
The question is: what would be the best way to explore each region? A car would give flexibility and enable me to get to out-of-the-way places, but how expensive is it to hire cars in Italy? The other big question is: what's the best type of accommodation for stays of up to one week?
I'd be interested in what others think of my plan. Are those good towns to stay in or are there better ones from your experience?
Oh, by the way, I plan to travel in late Sept - Oct 2011.
Gary
Tags: accommodation, tuscany, umbria
Comments to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Liana on -
Ciao Gary,
Just a thought on the car hire - when my husband and I travelled France & Italy, we researched car hire and found it very expensive. So we ended up using a lease arrangement with a French car company and had a brand new Megane for the 28 days of our stay. You would have to research whether the Italian car companies offer the same. We paid about $2,600 for the 28 days, had a brand new car, with a guaranteed buy back - and all that means is that when you return the car you sign some papers and that's it - So it feels like a car hire situation but the legailites are that you are leasing and then they buy it back. When we priced hire cars for the time period it was far more expensive ad we had to pay a huge pick up/return fee if we didn't want to return it to the original city.
It is well worth exploring the internet to see if there are similar arrangements with Italian companies - Alternatively, you could fly into Paris, pick up your car, have a wonderful drive down the south of France and return your car when your ready to Rome (or wherever else is an option) without any pick up fees.
I believe this option works best if you want a car for more than 21 days.
Hope that helps
Ciao
Liana
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Permalink Reply by Gary Chow on -
Ciao Liana!
Thanks so much for your response. I do know about the French car leases and did one of them back in 1990. My (ex) wife and I leased a baby Peugeot, which we named 'Pierre' and he was superb. Pierre took us all over the place but he puffed a bit going up those steep mountain passes in the Swiss Alps!
No, they don't have such a scheme in Italy, alas, although the French scheme is available of course.
The lease approach is great if you are doing a touring holiday, where you are constantly on the move going from place to place. But if you want to stay in a place for a few days, then the car would just sit idle and therefore may not be economical. Moreover, in larger cities like Florence you have to find a place to park it, which will cost a pretty penny.
Today I did more research on accommodation and the picture is not so good if you're travelling alone - unless you want to backpack and I reckon I'm too long in the tooth for that. The thought of living crammed in dorms no longer appeals :)
By the way, have you heard of this agency? http://www.passionforitaly.com/
Ciao e grazie!
Gary
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Permalink Reply by Liana on
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Ciao again,
Yes the reservations you have about hiring/leasing a vehicle if you're are not touring are right, in fact that is why when my husband and I go back to Italy In Dec and stay the whole following year, we will not be hiring a car - we want to stay in locations for 1, 2 , 3 weeks etc and the cost of parking in cities etc will be expensive. So we will probably hire a car for small trips when we want to go to particular places that are off the train path for shorter periods of time and use trains, planes and buses the rest of the time - though I am not looking forward to carting luggage around.
Have you looked at B&B's in Italy - there are a number of sites on the internet for example http://www.bbitalia.it
When Marianna comes back she might have some ideas about places such as convents/monasteries that one can stay in - I seem to remember her mentioning something like that once to me - though I might be confusing it with my reading about Il Camino
Ciao
Liana
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Permalink Reply by Gary Chow on
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Hi Liana
Thanks for your feedback and advice. I've bookmarked that B&B link and shall look into it.
Grazie!
Gary
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Permalink Reply by Paddy McLeod on -
Ciao Gary!
Sounds like you are planning a fabulous holiday! Really good idea to base yourself in one place for a set period of time so you can explore all the towns in the area. I like finding small unique places to stay, so here is a agriturismo site i've used to find short stay accommodation - http://en.agriturismo.it/ Another one is www.agriturismo.net
As for your choice of places to visit, you have picked some fantastic locations! However you definately have to include Bologna in your plans as it is definately one of the most beautiful Italian cities! But I am biased, as it is one of my favorite places in the world! When I was on holidays in December for 3wks, I went to visit 3 times & still could have gone back as there was so much I didn't go see or do this time!
A friend of mine in Italy rents a holiday house for a few months every summer in Viareggio, which is a beautiful beach area. I stayed there last year & it was great for our day trips to Pisa & Bocca di Magra (beautiful place & should be on your list if you get time!) . My friend's fiance also lives there during the week & then takes the train to Florence on the weekends so there is transport availble however it isn't a direct connection. Also Lucca is an amazing place with great history, places to stay & good train transportation. Sienna & the Chianti region are beautiful, but I don't know how easy it would be to get around without a car as there are some beautiful villages around but don't know that there is public transport to them.
As for the trains, when I was in Italy in December the Eurostar trains were fantastic for transport between the major cities as they ran on time! For internal trains, I prefer the IC trains (Inter City) as they are a bit more reliable than the regional trains. And although they are a little more expensive, you actually get an assigned seat and there is luggage racks in the carriage if you need it. I had trouble pre-purchasing my train tickets online, but no problem once i was there. Main website is http://www.trenitalia.com/ Also if you plan travel a lot via train be prepared for strikes on the regional lines! Hence I now always keep this website handy so I can check for any upcoming strikes planned http://www.summerinitaly.com/planning/strike.asp (they also have other transport info & links on this site you might find useful)
Sorry didn't mean to write a mini novel! But I do love Italy so I hope this info is useful!
Have a fabulous vacation - i've only been back just over a month & already itching to go back!!
Paddy
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Permalink Reply by Gary Chow on
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Hi Paddy
Thanks for the response and the great tips! Since I put up my original post I've done more research and I think I am slowly fleshing out my trip; problem is, I keep changing my mind.
I Think I'll spend more time in Florence and use it as a base for trips to the north west, to places like Lucca and Pisa.
Then I'll head to Siena and use that as a base to explore the Chianti region, using a hire car to gain access to the hill-top villages and check out the abbeys and vineyards.
After Siena, I'm thinking of renting a villa somewhere near Montepulciano, or perhaps stay in an agriturismo place (so thanks so much for that link!). I plan to do some hiking and cycling around South Tuscany, in the Val D'orcia region.
From there I'll train to Arrezo province and probably stay near Cortona. After Arrezo, I plan to head into Umbria to chck out Urbino and Peruguia, etc.
Thanks for the tip on Bologna; that is definitely on my agenda. In fact, I have a friend there, who was my Italian language tutor here in Brisbane. I'll go visit her.
If I have time left over, I might train cross country to the Cinque Terre and join the hordes walking the trail. And then from there, it's back to Milan for the flight home.
Well, as of tonight, that's my loose 'plan'. By morning I am sure it will have changed :)
How's it sound to you?
Gary
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Permalink Reply by Paddy McLeod on
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Ciao Gary!
Your loose plan sounds fantastic & makes me want to hop on the next Emirates flight back to Italy!!
Florence is a great place to base yourself while you travel around the area. Considering my best friends live only 8kms from there, I don't actually visit the city very often as it isn't actually one of my favorite spots. Don't get me wrong, I like the city but I don't like all the tourist crowds or touristy areas. But my friends are very good & take me to some fabulous hidden 'non tourist' parts of the city!
If you can, include San Gimignano on your list. Not very big, but some fabulous views if you walk up to the top & lovely people. You could also go to Pistoia (think the train line to Pisa stops there) - very quaint but when the side streets to the square set up the tables in the afternoon for the bars & restaurants it just amazing & lots of fun!
There are still so many areas I'd like to visit & one day i'll hopefully get to spend time at the Amalfi Coast, Milan & Lake Como as I also have friends in these areas too.
Look forward to hearing more of your plans as you firm up all the details of your trip!
Ciao
paddy
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