2 weeks in Tuscany - suggestions

[anthony a]

Hi, we are planning a trip to Italy (specifically in Tuscany) in September 2023 and would like some suggestions. We would like to stay in a villa or standalone house, preferably outside of a main city but well served by public transport. We don't want to hire a vehicle (unless we have to). We are looking for a location that would serve all the major cities and towns in the area. Are there any towns that you would recommend that have good PT and not overly busy? We may stay an extra week too as this really is a relaxation holiday rather than a quick rush around and see everything type of holiday

Places we'd like to visit - Florence, Pisa, Siena, Chianti, Cinqueterre. Any other areas we should visit/add to our itinerary. We have visited some of these places before but that was with children and I would like to see them again without their constant complaints.

Also, back to my mention of a villa, the more I look at Booking.com etc all I really see are rooms within houses rather than a whole "villa" is my understanding of what a villa is out of touch with what is actually available to rent? We are looking for something in the range of 700-1000 euros a week (which equates to $1000 - $1500 AUD).

 

[Lourdes]

Ciao and welcome to our forum!

Let's start with the villa: I confirm that many properties you will find on Booking.com will be rooms or apartments within villas/farmhouses.

Whole villas tend to prefer either going direct or through agencies, I would suggest trying to go direct if you can and take out the middle man to stay in budget.

My question before I can offer precise suggestions is this: how many people for the villa? Because the smallest ones I know that are entire villa/house are still for around 4/6/8 people.

Also would a small villa within a larger estate be fine with you? These two are like that.

- Take a look at the Villa Miravalle within the Incrociata estate: https://www.tuscanyaccommodation.com/agriturismo-incrociata.html
It is for 6 people, away from the rest of the property that is divided into apartments, surrounded by vineyards and has its own pool.

- Also look at Borgo della Meliana:

Borgo della Meliana:Tuscany Apartments in Gambassi Terme near San Gimignano

The apartments at Borgo della Meliana are tastefully decorated and furnished with antiques to create a welcoming atmosphere. Located in Gambassi Terme, the villa apartments are centrally situated in the Tuscan countryside.

www.tuscanyaccommodation.com

They have two small villas, one with 2 bedrooms and one with 3 bedrooms, that are separate and within the estate, with their own small pools.

Are these too small or big for your needs? I know villas that can host up to 20 people or even 40, rented by the whole.

Consider many of the apartments in villas were carved out of really large villas/farmhouses and the majority are intended to offer complete independence and privacy. Most have their own outdoor spaces. The shared spaces tend to be the swimming pool.
So this might be something to consider, that you might be okay with an apartment within a villa property.

It might then offer up more choices, especially to find something within your budget.

The second thing to consider is that many of villas are not located in a city nor just outside of a city, they are placed further away because they were country homes. Most all require you to have your own car to get to them. Even ones that are "just outside" of a town often require a bit of a walk to get to to them.

So let's get back to the first part, let me know what you SIZE villa you were thinking of, so that I can offer better suggestions that will fit your ideas.

 

[anthony a]

HI Lourdes, Thanks for that. It helps us understand the differences between our impressions and reality.

It will be just the two of us, so I'm guessing the options are limited. If there are standalone houses on a farm with some shared facilities would be ok. My wife has requested a pool so hopefully there are plenty of options like that. We may have some people come and stay with us so maybe a 2 bedroom house would be good.

We realise that a car will be necessary so it won't matter how far away from big cities we are, which might help with getting a larger place, maybe.

In terms of "the Vibe" we are looking to immerse ourselves in a place where we can live the village life for a month so we don't really want to be too close to large cities, we'll do the touristy things during the 2nd month we are in Italy.

I have also looked at car options, there are the usual rentals, but I also see that I can lease a car for a month from Renault or Peugeot and it will be cheaper than a long term rental. Do you know much about those lease arrangements? one site I found was autoeurope.com, I'd just like to know what you or others think of those arrangements.

Regards,

Anthony.

 

[Lourdes]

Then I think the villas at Borgo della Meliana would be ideal - you'd have your own spaces and it would be the perfect size for your time.
It is also in the countryside but close to small villages you can enjoy in the evenings, including San Gimignano, which become different places in the evenings once the majority of day visitors leave.

Yes, I have heard good things about the lease agreements for longer stays, better deals that usual rentals. So I suggest you definitely look into those as better options, considering the time you're looking to be here in Italy.