Stu Williams
New member
Hi, my girlfriend and I are planning a trip to Tuscany in early June and we would be extremely grateful for your advice and experience in order to help finalise our plans.
We’re looking for a nice relaxing holiday with a couple of trips into the wonderful cities Italy/Tuscany has to offer – preferably minimising fuss and cost.
We do love art and culture but are not going with that as a main priority. We would like to have some nice walks/hikes, enjoy the culture, scenery and go into a city/town on for a day but would be aiming stay clear of floods of tourists where possible (apart from Rome where it is inevitable but we live in London so are yearning for at least a nice break away later in our vacation / holiday).
Our plan is to spend 10 days in total starting with a few days in Rome followed by the rest of the time in and around southern Tuscany with the aim of maybe briefly visiting Siena and flying back to the UK from Florence (assuming its best to travel back from Florence as we would be closer to Siena / Florence?)
Here’s a couple of ideas of what we’d like to do but are not sure the best way/ cost effective way of doing it. We would really like to know if this is a feasible plan and preferably advice on how to achieve it in the best way!
Idea1:
Day 1 - Fly to Rome arriving about 1230pm
Day 2 – Rome (we have a good idea of where best to stay here such as….)
Day 3 – Rome
Day 4 – Travel to and stay in rural Tuscany for 5 days. Open to suggestions but here’s what we’re thinking of doing:
- leave Rome 8am and get the train to Orvieto – pick up hire car and drive to a nice rural tuscan location (not a vinyard or a hotel or an overpopulated place) - perhaps Civitella Paganico / Civitella Marittima / Volterra or even East / Umbria side? - Open to suggestions here on location (there are so many its difficult to decide!).
Day 5-9, Stay in rural Tuscany in small apartment / villa - relax in location and walk around the local area – perhaps driving out to pick up food/drink supplies and driving around hillside towns and Val d'Orcia (Montepulcciano, Pienza, Montalcino, Lake Trasimeno)
Day 9 – Drop hire car off near Siena and stay in Siena 1 night – really not sure how easy I this would be in practice!
Day 10 leave Siena by train/bus to Florence – have a look around florence and then get to Airport early evening back to the UK
Idea2:
Same as idea 1 but somehow going to Siena on a day trip from our location in rural tuscany instead of driving?
Can we hire a car from anywhere else?
Should we get a train to Siena from Rome instead of driving? Is it easier to pick up a car from Siena?
Should we avoid Florence all together and go back on a city break another time?
Day 10 – if we are in rural tuscany, should we drive to Florence airport or drive back to Rome airport – which is easier in terms of traffic / tolls etc?
Very many thanks in advance!
Stu and Theresa
We’re looking for a nice relaxing holiday with a couple of trips into the wonderful cities Italy/Tuscany has to offer – preferably minimising fuss and cost.
We do love art and culture but are not going with that as a main priority. We would like to have some nice walks/hikes, enjoy the culture, scenery and go into a city/town on for a day but would be aiming stay clear of floods of tourists where possible (apart from Rome where it is inevitable but we live in London so are yearning for at least a nice break away later in our vacation / holiday).
Our plan is to spend 10 days in total starting with a few days in Rome followed by the rest of the time in and around southern Tuscany with the aim of maybe briefly visiting Siena and flying back to the UK from Florence (assuming its best to travel back from Florence as we would be closer to Siena / Florence?)
Here’s a couple of ideas of what we’d like to do but are not sure the best way/ cost effective way of doing it. We would really like to know if this is a feasible plan and preferably advice on how to achieve it in the best way!
Idea1:
Day 1 - Fly to Rome arriving about 1230pm
Day 2 – Rome (we have a good idea of where best to stay here such as….)
Day 3 – Rome
Day 4 – Travel to and stay in rural Tuscany for 5 days. Open to suggestions but here’s what we’re thinking of doing:
- leave Rome 8am and get the train to Orvieto – pick up hire car and drive to a nice rural tuscan location (not a vinyard or a hotel or an overpopulated place) - perhaps Civitella Paganico / Civitella Marittima / Volterra or even East / Umbria side? - Open to suggestions here on location (there are so many its difficult to decide!).
Day 5-9, Stay in rural Tuscany in small apartment / villa - relax in location and walk around the local area – perhaps driving out to pick up food/drink supplies and driving around hillside towns and Val d'Orcia (Montepulcciano, Pienza, Montalcino, Lake Trasimeno)
Day 9 – Drop hire car off near Siena and stay in Siena 1 night – really not sure how easy I this would be in practice!
Day 10 leave Siena by train/bus to Florence – have a look around florence and then get to Airport early evening back to the UK
Idea2:
Same as idea 1 but somehow going to Siena on a day trip from our location in rural tuscany instead of driving?
Can we hire a car from anywhere else?
Should we get a train to Siena from Rome instead of driving? Is it easier to pick up a car from Siena?
Should we avoid Florence all together and go back on a city break another time?
Day 10 – if we are in rural tuscany, should we drive to Florence airport or drive back to Rome airport – which is easier in terms of traffic / tolls etc?
Very many thanks in advance!
Stu and Theresa
