Tuscany for 4-5days mid-December

[tanya]

Hi,

Thank you for this great forum! Have been getting lost for hours just reading threads! I'm planning on surprising my mum with a trip to Tuscany in December (either the 10th or 18th) for 4-5days. I have a few questions that I'm struggling to answer!

I would love to see Florence, Pisa/Lucca, Siena and the Chianti region. I would also love to stay in a country/farm house setting with the typical 'Tuscan' feel (Chianti?), making one of the above our base and doing day trips to the others.

Where would you recommend staying?
Do you think we would be able to train/bus from a location like this? (a country/farm house setting with the typical 'Tuscan' feel (Chianti?)).

I would prefer to not hire a car due to cost and the fact I'm worried about driving in winter in Tuscany. What is it like driving there during this time?

(So a place close to bus/train connection (for day trips), that has a typical 'Tuscan' feel).

Or my other thought was 2nights in Pisa or Florence and do day trips and 1-2 nights in Chianti? I'm worried this would still require a car though?

Hopefully this messages makes sense. I await your reply eagerly!
Thank you in advance for your time!
Tanya

 

[Lourdes]

Ciao Tanya and welcome to our forum! Hope you are enjoying reading through the old threads, there is a lot of info on here.
I am sure your love will love such an amazing gift, especially spending time together discover this beautiful region.

If you fly in to Pisa, I'd recommend spending at least 1-2 nights (depending on when you arrive) there and using that time to see Pisa and Lucca which can easily be reached from Pisa by train.

You can then move on to either Florence or to Chianti. Florence would be a great base just to see Florence itself, and it is easy to get to from Pisa with train. If you've never been, you basically should at least dedicate 2 full days to being in Florence and just seeing the city, wandering around. Christmas time will be beautiful, with the lights and decorations up around town, and lots of shopping to do ;-).

As far as having no car and spending some time in Chianti/in the countryside - it is doable, just expect to be more limited in what you can do since you depend on bus/train schedules. If you want to trade in time spent in Florence with being in the countryside, then I'd suggest staying in Certaldo or San Gimignano or even Siena. Certaldo is arguably easier, since the train station passes right by it... while San Gimignano requires a bus from Poggibonsi (which you can reach it by train or bus from Florence). Here's some more details on that:
http://www.discovertuscany.com/san-gimignano/how-to-reach-san-gimignano.html
Siena can easily be reached through bus from Florence (or Pisa if you skip Florence) - here's more details: http://www.discovertuscany.com/siena/tourist-info/getting-to-siena-without-a-car.html
While Siena is a town, it still feels like a small town in Tuscany, and - especially if you come in Christmas - you'll get more of the local atmosphere, since it isn't high tourist season. You definitely don't need a car to spend time in Siena - and if you want, you can also join in a local tour to the immediate surroundings for a wine tour in Chianti, just as an example. See some of the options here, just for starters ;-).

Hope these suggestions help out in the planning, I know it isn't easy as there are many options! If you have any more questions, feel free to post!