14 days Italy trip with ~5 days in Tuscany area

R

RitainHk

New member
Ciao,
The forum does helps us a lot on my planning of our (4 of us) Italy trip in the coming 13 Oct to 25 Oct, it's gonna be a tight schedule we tried to fit in as much as we can as 2 of us has never been to Italy.

13, 14 Oct - Venice
15 Oct Milan
16 Oct Cinque Terre
17, 18 Oct- Pisa + Florence
18 Oct ~arriving Greve from Florence by 3pm, staying in the Hotel/ B&B in Greve
19 Oct - Greve Chianti , Panzano, Castellina, Radda
20 Oct- Palio in Siena, Palazzo Pubblico and a winery (Brunello or Montepulciano)
21 Oct - Valdoria + Bagnoregio
22-25 Oct - Rome

I've read a lot of previous post and came up with the above itinerary, as i browse on the internet, there are just overwhelm information came in my mind, therefore hoping to get some of your advice.

-We planned to rent a van from Venice all the way to Rome, but realized that the are many ZTL in the main tourist cities, with my rough itinerary above, when do u suggest us to start renting the van?
- As we arriving Greve at 3ish on the 18th, i was planning to rent a B&B/ hotel/ apartment in the city area of Greve, but most web site provide accommodation in Greve in chianti only, so should still stay in the chianti even it's quite late?
- I cannot make up my mind for the accommodation on 19 Oct to 21 Oct, although we will have a car with us, but 1st, i'm not sure if it's the best choice to switch hotel/farmhouse everynight, 2nd, which area should we stay if we are not moving everynight ? I saw some magnificent, breathtaking sunset images of those chianti which i thought maybe we should be settling our nights in those places.
- We would definitely do some wine tasting on our way and we want to do a wine tour as well maybe with cooking class also, but is there a reference cost on the wine tour and cooking class?

Rita
 
Ciao Rita,

Glad to hear you're finding the forum useful in your planning!
I'll try to help address your doubts first, then head back to your planned itinerary.

1. renting a car - there are ZTL areas in many cities but these are clearly marked so you don't enter them. There are generally signs as well as street stoplights to indicate whether you can go in or not. You can easily park outside of these boundaries and then walk in.
You can definitely start your rental in Venice, once you're ready to leave the lagoon.
2. Greve in Chianti and Greve are the same town - it is a small town in the countryside and there are several hotels in town, but many are also just outside the city limits in the countryside. Since you'll have a car, you can decide to stay at any place you like best! Ah, there are no ZTLs in the small Tuscan towns, just in Florence, Pisa, and Siena.
3. as regards the 18th-21st, since you're planning on heading into Chianti, then to Siena and on to the Val d'Orcia, you could actually from the very start (the 18th) choose a central location to stay in and then do day trips - on the 19th Chianti, on the 20th Siena, on the 21st the Val d'Orcia. Chianti and Val d'Orcia are wine country so you can do winery tours/tastings there.
You can take a look at some of the wine tastings offered in the area between Greve and Panzano here: Wine tasting in Chianti but know that you can also just drive and stop by the wine shops you see along the road.
As for accommodation in the area, I'd recommend Casolare di Libbiano because they also offer cooking classes directly or Palazzo Malaspina or around Castellina in Chianti the farmhouses
Il Cellese
Romitorio di Serelle
La Rocca di Cispiano
All of these are more central to the main road between Florence and Siena making it easier to move around on the day trips. The last 3 are farmhouses that generally rent by the week but in low season (October) will also rent for shorter stays, so contact them to ask for availability!!

As far as the itinerary - I'd take out Milan (one day is not enough) and just head to Cinque Terre. Park in Monterosso where it is easier to drive to and find parking and then use the train between the 5 towns if you're not up for walking any part of the trail along the coast.
In Siena - the Palio horse race is run in July and August, so you'll get to see the city and the Piazza del Campo where the Palio is run but not the actual race.
I'd skip Bagnoreggio or do it on the way down to Rome on the 22nd and dedicate a whole day to just seeing the Val d'Orcia.

Hope all this info is helpful without it being overwhelming. Let me know how else I can help!!
 
Ciao Lourdes,

Once again, love this Forum!!! and thank you very much for your advice :) I've made reservation for IL Cellese from 18-22 Oct already, all hotel/ B&B are booked for this trip, relief and really getting excited for the trip!!!

After gathering so many information and advice for the week, we planned to take train from Venice -> Milan [as the hotel is booked with no free cancellation :( ] -> Cinque Terre -> Florence. {all hotels/ B&B are booked within 0.5km from the train station} After visiting the monument in Florence then rent a car to go to the Chianti area then down to Rome.

I'd like to add a hot spring saturnia section on the way back to Rome, however, will it be too cold in mid Oct to just wear swim suit and jump into the hot spring? also, how long do people used to stay in the hot spring (I've been to those hot spring in Japan, do they feel similar?), is it possible for just spending like 2 hrs?

Cheers,
Rita
 
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Ciao Rita,

As far as the hot springs in Saturnia go, I don't think it should be too cold in October to enjoy them. You can park relatively close to the springs, and take a backpack to just stuff your clothes in while you're in the waterfall... that is what most people do. You just try to keep an eye on your stuff while you relax, but take the essential - towel, clothes, sandals/slip ons. You stay as long as you want - 2 hours seems perfectly fine. Just remember that afterward you'll be a little smelly from the hot springs... so if you jump back in the car, and head down to Rome, remember if you stop somewhere and people look weird at you... that the reason is your smell! :D You can just drive down straight to the hotel and take a shower, to meet less people along the way... OR you could stop and spend the night along the way between Florence and Rome, so that you can enjoy the springs and make the drive more relaxed ;)

Very exciting, the time approaches - have you got everything ready? ;)
 
Super excited!!! So, we are getting on the plane in two days and fly all the way from HK to Rome then start our 14 days in Italy!!! We pretty much stick with our original plan and would like to post here to share with everyone else.

13, 14 Oct - Venice
15 Oct Milan
16 Oct Cinque Terre
17 Oct- Florence
18 Oct-Morning - The mall outlet; Afternoon arrive IL Cellese
19 Oct- Morning - SPACE Mall, Pass through Radda in Chianti, cooking class in IL Cellese @16:30
20 Oct- Siena, Val d'orcia, Brunello and Montepulciano
21 Oct- Wine Tour in Castello D'Albola (recommended by IL Cellese)
22 Oct- Leave IL Cellese, go to hot springs in Saturnia and drive to Rome
22-25 Oct - Rome

We planned to drive all through the trip at the very beginning, but as most tourist area is ZTL, we take the train instead and book hotel/ B&B which very close to the train station (within 10 mins walk). We pick up the car only when we leave Florence (after doing all the sightseeing), but we will still drive to "the bridge " for the view of Florence [as ppl said we'll have to walk a long way to the bridge if we don't drive].
The host from IL Cellese is super nice, they introduce us to Castello D'Albola for wine tour (always call or email the host of the winery for tour as some of them may close on sundays).

One more thing came into my mind that I may need Lourdes' advice.

My husband's birthday on 20 Oct, as we will be travelling around in Chianti area, I would like to make a reservation in a restaurant then we can have a little celebration (but really have no idea area should the restaurant be), do u have any recommendation on it? Wish to find some place which is not too difficult to find, with average/ good food, good atmosphere :)

Can't wait to leave in 2 days and it seems that the weather is pretty good as well!!!

Rita
 
Ciao Rita,

Sounds like you're ready!! :) Very good itinerary, glad it has come together and you're staying at Cellese. Sergio is a great person, hope you will fall in love with the place and area, just gorgeous! Also harvest time in the area so you might be able to see that going on right as you drive back and forth.

As far as the restaurant on that day, if you're in Siena I'd recommend
Osteria le Logge for a very good meal, not cheap but use local, fresh Tuscan ingredients to create new tasty dishes.
Boccon del Prete I'd recommend for a delicious but more informal dinner, was recommended by various locals.

If you're in the Val d'Orcia, one I'd go back to San Quirico d'Orcia to eat at trattoria ristorate Osenna, a good Tuscan food. Wherever you are, if there are PICI on the menu, you should try them - they are handmade spaghetti and in the area the one with a tomato/garlic sauce called Pici all'Aglione is a speciality. If you like garlic, definitely try them out! ;-)
Also any pasta with cinghiale (wild boar), another regional specialty.

Can't wait to hear how everything goes!!
 
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