I have booked hotel casci in Florence for three nights to use as a home base while in Tuscany. I booked it mainly for convenience to transportation since they will be traveling by rail from Venice, heading to sorrento afterwards. He just informed me he loves water, loves hanging out in a cafe, people watching, and would love to stay at an agriturismo because he loves talking to people and picking their brains. He brought me an article on agriturismo s and asked if I thought it would be possible for he and his wife to stay at one. Does anyone know of an agriturismo that provides transportation? He doesn't want to rent a car, even has talked of renting a guide, that's why I thought staying in Florence would be ok since one day he would be traveling to Pisa or wherever. Any suggestions? Maybe a hotel overlooking the river in Florence might be a good compromise, I don't know. Thank you for your help and suggestions!
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
360 posts
I think it depends on what kind of experience you're looking for. You can get to the bigger cities in Tuscany via train, like Pisa, Siena and Orvieto (technically Umbria). But if you want to visit smaller hill towns and/or wineries, you're going to need to rent a car or a private driver. In my research, I never saw an agriturismo that would drive anyone around, but they should know of people locally that offer that service. We rented a car, as we were looking for flexibility on location/timing and it was actually cheaper than finding a personal driver. Or you can take day tours out of Florence.
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8373 posts
Tuscany is best seen with a rental car as bus travel is not always efficient and trains don't go to all the good hill towns. Virtually every farm in Tuscany and Chianti has rooms to rent as secondary income. That doesn't mean that you'll always have other residents to talk with. Many accommodations are very quiet and private.
Florence would probably be his best place to base day trips from by bus in most cases.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23722 posts
.... would love to stay at an agriturismo because he loves talking to people and picking their brains....... Don't think he understands agriturismo. By definition tend to be in the country side and somewhat more isolated. Suppose to be a working farm. We just returned for a week outside of Florence in an old castle. While there were a bunch of people around, mostly local tourists especially over the weekend, there was little opportunity to talk with people or pick brains. Everyone was doing there own thing during the day. The river in Florence is not much to look at - very green. If he wants meet a lot of people, he needs to be in the city.