Florence/Tuscany 6 Nights - Recommended Aguriturismo ?

Hello,
Just back from my second trip there.
1) I would stay at an agriturismo for all those sites. This is precisely what I've done. Rememer that driving there is a charm which such a wonderful countryside. So, an hour on the road is not like your typical hour on a boring highway.
2) I cannot say enough about agritusiemo Podere cunina, 5 minutes from buonconvento
http://www.agriturismopoderecunina.com/
Reviews are unanimous. Great people Silvana and Giorio are just very nice people. The location of this agriturismo is your tuscan dream.
1 mille from the main road on a hilltop overlooking the surroundings. Pictures on the site say it all and I can tell you that it's even better live. The views from the pool are just unreal.
3) I'm not sure I understand that question
4)Venice one night only, which is the day also you arrive. That's not a lot considering also that with jetlag, this day is usually have lost.
2 days in Florence is a minimum. Concentrate your efforts on the main sites or museums. DOn't try to do all. Too many museums.sometimes, makes you not appreciate what you see. Make sure to see Accademia for David, huge highlight for me, and Uffizi. If you like sculpture, Bargello is the one.

B1)I would stay on the other side of the coast, propably around Sorrento I guess. You can easily go many places from there.
B2) You say 5 nights in rome, but you wrote 2. 5 is great, 2 is definitly not enough

Here's my blog, it's in french, but I'm sure you can ggole translate it. it will give you an idea of what we did in Florence and Tuscany especillay.
You can change dates and years on the right.
So you can also see Rome in april 2012, Venice at the end of a Sicily trip in 2015, and some other things in 2010.
I hope this helps.
http://famillecyrstgeorges.blogspot.ca/2017/06/jour-2-orvieto-en-ombrie-et-une-arrivee.html

I can highly recommend the Agriturismo Cretaiole... We have had friends stay there and we visited there years ago....even Rick has visited.They have many varied activities and they are in the area you will touring. Look up their website...you will be amazed. They are very friendly and have been in business a long time.

Let me just say that your group of 5 adults may be a little difficult to transport by car in the countryside--unless you opt for renting a van. European autos are not large usually. Please stress the importance of packing light--like in Rick Steves' packing list.
Remember your first and last days in Europe are essentially wasted days, and every time you move you lose a day.
You're going to be visiting very important cities that are worthy of more time than you've allotted. The Amalfi Coast is almost 200 miles south of Rome, and do you really have time to make it down there while not spending enough time elsewhere?
It's unclear how many days your tip is. Most people would prefer to spend 3 nights in Venice (unless you've been there before), and take a fast train (with reservations) in order to spend 3 nights in Florence.
You can pick up a rental vehicle in Florence before spending 3-4 nights in an agriturismo south of Florence exploring the countryside and hilltowns. I prefer staying outside of Poggibonsi (San Gimignano-Certaldo) rather than Siena. Farms in Tuscany are very small, and virtually every farm has apartments and/or rooms as a secondary source of income. I'm talking hundreds and hundreds of places to stay. AirBnB and Booking.com have many listed.
Many travelers turn their rental vehicles in at Orvieto (Hertz), and the train station's across the street where you can take a local train into Rome Termini in 70 minutes. It's a very easy down 4 lane highways and toll roads to get there.
Rome can be somewhat overwhelming in tourism, as there are just about as many travel sights in the suburbs as there are within the city. You could easily spend the balance of your trip there.

(Venice (1 Night) Train to Florence in the late Morning: Florence 2 Nights; Tuscany 4 Nights; Rome 2 Nights; Vietri Sul Mare 3 Nights; 3 Nights (in another Amalfi Town) and 3nights in Rome before flying off.

You are trying to do way too much. By trying to see everything, you end up seeing nothing. I'm especially confused by the two trips to Rome.

I was initially planning to use Siena as a base for the 3 or 4 Nights - as a base to see Chianti, San G, Pienza, Montalcino , Montelpuciao, Orvieto, Val D’Orchia, Volterra.

Chianti is a province, not a town. 3 nights mean two days, that's not nearly enough time to see half of your list. We spent 8 days in Tuscany and didn't see all to places you've listed.

You need to have a family meeting to discuss your goals. BTW, "seeing everything" is not a viable goal. My suggestion is to take the Amalfi coast off your list and redistribute that time. First of all, why fly into Venice and not even see it? Dedicate at least two full days there. Then, at a minimum, travel to Florence and spend two days (3 nights).

In Florence, rent a car and stay in an agriturismo in the Chianti region. We stayed at Castillo di Verrazzano, which is an excellent winery and reasonably priced. Plan to devote a day visiting Greve, which is 10 minutes away in the morning, then returning to Castillo di Verrazzano for a tour of the winery followed by a food and wine pairing to die for.

From Castillo di Verrazzano, you can take day trips. San Gimignano/Volterra would be one day trip. Siena would be another. Montalcino/Montepulciano would be another. Since you like church history, instead of the Montalcino/Montepulciano trip, consider doing Montepulciano in the morning and lunch, then drive to the Abbazia di Monte Oliveto Maggiore. Do an afternoon tour, grab a light dinner at the restaurant (their soups are wonderful), then stay for the Gregorian chant evening Vespers. You'll still get home 8:30 - 9:00.

Drive from the agriturismo to Rome and turn in the rental car when you arrive. Spend at least three full days (five would be better) in Rome. Balance the agriturismo time with the Rome time.

claudecyr65 - Thank you for your detailed response! Appreciate you sharing with me both your blog and the recommended Agriturismo!

Jane - thank you for the recommendation and your message!

David - Thank you! So your advice would be to grab a rented car from florence then drive around and drop off at Orvieto before training to Rome? Thats awesome advice! appreciate it! We are contemplating getting a private driver for our time in Tuscany so hopefully that would help us. I am doing two trips to Rome cos i thought it might be better to stop at Rome before going to the Amalfi Coast before going back to Rome for a couple of days before flying off. But i am reconsidering it - might be better to just go straight to the Amalfi Coast and then spend my last 5 nights in Rome.

DougMac - We most definitely wont attempt to do all. While we recognize the limitations of a "touch and go" we are happy to spend a day at one place and "touch and go" at other places - so we alternate the pace of the trip abit. Appreciate the day trip plans! That sounds awesome!

Would you guys happen to know any private drivers that does Tours around Tuscany?

So your advice would be to grab a rented car from florence then drive
around and drop off at Orvieto before training to Rome? Thats awesome
advice! appreciate it! We are contemplating getting a private driver
for our time in Tuscany so hopefully that would help us.

It's one or the other, not both. If you're going to get a private driver, then dispense with a rental altogether. There's no need to pay for one if you're not going to use it, and especially as you'd need a van for 5 people and luggage?

Definitely do all of your nights in Rome together: don't split them up. I would also consider cutting back your 6 nights in the Amalfi, staying in one versus two locations there, and adding at least one night to Venice and another to Florence. 2 nights is only one full day of sightseeing, and one night - on arrival day at that - won't give you any time at all in Venice. As stated earlier, if you don't intend to give that one a couple of nights, I wouldn't bother to flying into it.

What time of year are you planning this trip for?

Hey Kathy!

Thanks for the advice! Most definitely wont do private driver and rent a car - its one or the other.

And yes - i have decided to add one more night in Venice! Totally makes sense.

Perhaps this new itinerary would make more sense:
Venice 2 Nights
Florence 3 Nights/Tuscany 3 Nights or Florence 2 nights/Tuscany 4 nights
5 Nights in Vietri Sul Mare
5 Nights in Rome.

I understand the train ride from Florence to Amalfi would take about 5 plus hours... any idea on the scenery through that route?

We are planning to arrive in Venice on the 4th of September and depart from Rome on the 21st or 22nd of September.

Thanks for responding kathy!

It's not a true "agriturismo" -- bills itself as a "country house" -- but we loved our nights at Borgo Casato in Castelnuevo Bergardenga, about 10 miles east of Siena. Great breakfast overlooking the hills, restaurant-style dinner (so you can choose what and how much you want to eat), lovely staff, and close enough to a highway.

Your itinerary is looking better.
I would switch your Venice and Florence nites. 3 in Venice, you may suffer jet lag, and 2 in Florence. Venice has an amazing amount of churches, it would take weeks to do them all justice.

I do question your stay in Vietri sul mare. While it has good train service to Pasteum and Salerno, if you want to visit the rest of the Amalfi Coast, you're pretty much restricted to the bus or a short trip to Salerno to catch the ferry. I love Vietri, but have always had a car, and the time of year you're going is not condusive to driving. It's too busy. If you don't mind going back and forth to Salerno for the ferry, then go for it.

Edit to add rent a mid sized car for Tuscany. If you stay in an agriturismo one is needed. And gives you the ability to see the towns on your own schedule.
Second the suggestion of Verrazzano. It's amazing.

Thanks Gerri! Your thoughts on Vietri Sul Mare resonated with me and i have decided to just stick to Salerno.

Thanks Laura B - am checking it out!

Thanks all! Am checking out Verranzzano and Borgo Casato in Castelnuevo Bergardenga

Will update soon if i get lucky!

Blessings,
Lean Sing

Update:

DougMac and Gerri - i got lucky! 3 nights at Verranzzano! Now i just have to decide my itinerary when i am there!

DougMac - u suggested 3 day trips: 1 to San Gimignano/Volterra; 1 to Siena l 1 to Montepulciano/Abbazia Di Monte Oliveto Maggiore.
I suspect i only have time for a maximum of 2 from Verranzzano.

My plan of "attack"
Day 1 of Tuscany: Florence to Siena, Spend the day (or perhaps half a day) at Siena before heading to Verranzzano for check in and dinner
Day 2 of Tuscany: Spend the entire day at Verranzzano
Day 3: San G/Volterra or Montepulciano/Abbazia?
Day 4: Head back to Florence for Train to Amalfi Coast.

My questions are:
1.) For day 2 - should i venture out to see some other parts of Chianti or would an entire day at Verranzzano be more advised
2.) Day 3: Which of the 2 would be slightly different or complementary to my time at Verranzzano.
3.) Which of the various tours Verranzzano offer would you recommend?
4.) If i am renting a car from Florence - any recommendations on car rentals?

Thanks guys! You guys have been so awesome! The trip planning is coming along nicely!

lsd1980s!

Congrats!

Which of the various tours Verranzzano offer would you recommend?

Either the Chianti Tradition (2 1/2 hours) or the Wine and Food Experience (3 hours). The wine and food experience is wonderful, it was our "splurge meal" (in both cost and calories) while in Tuscany. This would be all you need to eat for the day! If you are there on Friday night, you could check into their Dinner at the Farm. This would free up your day and you'd be able to tour the winery and have a lovely dinner.

We were their only guest for the entire week. Our Wine and Food Experience was leisurely because of that. They start at noon during the high season, but we started @ 11:00 and got back for the pairing about 12:45. There were two other couples there. One just signed up for a tasting. The other food and wine couple finished up by about 2:00-2:15. We took our time. In addition, the owner and his winemakers were tasting a new vintage. The bottles weren't even labeled. The owner kept coming over to our table and asking our opinion! We didn't leave until 3:30 and retired to our room down the hill because we were slightly snockered by then.

For day 2 - should i venture out to see some other parts of Chianti or would an entire day at Verrazzano be more advised.

I would suggest scooting into Greve in the morning. It's just 5-10 minutes south. There's a great frame shop/gallery that you could explore. There's not much to Greve other than the frame shop and butcher, but it is pretty and just walking around would be nice.

You should be able to finish around 2:00 or 3:00 depending on the tour choice you make. That would give you plenty of time to explore the countryside. You could drive down to Radda, which is only 20-30 minutes away, then over to Castellina. The drive is gorgeous!

San G/Volterra or Montepulciano/Abbazia? Which of the 2 would be slightly different or complementary to my time at Verrazzano?

Wow, it's hard to choose between the two. I think it would depend partly on your faith, but I found watching the sun set on Volterra just a much a religious experience as the Vesper service. I think I'm leaning towards San Gimignano/Volterra.

I have one more thought. When staying at Castillo di Verrazzano, you can opt for their breakfast. Since we were there longer, we chose to include the breakfast at an additional cost. It was absolutely wonderful and since we had the place to ourselves, we visited with Isabella and our waiter Marco. The spread is amazing and we normally just snacked for lunch. However, they don't start serving until 8:00, which for us is pretty late. That cuts into your exploring time, because you won't hit the road until 9:00 or later. With either of the food pairings, you'll get a chance to sample their wild boar salami and cheeses, which they also serve at breakfast. Keep that in mind when you decide whether to add breakfast or not.

DougMac

Thank you for such a detailed response! I really appreciate it.

Unfortunately i would only be there from Saturday to Tuesday. I was hoping to be able to stay from Friday onwards so i can go for their dinner...but they are fully booked.

Would u recommend staying somewhere nearby just for one night so that we can retreat back after dinner and then move over in the morning?

Thanks once again for your recommendation!

lsd1980s