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House Rental in Tuscany - Suggestions?

Hello! I am looking for recommendations for renting a house/villa in Tuscany in June 2022. We are a group of 4-8 friends, all recently retired, fit and active, excited to be able to finally plan this! We are interested in food, wine, walking, hiking, biking, and learning about the local culture/history. I have a vision of finding a farmhouse, maybe with a pool, within walking distance of a smallish town where we can occasionally go for dinner or lunches. Would be nice to be able to take cooking classes and/or go wine tasting in the area. I expect we will have to rent a car (or two) and we can use it for excursions as needed, but I’d hope to spend more time enjoying fairly local sights.

I was lucky enough to find a place sort of like this in Porto Venere years ago, but have not spent any time in Tuscany yet so need some guidance. Any suggestions on which towns to look in, or specific recommendations, would be very welcome!

Posted by
3586 posts

I do not have a recommendation, but I have some caveats born of experience. Some years ago, a friend rented a villa, and invited a group of us to join her there. On a map, it appeared to be not too far from the nearest town, which was right off the A1. What the map didn’t show was that when you left the paved road, there was an unpaved drive to the building. Unpaved equaling full of ruts and big rocks. We had to drive it in mostly 1st gear, and it took 20 minutes. The paved road from the town was very winding and hilly, so required another 20 minutes. If you wanted to take in nearby (as the crow flies) sights, your drive took at least an hour, often more.
The villa was part of a newly redone complex,and some of the promised amenties were not finished. The staff operations also had a number of glitches to be smoothed out.
The advice, which is often given to potential renters on vrbo, air b&b, etc., is to look for a place with lots of reviews. In Tuscany, since much of it is very hilly, pay particular attention to the issue of accessibility.

I can testify to how important that is.
Btw, since you are hikers and foodies, there are books which lay out hikes that end in a town with a recommended restaurant.

Posted by
11056 posts

We researched a lot of options before finding chianti-and-more in Panzano. Many choices in Chianti which is our favorite place to stay in Tuscany. Excellent service, highly rated.

Posted by
15043 posts

You can find numerous options in the following websites:
www.agriturismi.it
www.agriturismo.it
www.agriturismo.com
www.agriturismo.net
www.agriturismitaliani.it
You can also find many in the famous sites, like VRBO, WIMDU, AIRBNB etc., although the ones mentioned above specialize on those types of accommodations.
There are about 25,000 such country villas (remodeled farmhouses), over 5000 of which in Tuscany, so the choice is endless.
I would like to emphasize what the previous poster wrote. Many of those villas look close to famous towns and sights on a map, but when you actually drive to and from them, you discover that distances expressed in minutes are much longer than anticipated, even when totally on paved roads. Tuscany is very hilly/mountainous and roads are winding and passing through towns and villages. You won’t be able to drive over 30 mph (if that) in most cases. Therefore I suggest to plot your potential choices on Google Maps and using the Google directions feature, test the driving times from there to the places you want to visit. Also check on the satellite photos and StrretView the conditions of the road. Some driveways are indeed unpaved and long.

Posted by
2791 posts

Another RS poster recommended this place near Montepulciano before an anniversary trip a couple of years ago, and we ultimately wound up staying there for 5 nights: https://www.montorio.com/ It really is a terrific place. The self-contained apartments are all charming and atmospheric. It's close enough to both San Biagio and the town to permit an easy stroll to either, and its location made it simple and straightforward to hit the road every morning to explore the Tuscan countryside by car. We loved it.

Posted by
124 posts

We've stayed in this lovely villa several times. It's in Umbria, within a stone's throw from Tuscany. You can see Cortona from the backyard pergola. The villa is down a dirt road (probably a quarter of a mile) out in the countryside -- we've never had problems accessing the house. I love this villa for its serenity and comfort. The owners are a delightful British couple who have paid attention to details. Not sure it's large enough for your group, though.

https://www.vrbo.com/1403458ha?unitId=1774595&childrenCount=0&noDates=true&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=earned:vrbo:sharecopylink:USA&utm_content=1403458ha&oc=xbdftJKHAVxIOvTBpTVW7

enjoy your trip!

DD

Posted by
513 posts

Cathy,
Thank you for posting. I am on a similar search but looking for 5 bedrooms/5 bath in July.