Italian Accomodations

For a month in one place an apartment would sure beat a cramped hotel room. Italy has a bunch of agroturism places which might be a little more expansive. If you're going to be moving around, try venere.com. I find it has the best hotel deals in Italy. I've also found that if, using their users' ratings and staying above 7.5 it's hard to go wrong.

I would recommend going to Italy in May or September. The weather is pretty dependably nice then. There are too many holidays in April to work around, and in October it can get a little chilly and rainy (depending on where you go) and tourism related services are sometimes cut back. However, in October, you will start to see better travel deals and lower prices on accommodations. Depending on how many people are traveling together, renting an apartment or villa might be the ticket. But, you can also get a really good deal on a B&B because they are independently owned and will therefore be more flexible to work with you on a good price for an extended stay. It will take a little research on your part to find out which will be more cost effective in the long run.

The B&B that I always stay at while in Florence is the "Il Salotto di Firenze", located in the main Piazza right in front of the Duomo and Baptistry. Alessandro is a wonderful innkeeper and can probably hook you up with a reasonably priced room(s). They are already reasonably priced and a very nice accommodation.

Now then, if you are planning to have a base in Florence and are wanting to rent and KEEP a car, then I would recommend that you stay outside of the city center. You will want to stay outside of the ZTL (restricted traffic zone) that encompasses the entire city center of Florence. See this link for a detailed explanation and map:

http://www.bella-toscana.com/traffic_violations_italy.htm

In any case, if you do rent a car, do so from the AIRPORT to avoid driving in and around the city center.

If you wanted to stay just outside of Florence, but within easy reach, I would recommend the town of Fiesole, located in the hills overlooking Florence. The # 7 Bus runs from the Florence city center to Fiesole and back and only takes about 10 minutes.

Just be aware that "agriturismo" doesn't always mean that it's a functioning farm. Sometimes it gets used when it's just a refurbished old farmhouse that's more like a spa, not that there's anything wrong with that. Most places these days have their own websites that will allow you to see whether they really still are a farm.

I agree with the possibility of staying in an agriturismo. We stayed in one just outside Siena in September & it was the best experience of our trip. Ours was an organic working vineyard & olive grove. The owners were fantastic & the optional dinners that they offered were superb. We enjoyed the experience of meeting the other guests around the breakfast table & we loved feeling like we were in the remote countryside even though we were only 10 min from Siena & could take a taxi to Siena for dinner, etc. We had a car so we used the agriturismo as our base for exploring other towns in Tuscany.

An apartment makes sense if you want the option of cooking your own meals. We stayed in an apartment in Rome & while I didn't really use the kitchen, it was nice to have a refrigerator to put drinks in...and it was nice to have more room to spread out.

Each of the accomodations that you listed have their pros and cons but I would suggest the agriturismo from the standpoint that it's a unique Italian experience. Have a great trip. I'm jealous that you'll be in Italy for a month! Oh, and I would also suggest May or September. I personally think April & October are too "hit or miss" in terms of good weather.

If you use Florence as your base, definitely rent an apartment. We rented a very nice apartment through vrbo.com. It was in the Santa Croce area. It was certainly nice to have an apartment to relax and cook if you so desire. Florence is a very walkable city - no need for a car. We also booked day trips to Chianti when we wanted to get out of the city.

If you travel to the hill towns of Tuscany, a car rental may be the way to go. Renting it from the airport was very easy and then about 1.5 hour drive to San Gimingnano (get a GPS!) We stayed at a lovely B&B outside of San Gim. The name of the place is IlVicario. Check it out on Trip Advisor.

If you stay in Florence for a month in an apartment, don't rent a car, use the trains and buses, and maybe take a rental car out for overnight trips or long weekends.

The only reason I can see not renting an apartment for that long of a stay is having maid service and breakfast made for you (although in some long term apartments you can also get cleaning and linen services). But with the apartment you can also cook meals which saves a ton of money in the center of Florence (if you need to!)

Many people have mentioned VRBO, which is great. There is also a newer site dedicated to just Tuscany, Tuscany Rent Direct, which has a nice a growing selection of places to stay in all over Tuscany including Florence. This is a local company with a home base in Castellina in Chianti.

When you say "elsewhere" where do you mean - in Tuscany, or beyond?

1. Don't make Florence your base. You won't be able to drive in and out without getting traffic tickets. If you must stay in a major town for a month, make Sienna your base. Sienna is magic at nite, and has great/fantastic public transportaion options. We would stay there and take the bus back and forth to Florence.

2. Rent an apt. When we stay in one place for more than 5 days we ALWAYS rent an apt. Is great to be able to have a large living room to relax in, and have the ability to cook. In Europe, we use VRBO and Homelidays.com.

But if you are going to be in the area for a month also look at the rural Agritourismos for at least one week. And don't discount renting an apt in one of the small outlying towns. A month in Florence would drive me nuts. The countryside is just wonderful.