flying into Milan, want to do a couple days in Verona, visit Padua, couple nights in Venice, then a week on an agritourism farm of any centrally located so as to do day trips like spokes of a wheel to hill towns in Tuscany/Umbria, then couple nights in Rome, flying out 29/09/12. We'd like to see an outdoor concert/opera in any location if possible. Please offer any suggestions of where to stay and must-see, must-do. Thanks!
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8359 posts
Rachel: You don't say if you've ever been to Italy. Let me address the southernmost part of your trip. If you've never been to Venice, I (and many other travelers on this website) suggest a minimum of 3 nights there. The place is glorious. If this is your Florence trip, you need about 3 nights there. Then, move 15 to 20 miles south of Florence into the Tuscan hill country for another 3 or 4 nights. The region has so much to see, and scenery is great. If you have never been to Rome, you really need 4 nights minimum there. You could spend weeks here. Great places to look for rooms are Booking.com, Venere.com and AirBnB.com. You can also get hotel names from TripAdvisor.com and Rick Steves' Italy book, and Google them direct. Trains are the best way to travel city to city. A rental car is the best way to do the Tuscan hill country doing day trips to Siena, Volterra and San Gimgnano. There are hundreds and hundreds of accommodations at all these locations. I prefer to stay in bed and breakfasts and agriturisimos whenever possible. Have a great trip. September is a wonderful month for travel.
Posted by
La Crescenta, California, USA
361 posts
Rachel, Since you going to be in Umbria I would suggest a stop over in Assisi, great medieval town.
Posted by
Wichita
831 posts
Rachel,
This may help http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/tuscany/hs_planning.htm
Posted by
OP
Destin, FL, USA
53 posts
more info re Italy Sept 13-28 2012 Yes, we've been to Italy before spent about 3 wks with 3-4 night stays nearly everywhere we went Lake Como/Veranna, Florence, Sienna (day car trips to countryside in Tuscany and to Assisi), Rome, and Cinque Terra/Manarola. I got all our lodging B&B's and hotels from Rick Steves resources (books and Helpline). Had such a wonderful time that we were tempted to retrace our steps but want to see more.
Any and all suggestions are most welcome.
Posted by
OP
Destin, FL, USA
53 posts
forgot to mention that when we fly out of Rome, we're going to Basel for Viking River Cruise to Amsterdam, then a couple nights there (been there before and love it). Thanks!
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8359 posts
Rachel: And a river cruise too? I'm jealous. It'll be great. You're really going to enjoy Amsterdam, too. The Dutch speak such good English, and the city is just so easy to deal with.
Posted by
OP
Destin, FL, USA
53 posts
David, I'm so excited I could pop! We're spending more than we initially figured but it's been 3 years since we we've had a vacation, so we're definitely due! We loved Amsterdam so planned the last 3 nights there before flying home. A great little hotel, Hotel Hoksbergen, is so centrally located that we don't need any transportation once we get there. I'm still open for any suggestions re Italy -- especially a centrally located agritourism farm/vineyard..... Thanks!
Rachel
Posted by
wichita, ks
34 posts
Suggestion for farmhouse is Agriturismo Savernano - it is located about 45 min south of Florence. Very easy to day trip from. This was one of our favorite times in Europe. The hosts are amazing, food is superb, rooms are fantastic, - just cannot say enough good things about the place.
Posted by
Pasadena, MD, USA
44 posts
May I wholeheartedly suggest Agriturismo Cretaiole in the heart of Tuscany, about 10 min. outside of beautiful Pienza! We found it thru Rick Steves (of course!) and stayed a week there last June and it was fabulous! SO much so, we have already booked another week for Sept 2013. Website is: www.cretaiole.it I cannot say enough about the hospitality and the kindness of Isa and Carlo, and their family! Check out their website and pics!