Hello! Last time we traveled (in 2019) this forum was SO helpful, so I’m back! I’m feeling very indecisive and our trip is nearly two months away and I need to finish planning the last bit of it.
I have Rick Steves’ books and I’m at a standstill because there’s too many great options!
My fiancé and I are eloping to Lake Como this fall followed by a short honeymoon in Tuscany. We are going to have 4 or 5 nights in the Tuscany region. We’ve been to Lake Como before and love it so I don’t want to cut our trip short…but it sounds like Tuscany is well worth an extra night.
I need help with the Tuscany countryside itinerary, please! Think romantic adventure. We will be there the first week in October. This is where I’m torn…we are not ones to gallery hop…we prefer activities such as cooking classes, wineries, biking, etcetera. I’ve been told by some that Florence is not worth more than a day trip if we’re not into museums and others say it is the best “base” regardless - what are your thoughts?
From what I’ve read Lucca, San Gimignano, and Siena sound like a dream and we should definitely make time to see them all. We would love to see Florence too of course (just wondering if we should stay the night there or not).
Do we pick one home base/hotel in Tuscany, if so where? Although, we don’t mind being on the go either - we would love to see as much as possible so if it’s more ideal to stay in multiple hotels over 4 or 5 nights that’s fine by us (I know that kind of travel does not appeal to everybody but that’s the way we do it sometimes).
We also have to consider that we will likely be taking a train into Tuscany (from Lake Como) and then renting a car to explore the countryside and then needing to drop the rental back off after 4/5 days, before hopping on a train to Milan because that is where we fly out of. Or do we drive from Tuscany back to Milan. We’ve driven in Italy when visiting in the past but relatively short distances, we did not mind it.
Thank you so much. I love the Rick Steves’ community.