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Month long stay ideas - Tuscany, Umbria, or other region?

Posted by on

Hello,

We are a group of two families (4 adults, 2 toddlers) looking for a shared home or large apartment for a month long stay in Italy. We are thinking Spring 2025. I’ve browsed Airbnb and Vrbo but wondering if other good sites to explore?

Two of us will be doing remote work for part of the stay so thinking rural/countryside may be best for affordability and provide room for two 4-year-olds to run around. I would love it be close to a walkable/town area but just think we need the extra space for work and kids to be separate at times.

Some of the areas that stood out to me with seemingly nicely equipped villas were near Lucca, San Gimignano, and Chianti.

We have been to Tuscany and Umbria in the fall and enjoyed all the hill towns. Orvieto was amazing. We would try to stick to mostly day trips I imagine when we visit other areas, so location is important. We would love to visit cinque terre and Florence so Tuscany seems the most logical. We haven’t spent much time in northern Italy but would consider other areas with some suggestions!

I know this isn’t typical travel with a month-long base but it would be special to share this experience and afford a whole home together.

We would possibly consider 2 different locations of each 2-week stay but the best rates seem to be monthly.

Posted by
1770 posts

A month seems like a long time, but it will pass quickly when you're there so concentrate on one location. Near Lucca would be a good choice due to it's location near two autostrade that are oriented in different directions since travel times will be the limiting factor. The roads available from San Gimignano and Chianti would limit you to just Tuscan day trips. From Lucca you can then access some of the best known attractions, but besides central Tuscany, also those of southern Liguria, Lunigiana, Versilia, Garfagnana,and the Apuan Apennines. Research some of the lesser known for a deeper experience. Pontremoli, Sarzana, Lerici, Viareggio, San Miniato, Pistoia, and the non-leaning highlights of Pisa are just a few of the possibilities.

Posted by
58 posts

We rented a villa between Umbria and Tuscany in a rural village called Allerona. It's a beautiful 4 bedroom 4 bath villa, a little on the pricey side, but with two couples sharing the cost, it might work. Got it from VRBO. We'll be going from October 21st-November 18th, so I can stop back here and let you know how it was. They are well equipped for children and there is a beautiful pool and lots of land. We plan to rent a car and take some day trips and use the trains whenever we can for overnight trips perhaps. If you search on VRBO, you'll find many beautiful villas in the area that you like. Allerona is centrally located between Florence and Rome, about an hour's drive each way. We love Orvieto, and are very pleased with the suggestions given for lesser known places posted by Mike (thank you, Mike). I think his suggestion of one location for the month is a good one. With four toddlers in tow, you wouldn't want to have to pack up and go to a different location. BTW, I had very specific filters when we were looking and one was a washer and dryer on premises. That eliminated a lot of places, but ours has not only a washer and dryer, it's got a full sized, side-by-side American refrigerator!

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