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Orvieto, Assisi, Tuscany vs. longer stay in a Tuscan hub

We're in the early stages of planning our trip for next summer. I've taken Rick's 14 day plan from his Best of Italy book, since that's how long we'll be there (although, I reversed it, to start in Rome, to do the warmest places first). We're then tweaking it to meet our needs. Our biggest issue is lodging- as a family of 4, we'd prefer to stay in 1 room in a hotel, or do a vacation rental.
That said- he recommends 1 night in Orvieto, 1 night in Assisi, and then on to Siena. As much as I'd like to see those places (Assisi, especially) I feel like it might be more trouble than it's worth, trying to find reasonable accomodations for the 4 of us in 3 different locations, and it might be better to skip those sights, and stay longer in Tuscany with day trips.
Pros and cons, either way? (we're looking to keep lodging at around $300 a night or less, FYI)

Posted by
906 posts

I think you should stay in one place and day trip. You can get to almost anyplace in Tuscany in a day. It is only 80 miles from Siena to Assisi on good road and lots to see in between (Cortona for example). Only 60 miles from Orvieto. 75 miles between Siena and Orvieto.

I would look for a villa for the duration around Siena. ormaybe a little south, Montepulciano for example. Then go for it. Of course you will need a rental car.

Posted by
3150 posts

If you’re driving, consider staying in the charming small, and often overlooked, city of Todi, midway between Orvieto and Assisi. With the absence of tourist hoards, it’s a relaxing place to stay. Lodging might be less expensive and it’s a short drive to the other two destinations.

Posted by
15041 posts

First of all your assumption that Rome may be warmer in summer than Tuscany and Umbria, just because slightly more to the south, is wrong. Rome is generally a bit cooler because they get the Ponentino (Westerly) Wind in the evening from the coast, while the interior of Tuscany (and Umbria) sits in a pit oven.

Regarding the Tuscan or Umbrian portion, I’m not a fan of one nighters because there is a lot of time that gets wasted in each hotel change (check-in and out, unpack, repack, get everybody ready, get acquainted with new place/accommodations, etc.), therefore it is much preferable to stay put in one base and take Day trips from there. Where to stay exactly depends on the locations you want to take day trips to. First you should choose the towns you want to visit, then select an area reasonably central to those locations and preferably with close access to the main freeways. The main highways in that area are:
A1 - Rome to Florence
Siena-Bettolle-Perugia
Siena-Florence
Siena-Grosseto
Orte-Perugia-Cesena

In the above highways you can drive fast (at least 55 mph up to 80mph), in most other roads you will be driving at 25-30mph due to plenty of curves.

Posted by
1045 posts

I think it is really possible to keep your lodging expenses down and have space. I use vrbo.com for apartment rentals. It's amazing what you can get for a reasonable cost. It also gives you the chance to do laundry, shop the local markets, and feel a little less like a tourist.

Assisi for 1 night? I'm sorry, I'm there for 15 nights every year (music festival in July) and I'm still in love with it and eager to return for this year, year 15. You may not need 2 weeks, but I'd urge you to use Assisi as a home base for at least several days. Umbria is not overly crowded with tourists. Day trips from Assisi to many small towns, historical sites, beautiful country sides are easy to manage.

Maybe do something similar from Tuscany. Florence or Siena would be possible centers for day trips to Lucca, Pisa, Cinque Terre. Florence is a hub for the Freccia train system - you can get to Venice or Rome within a couple of hours. I'm not recommending those places for day trips - way too much to see and do. Verona or Bologna could be day trips I suppose but I don't tend to take day trips.

Warmest place? Rome is hot during the summer. Venice is hot during the summer. Italy is hot during the summer. IMHO, we just have to deal with it (drink plenty of water, eat lots of gelato!). Florence gets my vote for the worst in the summer however. Being at the bottom of a bowl makes the humidity very difficult to deal with. In Assisi, since it's on the side of a mountain, I find that I open the windows and put on a blanket at night. . . . and turn the air conditioner on during the afternoon.

Whatever - ENJOY! The planning can be part of the fun too!

Posted by
48 posts

Honestly, I don't mind heat...so it's probably more of a "let's make sure it's warm ENOUGH" in the north. We froze in London in June- if we'd gone to Paris first, I think we would have had more comfortable weather both places. We've done Orlando in August, so...And, as much as I'd love to spend 2 weeks at all of our stops, this is our "let's hit the highlights and see what we want to see more of later" We've been looking into rentals in some of our other destinations- our price point is pretty doable there, not so much to find a decent quadruple hotel room (or get 2 rooms).

Posted by
3586 posts

First of all, with 2 weeks, I would choose 2 bases. While it’s true that moving eats up time, driving is also time-consuming. However, I’m with those who nix the idea of one night stays. Many years ago, we rented a cottage near Chiusi. Being so close to the A1, we were able to do day trips to a lot of places, including Assisi, Siena, and Orvieto.
You will all be happier with an apartment or accommodation other than hotel room(s). Have you considered making one of your stays an agriturismo? Tuscany has hundreds of them.. They often have pools, include breakfast, and give you space that hotels can’t. Frequently dinner can be had, and parking isn’t a problem. Just choose your location carefully. Proximity to a good road is essential. You’d be surprised at how long it can take to negotiate a short distance on a narrow, twisty road, or worse, a narrow twisty, unpaved road.

Posted by
7179 posts

I agree that you need at most two cities in the Tuscany area. If you are willing to see less than every single town mentioned by Rick Steves, you might be able to stay in only one place. Tuscany can be like an OVEN in July and August. We found both a pool and air conditioning to be worth the money. This trip is best (by far) with a rental car, which you did not mention. You could rent it in Orvieto (which has a lot of auto infrastructure, despite being a beautiful vist) or further north. Be sure to use the Search box here to read about IDP, Insurance, ZTL, break-ins. Use Google Maps to get (very rough) driving times in your planning. You also want to look up market days and special events. (I don't think you gave the month of your trip.) For our Tuscany trip, I used Lonely Planet much more than I did Rick Steves book. But for infrequent travelers, Rick has absolutely invaluable information.