Reconsidering 5 nights in Florence (and also, quick question about "budget" airlines)

I would not call TAP a budget airline, they are the Portugese flag carrier.

Nor is Aer Lingus a budget airline. I've flown both internationally and within the EU. Both were fine. With the exception of one flight delayed because of construction at the Porto airport TAP was fine.

Many agriturismos require 5 night stays or some such minimum
I believe Marciano is one of them

1.5 days in Florence is not enough

Neither Aer Lingus nor TAP are budget airlines. Don't have personal experience with TAP but my brother&sister-in-law have used it and liked it.

It makes no sense to stay in an agriturismo or out of town location if you are not willing to rent a car. Your stay is also too short to split btw Florence (which needs 3 nights at the very least) and another location in the countryside. Since you plan to use a private car service, you should consider day tripping from your Florence base.

The Orvieto cathedral is a Wow.

I would not stay in an agritourismo with your group. I have traveled twice to Europe with a group of 7 and it is both more fun and more work. The challenge is to make the fun more than the work.

It can be a bit like herding cats with a group of 7. Moving from place to place is more involved. We have stayed between 3-5 nights in places and that is a good range.

Also, I think location is key to everyone being happy. Location to me means the ability for people to do different things if they want which precludes being located out in the country. The first morning we were in Lake Como my son and his girlfriend, for example, were moving faster than the rest of us and they left the house to explore, meeting up an hour later. When we were in Greece, I often went shopping for bakery goods while others were not moving, sometimes accompanied by my brother in law. And while we have generally done things together, being located centrally allowed at times for some people to go back earlier than others.

The thing to remember is there always be really great things you don't get to do. What you want to do is just do some really great things.

And plan to return!

I can find nothing wrong with your plans because everyone is different. With the ground you are covering the difference of a day here or another day there just must be determined by how much you plan to see and do in each place, so adding or subtracting a day in Rome or Florence depends on your expectations as it's a minor change in the scheme of things, there is plenty to do and experience in both places.

Before you get too excited I would check to see if the agritourismo has a minimum night stay. It was our experience at the agritourismo we've chosen in the past it was usually a 5-7 night stay minimum . I do love Siena at night but not more then the magic of sitting in a piazza in Florence in the evening. There isn't much to do in Siena as compared to your other destinations so it could be a nice quiet break but I think 4 nights/3 days in Florence is good less than that I wouldn't bother.

Are you still planning the Venice than Lake Como itinerary? If you plan to fly out of VCE then I'd do Lake Como first then Venice but Lake Como is really out of the way. I think it was a 4 hours drive from Bellagio to Venice when we visited last time. Our upcoming trip in May we picked Stresa/Lake Maggiore as it is easier and just as beautiful as Lake Como.

Caron, as others have suggested, I'd scrap the agritourismo plan. In addition to the very real possibility of a mandatory minimum number of nights, 7 adults could have very different ideas about how they want to spend their time. Rental cars are also almost a necessity for stays in rural settings.

5 nights in Florence will provide your group with sightseeing opportunities to please everyone from art lovers to history buffs to scenery gazers to architectural admirers to day trippers, shoppers, people-watchers... Some of you may choose to take an escorted wine tour out of the city (highly advised if planning on ingesting certain amounts of the grape) while others may prowl some of Florence's old and interesting churches (Santa Maria Novella, Santa Croce, San Miniato al Monte, Santa Trinita, Santissima Annunziata ...) or museums in addition to the Uffizi or Accademia. Hint: San Marco, the Bargello and the Opera del Duomo Museum are all terrific, to name a few, and none of them were on your previous list. Add exploration of the piazzas, maybe a gander at a historic palazzo, maybe a stroll through the Bardini Gardens and, well, there are so many things to choose from!

In addition, not all 7 of you may operate on the same internal clock. A single base would allow early risers to hit the streets while night owls sleep in. One base will also provided you with flexibility to move your sightseeing around according to weather. Looks like a stormy day? Stay in town and explore some indoor treasures. Sunny and nice? Catch a train or bus to Siena, Lucca, etc.

Rome: you didn't mention how many nights you've planned for that one?

I think you are getting some unconfirmed advice in regard to agriturismo stays in Tuscany. A quick search of Airbnb under the property filters of "farm stay" gives you plenty of options starting with stays with requirements of just a single night

We flew TAP last year, it was great. Not Emirates great, but very good. This year we avoided a layover because that just complicates things with covid, but in the future would use TAP again due to the low prices.

As far as budget airlines go, I have always has good fortune with easyJet. The prices are great and they go to tons of locations. Day trips are the ideal way to utilize easyJet. If you are going to rely on it to move you around from city to city as part of your vacation that's fine too but you'll need to pay closer attention to the baggage fees and (trust me I learned the hard way) the weight limits on checked bags! Get the easyJet app, make yourself an account and start browsing.
Happy travels!

I've flown Wizzair many times. No complaints. Ryanair once, and that was enough.

We spent 5 nights in Florence this month and did day trips to both Pisa and Siena and felt like we had more than enough time in Florence. If I were to do it again, I would probably spend no more than 3 nights in Florence. We found it the most crowded and hectic of all the places we stayed (Rome, Orvieto, Florence, Verona, Venice), and we saw what we wanted to see in a couple of days (climbing the Duomo, Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens, Accademia Gallery, Ponte Vecchio, etc.). We didn't find the vibe very pleasant for just walking around and enjoying the atmosphere, either---the other places were all better for that, and the best was Verona.