to stay in orvieto, siena or elsewhere.

Probably someplace else as there are a limited amount of places to stay in Orvieto. Siena has limited places as well!!! These are best done as day trips from Rome or Florence etc....

I'm not clear on what you mean by "travelling between these two places", and "traveling around by car" for 2-3 days.

Do you mean you'll definitely have a car and can go/stay anywhere you want?

Or are you traveling by train or bus between the two places and the car is optional?

Do the 2-3 days include "traveling around" time in other places, or will it be 2-3 days in Siena or Orvieto PLUS "traveling around by car"?

Regardless, they're both great places to spend 2-3 days. You can check on the hotel websites about availability of places to stay. There may be some openings in August since the economy has slowed down tourism a bit this year.

If I could only stay 2-3 days in Siena or Orvieto, I guess I'd pick Siena, but Orvieto is so nice I'd hate miss that, too. So I might end up flipping a coin :-)

Last summer I stayed in Orvieto for 3 days at the Hotel Corso, Corso Cavour 343 and was very pleased. You can park behind the train station near the funicular. I booked through Venere.com which I find to be very reliable. Orvieto is small and easily explored on foot. You can easily make excursions from Orvieto for day trips. They usually roll-up the sidewalks around 9 p.m.

RB

We stayed at Hotel Duomo
in Orvieto. It's just a few steps from the Duomo square. A nice place. Good air conditioning! They'll park your car in their garage for you (for a few dollars a day) and bring it to you when you're ready to go.

My full Hotel Duomo review at TripAdvisor.com is HERE.

Thank you tom everyone for your advice. I think I may stay in orvieto and drive to the other places such as siena.

Yes, I agree with staying in Orvieto. Also stayed at Hotel Corso and was very happy there. One of your side trips, if time allows, should be to Civita...extremely small hilltown but the pictures you will get makes is definitely worth the 1 hour bus trip which you can pickup right in the middle of town.

We were in Tuscany/Umbria in February of 2008. Spent 3 nights in Siena and daytripped out. Visited San Gimignano, Greve, Panzano, Volterra and Montalcino. Then spent 3 nights in Orvieto. We also stayed at the Hotel Duomo and loved it. Spent one whole leisurely day in Orvieto and one day visiting Assisi. So I guess it's up to you and what you want to see.