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Tuscany Itinerary - side trips, antiquing, teens, rentals?

Posted by (Pennsylvania) on

I'll be visiting Tuscany from Philadelphia with my husband and 14yo daughter and 16yo son in June 2019. I was in Tuscany 20 years ago, and I always wanted to return once I had a family. This is my family's first time in Europe. We will visit from approximately June 12 to June 24 (no flights purchased yet, but the earliest we can leave US is June 11 due to school).

A few things about us and our trip:
- We don't necessarily need to visit the major tourist destinations. We are fine with moving at a slower pace and enjoying the small towns/museums. We aren't much into visiting cathedrals, although we will visit the one in Siena.

  • We are antique/vintage dealers, so our plan is to visit the antiques market in Lucca on the weekend of 15/16 June (one day is fine). We'll miss the bigger market in Arezzo due to our timing. Any advice on other towns with antique markets/secondhand shops are welcomed. We'll only buy small-ish stuff to fill one or two suitcases.

  • We would like to rent an apt or small villa with a pool for the week of June 15-22 (since most places are Sat-Sat), and then do day trips from there. We will rent a car and take buses/trains when needed. Ideally, we'd like to be able to walk to a small village for food/drinks, but I'm fine if we need to drive a few minutes.

  • We would like to add either a short 1-2 night trip to Cinque Terre (or somewhere similarly beautiful by the coast)
    OR a train ride through the Alps (perhaps the Bernina Express - which means we would probably fly into Zurich and fly out of another airport; or do the opposite at the end of the trip).

  • We will definitely do day trips to Volterra for the Etruscan Ruins/Museum and Siena. And any other towns we come across.

  • Cooking class or other fun ideas for teens would be nice. I looked into scooter rentals, but they are too young.

  • We love wine, but with teenagers, we have to be careful about boring them to death at wine tastings, and also driving under the influence (obviously). I think we'll end up enjoying our wine in the afternoons while the kids swim in the pool.

So, I'm looking for any advice on antiquing, side trip to Alps or Coast (or neither), rental apt suggestions, ideas for teens, which airports to fly in/out to maximize time and any other general suggestions. I've already done a lot of research (especially on rentals), but i'm at the point where I need to ask other people who have been there!

Thanks,
Colleen

Posted by
8359 posts

Colleen: You've asked many questions here. Let me just hit the basics.
European flights out of Philly go to Heathrow, Amsterdam, Dubln, Madrid, Barcelona and a few other cities. Unfortunately, the prices are pretty high--especially since you're going in high season. You might could fly cheaper if you'd make the 90 mile drive up to Newark, JFK or even the Stewart (NY) Airport just north of NYC. Tuscany is not the easiest place to get into from the above cities either. Another alternative is Philly to Milan which requires taking a connecting flight in Toronto--for $1093. Then taking the train down to Florence.
My favorite Tuscan area to stay is just south of Florence around San Gimignano and Certaldo--outside of Poggibonsi. You can get to most Tuscan sights (except Lucca) in less than an hour.
As far as finding accommodations: Every farm in the area has apartments and rooms for a secondary source of income. You may have to look close to find one with a swimming pool, however. June is hot in Italy, and be sure you'll have air conditioning. I always start by looking at Booking.com. Villas are not as common as Agriturismos, but you can Google "Tuscan villas" and maybe come up with some places.
I honestly don't know where the best junque stores are in Tuscany, or what towns are best. But every place has really old artifacts and things in store windows.
Good luck on your journey.

Posted by
344 posts

For an apartment or other rental, I always use Homeaway. com. (this used to be Vacation Rental By Owner VRBO for apts in the US). There are lots of photos, maps, reviews. You can check off what amenity you are looking for (ie pool) and sort by location. Rentals are not always Saturday to Saturday as they frequently are in the US, some rentals are available for just 2-3 nights. I only stay at a place that has at least 10 reviews and I read each one carefully. If it says "great because it was so close to night life" that could mean that there is a bar right below the apt. If it says "so peaceful and calm" find out how far it is out in the country. If you will have a car, determine if there is parking available. Ask WHICH ROOMS have air conditioning (frequently only the master bedroom or the living room is air conditioned. Be aware if smoking is permitted if that is important to you. We just returned from Rome/Florence and were astonished at how prevalent smoking was. Not inside...but just like years ago in the US, bec smoking isn't permitted inside restaurants/bars, now there are groups of people smoking up a storm right outside the door of most of the restaurants/cafes. Our apt happened to be 2 flights up from a restaurant, directly over the front door. It was december so our windows were closed, but if it was a time of year when we wanted the windows opened, we would have been smoked out.

If you are traveling with teens, you will want to ask about wifi or internet access. We just returned from Rome and Florence. Both apts had wifi and I asked especially about it, explaining we were traveling with teens. The apt in Rome had WIFI but it was horribly slow---sending a text with a photo very slow, no youtube videos (about Rome sightseeing or otherwise), no internet gaming---this was using wifi and two different internet carriers---yet in Florence the wifi was super fast. So do your research if that is important. HAVE A TERRIFIC TRIP!

Posted by
4105 posts

Colleen, other than Lucca, are there other areas in Tuscany that are appealing to you?

Check out Pistoia for antiques and collectibles.
Florence has alot of antique shops and second hand shops too.

Staying in Lucca, Pisa of course is close by, Barga is 45 min. Vinci is about 50 minutes. If your family enjoy hiking, the Corchia Underground Caves present a very unique experience. It would take around an hours drive.

Instead of the Cinque Terre, look at these two towns. Lerici and Tellarno. Very close to each other with a nice low key vibe but not the huge tourist destination of the CT. Another sweet hilltown close by is Sarazana.

I too think you would get a much better flight out of Newark.

Lufthansa today was showing a flight for $934.

LF #413 EWR (8:45) - Muc (10:20). Layover 4:45.

LF #1952 Muc (3:05) - PSA (4:20).

Short train ride to Lucca.

Hope this is of some help.

Edit. Since this is your first time driving in Italy, along with getting an IDP, a translation of your license, there are some driving rules you may not be aware of. Find them here, and download their PDF. https://www.italybeyondtheobvious.com/dont-mess-with-ztl-zones

You might check Booking.com for lodging. Use their filters for type, price, location and amenities. Make sure they all have AC. and the bed configuration you want. If you aren't finding this last one, change the # of occupants to 6 for better results.

Posted by
2 posts

Thanks to everyone for your advice. You are getting me on the right track! I ended up booking a multi-city flight for $900/ticket on Aer Lingus/partners (including trip insurance).
- June 11: PHL>Dublin >Milan
- June 25: Rome > Dublin + 24 hr layover (never been there, so we are happy to visit for a night) > PHL

I looked at flights from Newark, but we actually live about an hour south of Philly, so it is a long haul for us. Now that the tickets are bought, it will be easier to start planning. Here's my rough itinerary so far:

June 12: arrive in Milan - Train straight to CT? I'm not sure there is much we want to see in Milan.
June 13: day/night in CT or other beach towns suggested (thanks for that!)
June 14: Train to Lucca; sleep in Lucca
June 15: Lucca for antiques market and pick up car rental; drive to rental for week
June 15 - June 22ish: Rental apt/home in Tuscany for day trips to Siena, Florence, Volterra and more (including antiquing spots you mentioned). Looking around Poggibonsi, as suggested by David, along with a few other central areas.
June 22: drive to Rome and return car rental (easier at Orvieto or Rome train station?)
June 23-25: Rome

Thanks for the advice on air conditioning, smoking and internet. Internet is definitely a requirement since I will probably have to check-in for work (PLUS TEENAGERS).

I have one question about a specific rental location, but I will post it in another thread so it doesn't get lost here.

Thanks.
Colleen

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