Please improve upon my Itinerary so we can enjoy the best of Italy!

[ping_guy]

Driving from Florence to Rome in November

Please I know this is not the way to see Italy but we came to visit our daughter*studying in Florence so will spend most time there and leaving*from Rome. I would really like to visit 3-4 of your amazing wineries on the drive to Rome. Can you please improve this proposed itinerary, I took ideas from past posts:*

1. Florence
2. Greve in Chianti (winery)
3. Badia Passignano (winery)
4. Siena (sleep overnight)
5. Brunello Di Montalcino (winery)
6. Podere Le Ripe (winery)
7. Val d'Orcia
8. Montepulciano
9. La Foce
10. Via Ficoncella (relax at Hot Spring)
11. Leonardo da Vinci Airport - drop off car rental

Really need your kind advice how we can make this a memorable trip, reasonably priced place to stay & restaurant to eat in Siena. And if the other towns are good scenic places to stop off on this route would be appreciated. There are 3 couples on this trip, leaving Florence Nov.14, arriving in Rome Nov.16. Lastly is the weather still o.k. to visit these place and would wineries still be open to visitors at this time of year.

Apologies lots of questions but trying to do more now to ensure a more fun time later.

[Lourdes]

Ciao Ping Guy,

I saw you posted your questions in two separate posts so I'll answer all your questions in just one spot.

I believe your itinerary for your first day from Florence to Siena is good, breaking it up works well, especially since you do want to stop and do wine tastings/winery visits along the way.

The second part, from Siena to Montalcino to Montepulciano to La Foce, hot springs and on to Rome, seems to be too much for a day, so we're you planning on stopping for the night somewhere before Rome? Then continuing on the next day? By when do you need to be in Rome on the 16th? You also do want to spend some time in Siena the evening and morning before heading off...

If possible, I'd suggest an overnight in the Val d'Orcia area... where depends maybe on when you need to be in Rome the following day.

All the stops are very good places to go through, the hard part will be not stopping too many times along the way to enjoy the views and take photos. The one place you skip altogether which merits a visit is San Gimignano but maybe you've seen it before or maybe get a chance to see it while you're in Florence visiting your daughter? If you can, do so, you won't be disappointed.

In Siena, I highly recommend Hotel Athena (it has parking but right on the walls so you don't have to walk to see the sights). Not too far from the hotel is the trattoria Da Nonna Gina, I recommend that for dinner the day you get to Siena. It is a small family run place making local favorites like pici, we always go there when in Siena.

As far as the weather, it generally is still good - mid November I'd suggest just dressing in layers since you can have cool mornings and evenings but have warm sun in the middle part of the day. Wineries are open but I'd still contact them ahead of time and ask about hours, you definitely want to make sure they are open on the specific days you're planning. Yo shouldn't have a problem but if their hours are different, they might anyways open for you considering you are a small group and not just a couple. Did you have specific wineries in mind yet for Greve and Montalcino, aside from the one you mentioned (Le Ripe)? I assume at Badia di Passignano you're talking of the Antinori estate, they do have their winery nearby in Bargino and cellars at the Badia but you might need to book ahead to see those. They also have the restaurant next to the Badia, we're you thinking of lunch there? You definitely have to book that one!

[ping_guy]

Ciao Ping Guy,

I saw you posted your questions in two separate posts so I'll answer all your questions in just one spot.

I believe your itinerary for your first day from Florence to Siena is good, breaking it up works well, especially since you do want to stop and do wine tastings/winery visits along the way.

The second part, from Siena to Montalcino to Montepulciano to La Foce, hot springs and on to Rome, seems to be too much for a day, so we're you planning on stopping for the night somewhere before Rome? Then continuing on the next day? By when do you need to be in Rome on the 16th? You also do want to spend some time in Siena the evening and morning before heading off...

If possible, I'd suggest an overnight in the Val d'Orcia area... where depends maybe on when you need to be in Rome the following day.

All the stops are very good places to go through, the hard part will be not stopping too many times along the way to enjoy the views and take photos. The one place you skip altogether which merits a visit is San Gimignano but maybe you've seen it before or maybe get a chance to see it while you're in Florence visiting your daughter? If you can, do so, you won't be disappointed.

In Siena, I highly recommend Hotel Athena (it has parking but right on the walls so you don't have to walk to see the sights). Not too far from the hotel is the trattoria Da Nonna Gina, I recommend that for dinner the day you get to Siena. It is a small family run place making local favorites like pici, we always go there when in Siena.

As far as the weather, it generally is still good - mid November I'd suggest just dressing in layers since you can have cool mornings and evenings but have warm sun in the middle part of the day. Wineries are open but I'd still contact them ahead of time and ask about hours, you definitely want to make sure they are open on the specific days you're planning. Yo shouldn't have a problem but if their hours are different, they might anyways open for you considering you are a small group and not just a couple. Did you have specific wineries in mind yet for Greve and Montalcino, aside from the one you mentioned (Le Ripe)? I assume at Badia di Passignano you're talking of the Antinori estate, they do have their winery nearby in Bargino and cellars at the Badia but you might need to book ahead to see those. They also have the restaurant next to the Badia, we're you thinking of lunch there? You definitely have to book that one!

Thanks for your kind comments and recommendations, excuse the double postings, i tried to correct it but seems did not work out. I've modified the itinerary quite a bit since posting it. With the limited time we have, decided to get some basic education from the Wine Institute in Florence. Our only winery now will be https://www.viticcio.com/tours-tastings/ as the https://www.antinori.it/en/tenuta/es...estate/#visite was booked but looks really nice....next time. We will stop for lunch in Siena so will try to go to Da Nonna Gina for lunch. Then we airbnb a house just outside Sienna a plan a cooking class at http://www.cookingclassesnonnaciana.com/. The next day we will drive down to Saturnia to rest our old bodies in the hot-springs :-). Return rental at Orvieto and catch Train to Roma Termini. Spend last full day in Rome and leave Sunday. But hope to come back very soon one day ....thanks so much again
Lourdes

[Lourdes]

It sounds like a great itinerary and In Italy, less is generally more. It definitely makes sense to get a taste and plan to come back and try different things each time! ;-)