My friend and I are planning a trip to Italy next May and are having a hard time figuring out where to stay in the Florence/Siena area. Here is our Itinerary:
Staying in Sorrento,Naples for 3 nights and then taking the high-speed train to either Siena or Florence for 3 more days before heading to Venice.
1. Which is better to use as a base, Siena or Florence? We will not have a car and I have read your blog on that, but we would really like to stay in the countryside for one night that provides wine tasting, eateries and beautiful scenery and the chance to meet local people. We don't like day tours as they limit us to some of the things we want to do. As well, we are not museum people and only want to see Florence for the "David" and some of the other sites there.
2. Would it be more beneficial and/or cheaper to hire a driver to take us to a place that we will be staying overnight and then hire a driver to take us back to base or rent a car? Can you give me some idea as to the cost for both?
3. We are very interested in staying a night in a quaint B&B, Hotel, winery or a castle if that is possible.
This is the first time that both of us have been to Italy and hoping that we can have the experience of the beautiful Tuscany area. From Research it appears that Siena is more reasonable for accommodations than Florence and is more of a central base if we want to visit a Chianti winery.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Staying in Sorrento,Naples for 3 nights and then taking the high-speed train to either Siena or Florence for 3 more days before heading to Venice.
1. Which is better to use as a base, Siena or Florence? We will not have a car and I have read your blog on that, but we would really like to stay in the countryside for one night that provides wine tasting, eateries and beautiful scenery and the chance to meet local people. We don't like day tours as they limit us to some of the things we want to do. As well, we are not museum people and only want to see Florence for the "David" and some of the other sites there.
2. Would it be more beneficial and/or cheaper to hire a driver to take us to a place that we will be staying overnight and then hire a driver to take us back to base or rent a car? Can you give me some idea as to the cost for both?
3. We are very interested in staying a night in a quaint B&B, Hotel, winery or a castle if that is possible.
This is the first time that both of us have been to Italy and hoping that we can have the experience of the beautiful Tuscany area. From Research it appears that Siena is more reasonable for accommodations than Florence and is more of a central base if we want to visit a Chianti winery.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.