Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Hi


Advice sought.


My in laws wish to vist italy during August for one month (high season I know, no other option as teacher in the family) they prefer to go to Tuscany, want us to go with them and and to rent a villa for one month. Prices look rather scary on the web - can anyone recommend a good deal? What about in a neighbouring but similar region? If we go for one month can we ask for a discount?


Best


Z

Link to comment
https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/5554-villa-in-tuscany-advice/
Share on other sites

Another (slightly cheaper) option is to look at some of the huge farmhouses that are broken down into three separate living accommodations with 4-5 bedrooms each. You share the swimming pool but everything else is as if it were your own and each entrance is on a different side of the building. Pienza is a picture book area of Tuscany near the thermal springs.

Tuscanny for a month in August is going to be as expensive as it gets, but try Googling 'Residence Le Coloniche'. It is near the wonderful spa city Monticatini Terme (nearest airport is Pisa) and is run by a very nice family. Beautiful apartments and villas of various sizes, pool, very child friendly.


Umbria and the Marche are good alternatives (Stanstead to Ancona if you have the patience of an angel and fly Ryanair), but as August is the big holiday month in Italy everywhere is going to be busy. (And whatever happens avoid travelling around the 15th which is a national holiday). Scicily is cheap but gets extremly hot in August, so if you are looking at the more comfortable northern areas be resigned to being in competition with not only other British, but Germans, Austrians, Dutch and Belgians - all of whom are in the Eurozone and so not feeling the squeeze quite the way we are!


As for a discount - well everything is noegotiable more or less, but in my experience Italian people can loose their usual impressive command of English and revert to a charmingly vague grasp of European harmonisation (or even local dialect) when it comes to money!


Still, if you get there you'll love it!

Agreed that Umbria is just as beautiful as Tuscany if not more so because it's a bit unspoiled. August is not only high season, it's the hottest season and the month most Italians are on holiday themselves, meaning sometimes restaurants can be closed for the whole month.


We've been renting villas from Tuscanynow.com and they are not cheap by any stretch of the imagination, but can perhaps negotiate in this economic climate. They are an English company so you pay in ?? rather than Euros.


Have a lovely time.


Best,

-C

Tuscany Now is a great company, very professional but pretty steep price wise I found. August is Ferre Augusto (sp) and candj is right in that lots of things are closed. In August there is something called The Palio held in Sienna which is a mental experience. Well worth going to. There are also lots of festivals in August.

Following on from Tillie's point, I have not seen the Palio - but for those who do not know it is an annual horse race round the square in Sienna, and if you cannot make it in August, Sienna is still well worth a visit.


San Gimiano (suspect spelling) is also worth a visit - its the medieval manhatten with tall medieval towers.


You could also visit a Tuscan vineyear - Unfortunately I cannot remember the name of the one we visited, but they did organised tours and afterwards they provided a lunch with their wine and all their local produce, the vineyard was surrounded by forest where they hunted wild boar. It was the best wine tour we have ever been on.

Agreed Mick Mac, San Gimignano has the most medieval towers of all the Tuscan hill towns (eleven total I think). Very crowded but well worth the visit.


And whilst in Tuscany or Umbria, must try wild boar (either as a ragu or in sausage format), called chinghiale... absolutely divine.


I can also recommend visiting Fiesole a small village in the hills outside of Florence. They have a lovely restaurant called I'Polpa and an amazing Eutruscian amphitheatre.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Latest Discussions

    • The current wave of xenophobia is due to powerful/influential people stirring up hatred.  It;'s what happened in the past, think 1930s Germany.  It seems to be even easier now as so many get their information from social media, whether it is right or wrong.  The media seeking so called balance will bring some nutter on, they don't then bring a nutter on to counteract that. They now seem to turn to Reform at the first opportunity. So your life is 'shite', let;s blame someone else.  Whilst sounding a bit like a Tory, taking some ownership/personal responsibility would be a start.  There are some situations where that may be more challenging, in deindustrialised 'left behind' wasteland we can't all get on our bikes and find work.  But I loathe how it is now popular to blame those of us from relatively modest backgrounds, like me, who did see education and knowledge as a way to self improve. Now we are seen by some as smug liberals......  
    • Kwik Fit buggered up an A/C leak diagnosis for me (saying there wasn't one, when there was) and sold a regas. The vehicle had to be taken to an A/C specialist for condensor replacement and a further regas. Not impressed.
    • Yes, these are all good points. I agree with you, that division has led us down dangerous paths in the past. And I deplore any kind of racism (as I think you probably know).  But I feel that a lot of the current wave of xenophobia we're witnessing is actually more about a general malaise and discontent. I know non-white people around here who are surprisingly vocal about immigrants - legal or otherwise. I think this feeling transcends skin colour for a lot of people and isn't as simple as, say, the Jew hatred of the 1930s or the Irish and Black racism that we saw laterally. I think people feel ignored and looked down upon.  What you don't realise, Sephiroth, is that I actually agree with a lot of what you're saying. I just think that looking down on people because of their voting history and opinions is self-defeating. And that's where Labour's getting it wrong and Reform is reaping the rewards.   
    • @Sephiroth you made some interesting points on the economy, on the Lammy thread. Thought it worth broadening the discussion. Reeves (irrespective of her financial competence) clearly was too downbeat on things when Labour came into power. But could there have been more honesty on the liklihood of taxes going up (which they have done, and will do in any case due to the freezing of personal allowances).  It may have been a silly commitment not to do this, but were you damned if you do and damned if you don't?
Home
Events
Sign In

Sign In



Or sign in with one of these services

Search
×
    Search In
×
×
  • Create New...