# 3 nights in Florence and 7 in Montepulciano - a few questions - thanks!



## pturner135 (Oct 8, 2019)

My wife and I are planning to visit in either early May 2020 or early October 2020. The plan is to either get a hotel or apartment in Florence and an apartment in Montepulciano and make day trips from there to various places within 60-90 minute drive. I'm assuming that when we're moving from Florence to Montepulciano it would be easier to go to the airport and rent the car there so that we can return it there when we return for our flight home; correct? Any thoughts on hotel vs. apartment for 3 nights in Florence? Any concerns with being in Montepulciano for a full week? We'll make the day trips but we also like to stroll, relax, and cook some of our own meals.  Thanks in advance.
Pat


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## Lourdes (Nov 21, 2019)

Hi there! I had a  super long reply to all your questions and just lost it - so here a I go again ;-)

I think it is a great idea to divide the time between Florence with no car, then rent a car and stay in Tuscany. Whether in Montepulciano and that area really depends on what you want to see during the week. I suggest making a list of the places you definitely want to go see -- and then see if you can do them all from Montepulciano.... otherwise you could should to stay in the countryside a bit closer to Siena, to be a bit more central, if for example you want to make day trip to Pisa and Lucca, which are not that close to Montepulciano.

Hotel vs apartment in Florence: 
I don't believe it makes much difference in terms of cost, it makes a difference mostly in space and in meals. If you get an apartment, you generally have more space... and if you have a kitchen, you can still decide to never use it and eat out at every meal.
The main difference would be in breakfast: what's your preference? Here, most Italians grab a coffee/cappuccino and a pastry for breakfast, so very light in terms of quantity... then they have a mid-morning coffee break. 
If you love bigger breakfasts, then a hotel might be a good option as they often serve buffet style with both savory and sweet options.

Since you're planning on an apartment for the rest of the week, I suppose you could do hotel in Florence but it's up to you!
You can check apartments on our partner site FlorenceAccommodation or on Airbnb (this second one is an affiliate link).

Let me know if you have any more questions! I'd personally go for early October as a period


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## pturner135 (Nov 21, 2019)

*Wow, Thanks for the great reply Lourdes!!! I really appreciate it!*



Lourdes said:


> Hi there! I had a  super long reply to all your questions and just lost it - so here a I go again ;-)
> 
> I think it is a great idea to divide the time between Florence with no car, then rent a car and stay in Tuscany. Whether in Montepulciano and that area really depends on what you want to see during the week. I suggest making a list of the places you definitely want to go see -- and then see if you can do them all from Montepulciano.... otherwise you could should to stay in the countryside a bit closer to Siena, to be a bit more central, if for example you want to make day trip to Pisa and Lucca, which are not that close to Montepulciano.
> 
> ...



Wow, Thanks for the great reply Lourdes!!! I really appreciate it! October it is!


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## pturner135 (Jun 10, 2021)

*Finally hoping to take this trip on September 23rd 2021! New question*

I've decided not to rent a car so I'm just looking for transportation to Montepulciano from the Florence airport on the 23rd and a return to Florence on September 30th. Can you recommend a place to line up a driver and private car for 4 people with 4 suitcases? Thanks, Pat


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## Lourdes (Jun 11, 2021)

Ciao Pat, so great to hear back from you!
I am glad to hear the trip planning is going forward for this September.

Montepulciano is not easy to reach without a car but you can certainly do it with a driver. I recommend Francesco, who is both a private chauffeur as well as a licensed wine sommelier and guide, so can also offer additional tours/services in the area. Because once you get there, you will also be limited in doing things if you don't have your own means of transport.
Take a look at my interview with Francesco, the page has his contact info: https://www.discovertuscany.com/tuscany-car-rental/tuscany-wine-and-drive.html

Let us know if you have any other questions!


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## JakaBasej (Oct 13, 2021)

Lourdes said:


> Hi there! I had a  super long reply to all your questions and just lost it - so here a I go again ;-)
> 
> I think it is a great idea to divide the time between Florence with no car, then rent a car and stay in Tuscany. Whether in Montepulciano and that area really depends on what you want to see during the week. I suggest making a list of the places you definitely want to go see -- and then see if you can do them all from Montepulciano.... otherwise you could should to stay in the countryside a bit closer to Siena, to be a bit more central, if for example you want to make day trip to Pisa and Lucca, which are not that close to Montepulciano.
> 
> ...


Thank you for the recap I was looking for it for ages!


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