I would definitely recommend touring through Europe by car. The trip I made with my boyfriend through Tuscany, is one of the most beautiful trips we've done together. You’ll pass the famous cities of Pisa and Florence, but along the way you'll stop in very cute villages. However, when we returned home to the Netherlands, there were a couple of traffic fines waiting for us. Let me tell you how to prevent that!
Val D'Orcia
Highlights⚡️
- Stay with the locals; hotels are pricey and simply unnecessary. Via Airbnb you can find very cool places to stay for a nice price. In addition, you help the local people with this. For many of them this is their primary income.
- Wine tasting; in Italy you can drink delicious wine, so if you love wine, then you should definitely do this. Click here to book.
- Rent a Vespa; are you a city person? Then you know how to drive a scooter anyway. The Vespa is part of Italy, so that's why I would say; do it!! Click here to book.
- Cooking workshop; who better to learn from than the Italians themselves? Personally, I think this is one of the nicest things to do. Click here to book.
- Hot water springs; we took a wrong turn somewhere and then discovered this hot water spring. My boyfriend immediately put on his swimming trunks and jumped into the water. It was really amazing! If you want to go to some bigger hot springs, you should go to 'Saturnia'. These hot springs are very well known and therefore very touristy and busy.
Florence
Lowlights 😔
- Ok, back to that traffic ticket; Zona Traffico Limitato. Our-biggest-frustration. So there are some streets that you are not allowed to drive in. You can recognize these streets by a traffic sign that says 'Zona Traffico Limitato'. We knew this in advance of course, however, it is not well marked everywhere. It can also be confusing if there are cars in the street belonging to residents who have an exemption. So be aware of this!
- I would only visit Tuscany when it is sunny. When it's raining, there's not much to do (besides stuffing yourself with pasta).
- The big cities are touristy and therefore very busy. The queues for the sightseeing attractions are therefore very long and the prices are a lot higher. You may want to consider buying a 'skip the line' ticket. I would only do that if the weather is bad, because waiting in the sun with a nice Italian ice cream is actually not so bad :).
- The city of Livorno is, in my opinion, a city that you can skip during your roadtrip. Compared to the other stops I made in Tuscany, I’ve found it not that interesting.
Florence
Val D'Orcia
Sesto Fiorentino
Route and transport 🚕
We flew to Pisa. Florence is also possible, but flights to Pisa are reasonably cheap from the Netherlands. At Pisa airport we rented a Fiat 500 and that's how our trip started. Since Tuscany can also be very well combined with the islands of Elba, Sardinia, Sicily and Corsica, I’ll give you two itineraries.
Itinerary for 10 days
Day 1: Pisa – book one night here.
Day 2: Volterra - nice to make a stop, then continue to San Gimigano. Book one night here.
Day 3 & 4: Siena - book two nights here.
If you drive from Siena to Chiusi, I would definitely recommend driving through Val d'Orcia. You do this by driving from Siena to La Foce and then start navigating to Radicofani. Very nice route to drive.
Day 5 & 6: Chiusi - book two nights here.
Montepulciano - make a stop here on your way to Florence.
Day 7 & 8: Florence - book your accommodation just outside of Florence. We booked an Airbnb in Sesto Fiorentino and then took the train to Florence for €4.
Day 9: Lucca - book one night here.
Day 10: Pisa – back home!
Itinerary for 10 days through Tuscany and an island!
Day 1: You’ll arrive in Pisa. Grab a rental car to the port city of Livorno and take the boat to one of the islands. Stay here for 5 nights. For a 10-day tour, Elba or Corsica are the most logical choices because of the sailing time. For more information about sailing times and buying tickets, click here.
Day 6: You have arrived back in Livorno by boat. Continue to San Gimigano and make a stop there. Continue to Siena and book an overnight stay there.
Day 7: Spend the day in Siena and then continue towards Florence. Book your stay just outside Florence, close to the train station. We took an AirBnB in Sesto Fiorentino.
Day 8: Set your alarm early and take the train to Florence!
Day 9: Drive to Lucca and make a stop here. Continue to Pisa and book an overnight stay here.
Day 10: A quick visit to the Tower of Pisa and back home!
See both routes in Google Maps below.
When food = life 🥗
Let's be honest with each other; you are going to Italy to eat. Leave your diet at home, because the house wine costs only €4 per carafe here. Tuscany is the region where truffle comes from, so plenty of chance to eat tagliatelle al tartufo (my favorite pasta dish)! If possible, always choose small family restaurants to enjoy dishes made with love and to support smaller businesses. You can easily find them by informing at your place of residence. If you want to eat halal, I would recommend Ristorante Toscanello. All my restaurant tips are also in the Google Maps map above.
Vegan & Vegetarian 🥕
Val D'Orcia
Val D'Orcia
Pasta met truffel in Siena
Good to know before you go 🙋🏽♀️
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We have spend €750 in 10 days (2 adults, excluding car, flight and accommodation)
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The best time to travel is from May up to September
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Italy is part of the EU, so you can travel here with your passport or EU identity card
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Some villages are on a hill, where there is no access by car. Therefore, I would not recommend this trip if you have difficulty walking
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Italians prepare their recipes traditionally and therefore do not deviate from the recipe. You can therefore insult an Italian if you ask to adjust the recipe. Fun fact by the way: did you know that 'Spaghetti Bolognese' does not exist in Italy?
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Even though Italians are improving in English, it is still useful to download the app 'Google Translate'. I got a bladder infection in Tuscany, but I couldn't explain it to the doctor. In the end, we managed to understand each other via Google Translate!
Tuscany, I will come back again. When my daughter is a little older, I will take her to Siena, the city she is named after :)
Ciao,
Nathalie
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