My wife and I went to Casole d'Elsa in Italy via an Air BnB, we chose this city to be in the center of everything.
The travel was from 3rd September until 15th September.
The weather was really sunny, first 5 days we got between 36-40 Celcius and after a brief ⚡ we get 25-30 for the rest of the trip.
👉 Well known city visited and time to reach it are :
Florence(1h), Lucca(1h15), Sienne(50m), San Gimignano(40m), Pise(1h30), Monteriggioni(45m), Volterra (40m)and lot of small villages all around.
👉 Flight : Vueling from Brussels to Florence
👉 Method of transportation : rental car (Centauro)
👉 Main App used : All trails, Komoot, Wikiloc, Thefork, Maps, Waze
That was my first time in Italy 🇮🇹 I will try to list every + and - of my trip.
+ :
- The architecture: Magnificent—so many churches and cathedrals, and numerous medieval villages with stunning brownish-beige stone buildings. It serves as a reminder of the immense, magnificent structures humanity is capable of building.
- The view of the vineyards, olive trees, and postcard-perfect landscapes. It’s a recurring sight across Tuscany but very beautiful, often featuring villages perched above the valleys.
- Food and prices: Oh my, there are so many restaurants using local produce; wine lovers (though I’m not one myself) will certainly find plenty to enjoy. My wife and I generally ate very well for €40–€50 for the two of us. We also use The Fork, which lets us make reservations, check ratings, and get discounts on the entire bill. In short, a huge plus!
- We spent a day at the seaside (about a 1-hour-40-minute drive); we rented two sun loungers with a parasol for €20. The sea was 30 degrees, and there were only five of us on the beach—excellent for this time of year!
Now the - :
- As mentioned earlier, the landscapes within a two-hour radius are repetitive, so after visiting two or three villages, we had seen it all.
-The lack of safety in major cities, particularly Pisa. Near the monuments, there were many people trying to sell us all sorts of things, and we constantly kept our bags padlocked to guard against pickpockets. The result was that I felt on edge rather than fully enjoying the experience.
-The lack of hiking—my wife and I love hikes with "wow" views, lakes, and so on—but here, most of the hikes (at least in the area where I was) were mostly just flat walking over rocky terrain with a few views of villages; nothing spectacular.
-It’s all cookie-cutter shops; I’ve lost count of how many sell exactly the same things. Prices vary wildly, and there are so many tourist traps—in the end, you can’t even tell the difference between genuine craftsmanship and items bought for pennies in China. I was really disappointed by that.
-Driving in Italy is quite an experience; I never knew whether I should stick to the speed limit or if I’d missed a sign—though it didn't really matter anyway, since there was always some maniac right behind me, driving 50 km/h over the limit and ready to overtake at the slightest opportunity. Don't even get me started on turn signals... The roads are in terrible condition; thank goodness it was a rental car—at least I didn't damage my own vehicle! Everything seems to work out in the end, though it’s certainly surprising at first! Oh, and I had no idea whether the speed cameras were actually working or not!
Conclusion, over all my trip, I would put a 8/20. I drives a lot and see well known cities but I think 1 week should be enough, I was trying to find what I should do at the end.
As I reminder this is only my feelings, I know lot of you like this type of trip but I found out that this is not my case.
Don't hesitate to ask questions :) .