Travel tips

Getting value for money in Tuscany

Renting a villa or apartment in Tuscany gives you many choices and can expose you to wonderful new experiences. When dining you have the choice to either do self-catering or eat out in the towns and villages within your local area.

The Italians are justly proud of the quality of their food. Eating out locally you will find excellent quality Tuscan dishes at reasonable prices.

Value for money can also be found in the major tourist cities, often in Trattorias down sidestreets, off the main tourist trails.

Flights to Tuscany

• Skyscanner

A search engine for cheap European flights, obtaining information from many airline websites.

• Kayak

Very popular US based flight search engine.

Flights to Pisa from UK & Ireland

• Ryanair

Europe's largest low fares carrier.
Flights to Pisa from London Stansted, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Liverpool, Doncaster (Sheffield), Glasgow (Prestwick),East midlands, Dublin.
To save yourself money book well in advance. If you are flexible travel midweek.
Check for cheaper fares on days either side of your planned trip.

Ryanair check-in & bagage allowance

Pay for your checked in baggage in advance (when you book online), otherwise you will have to pay double the price for the first item of each individual's checked in baggage.

Ryanair's baggage allowance is strict, a max of 15kg for each checked in bag and 10kg for a single cabin (carry-on) bag. Many people are being caught for a excess baggage weight fee (€15 per Kilo), particularly on the return flight from Pisa.

The advice is to travel as light as possible and weigh all bags prior to outgoing and return flights. Avoid placing heavy objects such as shoes, sandals or purchased gifts in the checked in baggage, instead place these in the cabin (carry-on) bag. Back-packs are useful as cabin (carry-on) bags because they can carry quite a bit of luggage.

• Thomsonfly

Popular UK based low cost airline. Flights to Pisa from Doncaster (Sheffield), Coventry and Bournemouth.

Flights to Florence from UK & Ireland

• Cheap flights to Florence

Cheap flights to Florence and other destinations from UK and Irish airports.

Flights to Italy from North America

• Alitalia and Delta fly daily to Milan from New York, Miami, Chicago and Boston. Also to Rome from New York
• American Airlines fly to Rome from Chicago.
• Alitalia and Air Canada fly to Rome from Toronto.

Flights to Italy from Australia and New Zealand

• Alitalia and Qantas fly to Rome via Signapore.

Car rentals

• Hertz, Avis car rental

Including the above, nine major car rental companies have offices in the arrivals area of
Pisa airport.

The car rental companies use a car park close to Pisa airport. A shuttle bus ferries customers to and from the airport. When returning to Pisa airport make sure to allocate enough time to leave your car back in the car park and have it checked over by the car rental company mechanic. This procedure is mandatory.

When booking through the big car rental companies look out for "voucher" discounts. For instance Hertz offer a 10% discount if you are a member of the Automobile Association (AA) in the UK or Ireland, and quote your "CDP" number when booking online. Also check out the competition for prices.
Reservacar uses a car rentals search engine which finds and displays the cheapest price from a large number of competing car rental companies.

Trains

• Trenitalia

The Italian public rail service.

The Italian rail network is comprehensive, efficient and good value for money. Day trips from Lucca and Pisa to Florence and Siena are excellent value and a relaxing way to travel.

Travel resources

• Tuscany 360

Impressive website including Google maps of Tuscany's popular destinations, with 360 degree video panning of the attractions, which you can control yourself.

Lucca references

• Knowital website - Lucca

Concise tourist and accommodation information for Lucca.

• Lucca Virtual Walkthrough

Photos of many of Lucca's medieval streets, piazzas and historic buildings. The website is in Italian.

• Toscaneggiando - Tuscan Cooking Classes

Three Tuscan ladies have joined forces to set up this company offering Tuscan Cooking classes in a variety of locations.

The lessons can be organized in your vacation location. Another possibility is to take the lessons in Il Convento dell'Angelo, the Convent of the Angel. This building is now an important musical Academy, Montegral Academy, set in a spectacular location in the Lucchesi hills, overlooking Ponte a Moriano.

Pisa references

• Knowital website - Pisa

Concise tourist and accommodation information for Pisa.

• Pisa Airport

Detailed information on flight schedules and passenger services at Pisa airport

Florence references

• Knowital website - Florence

Concise tourist and accommodation information for Florence.

Siena references

• Knowital website - Siena

Concise tourist and accommodation information for Siena.