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4. Which are the best inter-continental
airports to use?
- Rome, Pisa, Florence, Bologna.
5. Do we need to rent a car?
- Yes, for the vast majority of our places. The rural area of Italy where we
are situated, the Niccone valley and surrounding area, is very under-populated, so public transport is almost non-existent. The roads are
consequently traffic-free. It is possible to stay in Spello and Cortona without a car, but even here your options would be fewer. Any more questions? email us at emma@tuscanyumbria.com
6. What is your cancellation policy?
The booking deposit is non returnable. As we only ask you to pay
the final amount two months before the start, we do not usually
return any of that for a late cancellation. However, we look at
each case and if the property is re-let we do return some or all
of the money paid.
Europeans usually take out inexpensive holiday insurance to cover
cancellation and general holiday risk.
7. Can extra people be accommodated?
The houses and apartments have beds as described on each webpage,
and generally speaking these cannot be re-arranged, so each house
has a maximum number of people who can be accommodated. We will
ask you for names of people in your party and numbers of couples/singles
so that out of the beds available, the right numbers can be prepared
for you. We cannot accept extra people above the names we have
on file, and owners/managers of houses will not admit a party
with extra guests.
8. Is Italy an expensive country?
The small towns and villages of our area are not expensive. You can have a
pizza for between €3 and €6 (£2 - £4), and a cappuccino from 85 cents (always less than €1). A quality meal will only be about €30 including
wine. A supermarket trolley of foods will cost about the same as in the UK. Ice
cream is the best in the world and costs very little. You can still get leather ware, pottery and art at bargain prices. The markets sell casual
clothing, shoes, linen, leather goods at very low rates. Train travel is highly susidised making it good value : the trains still run to time!
Tolls on the "autostrade" are very reasonable - about a third of the cost in France. Tales in newspapers about "expensive Italy" refer to accommodation and meals in the large centres, Rome, Florence etc. The cost of domestic
gas and electricity are very high which does not affect tourists except in the
winter months but affects Italians greatly. Italians believe the introduction of the euro has created massive inflation but to the regular
foreign visitor there has been little noticeable change. Although the areas
in which we rent have foreign visitors through the year, they have not
been given over to tourism as has happened in some parts of Italy. The cafes
and restaurants are used by the local population too.
9. How does your booking process work?
We agree the rental of a particular house or apartment for stated dates by either email or telephone, and ask you to send a deposit as a confirmation of your intention. The house/apartment is not then advertised further forthose dates. We send a receipt for the deposit, usually by post, along with a date for final payment which is about 2 months before the planned rental. We also send an information form for you to fill in showing the names of guests and the numbers of couples/singles. There is a space to indicate if you need a cot. Then or later we need an ETA to pass on to the owner or manager. After full payment we send a further receipt and directions with a local map, also usually by post.
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