# Anybody Even Rent A Villa In Italy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 14, 2003, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-even-rent-a-villa-in-italy/188382 "2003-07-14T14:41:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-even-rent-a-villa-in-italy/188382/1 "2003-07-14T14:41:45Z")
I want to take a vacation in Italy, and I’ve been told the way to go is to rent a country villa. You can get a nice house with a swimming pool, and get a cook’s service as well. Has anybody done this? Is itreasonable? And, can you book on-line, or should you engage an agent? I’d like to rent a place in Tuscany, outside a city, but no more than 30 minutes by road. Any suggestions? I’d like to hear from people who have done it! ---
**Author:** ![Miabella](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ccd318/32.png) [@Miabella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miabella)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-even-rent-a-villa-in-italy/188382/2 "2003-07-14T15:30:14Z")
We didn’t rent a whole villa, but we got a little one bedroom flat in a villa right outside of Florence. It was lovely and we had our own kitchen and washer/dryer as well. The owner was such a great host, and he brought us daily presents of his homemade olive oil and wine. We had a 1/4 mile walk to the bus that brought us into the city, which was about a 10 minute ride. ---
**Author:** ![Miabella](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ccd318/32.png) [@Miabella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miabella)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-even-rent-a-villa-in-italy/188382/3 "2003-07-14T15:32:44Z")
We didn’t rent a whole villa, but we got a little one bedroom flat in a villa right outside of Florence for our honeymoon three years ago. It was lovely and we had our own kitchen and washer/dryer as well. The owner was such a great host, and he brought us daily presents of his homemade olive oil and wine. We had a 1/4 mile walk to the bus that brought us into the city, which was about a 10 minute ride. I found our place on-line and booked it directly through wire transfer. It worked out well, but maybe we were just lucky. The price was very reasonable, if I recall we paid about $600 US for 10 days. ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-even-rent-a-villa-in-italy/188382/4 "2003-07-14T15:33:47Z")
\ Don’t even bother with Tuscany. There’s nothing available. It’s all booked up. \ 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-even-rent-a-villa-in-italy/188382/5 "2003-07-14T15:37:42Z")
Have you read Eliz. von Arnim’s _Enchanted April_, or seen the movie? Terrific, both of them (the 1992 version, not the 1935 one). It’s about four Englishwomen who rent a villa in Italy for a month. ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-even-rent-a-villa-in-italy/188382/6 "2003-07-14T16:27:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by scout1222 \* > \*\*\ > > Don’t even bother with Tuscany. There’s nothing available. It’s all booked up. > > \ > > 😉 \*\* Damn you! You stole my smart-assed comment. Actually I was also interested in getting some info on this. We did a villa in Jamaica and had an absolute blast. We decided every few years to do something similar. It makes it nicer when traveling with kids, plus I feel you get a less touristy experience. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-even-rent-a-villa-in-italy/188382/7 "2003-07-14T18:16:15Z")
**ralph124c** , a coworker who travels extensively suggested this service - don’t know if it will help or not, but wanted to let you know about it. [http://www.villarentalsintuscany.com](http://www.villarentalsintuscany.com) ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-even-rent-a-villa-in-italy/188382/8 "2003-07-14T19:23:11Z")
Eve, I saw the movie. I loved it! Beautiful scenery, and the women were grand. ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-even-rent-a-villa-in-italy/188382/9 "2003-07-14T19:33:38Z")
my brother and sister-in-law went through [this site](http://www.travel-italy.com/) for their honeymoon. They’ve got something for just about every budget, and will arrange for tours if you like, as well. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-even-rent-a-villa-in-italy/188382/10 "2003-07-14T20:55:29Z")
Here’s [another](http://www.parkervillas.com/) good website regarding rentals. Even if you decide not to go, you should order their catalog. The catalog is so gorgeous it’s good for a couple of years of armchair traveling, at least. I’m reading _Under the Tuscan Sun_, a book by Frances Mayes, regarding her account of acquiring and renovating a beautiful villa in Tuscany. She’s quite a good writer, and you can’t read her book without being transported to Italy. It would be a good read during the long, tedious flight over. Good luck. Need any co-renters?