Having spent over 30 years traveling through Italy and then buying a home in Montalcino and Florence, this page is dedicated to sharing some insights and tips that will make your travel experience more delightful.
If you have been traveling in Italy for many years, you might only find a few new ideas, but please send me a note of any additional tips that should be added to this page. Send a note to: booking@palazzotamanti.com
Depending on the class of hotel you book, your experiences will vary. In general, to match expectations for a US hotel chain (i.e. Marriot or Hyatt) you would need to book in a five star class hotel. One of the biggest factors for a comfortable stay in Tuscany is the mattress. In many countryside hotels the mattresses are thiner and not very comfortable. So, if you like a thick, plush mattress make sure you see photos of the beds in the rooms you will book. At Palazzo Tamanti we have two types of mattresses in the four bedrooms, and they are very comfortable.
Don’t be surprised if the WIFI in the hotel is slow. In many cases, outside of the large city centers, the speed of the WIFI doesn’t support remote working outside of basic email. At Palazzo Tamanti we have a high-speed mesh network so you can make video calls from most any place in the palace. If you are booking a hotel, ask them to run the free Google Internet Speed test on their mobile phone and send you a screenshot.
Outside of the large cities (i.e. Florence, Siena, Grosetto), you may not find that Uber is available. In many small cities, taxi service is also very limited. To see the full beauty of Tuscany you should rent a car and enjoy visiting small towns like Pienza, Montepulciano, San Gimignano, etc. I like to use SicilybyCar for rentals and please pick the Gold Protection package, which covers ALL scrapes, bangs, or more significant accidents with the car.
While you CAN bring an adapter for your US appliances (i.e., hair dryers, straighteners, curling irons) I suggest that you leave them at home. In many case you will burn out your appliances using an adapter. You can order inexpensive EU rated appliances to bring on the trip from Amazon.it. You can even ship them to Palazzo Tamanti so they will be waiting for you.
However, you should know that in each bedroom is a brand new Ghd hair dryer and in the palace we have straighteners and curling irons as well. In other hotels, you will likely need your EU appliance, so be forewarned.
In most Italian restaurants, the bill does not include a line to add a tip. The bill has a small charge per person, called a coperto. A coperto is a small per head cover charge (around 3-6 euros) that is included in some restaurants for servings of bread, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper at the beginning of the meal.
You are not expected to leave a tip, but anything extra is greatly appreciated. In larger cities, you might have experiences were the bill shows a line for a tip or a waiter pushes you to leave a tip. In these cases, use your judgement but never should you be expected to leave a tip for 15-20% like in the USA.
In most Italian cities you will see signs to warn you to slow down because they are using electronic speed cameras. On the road from Montalcino to Siena there are three speed controlled zones, so be aware. There are also some spots on the highways that have a similar framework (see image below) to keep people from speeding. Please adhere to these notices otherwise you will receive traffic tickets in the mail a few months later. Once you pass these cameras, you can increase your speed.
Also be aware of ZTL signs, like the one shown below. This sign, when marked “Attiva” means that tourist vehicles can not enter without getting a fine. Only local people or some business vehicles or taxis can enter. Since Google Maps does not do a good job showing routes without ZTL, be careful not to ignore these signs. If you book a hotel in the heart of an old city, you may need to ask the hotel to register your vehicle with a ZTL pass for entrance.
In Montalcino there is a ZTL zone, but thankfully Palazzo Tamanti’s entrance and garage are before that zone starts so you have no problems entering and exiting the city of Montalcino.
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