Yes.  If you need a cot with bed linen or a highchair, please let us know when you make your booking so that we can arrange these for you.   There is no charge for the use of cots or highchairs.  

Children under 12 and non-swimmers will need to be accompanied by one or more adults at the pool.

Sadly, not.  We are unable to accommodate pets in the apartments as our own friendly little (hypo-allergenic) dog is shy of other pets.

Check-in time is 3pm-7pm.  Check out time is before 10.30am.  Please let us know at the time of booking if your flights will make these timings difficult for you.

 You can book from Saturday to Saturday so that’s a minimum stay of one week.

Please let us know whether you will have difficulty getting Saturday flights as we may be able to accommodate you.

Yes, a car is essential in rural Tuscany as local public transport services are weak (although there is a bus stop on the route to Cortona at the top of our driveway).

From Camucia-Cortona train station (15km) you can travel by train to Arezzo (17 mins), Perugia (44 mins), Assisi (1hr, 6 mins), Firenze (1hr, 10 mins), Roma (1hr 52 mins), Siena (1hr, 58 mins), Bologna (2hrs, 12 mins), Pisa (2hrs, 39 mins) and Milan (3hrs, 38 mins).

We would recommend that you travel to Firenze in particular, by train, or if you do need to travel by car, that you plan your journey to a suitable car park carefully in advance, as it is difficult for visitors to navigate successfully around the city outskirts without falling foul of traffic regulations and incurring hefty fines.  

For more train information from Camucia-Cortona station, please visit the Trainline website.

Like most tourist destinations in Italy, the Comune of Cortona levies a Visitor Tax of around €x per night per visitor. The tax is payable in cash on arrival, and is levied for the first 7 nights only of any stay.  Children under 14 are exempt.

We will need to take a photocopy of your passport on arrival and ask each guest to sign the relevant form.  Property owners will be fined by the local authority for failure to comply with these regulations.

Smoking is not permitted in the apartments, but guests are welcome to smoke in the shared areas outside.

Steep, winding driveway

Like many hillside properties in rural Tuscany, the driveway is steep and winding which may be daunting at first for apprehensive or inexperienced drivers. Thankfully, it’s only 600m long, well-maintained, and it’s well worth it when you arrive!  

Although even the smallest of cars will carry you comfortably up and down the hilly driveway and around local mountain roads (indeed, most of our neighbours and local friends drive small cars), it’s probably a good idea to hire a car with a bit of torque for a car full of passengers.  An automatic transmission and/or 4-wheel drive would be ideal (although we ourselves have neither). 

Internet and mobile reception

In rural Tuscany, the internet connection is reasonable (23-28 mbps) and all the apartments have wifi (no extra charge).  As the stone walls are over 30cm thick, mobile reception can be poor indoors.

Tuscan wildlife

As lovers of Tuscany will know, Italy is home to a range of wildlife with which we are sometimes unfamiliar in cooler Northern European climates.  Thankfully, this is not Australia and nothing here will try to kill you!  

Wild boar (cinghiale) roam the forested slopes and local properties are fenced and gated to keep them from destroying gardens and crops.  You may spot a family (a ‘sounder’) of wild boar crossing local roads.  Although not usually aggressive, these nocturnal animals are best admired from a distance as they are defensive, especially of their young.  Wild boar are frequently hunted for their meat which is served in several traditional Tuscan dishes.

Italy is also home to the same types of snakes as Southern France, Northern Spain and Eastern Europe, but these are shy and tend to live in long grass and densely forested areas to avoid human contact.  If you do spot a snake (or wild boar), walk quietly back the way you came.  If bitten by a snake, the amount of venom transmitted is small and very rarely lethal, but do seek immediate medical attention because of the risk of snake venom allergies.

Tuscan holidaymakers will probably already have encountered Italian scorpions, which are much smaller and less dangerous than those found outside Europe.  They tend to hide in cool, damp, dark spaces under rocks and in sheds, partly to avoid people, and will run away if disturbed.  If you do decide to poke a scorpion with your finger, its sting is as painful as the sting of a hornet, wasp or bee but is not dangerous unless you are allergic to stings. 

The world’s most dangerous spiders are mainly found outside Europe and dangerous spider bites are extremely rare in Europe.  Although some species of spiders found in Italy are poisonous, most are not dangerous to humans, either because their bite is too weak to penetrate human skin or their poison is too weak to cause serious harm because of our size.  As with scorpion bites, spider bites may be painful and it is important to seek prompt medical attention, especially for children, because of the risk of allergy.  Thankfully, large, hairy spiders are extraordinarily rare and most Italians will never have seen one.

Mosquitoes and horseflies

Mosquitoes and horseflies are an unwelcome feature of the Tuscan countryside, and it’s never a bad idea to wear repellent, particularly in the evenings.  At this altitude (600m), mosquitoes are rarer than in lower parts of Tuscany and elsewhere.  Horseflies are most abundant in August and because the females bite, we have traps around the property and the garden contains plants to repel them from the patios and poolside.