A hot tip for all travellers to Italy's Tuscany region. We spent one week of our summer vacation this year in Tuscany / Italy, in the small village of Colleoli.
After checking the Internet site in early June, we were lucky that there was still an apartment available for the first week in August (which is the high season).
BOOKING
You will find a lot of information (in English, Italian and Japanese) on the Internet at their homepage www.colleoli.it.
Enquires and bookings can be made via the link at the homepage, by e-mail to info@colleoli.it or by telephone +39 0587 622010 (Matilda speaks English very well).
We have booked by e-mail, and we received answers within 24 hours.
HOW TO GET THERE
It is only possible to get there by car.
Via Florence or Pisa you have to take the SGC FI-PI-LI. This is not a secret code of the Italian mafia, it is the official name of the motorway from Florence to Pisa and Livorno, and exactly this abbreviation you'll find on the signs.
According to the description at the homepage you leave the motorway at Montopoli, follow the signs to Palaia. Then do not pass through the arch, but turn right just before (follow signs to Pieve de San Martino) and after 3 km you arrive at the small village of Colleoli, from there follow the signs to Fattoria di Colleoli.
You may leave the motorway at Pontedera and continue via La Rotta and San Gervasio directly to Colleoli (if you come via Pisa, this is the quickest way).
Colleoli is a very small village, and the last part of the street is very small and just ends after the Fattoria di Colleoli.
LOCATION AND SURROUNDINGS
Colleoli is located centrally in the middle of the region of Tuscany. Within 80 km you will find the well-known towns of Lucca, Pisa, Florence, San Gimignano and Siena as well as the famous sandy beaches near Viareggio. We did visit all those places during our vacation.
At the same time, you live in a very secluded area, far away from civilisation, in absolute tranquillty, in the hills of one of the most beautiful regions in Europe, with breathtaking views.
At this remote location, not even the mobile phones work properly - but this could be an advantage for spending your vacations to relax from work.
APARTMENTS AND FACILITIES
Fattoria die Colleoli consists of certain shared guest facilities, a small restaurant (more like a coffee shop), a swimming pool (with extra pool for children), a children play area, the office and reception.
Reception is open daily (except Sunday) for a few hours. You can buy some olive oil, grappa and vine from local production there.
On the site, there are three houses (Il Sole, Il Cerretello, Il Fienile), previously used as farming houses, and now converted into modern and cosy apartments.
Il Sole has got four apartments (70 - 80 sqm for 4 persons), Il Cerretello has got six apartments (38 to 85 sqm for 2-6 persons) and Il Fienile is a 120 sqm villa for up to 8 persons.
Four more houses are currently being refurbished and will be available next year.
We lived in one of the 80 sqm apartments in Il Sole. There were two bedrooms and one large living room with integrated kitchen as well as a terrace. The apartment was very nice and clean.
PRICES
Prices are different depening on size of the aparment and on the season of the year. We paid Euro 676.- per week during the high season (including electricity, gas, linen, towels and final cleaning).
A downpayment of Euro 250.- was transferred by bank transfer, and the remainder was payable on the last day of our stay by cash or credit card (Visa).
SHOPPING AND RESTAURANTS
Some very small shops are available in Palaia (3 km from Colleoli), but for a supermarket with more choice you have to go to Pontedera or Empoli.
We have been to a very large shopping centre where you can get everything. It is located next to the motorway FI-PI-LI (last exit before Pisa). Shops are open there daily (Monday to Saturday) until 10:30 pm, and every first Sunday of the month.
The restaurant on the site is more like a small cafe where you can get drings and ice cream and snacks.
Very close, within walking distance, at the end of the street, there is an excellent family owned Italian restaurant - Agriturismo Ristorante Colleoli. There is no written menu, and they do not speak any English, but if you order the Menu della Casa, they will serve all five courses, with vine and water, excellent Italian food for about Euro 20.- per person. Make sure you are hungry when you go there, but you'll enjoy it.
In Colleoli, there is a small Pizzeria, and in the villages nearby you can find some Italian restaurants. These are listed in a brochure available in the apartments.
RECOMMENDATION
We very much enjoyed our stay in Colleoli. The reality is even better than the pictures on the web site.
If you like to spend your holidays in a very nice landscape, relax in absolute tranquility and just enjoy the breathtaking scenery of the Tuscany region, as well as to visit some of the famous towns in the area, Colleoli is the ideal base to stay.
TUSCANY
Reviews of all the other places in Tuscany that we have visited during our holidays will follow under the names of the respective towns.
Many thanks for reading.
Take care, Michael
(back from a restful vacation)
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