<p>It has been suggested to me that we try to rent a house/apartment in Tuscany for a week as part of our vacation. I’m intrigued by the idea. But I’m scared of renting based only on a picture on the web (we’ve been burned before).</p>
<p>Anyone know of any reliable services/websites for me to check?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>[European</a> Villa Rentals and Holiday Villas - Rentvillas.com](<a href=“rentvillas.com”>rentvillas.com)</p>
<p>We rented through them a few years ago, and it was great!</p>
<p>I would also check out Tripadvisor.com - they are my go-to travel review source and they have a new section on vacation rentals. The member forums are also very helpful.</p>
<p>We’ve had good luck with Vacation Rentals By Owner … not in Europe (yet) though</p>
<p>[VRBO</a> is Vacation Rentals By Owner](<a href=“http://www.vrbo.com/]VRBO”>http://www.vrbo.com/)</p>
<p>Yes, I meant to mention VRBO also - we’ve had great luck with them.</p>
<p>Look at Vacanza Bella ( <a href=“http://www.vbella.com%5B/url%5D”>www.vbella.com</a> )
– They only do short term rentals in Italy, they visit every property they rent countless times, they want you to confirm on the phone so they can chat with you in person about the place, many other pluses. We have used them several times over the last 30 yearsand have always have good luck ( we originally got their name from one of the little ads in the back of the New Yorker pre internent)</p>
<p>Try [Untours</a> - European Vacation Home Rentals and Packages](<a href=“http://www.untours.com%5DUntours”>http://www.untours.com). They are wonderful…I’ve rented in Tuscany, Umbria and Paris from them. It’s more than just a bare bones rental. They meet you at the airport, escort you to your rental car and apartment, show you how to operate appliances, espresso pot, etc. and provide you with a big basket of food and wine so you don’t have to go shopping immediately. There is a local contact and a welcome and a farewell party so you can meet their other untourists who are renting at the same time.Everyone has great suggestions about what to see and do in the area. I can’t say enough good things about them. My next trip with them will probably be Alsace.</p>
<p>We have used [Italian</a> Villa Rentals and Italy Vacation Rentals The Parker Company](<a href=“http://www.parkervillas.com/]Italian”>http://www.parkervillas.com/) a couple of times and found them to be very good. We stayed at a great place a couple years ago that had a nice pool and was very close to the highway between Siena and Florence. The town of Colle Val D’Elsa was very nice.</p>
<p>Just another vote for rentvillas (dot com). We’ve rented from them for many years - they have wonderful properties in Tuscany (and throughout Italy).</p>
<p>We found a great place on rentvillas.com after we had read a review of the apartment on slowtravel.com. I like the entire slow travel approach and have had great success with their accommodation and restaurant suggestion. My D and I went two years ago and we were very happy with our little apartment in the hills behind the Palazzo Pitti in Florence. A nice combination of country and city.</p>