I'm planning a family trip to Tuscany in 2016 and hope to find a villa to accommodate grandparents plus two families of four each, both with young children. Somewhere close to town and with a pool would be a bonus. Any cost-effective cruises we could tack on to the end?
J. MacKIntosh, Port Stephens
Villa Carda (mytuscanyaccommodation.com) could be a happy choice. It's a six-bedroom villa near Castel Focognano, in the hills south-west of Florence. The villa comes with a pool and it's in tranquil, private surroundings yet close enough for easy access to cities such as Florence, Siena and Arezzo.
You can find several other large villas with pools that will whet your appetite at the Your Tuscan Villa website (yourtuscanvilla.com).
The Disney ships (disneycruise.disney.go.com) get a good rating for their Mediterranean cruises. Keeping those kids entertained is a Disney specialty and happy kids equals happy times for all, yet they also offer plenty for the rest of you to enjoy. Celebrity Cruises (celebritycruises.com.au) is another operator that scores high marks for its Mediterranean cruises.
