Tuscan Farmhouses This Spring From $962 Per Week

By Robert Haru Fisher

One of the finest tour operators of moderately-priced trips to Italy is Tourcrafters, an Illinois-based outfit that has been taking satisfied travelers abroad for 21 years now. For the first time, the firm is offering agriturismo vacations, packages in farmhouses, in gorgeous Tuscany. And the price can be as low as $962 for an apartment with living room, kitchen and two bedrooms (four beds), per week in spring and fall, and $1181 in summer. For a family or group of four people, that's $240 per person per week in spring or fall, $295 in summer. To make it even more clear, that's just over $42 a day per person in summer, a bit more than $34 the rest of the year.

The package above is for the Tenuta San Vito, a wine and olive estate in the Chianti Hills. But you can pay more, staying in the elegant Palazzo Magnani Feroni in Florence in an apartment costing $280 for two persons. You will be greeted personally by the owners in this imposing 16th-century palace, one of several historic villa hotels available through TourCrafters. (Ask for their brochure, by the way, at www.tourcrafters.com).

The package, which does not include airfare, is one of many independent offers in the company brochure. A self-drive vacation, "Touch of Class on Your Own," features you in an Alfa Romeo driving one of three suggested itineraries: (1) Rome, Umbria, Florence, the Italian Riviera and Venice; (2) a loop south to the Amalfi Coast; or (3) a northern route including the Italian Riviera, Florence, Venice and Lake Como. These last 10 or 11 days, with land prices varying from $1,369 to $2,016, per person, double occupancy.

For more information or reservations, phone 800/482-5995 or visit the Web site at www.tourcrafters.com.