Dorsaneo13

Myself and my husband 2 be are looking to do 3 weeks in Italy next year for our "honeymoon". His family is originally from Abruzzo so i thought it would be nice to check out the country where family originated from as our honeymoon.

we have never rented a car on holiday before so it will be all new to us. The places we are looking to see would be Milan, Verona, Lake Garda, Abruzzo, Tuscany, Florence and maybe Rome.

Now i heard that driving in the cities is not the best option but if anyone can recommend places that we could drive around then that would be great.

We are new to this forum as we are just starting our research now.

Thanks

yorkshire

Hope these tips will help you get organized.
1) Think three regions, with one region per week. You can group Milan-Verona-Lakes together, and Tuscany-Florence, and I consider Rome to deserve a week itself. So, in my opinion you should narrow down your list.
2) Look for open jaw tickets (into Milan, out of Rome, etc.)
3) Plan the itinerary so you enjoy a city without a car, then pick up the car for a rural part of your trip (i.e., Abruzzo, Tuscany), and then drop off the car before the next city.
4) Read Abruzzo trip reports here, and more at http://www.italia.it/en/discover-italy/abruzzo.html

Congrats and good luck!

Jean

What time of year would this trip be?

Was the omission of Venice on purpose, or would you day-trip to Venice from Verona?

Does your family have any family remaining in Abruzzo that you'd want to spend any time with?

All of the big cities (and increasingly many of the smaller ones) have limited traffic zones. Wherever you end up driving, you need to research these zones carefully before you go so that you know how you're going to reach your destination (hotel, parking, whatever) without violating the zone.

I agree with Yorkshire that you need to narrow your focus a bit. Tuscany is 9,000 square miles, Abruzzo is 4,200 square miles, and you'd traverse Umbria (3,300 square miles) getting from one to the other.

Dorsaneo13

oh thanks for the replies. yes i left out venice as def won't be driving a car around there but most definitely would love to see it. our plan as ye well pointed out is still very vague as have not started the planning in detail yet until after our wedding in July. We are hoping to travel in september. Again this has not been quite confirmed but we have been told to avoid the peak season.

yorkshire

Yes, you will be happy you waited until September. Check out some websites and guide books and narrow down your list, then come back for more help with your itinerary. A good idea is for both of you to make your top 5 list and choose what overlaps.