kellymp

Hi all - I am planning a Northern Italy trip with my parents and am considering trying to throw in Innsbrook or Salzburg as well. We have already done Rome, Venice and Florence so this trip will be a few days in Milan and then the Italian Riviera or LAke Como. That is what Dad wants...Mom really would love to see Austria so I am working on combining the two...we will be going right after Thanksgiving(last week of November, first week of Dec) for 10-12 days.
Questions:
1. Anyone been to Portofino in late Nov or early Dec? Anything open? How cold is it?
2. What about Lake Como? Which would be nicer/more scenic that time of the year?
3. Would anyone consider driving from Portofino or Milan to Innsbrook or Salzburg? (I have done the train from Florence to Innsbrook and remember it being beautiful so maybe that is a more relaxing choice...)
4. Are the airports at either Innsbrook or Salzburg international airports? Thinking about flying into Milan and out of one of those.
I realize the time of year is unusual but it works for the family and Mom loves the Xmas festivals(we went to two last year at same time of year) and if it would work I would LOVE to let mom do the Sound of Music tour at the beginning of Dec - that is her favorite movie so it would be really memorable.
Thoughts? Please help
Thanks

lovisa

Salzburg is only 2 hours by train from Munich, so I think it would make more sense to fly into Milan (MXP) and out of Munich(MUC) or vice versa. You could train from Milan to Innsbruck (possible stop Verona which is enroute), Innsbruck to Salzburg, and Salzburg to Munich.

There is a huge premium for renting a car in one country and dropping it off in another. Also the Northern Italian plain gets ground fog in late fall and winter, so I wouldn't want to drive in that, or other bad weather.

zorba_01

I feel that lakes are a bit sad in late november and very humid and the riviera is nice only if you get nice sunny days, which are not so easy to find in that period. Why not Turin as an alternative? In rainy days you can visit museums and monuments while in nice days you can easily reach the mountains or the wine areas. From Turin you can reach Austria by plane while I wouldn't suggest to drive because it is likely to find the snow.

kellymp

Thanks for your quick responses...I had thought about the snow but the fog never crossed my mind and you are right I don't want to worry about driving in any of that. I think Dad is going to push for Italian Riviera though. LAst year we did a day trip from Rome to Sorrento and CApri and he loved it. I realize that was much further South and therefore a lot warmer but the weather was beautiful. Mostly they just like seeing the beautiful landscape. Also I think we will definitely end up using the train not a plane if we do Austria - they again really enjoyed the scenery...

treplow

Kelly, somehow I think your message is jinxed. Everytime I tried to respond, the "post a reply" screen remained blank. I wonder if others had the same problem and that this is the reason that you got only two replies. That's unusually few.

Anyhow: Your decision to stick with trains at that time of the year is good.

Here's a suggestion: Make Milan your "headquarters" for a few days; there's lots to do and see there.

If the weather is good, you can take day trips. One year I took a one day bus trip from Milan to the Lagio Maggiore. The trip was arranged through the hotel, where I had seen a flyer. The trip took us to Stresa, I believe; from there by boat to two of the three island, with lunch on the first one. Then the boat dropped us off at the far (eastern) end of the lake, where the bus met us again and took us to Como, for a few hours' stop, and back to Milan.

Another one-day option: Take the trains south to Rapallo (it's about a 2 hour ride; trains every hour; some through, some require changing in Genua). From Rapallo you can take a bus to Portofino via St. Magaretha. Quite scenic.

After Milan, travel to Munich via Innsbnruck - Mittenwald - Garmisch. That's the more scenic route. You may have to change trains in Garmisch. In fact, you may want to overnite there.

From Munich, you can take a day trip to Salzburg (2 hours by train), using the Bayernkarte which allows you and your parents to travel on one ticket for about EUR 28. Or you can go only as far as Prien and visit King Ludwig's palace on the Herrenchiemsee island.

For train schedules, even in Italy check the German RR website www.bahn.de. For details on the Bayernkarte (aka Bavarian ticket)check the search feature on this board.

kellymp

Treplow - Thanks so much for your persistence, not sure what the problem is but I'm glad you stuck with it. Great info in your post...I appreciate the help

daisies

We did the Milan and Lake Como last fall. It was beautiful. Couple of suggestions on Milan; We did the city tour that included The Last Supper. Reserve at least a month in advance OR be at the tourist office at 8 am the day of the tour and there will be cancellations. Be early there will be many others there waiting.
Lake Como is an easy destination from Milan. The train goes to Varenna, a small stepped city right across an arm of the lake from Bellagio. We stayed in both Varenna and Bellagio. There are more choices for restaurants, hotels and shopping in Bellagio. We loved it! Have fun....