europe2011

My husband and I are planning this trip for next May. Any ideas/suggestions would be appreciated in regards to where to stay (we are looking into hostels, home stays or farm stays), where to eat (nothing fancy), travel options (Eurail pass, high speed train options etc…) and any special points of interest that you may know of (we have read the books and have done internet research, so the obvious sights need not be mentioned). We have a few museums on our list, but not that interested in many. We are interested in FOOD, shopping and the lifestyle of the places we have chosen to travel to.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

Day 1: Arrive to Rome early morning (8:30 am) from the US
Day 2: Rome
Day 3: Day trip from Rome to Naples (Eurostar Italia high speed train)
Day 4: Depart Rome and arrive in Cinque Terre (haven't chosen the exact city yet - any suggestions?) We are very active and are interested in the hiking and walking trails.
Day 5: Cin. Terre
Day 6: Day trip from Cin. Terre to Pisa
Day 7: Depart Cin. Terre arrive in Bologna
Day 8: Bologna (We know that it is only one say!) We are interested in finding the best food while we are there… no other major sight seeing… just enjoying the food!
Day 9: Depart Bologna arrive in San Marino (via Rimini)
Spend this day in San Marino and then take the overnight ferry from Ancona to Split
Any ideas on where we could store our bags all day?
Day 9: Arrive in Split, take bus to Dubrovnik
Day 10: Dubrovnik
Day 11: Depart Dubrovnik, fly to Zagreb, take the train to Ljubljana
Day 12: Part of the day in Ljubljana then arrive in Bled
Day 13: Bled

**This next part isn’t exact yet… we know we definitely want to spend the time in Bled and take the Glacier Express train… haven’t figured out the best way to do it yet… please help!!
Day 14: Depart Bled Arrive near or in St. Moritz (we want to take the Glacier Express train and have no interest in staying in St. Moritz unless we find that to be the best option for taking the Glac Express)
Day 15: Glac Express Train from St. Moritz to Zermatt – overnight in Zermatt or get closer to Milan for our flight home… any thoughts?
Day 16: Depart Zermatt (or other city) Arrive in Milan
Day 17: Depart Milan Arrive in US


La Spezia to Pisa – 1 hour
Pisa to Bologna 2 hours
Bol to Rimini 1 hour
Parma to Rimini 3 ½ hours
La Spezia to Parma 3 hours

europe2011

I know the numbers are one off after day 9... the trip will be 18 days... also please ignore my notes at the end regarding train times.. thanks

PalenQ

Try to ride the Bernina Express train from Italy to St Moritz to connect with the Glacier Express - IMO the Bernina Express train (or Bernina Pass Railway) is one of the very top scenic rail rides in Europe - parts of the marathon 8-hour Glacier Express ride are spectacular too but IMO not as awesome as the Bernina Express, a utilitarian way to get from Italy to St Moritz - from Slovenia go by train thru Venice to Milan then train to Tirano, Italy, where the Bernina Pass train route begins.

Oh and for Italy be sure to investigate the Italy Railpass and do NOT believe the mantra that a railpass for Italy is always a waste of money - for the type of travel you are doing it may well be very cost effective. For loads of info on Italian and Swiss and any country's trains in Europe i always spotlight these fab sites - www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com (in their Italian and Swiss sections they write about the Bernina Express rail route) and www.ricksteves.com.

bobthenavigator

Wow--you sure are moving--I am already tired.
It could be doable, but I doubt it. I see 2 days that just may not work at all. How do you plan to get to Ascona for the ferry? And, the day from Bled to St. Moritz just will not work. I would drop San Marino and sub the Bernina Express for the other. This sounds like the Great Race.

yorkshire

There is a left luggage station in Split at the ferry port near the bus station--it is called "garderoba."
If food is your priority, Dubrovnik is not the best food destination in Croatia.

Andrew

I'd personally cut Croatia out of this itinerary and focus on Italy and Slovenia. It seems you are going to a lot of effort just to see Dubrovnik. It's definitely worth seeing but perhaps not if it causes such a great detour. You are missing out on a lot of stuff in Croatia (Plitvice Lakes for example) that would make part of a great trip that includes Dubrovnik.

Why don't you head from Bologna up to Ljubljana? Or, could you end the trip there instead of in Milan? (Have to fly out of Milan?) I don't know what airline you are flying or what city in the US you need to fly back to, but Adria Air (Slovenian Airline) offers direct flights from Ljubljana to many European cities. There are a lot of little things to see in Slovenia (I'm researching a trip now to go back there actually).

FYI, Florentia Bus offers direct bus service between Bologna and Ljubljana should you choose to consider that route...