We are driving Northern Italy & Croatia in September, then linking up with a cruise departing from Venice for Rome. The day before we drop off the car and board our cruise, friends whom we haven't seen for a while (we live in different parts of the same country) will be in Venice between 2 linked-together cruises. We've arranged to meet up and have a day out together. Both couples will have time to explore Venice aside from the day we're meeting up, and we've all been to Venice before anyway - so we're thinking, as we will still have our hire car, that a day trip out of Venice might be a nice idea. Pre-cruise we are staying at Treviso, but could come in and get our friends from Piazzale Roma, near the cruise terminal (or they could catch a train to Treviso and meet us there).

My question is: what might be a good day trip? We have to get our friends back to their cruise ship by 4:30-5:00pm. Is Chioggia too far? Or a drive alomng the Brenta Canal? We've done Bassano del Grappa before, but that may be too far anyway. Or Asolo?

All suggestions much appreciated.

Vicenza is beautiful, park near the station, easy walking. Or, park your car and all of you take the train to Vicenza, or they could catch the train to Vicenza and you could meet them there. You could also all go to Padua.

I have never done it, but I understand that driving through the Prosecco wine country is very lovely. You would need to look up the logistics to see if it works for your needs specifically.

You probably need to be mindful of the possibility of traffic jams as you head back to Venice.

http://www.departures.com/articles/i...-prosecco-road

With the limited amount of time you have, Verona might be a good choice. Not sure how long it would take to drive, but it's about an hour by train, so driving time is probably something close to that.

Thanks for those ideas. We will have just come through the Prosecco region en route from Trieste, and earlier in our travels we will have been to Verona. I guess what we're looking for is a relaxing day out, with not too much driving. Big cities (like Padua) might not fit that bill, but Vicenza may indeed be a possibility. Bassano del Grappa & Asolo would appeal, but again, a lot of driving (2 hours each way) and we're mindful of the deadline to get our friends back to their cruise.

Can anyone comment on the attractions and merits of Chioggia or the road (SS11) that runs alongside the Brenta Canal?