RT2015

Hi Fodorites,

We will be in Tuscany for about a week mid-late June and hope to spend 2-3 days in Florence (it's not my first time there) and then 4 or so days in Orta on our way to the Swiss Alps.

I don't know the Orta area in terms of driving but is this recommended? And does anyone have any thoughts on where to drop the car off on the way to Zermatt?

Also does anyone have any suggestions for a four day Tuscan driving trip and where to stay in Orta?

Many thanks,
RT

whitehall

Where are you going after Zermatt? Are you trying to get rid of the rental to avoid the heavy drop-off fee in Switzerland? If you plan to return to Italy, there generally is no prohibition on travel across borders (although if you plan to drive on major motorways, you will need to make sure rental company includes the necessary sticker). There are rental car locations in Stresa on nearby Lake Maggiore. I believe rail service from Stresa to Zermatt is better than from Lake Orta. We are planning to stay on Lake Orta this fall, and we are staying in Orta San Giulio, which appears to be the only realistic base for the relatively small lake. We will have a car since it seemed more convenient to get there from Milan than rail; it allows us to drive around the lake; and it makes it easier for us to re-visit Lake Maggiore which we last experienced in a cool November fog. We always use airbnb for lodging in Europe and found a nice reasonably priced apartment there with expansive lake views. We have been to Tuscany many times, and you will get numerous options for four days. We have based ourselves in past visits, successfully in Montepulciano and Volterra for different parts of Tuscany. The former was a great base for exploring the beautiful Val d'Orcia region.

RT2015

Thanks whitehall. We will go to Chamonix after that and then will fly to either Sardinia or Corsica, so we won't be returning to mainland Italy, hence we want to drop it off before leaving for Switzerland yes to avoid the heavy drop off options.

Thanks for the location ideas too.

RT

whitehall

We are going to many of the same places this fall. We will be going to both Corsica and Sardinia as well. I assume you will fly from Geneva that has excellent bus connections from Chamonix. Easy Jet, which is our favorite discount carrier in Europe, has reasonably priced flights to Olbia in Sardinia. We have found that everything from rental cars to lodging is much more affordable in Sardinia than Corsica.

HappyTrvlr

I think there was a bus between Orta San Giulio on Lake Orta and Stresa on Lake Maggiore but we had a car and it was much more convenient.We drove down to Lake Maggiore a few times. It was more for getting there and back that we needed the car. We didn't need to go to Lake Maggiore but our friends hadn't been there and wanted to see and experience it. Once on Lake Orta we basically walked around, took the ferry over to the island.

RT2015

Thanks both for the advice.

To be honest I was torn between the lakes region and returning to the Cinque Terre, which I loved when I visited three summers ago. But travel time and logistics mean the lakes make more sense, given we are after this leg heading to the Alps.

Yes we will fly from Geneva. We are uncertain about which island as yet because we will meet friends who will be sailing their boat and won't know til perhaps a couple of weeks or a month before where they'll be. That means we can't buy flights yet but the upside is flexibility with our own plans too.

RT