Sally

We are going to Northern Italy in late April. We will be going to Cinque Terre, Venice and then to the Lakes District. We are competent drivers, have driven in Tuscany quite successfully. We would like to travel between the above destinations by car. Does anyone have any comments about this? We were smart enough to not attempt driving on the Amalfi Coast. Will we run into the same situation around Cinque Terre?

Pat Klontz

TTT/ I would like to hear answers to this question also. Thanks

Carolyn

Which lakes? In what order? Picking up a car at the car park in Venice is easy enough but I would suggest Venice at the beginning or end, not in the middle. <BR><BR>Some areas of Lake Garda can be a little hairy, especially in the rain.<BR> <BR>If you get on the wrong road in Cinque Terre, you will wish you were in Amalfi! At the time we didn't have a good enough map and really messed up. We ended up on what seemed like a dirt donkey path and had no possible way of turning around, and it was getting dark and starting to rain! We had no choice but to continue forward and thankfully got to the end before the deluge came. <BR><BR>My advice is to get a copy of Instituto Geografico DeAgostini Atlante Stradale Italia, which is a very detailed map of all Italy. That plus a little common sense and you will not have any problem.

Melanie

When your planning your budget, don't forget to figure the cost of gas. It cost us $64.00 to fill up this month in Italy. And don't forget to figure the cost of the autostrada. Taking the train may be easier, cost effective and more fun. (I understand about wanting to drive. You can be a bit more independent.) The roads around Cinque Terre are narrow and winding but it's a beautiful drive and definately not impossible. We really enjoyed ourselves. We did have to park the car outside of the cities and often walk long distances, sometimes up or downhill. Also, parking was challenging, we had to be careful to always park in a secure location. It made me appreciate how easy my life here is in the states, getting to park right beside my office...no concern for size of the parking spaces....I'm very spoiled.

Paul

I don't see any problem with driving your itinerary, although it is a fair drive between CT and Venice. Re: Ct driving. My personal experience suggests you plan to park yur car and take the train as they are very convenient and practical. The roads to the individual towns are, as described, very tight and windy with no real connections between the villages. It is very different than the Amalfi coast situation as the villages are and want to be removed from vehicular traffic.