allyboy

We are celebrating my wife's retirement and want to plan a two week trip to Italy.
Two years ago we spent 10 days exploring Bergamo, Cinque Terre, Florence, Lucca and several cities in the Tuscany region. For this trip I would like to include the Veneto region including Venice, the Dolomites, Lake area and possibly Bologna. Is it better to go in September or October? We will be leaving from JFK in NYC. We are interested in culture, food, walking, good wine, areas near water, mixing with the locals, going to farmer's markets. I will appreciate any ideas you have as you have always helped me in the past.

Thank you!

Steve_James

Hi AB - September would be much better than October, I think.

This is especially so in the Dolomites, where the lifts and cable-cars are closed by October.

My favourite places to stay are Val Gardena, Castelrotto or Alta Badia. You really need a car to see the best of the Dolomites IMO.

If you plan to stay on Lake Garda, the northern part is much more scenic. Riva del Garda, Limone or Malcesine are the best places to base IMO.

Hope this helps ...

Steve

JudyC

As by previous post, September is better for Dolomites area,; but for other areas, I would much prefer to visit in October: a little less busier with foreign tourists, more pleasant to take long walk, and the bountiful autumn produce at the farmer markets.

isabel

I'm currently planning a July trip to the Veneto so I can't give you first hand information, but from my extensive research I'm finding Verona, Padua, Vicenza and Bologna all sound wonderful and you could easily spend at least a day in each (which is what I'm planning) but it also sounds like you could see some highlights of each in half a day if you were pressed for time. But if you haven't been to Venice that would certainly be the main place in that region to go. My trips to Venice I've stayed IN Venice and was glad I did but a lot of people base themselves in Padua (less than a half hour train ride, and frequent trains till late at night) when they visit Venice. Since you mention wanting to see the Veneto region this might be best for you. Don't know how long you want in the Dolomites but I would plan at least a week for the Veneto with at least a couple of full days for Venice itself.

cmeyer54

We spent two weeks last september in northern italy as follows:
venice - 3 nights (including arrival day). although we'd been there before, we initially planned the trip with another couple who had not been to venice; they bugged out of the trip but we kept the same starting point. From Venice, picked up a rental car and drove to Cortina for 2 nights. Drove through the dolomites to Bolzano for 3 nights; to laga del Garda for 3 nights, to milan for 3 nights, to Verona for 1 night and back to Venice for the flight home. If we were to do this again, I'd spend at most one night in Bolzano - see Utzi and Merano and leave. Split the time in the lakes region between Garda and Como. Don't miss Milan if you haven't been there. We added it last minute when the trip was unexpectedly extended and were pleasantly surprised. See the Last Supper, La Scala, Cathedral, castle, parks, etc. Verona was also wonderful. We'd first planned to just stop on our way back to Venice and stay overnight near the Venice airport. Again - last minute, we decided to spend the night in Verona and drive to Venice the day of our departure. Verona was also good for basically 1.5 days with the overnight. Let me know if you need any more info on lodging, restaurants we found, activities, etc. Doesn't seem like the northern areas of Italy get much attention and we really loved it.

allyboy

Thank you everyone! What do you think of this itinerary:
Day 1 NYC to Milan (stay 1 night)

Day 2-4 Milan to Lake Como (stay 3 nights)

Day 5-7 Lake Como to Dolomites (not sure where to base--perhaps Val Gardena)

Day 8-10 Dolomites to Veneto (again not sure where to base
)
Day 11-13 Veneto to Venice (stay 3 nights )

Day 14 Venice to NYC

Questions: Should I be staying in fewer places? What problems would I encounter if I am planning to go Sept. 8-22? Car rental or trains or both? How can I fit in a day in Bologna? Would 1 day in Bologna be enough? Lake Como or Lake Garda?

cmeyer54

What do you plan to do while in Milan? As you'll be arriving after the overnight flight, I'm not sure that one day (maybe an afternoon and the next morning) will allow you to see much. Also - if you arrive on Monday, I recall that many of the museums, etc are closed. We based our time in the Dolomites in Cortina. Lovely hiking and some incredible lakes nearby to see and hike around. Are you bypassing Verona or would that be a possible base for the Veneto? I've heard that citte bella is very nice as well - walled city, wineries nearby etc.

uhoh_busted

Six or seven years ago we had one of the most visually overloaded days ever -- driving from Verona through the Dolomites to Venice. It was late May and there was virtually no one on the beautiful road through the Dolomites. By the time we'd parked our car for the next 3 days, we were on a vaporetto headed through Venice as the sun set.

Now, if I had known the Dolomites were going to be so extraordinarily gorgeous, we probably would have spent at least one night there, possibly in one of the pretty little towns that are usually ski resort areas in the winter.

My point here is, the distances are not as intimidating as you might think. (And the driving is incredibly easy.) And based on your interests, I think you would LOVE Verona for at least one night. Walking the bridges across the Alto Adage River, which curves around the "old" centro historica is cool, the galleries & museums are excellent and the "quality of life" appears to be wonderful. Plus, while I've never been to Bologna, I've got several friends who have completely adored it as well...especially for the food

bobthenavigator

I like your plan above, and I would do it in latter Sep. For Veneto, I would suggest Bassano del Grappa as a good location to explore Asolo and others.

Steve_James

Hi AB - You can see Lake Como easiest by boat - so you don't really need a car there IMO.

To see the best of the Dolomites, though, you need a car. You could pick one up as you leave Lake Como.

Where to stay in the Dolomites? If you want to use any of the lifts I think Val Gardena makes a good base. It's also relatively central for touring. I'd pick Ortisei or Selva.

You might find this link useful:
www.valgardena.it

Lake Como or Lake Garda? If you choose to base in central Lake Como or northern Lake Garda , both are quite beautiful - you can't go wrong

Steve

annhig

Hi allyboy,

I think that you are startingin the wrong place if your real interest is the veneto and the dolomites.

instead of open jaw, why not fly into and out of Venice?

This is what I would do:

Fly into Venice. pick up car from airport and drive north into mountains. stay 4 nights.

Drive to Lake garda - stay 4 nights.

drive to Bologna [or somewhere close - stay 3 nights and explore area]

drive to Venice, return car, stay 3 nights. go home happy.

regards, ann

voila!

allyboy

Thank you all for your advice. I have now made some changes and would like your input. I have booked a flight out of JFK on Sept 10 (evening) and landing in Milan (Malpensa) on the 11th in the morning. My new plan is to cut out the Dolomites and spend the next two weeks exploring Lake Como, The Veneto, Venice, Bologna with an overnight in Milan. The itinerary would be Lake Como (3-4 nights), Veneto (3nights and would include seeing Vicenza, Padua, Verona, Bassano di Grappa), Bologna (2-3 nights to include seeing Modena, Parma and Varenna), 3 nights in Venice and then 1 night in Milan before flying home. How would you suggest I do this? I would like to rent a car however, not in Lake Como or in Venice and use the car while exploring the Veneto and Bologna. Would it be best to stay in Milan on my arrival day and leave the next day for Como or save it for the day before I leave from Malpensa? Which village to base in the Veneto? Should I cut out Bologna? So many questions but this is very exciting as this is a retirement gift for my wife as she is retiring from teaching after 37 years!

annhig

hi allyboy,

I like the way you are approaching this now with fewer overnight stops, but beware trying to cram too much into each stop.

As you are travelling in mid september and planning on visiting rather non-touristy places in the middle of your trip, if you were feeling brave, you could not book accommodation between como and Venice, so as to leave yourselves free to roam - after all you might decide that you don't want to be parted from the lakes, or change your minds about the mountains. taking the michelin guide to Italy with you would be a good idea if this is what you decide to do.

you could pick up your car on leaving lake como and return it at the piazzale roma in venice with no problem. though you might appreciate having a car in como. [we wished we'd had one when we went to garda].

congrats to your wife on her retirement [and on her choice of spouse!]

regards, ann

isabel

I think your new plan sounds very lovely. I'd go straight to Lake Como from the airport, it's very easy to get to as there is a bus that goes direct from the airport to the town of Como. This site has some information, but Steve James a frequent poster here can tell you exactly how to do it. www.comoguide.com/milan-airport.html

On Lake Como I'd recommend you stay in Varenna, and the Hotel du Lac was lovely. Most people stay in Bellagio but I really thought Varenna was nicer, less touristy. Here's a photo of Varenna I took from the castle at the top of the town. (www.pbase.com/annforcier/image/56791488)

If I were you I'd pick up the car in the town of Como on the way out of that area and keep it for the Veneto and Bologna, then drop it before Venice and do Venice and Milan last.

Have a great trip.

allyboy

My appreciation goes out to all who are giving me suggestions. So far I have plans to fly in and out of Milan and have booked the Hotel Du Lac in Varenna for the first four days of our trip. My plan next is to rent a car in Como and drive to the town in the Veneto (where I will base) for the next three days,

Some questions....

(1). I want to select several towns from Verona, Vicenza, Padua, Asolo, Basssano del Grappo over the next three days and don't know where to base. Bob has suggested Bassano however, how far is each of the towns?

(2) Should I rent a car in Como and drive to where I am basing or take the train to the Veneto where I can rent the car?

(3) Since I want to visit Bologna for a few days and visit Parma and Ravenna should I stay in Bologna or continue staying in the Veneto--again I have no idea of the distances.

(4) What is the best and quickest way to get to Varenna after arriving at Malpensa?
I understand that the bus Isabel suggested is no longer in existence.

Thanks again for your time and patience.

ellenem

Malpensa to Varenna:

Take the Malpensa Express shuttle bus to Milano Centrale.

From Milano Centrale, take a train to Varenna-Esino.

allyboy

Thanks Ellen. I thought that there was a way of going from Malpensa airport without having to go into Milano Centrale. I remember reading somewhere that you switch trains before arriving in Milan.

Zerlina

You can take the Le Nord train to Saronno and switch to a train to Como Lago, but Le Nord will not take you to Varenna.

ellenem

As Zerlina said, the train connection takes you to Como Lago at the south end of the lake. From there you would have to take a boat north to reach Varenna. Depending on the timing and connections, it could take another hour or two.

When I visited Bellagio in 2006, we chose to take the train via Milano Centrale to Varenna and then the 15-minute ferry to Bellagio, rather than the other train to Como. The worked better than we expected for a specific reason: we arrived to discover the boats were on strike until 5PM. So we sat in Varenna for two hours and enjoyed the view, then took the short hop over to Bellago. If we had been at Como, we would have had a much longer boat ride to live through before reaching Bellagio. Just off the plane from the U.S., we were glad to make a quick connection to our hotel once the strike ended.

bellini

Our tour of Northern italy in Oct 2000 was entirely by train. We flew into Milan Malpensa, stayed one night in Milan, train to Bergamo, on to Brescia (overnight); Mantua (2 nights), Ferrara (1 night), Ravenna. On other occasions we have flown to Venice (3 nights) and on to Padua (2 nights) and Verona (2 nights). Another trip was to Bologna, with side trips to Parma and Modena. We have never needed a car. italian trains are wonderful!