weedso

I am planning a 2 week trip to Italy in September for a very special birthday present...it's a surprise for my husband. I am not familiar with Italy at all and want to stay in the best but also the cosiest places possible.

I am planning on flying into Milan and then driving to Como..(any suggestions on whether or not to rent a car in Milan and drive or take other transportation and get a car later in Como?), then staying 3 nights at Villa D' Este, then driving to Florence for 3 nights and staying....? (looking at Gallery Art Hotel and Lungarno?), then going to Portifino and staying 2 nights at Hotel Splendido, then driving to Siena and either staying in town at a new hotel (Grand Continental) or staying a little out of town at Borgo San Felice for 2 nights, then going to Perugia for one night (Brufani Palace Hotel) and then on to Rome for 4 nights...(don't know anything about the Boscolo Exedra Hotel but heard it is good and new, or the Baglioni Hotel. Could you please tell me anything helpful about this trip... It would be most appreciated as I want it to be memorable. Thank you.

travelhappy

Greetings!! We just returned from our Honeymoon in Italy. Incredible!! Driving will be a trip. Just remember to pull to the right when they come up behind! The tolls are expensive on the highways but worth it for the ease of travel. Be prepared for the gas prices...we paid about 5 euro per gallon. The lakes are marvelous. We stayed in Tremezzo - the Villa D'Este is very expensive... Grand Hotel Tremezzo is very nice - great access to the boats that can take you just about everywhere. You can rent a boat yourself for a few hours - they deliver to some hotels. Beautiful trip. If you are going to stay in Tuscany... I would suggest that you try to stay near Montisi...if possible and take a hot air ballon ride - www.ballooningintuscany.com, You will need to be there at 6am. It is a British couple that does the rides, absolutely marvelous!!! They have an incredible champagne breakfast included. We also have a guide for Rome if you'd like - she is Roman - we had her show us the sites for a few hours each day... awesome!!! When in Tuscany - if you can see Pienza and Montepulicano - you will love them. Has anyone told you about the times for restaurants? Be sure to eat around the 12noon hour if you can - most restaurants in Tuscany (smaller towns) will close 2ish to 7 - can make life difficult if you miss lunch!

weedso

Thank you so much for your quick response! I appreciate all of your ideas and would love to know if it is necessary to have a guide and how much it costs. The name of your guide and any information to get in touch with her would be great too! Did you happen to drive from Milan to the lakes area? We will be arriving in Milan and wondered about driving from the airport and if we even needed a car in Como. Congratulations on your recent nuptials and once again, thank you.

bobthenavigator

That is a real line up of all star hotels, but I do suggest you change sequence. Do Portofino before Florence--it is on the way. Also, I agree that the Villa d'Este is terribly overpriced and does not have the best location on the lake--the Villa Serbelloni does. I am curious how you made these decisions since you claim to know little about Italy. Why Perugia for 1 nite? Where is you car when you are in Florence? I hope some over zealous travel agent did not plan this trip. It needs some work if you want it to be memorable.

Bootman4U

I'd ask specifically about the Serbelloni rooms and whether or not folks who have stayed there think THEY are worth the money..I've seen/heard mixed reviews about the establishment. If you want to stay in Bellagio as opposed to Menaggio or Varenna you might do as well in other establishments.
As to the Exedra...very grand and close to the bottom of the Via Veneto...there's even a Mickie D's right next door in case you have a hankering for the fries!

Hagan

We took a shuttle bus from the Malpensa airport to Como, then ferried to our hotel in Varenna. It takes less than an hour by bus to Como, then you have a choice of slower ferry or faster hydrofoil to the different towns on the lake. It's all wonderful! After our stay, we took the train from Varenna back to Milan and continued on our trip by rail to Florence. It was very easy, and we didn't have the stress of driving. Hope this helps.
Joyce

travelhappy

Hello again.

We actually drove from Siena to Pisa, to Parma to the Lakes. Very interesting but well worth it. If one concentrates on driving and the other on maps and signs you should be good to go. We wouldn't have changed anything. I enjoyed having the car so we didn't have to drag luggage with us or worry about changing trains. We did take the bus from Siena to Florence where we picked up our car. Great ride, but multiple stops and we were eager to be on our way. I totally agree that having a car makes for a truly wonderful trip as you can stop to see smaller villages along the way. We found people didn't speak alot of English in these villages but appeared happy to see us and very friendly...

Our tour guide was Alessandra Recalchi - we booked her with Christene Kieffer at Cartolina Tours. [email protected]
Tours were from 135 to 180 Euro... we thought it well worth it for a private tour - she helped in getting us via public transporation (.77 eurocents for the subway and bus!!) to the Colosseum and Forums and the Catacombs. The tours were about three to four hours so we could still venture out on our own. Not necessary but we sure were able to see alot (Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Piazza Novona, Campo di Fiori, (tour guide not really necessary here but we got a great history lesson on people and architecture and where the free toilettes were!) the Forum, Colosseum, Catacombs, Vatican, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's)

The drive from the Lakes to Milan was very easy...you don't necessarily need a car in the Lakes - the boat system is wonderful. But if you want to go to Lugano, Switzerland you'll need the car.

I will be happy to answer any questions I can. Certainly not experts by any means but we did have a truly wonderful experience.

Alice_Twain

First of all, to me it seems you are trying to do too much with only 14 days in Italy. I would cut off half the destinations you planned, visiting either (Milano), Como, Portofino and maybe a couple of days in Flornce (trip better suited to trains and buses) or Florence, Siena, Perugia and Rome (trip better suited to cars, at least until Perugia. In Perugia you can drop the car and take the train into Rome). Also, IMHO Portofino is overpriced and overrated too: basically it is a place where you go for seing those who can afford it. There are places in the same area that allow better value. In any case, if you dont' slow down dramatically you will end up seeing very little and travelling up and down Italy too much.

weedso

Thank you all for your responses....I do have a travel agent who has been to Europe many times before working on my trip, but have been referred to the Villa D' Este by 2 friends as well. It certainly is pricey, but everyone seems to talk about it so positively. As far as our trip to Portifino, we couldn't get availability at the Hotel Splendido until 2 days later, so we will go to Florence before that unfortunately. My travel agent said it was not too far out of the way. We went to France 2 years ago and drove around the whole time and loved having a car. I hope it is the same in Italy. I think the hotel in Florence will park the car outside of town for us and keep it there until we need it...Perugia was mentioned by my travel agent as being on the way to Rome and we could stay one night to see it and perhaps drop the car off. Then maybe take the train to Rome from there. I really appreciate your candid opinions and it helps me so much to hear from people who have already been there. I really would love to know more opinions regarding the hotel selections I mentioned before in my original message. Any more suggestions? We really want something nice, but don't want to feel ripped off either. Thank you.

amcc

Hi! We did a somewhat similar trip for our honeymoon, going from Como to Florence, Siena, then Rome. The two nights we had at Villa d'Este were magical. I know that some don't find it spending the money one of their priorities, but we were so glad we splurged on that particular hotel. It's gorgeous and the food was fantastic. We had a car and drove leisurely down to Rome using mainly small roads and exploring, but getting on the highway when we needed to get to Rome to turn in the car. I agree the highways are superb and it is generally not a difficult country to navigate between cities. It's so much fun to be able to stop where you want, how long you want, even get lost. In the cities, I'd recommend not having a car. The Palazzo Ravizza in Siena was very charming - our room had a golden view over the countryside and they have a parking lot for your car. It's inside the city walls, and only about a 5 minute walk to the plaza.
If you don't have a tour guide for the Vatican Museum, I recommend the audio tours. They are very comprehensive and help put some of the overwhelming amount of artwork in perspective.

bobthenavigator

Ok--since you did ask, let me tell you what I would do with your time in Italy.
First, I would have 4 destinations only.
I would skip Portofino and Perugia for this trip and have time to enjoy these:
Lago Como--staying at GH Mennagio--3
Train to Florence--Lungarno--3
Get car and stay at Locanda della Amorosa to explore Tuscany--4[if you have to see Umbria you can do it from here--no raeson for Perugia]
Drive to Orvieto--drop car--see Orvieto and then train to Rome--Hotel Russie-4

That is enough for 2 weeks. I have planned more than 6 dozen trips like this and have learned that less is more. I just saved you a few grand and cost your agent some commisions, but you will have a more memorable trip. Buon viaggio !

weedso

I have looked into the Hotel Russie and have heard good things about it, however, was wondering if you had heard of the Baglioni 5 star hotel there, or the new Boscolo Exedra. Any comments on those 2 hotels? Thank you.

bobthenavigator

There are so many wonderful places to see and so much art and culture to absorb that the hotel really does not matter as long as you are comfortable in the right LOCATION. Italy is not about fancy hotels.

e_roz

I'd reconsider the car rental (except for a tuscany or umbria trip). The trains are supposedly inexpensive and easy.

weedso

I really appreciate all of the responses to my questions...I have been to other areas of Europe and some to the time, it did matter the hotel we stayed in. IF you can't sleep at night because of noise or heat, or lack of good service, I think it does influence your perception of the whole experience. If money is really no object, wouldn't we want to stay in the most comfortable place that we could in a good location? Thank you for at least participating in my conversation! Any opinion is a good one for me. As to the car situation, we traveled all over Germany and Switzerland in a car and loved it. I am not fearful of the car at all. It allowed us great opportunities that we otherwise might not have had.

PabloG

weedso -

We stayed at the Lugarno in Florence. Nice little hotel, small rooms, but had a balcony right on the water facing the Ponte Vecchio....AMAZING view. I'd stay there again. Make sure you get a room w/ a balcony facing the water if you stay there. Enjoy!

WanderingTexan

I really enjoyed the Helvetia and Bristol in Florence. It is luxury class and has a very nice staff. I think it is also better located than the Lungarno. The only thing better located than the Bristol is the Savoy, but I hear it is too contemporary. The H&B is very Italian.

WanderingTexan

I also agree with Bootman. I have heard the rooms at the Serbelloni are not very nice. I didn't like the looks of them from their web site. I really liked Cernobbio, actually better than Bellagio. Bellagio has the views, but it was too much like a tourist trap. I stayed at Villa D'Este and it was perfect, but I would stay in Varenna next time. Varenna and Menaggio are charming.

Michaelpl

For what its worth... My wife, child and I are in Bellagio as I type. Thank God we listened to Bob and stayed at The Belvedere. It is VERY nice and a wonderful short walk down to the city. Upon arriving my wife and I uncorked a bottle of vino and sat on our large patio overlooking the lake. Then took my daughter down to the lovely pool which also over looks the lake... >Its great!

Alice_Twain

As a matter of facts, a car in norther Italy is more of a hassle than a real advantage. Train system will take you anywhere you want to go in less time and more comfort than a car would allow and buses wil take youaround the cities. Only as you move south the car becomes an advantage and a relaxing way to move around. For instance, trains from Genova stop in Portofino every 20-30 minutes and they also stop in any other town and village of the coast of Liguria just as often.