Italian Roadtrip ideas/feedback
 

We are planning our honeymoon (Venice, Garda [Malcesine], CT [Monterosso], Montepulciano, Florence), renting a car on the last day in Venice and returning first day in Florence. I'm looking for stops along our road trips in between areas. So far this is what I'm considering:

1) Venice to Garda- stopping in Verona
2) Garda to CT- would Parma be worth a stop for lunch? welcoming recommendations for a good stopping point or two here.
3) Monterosso to Montepulciano- we'd like to stop in Pisa to recreate a childhood photo of my future husband's to surprise his mom; also considering stopping in Volterra, but wondering if it's worth it to go slightly out of the way to Lucca? Any thoughts or suggestions welcomed!

Also, rookie question: how do toll roads in Italy work? Can we stop to pay the toll in cash along the way?

Thanks so much for your ideas :)

Traffic conditions on Garda and le Cinque Terre change during the year, so it would be good to know what time of year you are planning to go to figure out where you are likely to be near the lunch hour after you leave Malcesine in the morning, and when you want to be in le Cinque Terre (presumably before dark, and sunset time also changes during the year). Similarly, Parma is a great stop for lunch at some times of the year and less so at others (like today!) when it is too hot to want to be there eating cheese. But there are many lovely places to eat lunch between Lago di Garda and the sea coast.

You might find it easier to extend a day in Venice so you can visit Verona as a day trip by train. A nice way to see Verona is to go for lunch, walk around, stay for the aperitivo hour, and then go back (you'll be so full you won't need a dinner). But driving into Verona is not much fun if you have never driven in Italy before. It is a large and busy city, with lots of "no-go" areas for cars -- meaning you will get a huge traffic fine if you mistakenly drive those streets -- so if you really want to see Verona, think about my suggestion.

Since you also need to be extremely careful where you drive in Pisa, consider extending your time in Florence so you can make a day trip to Pisa. That way, you can go to Volterra for lunch on your way to Montepulciano.

Yes, you can pay in cash on Italian toll roads, and also by credit card. You can usually find pictures and YouTubes and detailed instructions by doing some googling.

Just to be clear, I am suggesting that you extend your time in Florence to go to Pisa by train as a day trip, not by car. It is a good idea to drop off your car when you arrive in Florence. Dropping it off at the airport is usually less stressful for most people because of the "no-go" areas I mentioned (they are in Florence too). They are called Zona Traffico Limitato in Italy, or ZTL, and you must know what they are and how to avoid them.

If you take Sandralist's excellent suggestion to visit Pisa as a day trip from Florence, you could easily visit Luca also. It is just a few minutes from Pisa by train. With just a few hours, you could walk (or bike) the walls and ramparts, go to the piazza built on the old Roman amphitheater, and have a nice lunch (or dinner before heading back to Florence). Get away from the main shopping street, and Luca is beautiful.

Also would prefer Verona as a day trip.

Exactly how much time do you have?

Thanks for the tips! We are going for 15 nights from mid to late May next year. We've already booked our lodgings, so unfortunately, don't have tons of flexibility to change from the following:

2 nights Venice
3 nights Garda
3 nights Monterosso
3 nights Montepulciano
4 nights Florence

Then, can't do Verona as a day trip. You will need every minute you have for Venice.

Sassafrass- yes, for the purposes of this question, we are looking more for good stops for lunch and an hour or two of exploration, versus a full day trip.

You'll pass very near Verona on your way from Venice to Garda, but be most careful of the ZTLs mentioned by sandralist. You should read up on them and then watch very attentively for the signs. You can't assume that if you see a car entering a street, it's safe for you to enter also, because residents have permits. There are cameras that take photos of every license plate and then match the numbers against the database of permits. It's very efficient. If you have a rental car, the agency will have to furnish your details to the police, and they will also put a heavy charge on your credit card for their trouble.

You have to take into account you can't drive into many of these towns (the centers are restricted - ZTL) so things can take more time than you anticipate. Parking on the outskirts and transporting in or finding parking without crossing into ZTL's (big fines).

I typed an entire long post for you, and it simply disappeared!

I don't have time now to recreate it entirely, but my suggestions basically are:

1) A good lunch stop instead of Verona is the pretty town of Valeggio sul Mincio. Much easier with a car and it makes a special pasta for those is love called "nodo d'amore". Check it out.

2) After Malcensine, heading for the seacoast, Parma is too complicated and a bit too far to make it comfortably for the lunch hour. Instead, go to Sabbioneta to some exploration and lunch. It's a UNESCO World Heritage site, but it's perfect for brief exploring.

http://www.italythisway.com/places/sabbioneta.php

If you need a cup of coffee after Sabbioneta, the Tuscan town of Pontremoli has charm and lovely cafes:

http://www.apathtolunch.com/2014/05/...ngs-to-do.html


I still recommend that you complete your mission to Pisa a train trip from Florence instead of driving in. Leaving Monterosso al Mare, you can aim for Volterra for lunch. But bear in mind that lunch is only served in good Italian eateries between 12.30 and 2.30. So if you are running late, don't fuss, just get off the road and find someplace to eat.

If you do decide to go to Pisa with the car, take very seriously these warnings about ZTLS.

If you have never been to Italy you might not realized that there are zillions of fascinating and delicious places to stop that are memorable -- and that's just between Venice and Malcesine. It is impossible to put all these places in guidebooks, and it gives people the false impression that the "logical" or "best" place to stop between X & Y is the places mentioned in guidebooks. But it really isn't like that when you are actually road-tripping, and you can tired of trying to find parking and being around so many other tourists in the guidebook-recommended places. Don't be afraid to just relax and take things as they come. If you want to sleep in before heading to Montepulciano, Volterra will last another thousand years (we hope!) and if you go to one of the towns before that or after that for lunch and poke around, you'll still be glad you were there.

But do be afraid of the ZTLs and learn how to avoid them.

And don't hesitate to tell everybody where you eat and where you stay that this is your honeymoon and that's why you have come to beautiful, romantic Italy. People will be happy to help you make it delightful.

Also -- as I mentioned in my now-gone post -- if you booked unrefundable hotels, you really should get trip insurance, especially if you booked high-end honeymoon type accommodations. If weather or other problems delay your trip, you'll not get stuck with the bills. It's quite worth it.

Thank you for the info on the ZTLs- I've done a (tiny) bit of research on them so far, but not enough that I'd realized they were in smaller cities/towns, too!

Sandralist- I can only imagine how incredible your sadly-deleted post must have been. Thank you very much for all the helpful ideas. We will certainly look into all of them!

Here's a good link for Valeggio sul Mincio

http://www.borghitalia.it/pg.base.ph...&cod_borgo=894

Even tiny hill towns have ZTL, but they aren't usually controlled by cameras. You need to learn the signs so you don't cross into them in the small towns.