We have a month to spend in Italy next year. This is our first visit there. Flights are set..flying into Milan and out of Venice...now working on the car vs rail decision. Any advice out there. My first thoughts are to do both but am confused right from the begining....No car for Milan for two days but then drive to Lakes area or train there??? Also any good ideas for places to stay in Milan...this will be our first night there with extreme jet lag so good accomadations are a must for this stop. I checked the ACMilano but it is already booked for then..
Thanks in advance

Car vs rail - depends on what kind of trip do you want. Do you want to relax and see the country side, live in villas, stop at random spots whenever you want? Or do you want to see a few sights, museums, big cities, live in hotels?

You can absolutely do both, train and car. There's a lot of information for either or both on the Italy forum

If you'll be mostly visiting cities then there is no need for a car but if you plan on visiting and staying in small towns then you will definitely need to rent a car. Determine your itinerary and then make the decision. If you want both cities and small towns then plan all your city sightseeing together and then rent a car and drop it off in Venice.

Lake Como does not require a car since the ferries go just about everywhere. You can take a train from Milan to Varenna or Como City and then take a ferry or hydrofoil to any town you choose to stay in. If you train to Varenna then buy your round trip ticket (if leaving from Varenna) in Milan as there is no ticket office in Varenna.

Truthfully we want to do it all...I am just not sure just how
to go about it. My thought was to start in Milan then head to Lake region then The Riviera, then Tuscany and with a huge push to avoid Rome at all costs during Holy week. Planning on spending 4-5 days there before Holy Week. Then South to Pompeii and the Coast then back up the other coast and do Bologna and Florence on the way to Venice. Hows that for a rather long nutshell version. I am a newbie here so please bear with me. So no car in Milan but was thinking of car to the Lake Como Region or should we just take the train there??
We had hoped to spend a couple of days there. Then Tain to the Riviera or is a car doable there?? Okay enough questions for now...

Hmmm... 9-10 locations in 4 weeks (exactly 28 nights or more/less?) seems like a lot of moving around. This would be too much for many people. You might think about cutting back on destinations in order to enjoy your time and not exhaust yourselves.

It seems like you only need a car for the Tuscany portion. You can train from Milan to Lake Como, train to the Riviera (and use the train and public boats while there), pick up a car when leaving the Riviera, tour Tuscany (I assume you mean countryside), return car in Orvieto on your way to Rome, train from Orvieto to Rome, train(+ maybe a bus- depending on coast location) to Pompeii/Coast (I am assuming Amalfi coast), train to Florence, train to Bologna, train to Venice.

Not sure what you mean by "back up the other coast" to Bologna and Florence. This would take a long time and probably not worth it. Traveling direct would be better.

Which lake/s in the Lake Region? It's hard to explore a 'region' without a car, but a few days at Lake Como don't necessitate a car. You can even take a day trip from the mid-lake area to Lake Lugano in Switzerland on public trans.

Where on the Italian Riviera? Most of it is well covered by train service, but whether or not a car would be helpful depends on what you want to see/do.

Tuscany without a car is almost impossible, and you could keep the car until you reach Rome or the Naples/Amalfi Coast area (whichever you do first). If you plan on seeing/doing the usual tourist sights in the Naples/Amalfi Coast area, a car is not required.

From there to Florence, Bologna and Venice, again, a car is not absolutely required unless you want to make multiple stops and/or see places not easily reached by train.

Now I'm going to make a comment you may not want to hear. I think you're trying to cover too much geography, even in a month. I understand wanting to "do it all," and some people like to travel this way, but 9 hotels in 28 (or 30?) days is at least two too many for me. I find that towards the end of the third week, my body begins to scream "slow down already!"

BOB the NAVIGATOR’S FAVORITE ITALY ITINERARIE Here is an updated version of my favorite itineraries & my “Bella Italia” photo gallery. I hope you enjoy.
http://www.slowphotos.com/photo/show...y.php?cat=3827

1. BELLA ITALIA: Five destinations in 15 days—car & train travel
* Arrive in Milan[MXP] & depart from Venice[VCE]or vice versa.
* Itinerary to include the Italian Lakes, Ligurian coast, rural
Tuscany, Florence, & Venice. Suggested timing is 3-2-4-2-4.
* Option: Drop the coast & rent a villa in Tuscany[ 3-7-2-3].
* Best time to go: May & June or Sept. & Oct.

2. LA DOLCE VITA: Three destinations in 12 to 14 days-car & train
* Arrival & departure from Rome[ FCO] or arrival in Naples
* Itinerary to include Rome, the Amalfi coast, and Tuscany
* Best time to go: Easter to end of October
* Option: Fly into Naples & stay at 2 locations on the coast

3. CLASSIC ITALIA: Three destinations in 12 to 14 days-car & train
* Arrival & departure from Rome—may start trip in Florence
* Destinations to include Florence, Rome & Tuscany/Umbria
* Best time to go: Anytime, but May & Oct. are my favorites
* Option: Consider a weekly rental in Tuscany/Umbria

4. SICILIAN CHARMS: Five destinations in 15 days—car travel
* Connections to Catania & Palermo via Rome or gateway city.
* Itinerary to include Taormina, Siracusa, Palermo & more.
* Best time to go: March to November—May is best for flowers
* See: http://www.slowtrav.com/tr/tripreport.asp?tripid=634

5. THE VILLAGE SAMPLER: My favorite venues for those who enjoy natural beauty and quaint, small villages. Arranged north to south.
* Arrive Milan & depart Rome—car travel-- 3 nites per location
* Itinerary to include Lago Orta, Castelrotto/ Ortisei[Dolomites],
Portovenere[Liguria], Montalcino[Tuscany], & Spello[Umbria].
* Best time to go: May to October for the lakes and Dolomites
* Option: Pick 3 out of 5 and stay longer in Tuscany/Umbria.

I am open to all suggestions and appreciate all comments. After all isn't that what this forum is for. Great ideas....thanks and yes we do not plan on "hotels" every night and do plan on staying longer at some of the stops. We are not go go go type of people, we just want to be able to do what we can. we are not as concerned about seeing and doing it all as much as we want to see what we do well. Possibly a weekly rental in Tuscany. Our thought was to travel south and drive the coast north from Bari however if there is not much scenery or anything to do there then we will not do that. We thought maybe quaint towns and maybe local flavor would be nice there. Also is Sardina or Sicily worth the trip?? Are there any areas we should steer clear of as far as safety is concerned??

The Adriatic Coast, Sardinia, Sicily... In addition to the places already mentioned????

I guess I'm not understanding your priorities and/or what you consider a reasonable pace.

One thing you might consider is flying into Naples (or Palermo?!) and flying home from Venice or Milan or Pisa. That way you traverse the near length of the country only once rather than make the U from the Lakes to the AC and back north to Venice.

Our flights are set so cannot change those, however I may need to go back to the drawing board as I had thought 24 days to tour the country was gong to be enough to get a taste of everything however I may need to go back to my books a bit more and narrow some things down and list our must sees while still leaving time for meandering. Now one more question which seems to not have a direct answer but would love posters opinions...Purchase a rail pass or pay as we go??

Only 24 days... If you're thinking a week exploring Tuscany and 4-5 days in Rome, then you only have 12 days left to plan and a few days of that is Venice.

Prioritize the rest of your list and pick the top 2-3, but consider the travel time needed between the places you choose. You could probably visit Florence as a day trip from your Tuscan countryside base, but that wouldn't be the way I'd choose to see Florence. If you spent a few days in Florence, you could easily day-trip to Bologna by train. FWIW, temps at the lakes and on the Riviera in early April could be very chilly.

You can't determine the rail costs and whether a pass makes sense until you figure out where you're going.

WIth the time you have at your disposal, I would consider eliminating either the Riviera or the Amalfi Coast. If you want to see Pompeii, eliminate the Riviera. I would for certain eliminate Sicily and Sardinia from your plans even thought both are fabulous. How about the Lakes, Florence, Tuscan countryside, Rome, AC, and then north to Bologna and Venice. It is a bit awkward and a little rushed but you can do it.

To get a first taste of all of Italy, in a totally unreasonable rush, you need about 12 weeks.
So go figure how much you can do in 24 days, in an unreasonable rush, and then go figure how much you can do in 24 days if you still want to enjoy your holiday.

Island 45: Since you are still at an early stage I think it makes sense to think more about how you want to spend your time, what is really important to you.I'd sit down with the Michelin green guide to Italy and read it all and see what calls out so you can develop and idea of how you wan tto spend your time, not just an abstract idea of "where I should go" . Is your focus food? art? scenery? history? you have lots of time!!! enjoy thinking it through.

If you pick 4 central spots at one week each (or 6 spots at 4 days, or combos thereof), you could easily do many day trips by bus, car, train or tour and see a lot without losing the time involved in packing and checking into another hotel.

Mark on a map the places you want to see and figure out if there is a city/big town that would have the connections you'd need. There are ample trains and busses from most places of interest for the first-time visitors. You could rent a car from your Tuscany base town to see some of the places more conveniently reached by car.

Many guide books (and Bob's good advice above) make suggestions for what you could see if you have 3, 4, 5, etc. days. You can use those as general guides for yourself if you want.

Great pix Bob!