annahall7777

Hi,

We are from the UK and looking to do a 16 night trip in Italy in August - most likely a road trip, but aware that some places are trickier to visit with a car, so would use trains if needed from a base point. We have done several US road trips so not adverse to longer car trips between locations (and everything in Italy is way closer together than places in the US). A family of 4 - 2 adults and 2 teens (18 and 15). Fully aware that August is not the best time to travel due to heat and how busy places are, but we have kids so we are used to this and can't change the dates we can go (and it can't possibly be as hot as Charleston was last August ).

Currently, we are looking to get the following places in, so it would be great to get peoples thoughts and suggestions on good areas to make our base and activities to do - as usual we seem to have one stop too many and trying to work out how best to structure the trip and what can be trimmed!

Naples area
Tuscany area
Cinque Terre area (thinking of staying in or near La Spezia and using the train services)
Verona area - Lake Garda
Venice (my husband and I have been before, the children haven't)
Dolomites - Lake Braies/Cortina area

We have decided not to do Rome, my husband and I have been a couple of times, and it would be better to visit as a standalone city break with our children at another time rather than August with a car. We have also previously done Florence, Pisa, Turin and Milan so not looking to visit any of those.

Any thoughts and advice would be very gratefully received to help me make some headway on what to definitely do and where to book the flights to and from. Thank you!

yorkshire

I generally prefer to skip places like the Amalfi Coast and Cinque Terre in August. Both are less than optimal with a car. Tuscany practically requires one, and it also has a coast with great hiking, so you might delve into a Tuscany book because you could spend all 16 days there easily, and not just hopping among hill towns--it is pretty diverse (mountains, beaches). While it will still be crowded, I just consider it a totally different experience versus being somewhere that is so on the radar for international tourism, as the AC and CT are.
I'd also consider the north, but I am not well traveled in that region so I'll leave it to others.
If you are bound and determined to explore a much wider area, your list needs to be cut at least in half.
I'm from Charleston, and I also feel like I can take the heat, but I have wilted in late May, when you don't even need a/c.

bilboburgler

I'd really not drive that distance in August but if I did decide to do this thing, then I would research Bison Fute (crafty bison) to get you through France at least easily.

I live in the UK and always fly to Italy. But in August!

Heat, I met a Texan on a Padova golfcourse who told me he had never felt such heat. I'll let you decide

Of the places you list I have put the ones I would visit more seriously at this time than those lower down

Dolomites - Lake Braies/Cortina area
Tuscany area
*
Cinque Terre area (thinking of staying in or near La Spezia and using the train services). La Spezia is .... basically a tourist town for visiting 5 Terre. At least most of the boats leave from there. You may prefer to visit 5 Terre by boat rather than the crowded trains (very very crowded)
Verona area - Lake Garda
Venice (my husband and I have been before, the children haven't)
Naples area

Not know your local airport, check out Pisa/Florence/Verona as easy to get to.

I would focus on the top two areas and then * visit the Po valley but stay north of Bologna, the smaller cities there are a bit less touristy and there are still interesting things to do.