Italy with my 22 year old son
Feb 23rd, 2016, 12:25 AM
#21
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Train is best all the way, although bus to Milan airport is simple if you are staying near the central train station.
I usually stay in an apartment in Rome, and would recommend that for any city where you are staying 4 nights or more. I use the agency Rome Loft. But if you prefer a hotel, best thing to do is check out reviews on booking.com for hotels in your price with availability on your dates. In addtion, booking.com has a great search filter that allows you to tick boxes for amenities like wi-fi and air con (highly recommended in June).
The order of your itinerary is fine. Something I might consider -- but now we are talking chocolate vs vanilla -- is Venice>Rome>le Cinque Terre>Florence>Milan.
You wrote previously that beaches are a "must do" for your son, so give some consideration to staying right next door to le Cinque Terre in the town of Levanto, which has a big swimming/surfing beach is well positioned for hiking and boat rides in le Cinque Terre. For a waveless beach with sand, Sestri Levante is 20 minutes up the train line and actually has 2 lovely sand beaches. The le Cinque Terre villages get so crowded with daytripping foreigners during cruise ship season that many people report they are only enjoyable at night. So one strategy might be to stay nights in one of the villages but plan to hike over to Levanto for a swim, or zip up to Sestri Levante for a swim and cocktail after lunch.
Also, this very much depends on your personal interests, but I would swap out a trip to the island of Torcello for Murano -- but that is because I am more interested in byzantium and history than the tradition of Venetian glass making. Subjective call. If you do go to Murano, read up ahead of time on ways to defeat the tourist-trap itineraries offered by glass factories, that often include a free boat ride to the island. Many people find a way to have a very enjoyable visit to Murano, but others complain of high pressure sales tactics you might want to avoid.
Can't help with cooking classes.
I usually stay in an apartment in Rome, and would recommend that for any city where you are staying 4 nights or more. I use the agency Rome Loft. But if you prefer a hotel, best thing to do is check out reviews on booking.com for hotels in your price with availability on your dates. In addtion, booking.com has a great search filter that allows you to tick boxes for amenities like wi-fi and air con (highly recommended in June).
The order of your itinerary is fine. Something I might consider -- but now we are talking chocolate vs vanilla -- is Venice>Rome>le Cinque Terre>Florence>Milan.
You wrote previously that beaches are a "must do" for your son, so give some consideration to staying right next door to le Cinque Terre in the town of Levanto, which has a big swimming/surfing beach is well positioned for hiking and boat rides in le Cinque Terre. For a waveless beach with sand, Sestri Levante is 20 minutes up the train line and actually has 2 lovely sand beaches. The le Cinque Terre villages get so crowded with daytripping foreigners during cruise ship season that many people report they are only enjoyable at night. So one strategy might be to stay nights in one of the villages but plan to hike over to Levanto for a swim, or zip up to Sestri Levante for a swim and cocktail after lunch.
Also, this very much depends on your personal interests, but I would swap out a trip to the island of Torcello for Murano -- but that is because I am more interested in byzantium and history than the tradition of Venetian glass making. Subjective call. If you do go to Murano, read up ahead of time on ways to defeat the tourist-trap itineraries offered by glass factories, that often include a free boat ride to the island. Many people find a way to have a very enjoyable visit to Murano, but others complain of high pressure sales tactics you might want to avoid.
Can't help with cooking classes.
Feb 23rd, 2016, 12:36 AM
#22
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I now realize that I was the one who sold you on putting le Cinque Terre last for reasons of weather, and thinking about it again, I'm going back to my original advice. There really is no guarantee at any time of year that you'll get dry weather for the 2 days you will be at the coast, but the second week in June ups the odds just a bit.
Feb 24th, 2016, 12:04 PM
#23
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I'm taking my niece same time frame. We booked a cooking class near Lake Garda, could be an easy day trip from Venice. Rave reviews on TripAdvisor, Le Gemme di Artemisia, good website, very responsive on email. We just booked a B&B between Piazza di Spagna and Piazza del Populo, one of my fave areas. There were several good B&B available (ours is $500 for 3 nights for a triple). We stayed at Hotel Piazza di Spagna a few years ago abd loved it. Close to Pincio for good walking and views. The Pantheon and Castel Sant'Angelo would probably appeal to your son. Lido by Venice is a favorite beach of some Italian friends.
