Hi friends,
We have 5 nights and 4.5 days around Milan and have a rented car. Need itinerary help.
we land at Milan Malpensa on 11th April 26 at 1 pm.
Option 1:
Stay in an apartment on the outskirts of Milan and do 4 day trips
1. Milan ( half day)
2. Genoa and Portofino and around
3. Turin
4. Drive till Verona and see Bergamo, Brescia, Sirmione and back
5. Free/ Como, Bellagio and other small villages ( revisit)
6. Move towards Bolgna, see the city and reach the apartment.

Option 2:
1. Stay 2n between Genoa and Turin and visit places around
2. Stay 2 nights near Sirmione ( I have been through it and find it very pretty) and see places around
3. Drive towards Bologna n stay somewhere close to it n see Ferrara, Bologna n places around
Reach villa on the outskirts of Bologna

We need to meet my 2 daughters and 2 son in laws and a 2 years old grandson on 6th day near Bologna towards Florence.
We are 2 architect couples from Mumbai India, age 60 years. This is my 5th visit to Italy.
This is the first part of my 22 days road trip into North Italy and Switzerland.
Plan for the next 16 days with 2 cars n family is
4n 3 Days- Near Bologna.. visit Florence, Sandeep Marino, Tuscany villages
1N Mestre- Venice
3N North east Dolomites
5N Spiez/ Gstaad and explore around ( 6th visit to Switzerland)
3N near Lake Orta/ Maggiore
Fly out from Milan Malpensa

We plan to rent a car for the next 21 days.
We have been on various trips in the past, to Tuscany, Milan, Portofino, Venice (4times), South Dolomites near Moena, Como, Bellagio in the north of Italy.
Besides these places, we have been to Rome 4 times, Orvietto, Sorrento, Position, Amalfi.

We love small villages and towns, countryside. Any tips on them? Italy has so many of them that its difficult to decide.

Need help from experenced Fodorites. I dont know if Stu Dudley is around. His trip reports and guidance has helped me a lot in the past.

Stu Dudley passed away.
Passing of longtime Fodorite Stu Dudley

tomboy kindly prepared a collections of all his documents:
All Stu Dudley docs in one place

The second choice might work. The first one with one day here the next somewhere else will just have you driving around on the highways stuck in traffic. That's a long weekend in between the next long weekend. Things will be busy.

You understand the ZTLs won't let you drive into most of those stops?

Thanks a lot. Shall go through it. Thanks For help. We have his legacy.

Traveler Nick
I wanted to avoid checking in and out trouble. 2 n +2n + 1n can be a bit unsettling. I thought I would be traveling the same distance in a star shape in option 1, as these places are in different directions.
I will have to look for parking outside ZTL and use public transport and walking after that.
I am still not sure about what to do

Kja, nice to see old friends around. I remember your help in my previous trips

I'm glad I was helpful!

I would also suggest Option 2; option one is a lot of driving.

Between Genoa and Turin is the Piedmont (in English) / Piemonte (Italian) area. If you like Barolo or Barbaresco wines, you will love this, and even if you don't care about wine, it's a beautiful area, and has many cute villages, such as Monforte d'Alba or Nieve. Note that it would be a two-hour journey, at least, from Milan.

For your fifth night, near Bologna, you could stay in Parma or Modena, each a lovely smaller city. Or Ferrara, a little smaller and also lovely.

If you are staying in a villa near Bologna, to visit Florence from there, it's about a 1.5 hour drive. Most of the lovely Tuscany villages are south of Florence, mostly on narrow, winding but beautiful roads, so your travel time for a day trip to Tuscan villages will be long. I would suggest that, instead, and especially because a two-year-old is part of your group, that you focus on day trips in the Emilia-Romagna area around Bologna. You could visit Modena, Parma, Reggio Emilia, Ferrara, or Ravenna. If any of you are interested in mosaics, then Ravenna is a must-see. It has a bunch of spectacular early-Christian mosaics.

If you were referring to San Marino, it is interesting, but you will have another bit of a drive.

Lexma90, that's a very valuable information and big help. I shall research further and come up with questions.
I am looking at staying near Bergamo for 3 nights.
1st Day Drive down and relax and explore Bergamo
Day 2 Explore Sirmione (2nd visit), Verona, Brascia, Botticino ( if possible)
Day 3- Explore Lacco side of lake come up to Varenna, Belano
Day 4- Long Drive to Alesandria n stay 2n between Genoa and Turin. Explore Turin. I dont know much about this area and if Turin is worth the visit. Any suggestions on small villages and towns?
Day 5- Portofino (revisit) Boccadasse, Genoa. If thats too much we will drop Portofino.
Day 6- Drive towards Bologna. Drop bags at the villa and explore Bologna
​Day 7 - Day trip to Florence ( 4th time)
Day 8- San Marino ( because my daughters want add one more country on their passport) Ravenna
Day 8- Free.. not figured out. May be Arezzo. Any suggestions ?

In Tuscany we visited several picturesque small villages. Any suggestions outside that area on my route.

A suggestion to re-do your draft itinerary and list by nights - where you will sleep. It's easier to see how much time you'll have in each place. E.g. Two nights will give you a full day somewhere.

Don't be shocked if that ends up being slower than just taking the train from city centre to city centre.

May be you check Lake Iseo as a base for the first 3 nights

Turin, the first capital of Italy (1861-1865) with all it's palaces and museums (among them the world famous Egyptian Museum and the the Automobil Museum) is well worth a visit (better 2 days than ony 1).

I have taken your suggestions.
I have booked an apartment at Tortino, for 2 Nights i.e. 11,12th April. This place is 1 hour from Malpensa airport and at the junction of roads that go to Turin and Genoa.
I have been to Portofino and Cinque Terre once. So may not go again. There are several small villages suggested here. Will try to visit a couple of them.

1 night- at Bergamo and visit Varenna and coast line of Lake Como.

2N- Sirmione. Have booked an apartment close to lake Garda. Plan to visit Verona, Sirmione and Brescia in 2 days.
I have been to lake Garda and Dolomites once.

Drive from Sirmione to Bologna is only 1.30 hours.

I know that this 2n-1n -2n will be a bit rushed up and unsettling. But it will save a lot of backtracking.

Brescia is actually on my way from Bergamo to Sirmione. But I won't risk my bags in the car by parking on the way. I have seen cars being robbed at several locations in Italy.
i ha e also read a review of a car robbed from a covered car park with cctv surveillance near Duomo Milan.
So will have to do 100 km ( 50km one way again) if I wish to visit Brescia.
Does anyone know a safe way to stop at Brescia on the way. Our bags will be in the boot, but its still a risk.

""1 night- at Bergamo and visit Varenna and coast line of Lake Como.´""
I really don't know how this could work.


""2N- Sirmione. Have booked an apartment close to lake Garda. Plan to visit Verona, Sirmione and Brescia in 2 days.
I have been to lake Garda and Dolomites once.""
I cannot see how this could be possible. 2 nights is only only one full day. So you have to decide what you want to do. Only ONE destination is possible. And all depends on where your accommodaion is. If it is outside, you maybe would not find a parking space, or have do circle around a lot of time until success.
I think the luggage in the car is the smallest problem. You only have to put it unvisible in the trunk. We drive with a camper, so everybody nows that all our luggage is in the car. And we really never had problems.
BTW: the drive from Sirmione to Bologna is by far not 1.30 hours, but at least 2 hours, if you are happy and there is no traffic jam.

Miwunk
I realize that the itinerary is too optimistic.
Day 3- Plan is to leave Tortona by 7am and reach Bergamo by 9 am. Drop the luggage and drive to Varenna by 10.30 am. Have lunch at Bellano. Leave by 3 pm to reach Bergamo by 4.30 pm. Roam around in Bergamo for 3 hours and retire for the day.

Day 4- Reach Brescia by 9 am. (1 hour drive). Do a walking tour for 3 hours. ( I take your suggestion and leave the luggage in the boot and wont keep anything on the seats) Leave by 12 am n reach apartment near Sirmione by 1pm. Spend the rest of the day at Sirmione and lake Garda. ( I don't know if that will be a Deja Vu feeling exploring Como, Garda and Orta and Maggiore on the way back)

Day 5- Visit Verona, a 45 min. Drive. Park the car outside ZTL near some public transportation ( bus or metro stop) reach the centre by public transport. Take a walking tour from 10.30 to 1.30pm. Have lunch. Explore the town for a couple of more hours. Head back to parking lot n drive back by evening.

Day 6- leave by 7 am and reach the apartment outside Bologna by 9 am. Drop bags and explore Bologna or some towns/ villages around. Am yet studying this part.

If you reach Bergamo by 9 AM, you need at least one hour for visiting this town.
From there to Varenna is about 1 hour drive. Here it depends what you want to see. Are this the Gardens of Villa Monastero or Villa Cipressi? Each one needs at least one hour. Only walking through Varenna is another hour. Visiting the old Castle also one hour.
https://www.castellodivezio.it
So you either see nothing from Varenna or are too late for lunch in Bellano.
If you are in Bellano you should visit the Gorge there:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti..._Lombardy.html
Not to forget the time for circling around for finding a parking place.
If you count all the hours you'll that this is only possible by rushing through.
Day 4: Here it depends where your accommodation "near Sirmione" really is. As Sirmione lies on a Peninsula you always need a long time for going to the spit where the sightseeing points are. And mostly you have to walk a few (or more) hundert meter from the parking place into the center. Sirmione is the most crowded town around the lake and the most overrated.
Day 5: better take the public bus. The parking places in Verona are fat away from the center. Last week we were in Bardolino and we took the bus to Verona. It was so comfortable, the bus bring you directly to the Arena, in the middle of the City.
Day 6: these mentioned 2 hours drive to Bologna is to optimistic.
BTW: I don't know if anyone has asked you, if you have experience with driving on the "wrong" side of the road".

Your plans wouldn't work in February, the idea you can stay on such schedule between April 24 and May 1 when everybody is on holyday... it's simply absurd.

Looking for a parking spot in Verona will take more than driving to Verona: there is no metro and you won't find a miraculously free spot near a bus stop waiting for you.
You'll waste 15 minutes in a queue only to pay the highway toll at Bologna's A1 Exit, 15 minutes if you are lucky.
Just take the train, you'll save time and money.

Miwunk
I realized the time to find parking at Varenna and roam around. I do want to visit some villa too. We will spend the entire day on the eastern coast of lake Como.

Your tips are valuable. Shall do more research.
My apartment is close to the main highway on the right side near Garda. I will have to have to drive to some station or bus stop to take a bus to Verona. Will do some research on that.
I have been driving in Europe, America, Canada on the opposite side of the road since the past 20 years. I rent an automatic transmission car. I will be comfortable driving there. Have done 2 road trips in Italy earlier including Amalfi coast, which is supposed to be a bit tough and don't find Italian drivers aggressive.

Great, Italian drivers are not aggressive.

Why are you asking for advice?