planestrainsauto

Hello Travel Experts! I'm looking to take my second trip to Italy this August/September. Last time was in my teens with my parents and this time I am looking to go solo and deciding between northern italy and the lake regions or southern italy and the islands/coast.

I am not interested in traveling with a group, but am interested in a company that can take care of some of the itinerary planning and booking. Does anyone have any recommendations?

I've been researching:
Cosmos Lite
Intrepid Travel
Perillo Tours

Would also appreciate advice on what cities or areas are best for a solo female traveler. I want to be able to eat all the delicious food and not be in an area that solely caters to couples (thinking Capri might be this type of place). I'm interesting in a mix of cultural activities, museums and what not plus hiking, beaching and relaxing.

Thanks!

bon_voyage

Travel_Nerd

Are you wanting a tour so you can take the planning element out of it or because you don't want to travel solo?

If it helps, I was in my late 30s (39) in Sept 2017 when I traveled to Italy solo. It was my first solo trip and loved it. I started in Rome, went onto Bologna, and ended in Milano.

My focus was not on nature and hiking as much as yours, though.

If you want to plan on your own, I'd suggest getting some good guidebooks to start. Honestly, many tours may not include some of the active pursuits you are seeking. It may be better to plan solo and supplement it with a day small group tours to the activity you want to incorporate. I did not do this for Italy, but did this very thing on my recent trip to Scotland and Iceland (also solo) where I booked day tours to glacier hike, snorkel the silfra, etc.

kja

I'm a woman who travels solo and would not rule any part of Italy out. Go where you most want to go, including Capri!

planestrainsauto

Ciao Bon_Voyage,

Thank you for sharing those trip reports. Those are very helpful. I will be researching more this weekend and may message you with follow up questions at some point. I appreciate you surfacing this information - seems like you had a great trip!

planestrainsauto

Hello Travel_Nerd,

The more I research the less I think a tour is for me. I'm totally OK with traveling solo, it's more that the logistics of getting from place to place, and where to stay are something I'd prefer to have help with - which some tour/agency groups seem to offer. It does seem like I'll have plenty or resources online and from great Fodor's forum contributors like yourself and may be better off planning solo and booking day tours!

Do you have trip reports or recommendations for Bologna and Milano? Iceland is on my wish list too....

Thanks!

PalenQ

Well you can book your trains easily in advance and for discounted fares at www.trenitalia.com or www.italotreno.it/en - two competing rail companaies using same tracks and stations - www.seat61.com has loads on doing that yourselves online - general info BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com. And easy to book own hotels too. And tours in each place too if you want that - all cheaper than a group tour.

suze

The more I research the less I think a tour is for me.

Hooray!!!!!!! It's so fun to travel solo. And Italy is not a difficult country, at least not for the mainstream places most people like to visit.

Did I miss it? How long is this trip? How many days?

How important is the "beachy" part?

Travel_Nerd

Generally speaking, travel by train is possible to most points in Italy. Train schedules are online. Check out rometorio.com for other options (bus, car, etc.) but check against official sites for accuracy.

There is no reason why you can't plan most of this trip yourself. I strongly suggest getting a good guidebook or two - they generally have a "getting here" section before most cities/towns or regions. Sure a travel agent can help with this stuff, too, but they do not always help you plan around train schedules and if you do, you're paying them for something that is readily available online for free. It's your trip, your call, though.

Use us for itinerary feedback once you have a draft. We have several frequent posters who spend a lot of time in Italy that can give feedback and for how to get from place to place, if you run into roadblocks. In fact one of my favorite posters has already responded to this thread and is incredibly helpful in that area (not to say there aren't other helpful posters, of course).

As far as Bolongna and Milano - what sort of recommendations are you seeking? I had my own reasons for wanting to go to both cities which may differ from yours. I choose where I travel after doing a lot of research. Ask yourself why you want to see what/where you want to see and plan accordingly, it really is very personal to the person. To be Frank, I had ONE reason to go to Milano and planned an entire trip around it, including finding additional sites to see after research - which is how I tend to plan.

If you're seeking restaurant recommendations in both cities, I am horribly unreliable as I don't keep notes of them and just tend to find a place that seems good in the moment. Bologna is sometimes referred to as the culinary capital of Italy, though. You really can't go wrong food wise there!

I do not submit trip reports here after being very criticized for one here years ago under a different name. But if you PM me, I will be happy to share some of my photos of both cities. Iceland is definitely special and hope you make it there as well.

StCirq

How long are you thinking of staying in Bologna and Milano?

Unlike many here, Milano is one of our favorite European cities, and I can't imagine it being a problem for a solo traveler (can't imagine anywhere in Italy being a problem for a solo traveler, actually).

You say you're looking for places to stay, but it depends on whether you want a hotel or an apartment in a big city. I can recommend an amazing (to us) place (apartment near the Brera neighborhood) we stayed for a week in Milano, but without knowing what your budget is (per night, in euros) or how many nights you have, it might not be appropriate.

suze

appreciate advice on what cities or areas are best for a solo female traveler

Well Venice was a piece of cake. I've been there twice. But I would be comfortable in any of the major cities solo.

You still haven't mentioned how long this trip is (?) but I would be very comfortable putting together a trip that included Venice, Milan, Florence myself with at least 2 weeks on the ground. Flying into one city, out of another, and moving between them on the train (w/ ticket purchased at the train station after arrival).

whitehall

Last fall, we stayed in Bologna. The food is amazing there, lots of students and a very youthful vibe. Very, very busy city but not touristy. Here is our trip report: Florence or Bologna? 7 nights early October We generally stay in airbnbs and did there. It is also easy to use booking.com that offers hotels, B&B's, apartments and hostels. Rail from Bologna to such places as Parma, Modena and Ferrara made it a perfect base. Really loved it, and we are among those who did not like Milan (despite getting to see a performance of La Scala opera house from the best seat in the house). In nearly every city in Europe, we make sure to be as close to the city center as possible, with an eye toward the walking distance to the stazione or rail station. You will see maps on most websites or the ability to filter by distance to city center on sites like booking.com. We are good cooks, and therefore book apartments with kitchens and prepare some of our meals at home (using fabulous ingredients found at local markets). When we are looking at restaurants, we use the same apps we might use at home, like Yelp; nearly every place has a menu outside. We stay away from places obviously catering to tourists (someone hawking out front; menus and displays with photos), scan the food on plates of outside diners and sometimes just pick a place that looks right. That almost always works for us. Others might preplan meals based on recommendations in places such as this, but eating out for us is too subjective for that. In any event, your selection likely will be better than a a meal prepared en masse for a group tour.

suze

Traveling solo the eating out in nicer restaurants thing almost never happens (my choice). Yes I never have a problem finding casual food in any city I've visited. But I enjoy visiting grocery stores, bakeries, farmer's markets, street stalls, etc. or grabbing something prepared to-go from a deli. when I'm alone I'd just as soon eat on a park bench for a picnic lunch. Or have a larger hot meal mid-day and then picnic in my room with a bottle of wine end of day. That's more about me, and being solo, than anything specific to Italy. Certainly you can eat out every night in a wonderful restaurant if that's more your style.

dreamon

There are several online sites that I use all the time for planning my holidays. You might find them helpful too.
google maps and google images (and occasionally google translate)
rome2rio
seat61
skyscanner
getbybus
booking.com
hostelworld
tourism website for particular town that I want to visit

These give me the starting point for more information than I could possibly need.

btw I travelled last year for 2 months, half of that solo and solo for the first time. I absolutely loved it. Apart from where to visit, I focused my research on how to get from A to B, which I found very useful once I got there.

One last thing which I recommend is to keep your luggage to that which you can easily lift and carry if you need to. It makes a huge difference.

PalenQ

Bologna to me is one of the most underrated cities in Europe - at least by tourists who from many posts here rarely mention Bologna, which suffers by being wedged in between Venice, Florence and Rome. Bologna is said to have more classified historic edifices than any other Italian city and is a good wet weather destination as many walkways are covered. I walked thru the famous university buildings too - ancient buildings. Can be a great day trip or base. And yes Bologna has the reputation of being a foodies' delight - a lot more than baloney!

whitehall

Dreamon's list is similar to mine. Make sure you download to your smart phone offline maps (we prefer google but there are other options). No data usage to worry about, and you get the same verbal turn by turn directions that you are used to at home. Perfect even when trying to make your way around a city center.

bon_voyage

planestrainsauto

Thanks Kja! Glad to hear you had a good experience. I had worried that it would be hard to navigate restaurants on Capri solo - and eating good food is of the utmost importance while in Italy .

planestrainsauto

excellent resources PalenQ, thanks!

suze

https://www.lacalcina.com/
If you make it to Venice I can recommend this hotel. The single rooms without view are fine for solo. Loved this place (been twice).