I am starting a new thread with further questions for our June trip. We will take the advice here and start in Venice and end in Milan. We would like to spend about 3 days in Venice, then move west through Verona, perhaps down to Bologna, or up to the Dolomites, and then to Lake Como before leaving from Milan. Can any kind person suggest a 10 or 12 day itinerary with suggestions for places to stay and modes of transportation? Some of you have given ideas already but my head spins with this! I would like to stay at La Lemonaia apartments in Bellagio but no other accomodation ideas. Can someone suggest a base for about 2 days in the Dolomites? Sorry for the tons of questions and any repetitions! I am sooo excited for this trip!!! It is getting me through a January with snow up to our eyebrows and temps WAY below zero!

I might:

Go to Venice. See Vernoa on a day trip from Venice. Rent car leaving Venice. See Dolomiti. See Bellagio. Drive Car to Bologna. Leave car in Bologna. Take train to Milan.

If you don't want to spend any time in Milan, I suggest

Going to Verona first. Then Bologna. Then Venice. Pick up car. Driver around mountains and lakes. Use car to take self to airport.

Twelve days would be better for all that you want to see and to do it without rushing terribly.

Is it 10 or 12? Makes a difference. Assuming 10 nites to sleep in Italy:
Venice---3 nites
Train to Verona--spend half day--get car--drive to Castelrotto in Dolomites--Hotel Zum Wolf--3 nites
Drive to city of Como--drop car--ferry to Bellagio--La Limonera apts.--3 nites
Train to Milano from Varenna--last nite--perhaps near MXP if early flight.

That is a good start, but you have to decide real dates first before you can book anything.

Just a suggestion, If you pick up your car in Venice do yourself a favor and go directly south about an hour and 1/2 to Ravenna, This is where the ancient mosaics are. The oldest known to man and quite beautiful. I loved it so much I went back the next year with a better camera.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravenna

Hope you enjoy your trip.

Areala

Much as I love Venice and Bellagio I second the recommendation to work in Ravenna if you can. If you do Hotel Centrale Byron was in a central location. I would go there instead of Bologna, personally, and it's not far from Bologna.

Lots of great ideas! I am finding cars to be very expensive, more than 100 dollars per day. Is it possible to train to the Val Gardena, St. Christina and then to Lake Como? Our dates are pretty set - June 9 to.....depends on how many days I can talk my husband into. I would love two weeks but we will see. I just came up with another scenario that may throw some fits here. THINKING of training or flying from Milan to Naples and then Capri for a few nights at the end if we stay two full weeks. Gotta talk to my son and see what he thinks. Bob and Zeppole and all, thanks so much for your suggestions so far. Keep em coming!!!!!!

Hi again,

Just a suggestion on the car... we have rented through www.gemut.com and found their prices to be very good and they are very helpful via the toll free 800# on the
website.

Train to Val Gardena is not possible.
Just a recomendation if you do get to the Dolomites... we stayed at and can recommend the Garni Ariston in St. Christina, Val Gardena and the Ciasa Montanara in La Villa, Alta Badia. Alta Badia is just over the Gardena Pass from Val Gardena.

www.garniariston.com

www.montanara.it

Paul

If you go to Bologna, you can easily do Ravenna as a day trip.

Living as I do in Italy, I find it impossible to believe there is no public transportation in the Dolomiti. Whether it gets you where you want to go in a reasonable amount of time give your limited time to travel, I don't know. But I can't believe it's not there. Do a google search for "public transportation val gardena"

Lastly, tacking on Capri from where you'll be in Northern Italy is going to eat a lot of time. Last year, during summer months, somebody ran a regular flight out of Milan to Salerno. Whether the flight departed from Linate or Malpensa, I don't know. And whether it will run this year, I don't know. But if it does, and you can book it, you can get a ferry to Capri from Salerno.

Paul - I bookmarked both of your hotel recommendations. I will look into the rental agency for a car.
Zeppole - Thanks for your good advice. My son kind of nixed the Capri add-on because I think he doesn't want to spend more than 10 or 12 days with his parents! Hahaha
Since we will most likely stay north, I will look into Bologna, Ravenna, etc. Again, thanks.

I'm thinking you can take the train north from Verona toward Innsbruck, stop in Bressanone/Brixen or Chiusa/Klausen and get on a bus that takes you into the Val Gardena. I did this in Bressanone to get to Val di Funes (gorgeous) and it wasn't hard outside of the limited timetable. I imagine getting into Val Gardena, which is more popular, would be similar and easier. I don't have a link handy, but you might serve yourself well searching online for bus timetables in the Chiusa and Bressanone areas. I found a site previously that was in Italian and German, but I was able to figure out enough to catch it with my limited knowledge of both languages.

This area is spectacular if you enjoy landscapes. I can't wait to go back.

Of course there's public trans in the Dolomites. It just takes a lot longer to get around, and your destinations are somewhat limited. I'd rather have a car.

http://www.dolomiti.it/eng/zone/howtoget.htm

Hi all,

Sorry for the misinterpretation of my post... I was merely stating the fact that you can't get to Val Gardena by train. I should have elaborated... I know you can there by bus. By the way, Brixen/Bressanone is a beautiful old town. Our favorite in the Dolomite area.

Paul

lots of things to think about! I was in your shoes a year ago and this is what we did: fly into venice for 3 nights; pick up car and drive to Cortina for 2 nights; drive across Dolomites on Great Dolomite Road (this will take a full day!!!) and stay over in bolzano for 1 night (we did three and it was too much); drive down to Como or Garda for a couple of nights (we did three and loved it); drive into Milan for 3 nights; drive to Verona - leave Milan early morning, stay over in Verona and you'll have enough time; drive to Venice and fly home. We stayed at Westin Europa in Venice; Hotel Europa in Cortina - really nice place, convenient, and quaint, Four Points Sheraton in bolzano; stayed in riva del garda - plenty of choices and ours was not worth recommending but that's up to you...Sheraton Princess Diana in Milan - on the tram route and a last minute addition to our trip; easy to navigate from and one of the best restaurants I've ever eaten at just across the street; Hotel Accademia in Verona - they have off street complimentary parking!!! Things to see: venice is obvious; Cortina - go up to Faloria and hike or watch the parasailers, drive to lake misurina; walk down to the olympic venues; the photos from their games are really fun to see given how large and commercial they've become; In Bolzano, see Utzi and then head up to Merano - hike, see the opera house, gardens, etc. If you can take the time to stop in Isera near Lake Garda, pls do so and have lunch at the Wine Cooperative; Luca Bini will be your host and its worth the time in gold! There are some beautiful waterfalls as well that we hiked to see (well marked); In Milan, tour LaScala, the Ferrari store, Duomo and walk on the roof, Last Supper (you'll need advance reservations), wander the fashion district; in Verona - see Juliets' house(its cheesy but necessary), the outdoor opera/colosseum, fortress, market place, etc. We, by chance, were there on the one and only night that they perform the opera, Romeo and Juliet. We couldn't get tickets but were able to sit in the piazza right outside and hear it perfectly with a bottle of wine and the stars above!

Paul - the Garni Ariston looks lovely but my question is, is there enough to keep us busy for a few days in June? It looks more like a winter resort.

Still wondering about the hotel in the Dolomites, Paul. Also, if we stay at La Lemonaia in Bellagio, can we keep a car there? It is very expensive to drop a car off in Como! It is cheaper to return elsewhere.

Where are you going to stay in the dolomites? If cortina, I recommend Hotel Europa; if in Bolzano, Four Points Sheraton is fine; otherwise, I'd go to Venere.com and search in your preferred city/village.

see if you can work in bologna for 1-2 days. the old part of the city is not to be missed and you can get a bus to modena or fererra easily

Hi rbnwdln,

Your question... "is there enough to keep us busy for a few days in June?" Depends on your interests, but I'd say yes. We've been to the Dolomites 3 times in the last 7 years and can't wait to go back!
Just my view on things to do that we enjoyed:

The cable car (Mont Seuc) from Ortisei up to the Seiser Alm. At the top is an indoor/outdoor restaurant/cafe (outdoors on a big "deck" with beautiful views!). Easy walking (paved) an hiking paths into the Seiser Alm (beautiful area!) start here also. We spent the better part of a day here.

Ortisei has a small "old town" pedestrian zone which is quite nice.

If you have a car, a trip (or many trips) over some of the passes is a must in my opinion! My oinion the drives over the passes give you a spectacular and up close perspective. We spent the better part of a day just "sightseeing" by taking the Gardena Pass, Sella Pass, Campolongo Pass, etc. to the many charming villages in the area. I remember on the Sella pass in particular, there were areas to stop (one was at a cafe/gift shop) and take walks. The cafe was great to sirt outside at what seemed the top of the mountains, have a cappuccino and just soak in the vistas.

Here's a good website that has pass descriptions with photo's:

www.alpineroads.com/dolomites.php

The old town of Brixen/Bressanone, which is about 45 minutes away, is beautiful! It not only has a very large (and extremely charming) old town pedestrian zone, but the Diocesan Museum Brixen was fascinating. We spent about 2 hours there alone.

www.brixen.org

You could alwaysmake a short trip to Bozen/Bolzano to see the "Ice Man" exhibit. It's actually the only reason that we went to Bolzano. We're glad we saw it.

http://www.bolzano-bozen.it/en/museu...rchaeology.htm

At the start of the Val gardena, the small town of Klausen/Chiusa is very nice.


What we really like about the Dolomites is the charming villages, the beautiful old towns and the stunning scenery. The Dolomites are quite unique.

We liked our stay at the Garni Ariston and would stay again. It's not a "hotel", but a family run Garni. Only a buffet breakfast is served (incl. in room price). The rooms were nice, breakfast was good and we had a view of the Sasso/Langkofel peak right across from our room balcony.
Since the three towns/villages of Val Gardena are just a 5 min. drive from one to the other, there is a wide variety of restaurants, cafe's, etc. to choose from.

We also loved our stay at the Ciasa Montanara in La Villa, Alta Badia, which is over the Gardena Pass from Val Gardena, about a 45 minute drive. It had a bit more of a "hotel" feel to it, is fairly new, great Dolomite views and the buffet breakfast was the best we've ever experienced. Just way too much!
Again, the villages/towns of Alta Badia (La Villa, Colfosco and Corvara) are just a few minutes drive from one to the other. From here the charming old town of Bruneck/Brunico is an easy drive also.

We loved both places and both area's. Val Gardena seems to offer a bit more in terms of restaurants, etc.

Hope this helps in some way.

Paul

rbnwdln,

I'm surprised there is any difference in the rate for dropping off a car in Como. What is the difference? Is it possible that the difference is that you will keep the car longer?

When you talk about having "enough to do," I'm concerned that that if you might not find enough to do in Bellagio -- but then I'm unclear about your interests, and how much you would like to arrange this trip to suit your son's interests.

Right now you've got an itinerary that is pretty quiet -- car-free Venice, nature hikes in the mountains, tiny towns around lakes -- and pretty much oriented toward the food and culture of nearly-Swiss Italy, and fairly touristy in the sense that you'll be spending the buik of your time in places that live almost solely on the tourist industry.

All the places you've picked are beautiful places and I'm not discouraging you from going. Just want to make sure you are getting what you most want out of this trip.

Hi once again,

I should say that my opinions/recommendations about Italy come from never seeing anything of Italy outside of the Dolomites (yet). We'd love to see Venice, the CT and possibly Lake Garda and/or Como. As you can probably guess, I (we) love the Dolomites. After 3 trips so far, we are still wanting to go back, this time, at the very least, including Venice.

Paul