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Norther Italy Itininery Suggestions (Sep 06)

Norther Italy Itininery Suggestions (Sep 06)

Old Jul 26th, 2006, 01:06 PM
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Norther Italy Itininery Suggestions (Sep 06)

My husband and I are planning a trip to northern Italy for two weeks in late September. This is my first visit to Italy but he has been there several times. He loved the Dolomites region and wants to go back there again, however I am responsible for planning the rest of the trip. I have a few questions regarding my itininery and I'd really appreciate any feedback and suggestions. To give you a broad idea of what I hope to get from this trip, what I had envisioned is a leisurely-paced trip with a good amount of outdoor sightseeing/hiking, and of course great wine and food. What I am not particularly emphasizing in this trip are: museums, winetasting events, shopping, and late night bar scenes. The regions I'm thinking of visiting are the Dolomites, Venice, Piedmont, and Lake Como. Bearing that in mind, here goes my list of questions:

1) If we land in Zurich airport and rent a car there, approximately how long is the drive to the Dolomites?
2) Would 2 full days in the Dolomites give us enough time for a short (3-4 hour) hike, and to explore several small towns in the region?
3) We are planning to drive from Venice to the Piedmont region, with an overnight stay in Bologna. Any suggestions to a hotel in Bologna or a town nearby?
4) I am torn on allocating the number of nights between Piedmont and Lake Como. If you have 6 nights to divvy up between the two regions, what would you do?
5) Approximately how long is the drive from the Lake Como region back to Zurich? Would we be better off flying out of Milan?
6) If we were to pick up a rental car in Zurich and drop it off in Milan, would there be a significant surcharge (and indeed, is it possible?)

Thank you in advance.
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Old Jul 26th, 2006, 01:36 PM
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ttt - i have nothing to help you with but this is exactly what DH and i have been talking about doing in summer'07.
Hope we both get results.
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Old Jul 26th, 2006, 01:48 PM
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I can only answer a few of your questions and make a few suggestions:

If you are going to Venice, consider flying directly to Venice. Tour Venice, rent a car, loop up in the Dolomites, loop back down to Lago di Como and then cut straight across to Piemonte. Possible departure airports (where you could drop off your car): Torino, Genova, Milano.

Is there some reason you want to go to Bologna?

I think you would have to pay a surcharge to drop off a Swiss rental in Italy.

Would I rather spend more time in Lago di Como or Piemonte in late September? I'd go for Piemonte after a brief stop in Lago di Como to see the view. Not only do I prefer "the road less traveled" and non-touristy places in Italy, but Piemonte has a very wide range of things to offer: the urbanity of Torino or Genova, the beauty of the mountains, truly interesting food and wine, plus access to the sea if you get in the mood. It's a place really undiscovered by most tourists.

Since you mention hiking, I'll suggest you consider (perhaps instead of Como) hiking the Portofino peninisula (between Camogli and Portofino) in late September. In that case, I would say, fly to Venice, loop up to the Dolomites, head to Piemonte, drop down to Liguria, and drop off your car in Genova or Pisa and fly home.

Have fun planning. It's a beautiful time to go to Italy.


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Old Jul 26th, 2006, 01:53 PM
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Hi dc,

We went to the Dolomites for 3 1/2 days (we were there for the World Cup Final) this month. My Autoroute Software Program says it would take you about 4 hours to drive from Zurich to Castelrotto, the town where we stayed. The area is incredibly beautiful...the main problem with driving to the towns is that you will doing good to go 30 - 40 mph...especially if you get behind a truck or bus...which we did frequently!

I think you would be ok with 2 full days in the area..of course a few more would be nice, but you would definitely get in a couple of good hikes in along with time to visit some nearby villages.

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Old Jul 26th, 2006, 05:49 PM
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Nessundorma, thanks for your suggestion on the itininery. My husband was actually not very keen on Lake Como (something about George Clooney having a villa there rubs him the wrong way), and the Portofino peninsula sounds like it fits the bill better.

Wren, I'm so jealous that you got to watch the World Cup! We saw most of the games from the final 16 onward. I wish I was there instead. Thanks for your comments on the Dolomites.

I will post a more detailed itininery after I get the airfare all set up. Thanks again for your suggestions.
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Old Jul 26th, 2006, 06:13 PM
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dc,

Your husband can rest assured that George is in deep hiding on the lake and his villas are not in the area most frequented by tourists. Fair warning, though: George is quite the advertising icon in Italia, and it is difficult to go anywhere in the Boot without encountering larger-than-life sized imagery of Clooney in a cream-colored sports jacket and black shirt, peering quizicaaly over a pair of sunglasses, with a beautiful Italian woman on each arm. (I'm a liberal, so it doesn't bother me!)

However, Como *is* a true tourist destination, and that can be irritating despite the jaw-dropping view. My instinct is to suggest that you really focus on staying in Piemonte for the latter half of your trip, so you get the leisure you want, and know that the Portofino peninsula is there (within just two hours reach) in case you are motivated to get an early start and do a day of hiking in view of the Mediterranean. You can even find a place to stay for the night, no doubt, on a spur of the moment basis in Camogli or the hills above it.

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Old Jul 26th, 2006, 07:47 PM
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Lake Como is a "true tourist destination." Agreed. But so is the Portofino area, which in some ways feels more crowded and is a bit more expensive.

So, can anyone name a place in Italy with gorgeous scenery that isn't a tourist destination? (At least in the Suditrol/Trentino/Alto Aldige area the ratio of scenery to tourists is greater.)
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Old Jul 26th, 2006, 09:25 PM
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I agree with nessundorma. Why fly into Zurich and then drive all the way to the Dolomites? Unless you really LOVE to drive.

I like the 2 nd suggested loop also. Very logical.

Flying into Venice to get to the Dolomites is much more direct.
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Old Jul 26th, 2006, 09:39 PM
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dc, you may want to take a look at the trip report I just posted since it includes areas you are considering. From the Dolomites you might want to consider Lake Orta. And once you are in Piedmont, the Ligurian coast is very close and wonderful for outdoor activities and wanderings.
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Old Jul 27th, 2006, 02:11 AM
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Jean, Camogli is a nice stop, and while there are Italian tourists, it is not the same thing as Portofino or Como. Camogli is literally one town east of Portofino on the Ligurian Coastline. and was at one time a sleep old fishing village. It is still quite authentic.

In addition, most of southern Piedmont provides stunning beauty in a very authentic (non touristy) setting indeed. The Roman city of Acqui Terme (where we live) is an example: you will see the occasional French or Swiss car but it is anything but overrun. People come here for th food, wine, hiking, mountain biking, views and lack of commercial tourism.

In any event, there are certainly jewels to be found both here and in Liguria.


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Old Jul 27th, 2006, 06:09 AM
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Jean,

There are lots of places in Italy with gorgeous scenery whose towns aren't the circus that Bellagio is. I've found them in Umbria, Lombardia, the Veneto and Le Marche, but I was speaking in particular of the Portofino PENINISULA, which is a national park, where one can go hiking through the high hills over the Mediterranean and not encounter many other people at all. There are hikes that begin in Camolgi, which is one of the prettiest, most relaxed towns on the Italian Mediterranean (and cheaper than Bellagio) and end in Portofino (surely one of the most obnoxiously expensive and overtouristed, but perhaps one of the prettiest natural harbors in the world).

There are other areas with hikes and trails with spectacular sea and mountain views throughout Liguria, some near the French border, others near Cinque Terre, almost never visited by tourists.
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Old Jul 27th, 2006, 06:41 AM
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If you're interested in Liguria, Santa Margherita Ligure makes a good 'base camp'. It's a nice small to mid-sized harbor town, not terribly crowded as it's not on most tourists' radar screen, I don't think. It has restaurants, markets and shops at the harbor, with plenty of choices for breakfast or dinner. We stayed in a nice B&B there called Nuova Riviera. From SML, you can easily day-trip to Portofino and Cinque Terre.
 
Old Jul 27th, 2006, 06:58 AM
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We were just in Piedmont and Liguria this June. We found Piedmont to be very untouristy and really enjoyed our visit in the region. The highlight of our stay there was our B&B, which was Baur B&B (www.baurbb.com). Diana and Michael are the consummate hosts and you will not be want for anything - except more days at the Baur B&B. The wonderful pictures on their website are an accurate depiction of this beautiful place.

It is in Acqui Terme, which as bellacqui said is a wonderful town, not overrun with tourists. It is centrally located in Piedmont with easy daytrips to Torino, Alba, Asti, Barolo and Milan.

In Liguria we stayed in Lerici which was also a wonderful little town. From there we were able to do a boat trip to Cinque Terre and Portovenere, but also had easy access to the autostrada to see Carrara and other areas more inland. We did our boat trip to Cinque Terre with Megan McCaffrey of Bella Vita Italia (http://www.bellavitaitalia.com/) and had a wonderful day!

Here is a link to my trip report if you are interested in reading more: http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...2&tid=34830020
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Old Jul 27th, 2006, 10:08 AM
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Wow, thank you so much for your responses. Alison and jgg, I've taken notes on your trip reports. I am definitely very excited to visit Piedmont and the Portofino region.

I'm now tempted to fly directly into Milan and divide the trip into Piedmont and Portofino. From the reports I've read from fellow Fodorites, it sounds like there are plenty of things to do in these two regions for 2 weeks. Also, I want to surprise DH and rent a bike for him in Piedmont (he's an avid cycler and we almost drove off the road in the French Pyrenees a few years back when he saw Armstrong spray painted on the road...) Does anyone have any suggestions on bike rental companies in Piedmont?

Again, thanks so much for your suggestions. Usually I take much longer time to plan our overseas trips (we're based in Northern California) but I've sort of dropped the ball this year. If it weren't for this board I would be too overwhelmed to plan a trip with such a short notice.
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Old Jul 27th, 2006, 12:48 PM
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Sounds like a great trip.

These links might be useful:

http://www.inntravel.co.uk/walking/guides/liguria.htm

http://beyondthebrochure.homestead.com/portofino.html

http://www.parks.it/parco.portofino/Eindex.html

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Old Jul 27th, 2006, 08:35 PM
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Not to belabor the point, but to enjoy Lake Como one doesn't have to stay in Bellagio (not mentioned by the OP), just as one doesn't have to stay in Portofino to enjoy the peninsula. But go south of Bellagio just a couple of kilometers or to the eastern side of the lake, and there are dozens of hiking trails with spectacular views of mountains and lakes. The OP only mentioned hiking, but the mid-lake area also offers mountain biking, golfing, parasailing and all manner of water sports. In the northern leg of the lake, there are many charming villages on the ferry route that few tourists visit, particularly in late September. With a car, there are numerous possibilities for exploring uncrowded areas nearby.

A Lake Como visit limited to Bellagio/Varenna/Menaggio might leave the impression of a circus, just as seeing only Portofino would leave a quite different impression of the peninsula.

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Old Jul 28th, 2006, 02:25 AM
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True, Jean, but I wouldn't recommend going to Lago di Como without going to Bellagio, whereas I do recommend going to much of Liguria and avoiding the Cinque Terre and Portofino (unless it's the unavoidable terminus of a hike or boat ride).

If someone told me their main interest was hiking lakeside, I'd suggest Lago di Garda.

But I'm more sympathetic to your argument here -- that Lago di Como has beautiful untouristed areas -- than your previous one, which seemed to be that the beautiful parts of Italy were all heavily touristed areas, and there was no avoiding it.


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Old Jul 28th, 2006, 08:34 AM
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Hmmm now I'm torn again on where to go, lol. We purchased the tickets last night. Here's the latest itininery:

9/20-9/21 Arrive in Milan at 8am, drive to the Dolomites (This is a must for DH.)

9/21-9/24 Explore the Dolomites

9/25-9/28 Explore Piedmont

9/29-10/2 Explore Liguria

10/3 Stay in Milan (and I suppose a little bit of shopping doesn't hurt) to catch a flight back to SFO on 10/4

Would it be too ambitious if I allocate a couple of days to Lake Como?
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Old Jul 28th, 2006, 08:37 AM
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Forgot to say that I accidentally created two usernames (forgot that I had created the first one) so dc120 and dc0121 are the same.

-Doris
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Old Jul 28th, 2006, 11:08 AM
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To keep in the spirit of relaxtion, why don't you plan to finish your trip in Lago di Como. Take your car there and use it to drive to the airport the morning of your flight, even if it is an early flight.

I would make Liguria an option during your Piemonte stay. It is only 2 or 3 hours to drive to the coast in Liguria from Piemonte. Leave it up to whim and weather.

So how about this:

9/21-9/25 Explore the Dolomites

9/26-10/1 Explore Piemonte

10/2-10/3 Explore Como

10/4 Drive early to Malpensa

Or some such, depending on how you want to allocate the days.
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