ttandy

My wife and I ( both mid- 60s) are planning a 3-week trip to Italy in late September/Early October of 2017 or 2018.
We traveled to Italy six years ago and visited Venice- 3 nights, Florence-3 nights, Tuscany-5 nights and Rome- 7 nights. We loved Italy but could not return until our retirement years. Our travel interests are history, people watching, good food and decent wine.

I need help on my potential itinerary for our upcoming 3-week trip.
Here is my starting point:

Day 1 Fly from Us to Milan
Day 2 Rent a car at Milan airport and drive to Bellagio - 3 Nights Apartment in town
Day 3 & 4 Visit Lake Como sites and towns via ferry
Day 5 Return car to Milan airport and take train to Milan center - 2 Nights Apartment in near Duomo
Day 6 Explore central Milan. Visit Last supper and tourist sites
Day 7 Take Fast train from Milan Central to Florence. Rent car drive to Umbria area - 4 Nights
Considering staying at
http://www.lapalazzettadelvescovo.com/en/
http://www.bastiacreti.it/ or
http://www.tuscanbreaks.com/
Day 8-10 Explore Umbria ( Any suggestions on what to visit appreciated)
Day 11 Travel by car to Tuscany - 3 Nights
Considering staying at http://www.locandadellartista.com/
Day 12-13 Explore and eat & drink our way through Tuscany. (Again suggestions requested)
Day 14 Return car to Florence. High Speed train to Salerno
Ferry to Amalfi -4 nights rental apartment in town Amalfi ( Should we consider another town
as our base for exploring the Amalfi Coast?) Mid-priced lodging suggestions?
Day 15-17 Explore a few towns by ferry on Amalfi coast.
(Trying to decide if we should waste a day and go to Pompei? Visited Ostia Antica outside of
Rome on our last trip) ??????
Day 18 Ferry to Salerno - High speed train to Rome - 5 nights
Apartment rental - either
Spanish Steps area https://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p1082093 or
Campo di Flora https://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p3630221
Day 19-22 Explore sites in Rome we missed on our first trip and revisit some of our favorites.
( We spent a whole day at the Vatican with Context tours last trip so that is covered)
Day 23 Fly from Rome back to the US

Any and all advice on what to see and how to adjust our length of time in each area will be greatly appreciated. This is our second and probably last trip to Italy. We are not getting any younger and there are other places to visit in upcoming years on our bucket list.

Thank you all in advance for your help on this very special trip.

Tom

bilboburgler

If it really is your last trip I might consider not visiting the places you have already seen. Though mid 60s is pretty young

I'd hack my way up to Turin and the wines of Alba and Piedmont. I might even consider hacking over to the Amarone area and certainly I'd drop by the food in Bologna (not all ragu) before heading south.

Umbria, great idea.

Then look at the deep south, Sicily is wonderful and the vegetables and fruit are exceptional, while the wine can be. Also Puglia where the wine is great, I suggest a focus on Salice Salentino a much underated wine district in much of the world (because they drink all the good stuff there) and then a drop by Lecce for the people watching in the evening and the Baroque.

kja

Should be a nice trip! Just a few comments:

If there is <b>any</b> chance that you will have jet lag, I would strongly encourage you to avoid renting your car until you've had a day or two to recover. Although many people are not aware of it, there is mounting evidence that driving with jet lag is just as dangerous -- to yourself and others -- as driving drunk, and <b>nothing</b> you can do will prevent the microsleeps (which you might not even notice) that are the apparent culprit. Stay in Milan for a night or two.

I think Amalfi makes a good base for the Amalfi Coast itself, particularly if looking for mid-priced lodging; other people prefer other locations. While in the area, you might consider visiting magnificent Paestum. And note that Salerno itself is, IMO, vastly under-rated.

If going to Pompeii makes you think that you would be "wasting" a day, then I'd venture to say it isn't a priority for you. It's your trip, so do what you want with your time!

If you don't already have it, I strongly recommend the Michelin Green Guide.

Hope that helps!

neckervd

I suppose you know that it can get foggy and rainy around the lakes in autumn.
Stresa/Lake Maggiore would be much closer to Malpensa airport than Bellagio/Lake Como.
Trains from MXP to Como about every hr, 1 hr 20 min journey, change at Saronno. Buses from Como to Bellagio about every hr. Only few boats in October.

The weather in Sicily would be much better in September/October. And there would be stuff for at least 3 weeks.

annhig

Given that there is no need to go back to Milan why not avoid driving when you may be suffering from jet lag, and spend the first couple of nights there. Then set off for the lake/s followed by Tuscany and Umbria, retuning the car to Florence and then proceeding as you have planned.

this would mean that you only hire a car once which is cheaper and more efficient than having to hire it and return it twice.

also given the time of year, you might consider not booking anywhere after Milan until you get there - if the weather in the Lakes is bad, you could follow bilbo's suggestion of going to Piedmonte where there will be plenty of good food and wine and nice scenery too. If you feel more comfortable doing so, you can always book a day or two ahead using the internet, rather than just traveling on spec, but that time of year you shouldn't have any trouble finding places to stay.

isabel

Sounds great except for the part about renting a car to drive a short distance (MXP to Lake Como) just to have it sit for 3 days. You can take public transportation (even a taxi) to the town of Como and then the ferry up to Bellagio. You just said you would use the ferry to visit sites on the lake so car is unnecessary. Plus, as Kja said, bad idea to drive after a transatlantic flight. But even if you are 'sure' you wouldn't be jet lagged there is just no need. It will be quicker and cheaper to just use public transportation.

The rest of the trip sounds great.

frencharmoire

I wouldn't give up the views on Lago di Como because of fear of rain or fog. It is often very beautiful at that time of year, and Lago di Como is very often pretty despite mist and rain.

No point in driving there, however. With the money you save not renting a car, hire a driver to take you from the airport to Lago di Como. When you are ready to leave, take the train to Milan (from Varenna).

Suggest you flip your Tuscany and Umbria stays. Then drop off your car in Orvieto (Umbria), take a train to Salerno (you switch in Rome).

Sounds to me like you were not so excited by your Ostia Antica visit that you want a repeat of that kind of experience. Pompeii is not easy to get to from the town of Amalfi, so you might want to resist all pressure to go. Not everybody likes broken down stones.

Also suggest you resist changes to your itinerary to include Piemonte. For some people, especially those with a keen feeling for French food and butter, Piemonte is the tops for Italian food (also if they prefer Barolo wine to the best reds of Tuscany and Umbria). Or Bologna or Sicily or Puglia (glad to know somebody likes Pugliese wine. Can't stand it myself!). There is great food and wine to be head in every part of the itinerary you've laid out. Between now and October you've got plenty of time to research. (In Umbria, I would not miss a stop in Montefalco if food & wine are your primary interests).

If you want to go to Sicily and elsewhere in southern Italy for warmer weather, it is a great destination overall. But thousands and thousands people love their autumn trips to all the places you are planning to go. The lakes are your biggest risk, so the sooner you can begin your trip, the higher the chances of lingering warm weather that far north.

bvlenci

You mention history as one of your main interests, so I would think Pompeii would be a big draw. I would also include nearby Herculaneum. However, you talk about "wasting a day", which seems to contradict your interest in history. I wouldn't go anywhere that I consider a waste of a day. After all, it's your vacation and you don't have to justify to anyone why you did or didn't visit any specific "must-see".

ttandy

Thanks to all who have replied, so far. The suggestions of not renting a car the first day at MXP airport is good advice. I will work on the first section of my trip itinerary. To clarify "waste", I am sure Pompei is well worth the time, but I understand it is a lengthly and complicated day trip to visit from Amalfi. Either ferries and trains ,a long bus ride or an expensive private car rental. That was my reason for considering not visiting.

Any Umbria sites that should not be missed?

tuscanlifeedit

Umbria, like any region, is big. We've used a stay in the upper regions to visit the beautiful landscape and make forays in to nearby parts of Tuscany that aren't always convenient. I like the Piero delle Francesco trail, including Arezzo, Monterchi (just one painting, but OH MY) and Sansepolcro. Also in Tuscany is La Verna, establised by St Francis and very wild and beautiful. In that visit, we stayed in Montone, Umbria which was very charming, and other than driving to see Umbrian scenery, also made a trip to Gubbio.

In other parts of Umbria, we have visited Spello, Assisi, Montefalco, and Perugia as well as Orvieto.

I can't speak for wine; not on my agenda.

bvlenci

I agree with Tuscanlifedit's suggestions. Spello, in my opinion, is one of the prettiest towns in Italy. Assisi is one of my favorite towns. Its associations with Saint Francis, the co-patron saint of Italy (along with Saint Catherine of Siena) are one of the main reasons people visit, but it's also a very attractive town, and the frescoes (by Giotto and others) in the upper Basilica of San Francesco are a must for art lovers.

In Arezzo, the Legend of the True Cross, by Piero della Francesca, in the Basilica of San Francesco, is not to be missed if you're at all interested in Renissance art. If you happen to be in Arezzo on the first weekend of the month (the weekend that includes the first Sunday) there's an interesting outdoor antiques market.