raji

Hi all,

This is my first post in Fodor's Travel.

My husband and I are going to Italy for 16 days, last week of July and first week of August. We would be arriving in Rome and departing from Venice, apart from the travel dates, we have 14 full days to explore Italy.

A little bit about us: I like cities. I like walking/biking around in cities exploring places, observing people, architecture and life. My husband is more drawn to quiet places, he likes relaxing in serene beautiful places, loves to sit and watch the sunset.

I went through some itineraries but found them too centered around art and history and guided tours. While we would love to explore the amazing art and history Italy has to offer, I would like for the trip to be a bit more balanced. We are travelling on a budget, so probably cannot afford luxury resorts and expensive guided tours.

Can someone suggest a 14 days itinerary offering a mixture of experiences starting from Rome and ending in Venice? Also, are there any public beaches, natural excursions that might fit in the itinerary?

I would also welcome suggestions on accommodation and transit from place to place.

Thank you very much.
Raji

bilboburgler

Hi Raji

My advice, when going to Italy at the height of their tourist season is to aim for the second tier of cities to get the most out of the trip.

Over the years we have discovered a whole bunch of places that are less musuem dominated, often walled cities, with a castle, plenty of shade, plenty of places to chill out and some nature to look at.

I would look at catching a train from Rome into the Po valley. All these cities are joined by the train system and by a large network of bike paths, through countryside, full of birds and other wildlife.

Look at




Ferrara
Padua
Bologna
Mantua
Montagnana
Even Chioggia if you want to make a very special entrance into Venice (across the length of the lagoon).

In terms of beaches, the Lido in Venice stands out, but from the "parco regionale veneto del delta del po" south are many Lido beaches and finally Ravenna if you feel a need to seen 500AD art.

After the heat and rush of Rome and the Heat and smells of Venice I think any of these cities will be an interesting change.

I can also recommend the Colli Euganei (hills) as a way to get above the heat of the planes and some pretty good vies

jamikins

Good suggestions by bilboburgler. Also check out Umbria and Le Marche.

We have been to Le Marche 4 times in the summer and absolutely love it. Very few English tourists and beautiful towns.

You can see our pics here
https://www.flickr.com/photos/pug_gi...57634528008046

bilboburgler

I have to admit Le Marche is on my to-do list.

isabel

I agree with the suggestions above. Ferrara, Padua, Bologna and Mantua are all places I've been and will return to again. Bologna has a huge student/university population and so it is actually less crowded in summer than during school time (I've been in both July and November and it was noticeably calmer and less crowded in July.

Sea side beaches will be very crowded at that time of year, not sure you can still even get good value budget accommodation for this July in places like the Amalfi Coast and Cinque Terre. But while the lakes will not be un-crowded, I've been to many of them in July and found them very pleasant. Lake Garda is close to Venice and probably less crowded than Lake Como. If you do Garda, pick one of the towns on the northern half of the lake.

Do you already have your air tickets booked? If not, consider switching the order and doing Venice first, Rome last. Tends to work out better for flight times (if you are from the US) plus Venice is a great place to get over jet lag. But don't worry if you are booked into Rome, out of Venice, that will be fine.

I would do 4-5 nights Rome, 3 in one of the cities listed above, 3 on Lake Garda, 3 in Venice. I wouldn't do more than 4 bases, you can always add in day trips.

Here's my Italy photos, there are separate galleries for all the places mentioned - http://www.pbase.com/annforcier