travel itinerary needed - Northern Italy
 

Hi, I will be in Italy for 4 weeks next spring. I arrive in Rome and leave from Venice. I have arranged a 10 day group tour of the Tuscany region and would like to have ideas on how to fill in the rest.
I'm not sure I will be totally comfortable driving in Italy, but of course I'm willing to try if I will see more.
I was thinking of checking out Como or Garda lake and staying there for a while, but I also thought it would be nice to see the Marches.
If you have done this type of trip before, please let me know what your thoughts are.
Thanks.

If you will be in Northern Italy, Milan is a must. We found the Lake Como region very nice, relaxing, great food/wine, but damn crowded. Very narrow streets wind down to the lake also. We went up to Switzerland, Austria, Licheinstein, and just would stop in some of the small towns for lunch and siteseeing. There's a lot of smaller towns on the Italy/Swiss border than have great food, not crowded, and the people are great. Driving in Italy, well, it's an experience, just be very defensive, if someone looks like they are going to pull out in front of you, they will. I've seen folks there make a 2 lane road into a 5 lane road. Kinda funny at times. Overall, we love Northern Italy and we're planning on going back soon for wine country tours.

First of all I'm envious, 4 weeks in Italy, not bad. If you're there in the Spring, the lake areas will not be very crowded, I would definately go to Como, drive around the lake, take the ferry from Bellagio, etc. Since you have so much time, you may also want to check out the Cinque Terre and the Ligurian coastline, its beautiful and you'll have pesto sauce to die for. I always rent a car in Italy because I like to go at my own pace...just remember, there's only two positions on the gas pedal, on and off. ciao

Wow--I envy 4 weeks in my favorite region in Europe. You have tons of good options and a car is probably a must for most of the trip. I am not sure where to start, so here are some sample itineraires to help you to plan.

BOB the NAVIGATORS? FIVE FAVORITE ITINERARIES
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MAGICAL FAIRYLANDS:
* Arrive and depart Munich--14 nites--May thru Sep.--car travel
* ITINERARY: Salzburg, Dolomites, Venice, Lake Garda, Bavaria
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BELLA ITALIA:
* Arr Milan, dep Venice--15 nites--car & train travel--April thru Oct.
* ITINERARY: Lakes, Ligurian coast, Tuscany, Florence, Venice
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CLASSIC ITALIA:
* Arrive & depart Rome--12 to 14 nites--car & train travel, all year
* ITINERARY: Florence, Tuscan & Umbrian hilltowns, Rome
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LA DOLCE VITA:
* Arr & dep Rome--12 nites--car & train travel--March thru Oct.
* ITINERARY: Amalfi coast, Tuscan hilltowns, Rome
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OF ALPS & LAKES:
* Arrive and depart Zurich--12 nites--train travel--June thru Sep.
* ITINERARY: Berner Oberland, Lugano, Lake Como, Luzern

THE VILLAGE SAMPLER: My personal favorites?north to south
? Arr Milan & dep Rome---car travel---plan 3 nites per location
? Lake Orta, Castelrotto, Portovenere, Montalcino, Ravello
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I am very envious! 4 wks! We had our first trip to Italy this past summer and 14 days were not enough for just N & Central Italia! Tuscany was our favorite part!
Arr Rome, head right away to Amalfi Coast (3 nights) and relax and enjoy the Beauty. Then 5-7 nights in Rome for action. Then your Tuscany Tour for 10 days, add 4-7 for Umbria & Marches if you can. 2 nights for Cinque Terre on the Ligurian coast, 2 nights in Varenna or Bellagio is enough to me also, 4 nights in Venice (include side trip Verona). I'm sure others can put these locations in better travel order but oh, what fun!

My other thought for locations and time that makes sense (to me): Amalfi, Rome, Tuscany, Cinque Terre, Milan, Lake Como, Zurich, Dolomites, Venice.

Bob the Navigator or anyone else, I really need help I cannot figure out how to get to the referals you gave me. I've been able to find bob the navigator by performing a search, but how do I get to the explicit 5 favorite itineraries? or any of the others? I am really new at this - obviously.