Hello there,

I am in the early planning stages for a 7-9 day trip in September/October. We are a young 30ish couple who will be leaving our 2 young kids at home with the grandparents. We are therefore looking for a romantic, relaxing vacation but with a good measure of sightseeing, history and good food thrown in. We are hoping that by going in the fall there will be less crowds too.

After seeing the movie The Tourist (not a great movie, but gorgeous scenery) we became interested in seeing Venice. So..... here we are trying to figure out what to put with Venice. Originally I thought Florence... but then I thought Lake Como... and then I just got on Fodors Itineraries and they suggest ROVINJ, CROATIA (which I've heard good things about).

Can anyone give me some suggestions? We are looking for a moderate activity level -- not a crazy amount of traveling from place to place (although we do love a good road trip). Anyone been to Croatia? Any opinions about that instead of other destinations in Italy? Any and all opinions would be welcome and appreciated.

How about three days in Venice and a week in Tuscany? You can visit Florence, Siena and neighbouring hill towns -- v. romantic: wineries, great food, INCREDIBLE vistas (DH and I kept saying to each other: Why does God so hate the Italians...) or you could spend split your time between Venice and the Cinque Terra. We did not get to go there but I hear it is also lovely.

Returned from a week in Venice recently. (N0t enough time.) My advice is to stay in Venice and take day trips to places like Verona, Vicenza and Padua. Look into the Brenta Canal cruises for Palladian villas on the way to Padua.

Will you be returning to Venice to fly home? If so, then I would suggest staying relatively close to Venice. Venice to somewhere in the Cinque Terre would be about 6 hours each way on the train. Florence is 2 hours; Bologna about 90 minutes. Research travel options between Croatia and Venice available at that time of year; I think this could be a real time-eater.

You might want to read this recent thread.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-in-venice.cfm

IMO, you should be getting your Venice lodging reservations ASAP. Sept./Oct. is a very popular time to visit. If you want helpful recommendations, you need to tell us your budget.

Thanks all for the suggestions.

So maybe the general consensus is to stay in Venice? I didn't know that Sept/OCt was a busy time, I thought we'd generally miss the summer rush! Is it really crowded and unpleasant?
Do you think there is really enough to keep us interested for a week?! also, for daytrips do you rent a car or are trains easily accessible to places like Verona, etc.?

hmmmm... this gives me a lot to think about.
I guess I'm putting Croatia on the back burner (maybe it would be too much time spent in the car -- to drive there and back).

oops, I meant to add our budget too.

I would say we would be willing to spend $250-$400 a night for lodging.

Verona, Bologna, Florence, Ravenna, Ferrara, all are accessible by train. Also Bassano de Grappa, and interesting small city.

Rovinj is nice expensive a hassle to get to.

2 hours by train is sirmone.com the pearl of Lake Garda

Hotel Eden there my fav

also fav of Ezra Pound and George Orwell

Castle Termes Black Swans Roman Villa and awesome place

Head there fora couple of days otherwise enjoy wonderful

Venice... spg.com has deals on Westin Europa Regina

stayed there last hear $90 plus 4500 SPG points

for a canal view suite.

May did the Bauervenezia.com 40000 Delta Skymiles/nt

for a canal view suite base price 1000 euro/nt awesome

but lots cheaper rooms also perfect location..

www.hotelpausania.it nice little palazzo for budget

59 euro/nt Otel.com for me last in the Dorsoduro not far.

Have fun!

Enough to do in Venice? Here's a link to a trip report of my eight-night visit in March. A longer visit also provides more time to explore other islands of the Venetian lagoon.
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rip-report.cfm

Yes, Verona is easy to reach by train as a day trip from Venice. Also Padua (Padova), Vicenza, Bassano del Grappa, Ferrara, Ravenna, Bologna, Lake Garda . . . Italy has a great network of trains. If you really want to relocate to another city, an easy move with lots to offer might be Verona—good food, Roman ruins, compact walkable city, good transport connections to Mantova, Lake Garda. and the Dolomites.

check out the Locanda Orseolo for a fabulous place to stay. In your price range too!!!! Just go read the reviews. It was fantastic!

We spent five nights in Venice and then rented a car to travel to Lago di Garda, spending 3 nights at Malcesine, followed by a drive north through the Brenta Dolomites, a stop in Trento, and a night at Bassano del Grappa. We loved every minute of the trip.

ellenem, after reading your trip report it sounds like you really love Venice and have been to the area several times. After reading up more about the city I realize there's much more to do than I thought (I'd never heard of the other island of the Venetian lagoon and they look lovely!).

However, Im thinking we would do Venice for 5 nights, because really we do like to move around a little. Do you have a favorite itinerary/sidetrip? Somewhere that would offer a nice counterpoint to Venice but that wouldn't be too far from the airport so we could easily make it back for our departing flight. Malcesine that enzian mentioned looks gorgeous! Also, I think we would like to rent a car -- we like a roadtrip -- is that even possible in Venice?
Here's my rough itinerary so far....

DAY ONE: Depart NYC
DAY TWO: Arrive Venice in am, explore city. overnight Venice.
DAY THREE: Venice (typical tourist stuff, canals etc.) & overnight Venice
DAY FOUR: Venice & overnight Venice
DAY FIVE: Lagoon islands & overnight Venice
DAY SIX: Venice & overnight Venice
DAY SEVEN: Sidetrip to somewhere - Verona or Dolomites? ovenight ?
DAY EIGHT: Sidetrip? overnight?
DAY NINE: Depart Venice airport


ANY INPUT From anyone would be appreciated!!!
Enzian would love to hear more about your trip too. What are the Dolomites like?

Your plan for a sidetrip by car is a great one and easy to do from Venice. There are rental car office at Piazzale Roma right in Venice where you could get your car and begin your journey.

Malcesine and Lake Garda is one lovley option. Another adventure would be to head north into the Dolomites mountains to Blozano, Castelrotto, and the Val Gardena. Here's a link to a great trip report about one Fodorite's visit to that area:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...o-daughter.cfm

For a totally different experience, you might head south to the area of Ravenna and Ferrara. These cities aren't about dramatic scenery, but Ravenna is a must if you are a fan of mosaics. An the region of Emilia Romagna has great food. Bologna is also nearby. You could visit these cities by car or train.

hmmm. so many choices!! And so many good ones!
Can the Malcesine and Dolomites be done together or is that too ambitious for say a 3 day trip?

Would it make sense to do the sidetrip before Venice? or after?
Im thinking maybe I should fly into Milan and rent a car and drive to Malcesine and Dolomites region for 2-3 days. Then stop at Verona on the way to Venezia. drop car and then enjoy the city and end the trip on a relaxing note.

How does this itinerary sound?
Too jam-packed?
There are just so many beautiful things....

DAY ONE: Depart NYC
DAY TWO: Arrive Milan in am, rent car and drive to Malcesine. overnight Malcesine.
DAY THREE: explore Malcesine in am - scenic drive to trento and Balzano. Overnight Balzano
DAY FOUR: Explore Balzano with scenic drive in Dolomites. Overnight Balzano
DAY FIVE: Depart in am, scenic drive to Venice. Return car and overnight Venice
DAY SIX: Venice (typical tourist stuff) & overnight Venice
DAY SEVEN: Venice & overnight Venice
DAY EIGHT: Lagoon Islands & overnight Venice
DAY NINE: Depart Venice.

Sounds like a nice balance to me. You know better than me how well you will drive after the overnight flight. Bolzano is a good spot to stay for your travels in the Dolomites.

Sounds good to me as well.

In addition to driving into the dolomites from Bolzano, you can take the cablecar up Monte Baldo at Malcescine for wonderful views of the mountains. The cablecar is the kind that rotates during your trip for varied views, and climbs some 5,000 feet above the lake. The top is quite level and there is nice walking up there.

If the drop fee for the car (picking up Milan and dropping in Venice) is excessive, you could Llago di Garda), and pick up and return the car there.

thanks for all the input!
This itinerary looks great and Bolzano looks gorgeous.

Of course now that Im thinking....
If Im only going to do 4 nights in Venice... I could do Croatia instead of Dolomites. Which would be pretty staying by the sea (and hubby loves boats).
Like this:

DAY ONE: Depart NYC
DAY TWO: Arrive Venice in am, explore Venice. Overnight Venice
DAY THREE: Venice (typical tourist stuff) & overnight Venice
DAY FOUR: Lagoon Islands & overnight Venice
DAY FIVE: Venice in am - pick up Car. Scenic drive to Rovinj (4-5hours). Overnight Rovinj
DAY SIX: explore Rovinj and surrounding area. Overnight Rovinj.
DAY SEVEN: Scenic Drive to Pula (1 hour). Explore Pula. Return to Rovinj for Overnight.
DAY EIGHT: Scenic drive back to Venice. Overnight Venice
DAY NINE: Depart Venice.


Any input from anyone who has been to Pula/Rovinj area?
Anyone who has been to both this area and Dolomites and can shed some light on the pros/cons would be vastly appreciated.

We’ve visited Venice three times, first time for a week, which completely seduced us, and then for two longer stays, each of a couple of months. Venice is really quite a small town, population about 65,000, and it does not take long to see the big ticket sights, San Marco, Doges Palace, Rialto market, galleries and so on.

But once you’ve seen those things, then you can get absorbed in the detail, tiny campos, out of the way churches, boat yards, little bars. And that’s when the fun starts, as you become acquainted with that lovely city.

I wrote a bit about Venice, including comments about the lagoon and the out-lying islands, Mazzorbo, Torcello, Vignole (where tourists rarely go), and so on. They might give you some ideas.


http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rip-report.cfm and

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rip-report.cfm

I know that you’ve only got nine days or so, and if it was me, I’d spend all nine days in Venice. But I’m a Venice nut-case.

Dolomites or Croatia?????? CAAAAANT DEEEECIDE!!!