I'm planning a second trip to Italy, summer 2007 and I need expert advice figuring out the logistics. Here are the puzzle pieces:

2 wine drinking/adventurous chicks who haven't won the lottery yet
2 weeks
car rental-1 week/mass transit-1 week
We would like to be able to take day trips in the car, so some sort of base would be good.
Have already been to Tuscany region(loved it, but want to try something new)
Lake Como? Venice? Naples?(these places interest us)
vineyards(did I say that we drink wine?)
End in Rome( 2 nights)

We need your help. Any suggestions/advice would be highly appreciated.

My suggestion is that you fly to Milan, take a train to Turin, explore the city for a few days and then rent a car. Head in the general direction of the Ligurian coast, and there are many lovely, charming tiny hilltowns to explore along the way (Apricale, Triora, Cuneo). You might want to stop in Cervo, right on the coast. (Look it up the web for pictures).

You might want to then head for Camogli, and then down to Sestre Levante or Lerici or Portovenere. You can include a day trip to Cinque Terre by boat or train.

From there you can drive all the way to Rome, perhaps stopping in Pisa or other interesting places along the way. Or you could drop your car off in Pisa and take a train to Rome.

Another great trip would be Naples, with time out for somewhere on the Amalfi coast. Or you could fly to Sicily for a week and fly back to Rome.

The further south you go, the hotter it will get, which is why I suggested starting out in Piemonte.

Gotta do the whole Venice/Florence/Rome thing. Gotta do it.

Have to stay in Locanda Orseola in Venice.

Our driver in Rome had two cars stolen in Naples. He said it wasn't the best place to go anymore. But the Amalfi coast is still as dreamy as every.

You obviously wouldn't need a car in Venice and I highly advise you to not drive in Rome. I'm a very good driver, not afraid of city traffic. I would have been in 45 crashes in Rome and probably have killed several motorbikers.

PS: I do think Piemonte would be the best as a wine lover's destination. There are many wineries you could sample in the general vicinity of Torino.

Hi SteelerSuz,

Welcome to the Fodors Forum! I mean this in the kindest way possible, but you will get many more responses if you repost your questions with an appropriate title... a title that actually mentions what you are asking about. Perhaps "Need advice on Italy Itinerary".

That said, it sounds like you have 14 days in Italy and the last 2 days will be in Rome. I recommend you look for an open-jaw airfare where you fly into Venice and fly out of Rome. Spend your first 4-5 days in Venice (2-3 days Venice, 1 or 2 days for daytrips to Vicenza and Verona), fly or train to Naples and spend your next 5-6 days in Campania (see ** note below), then train to Rome (2 hours by train) for your last 3 days.

**Note: You will not want a car in Campania during the summer. It is a huge hassle. For 5-6 days in the area I'd recommend basing in Sorrento and seeing the following sights:

Naples - National Archaeology Museum, Capella San Severo church (with Veiled Christ), Santa Chiara, and many more interesting sights

Pompeii and Herculaneum

Paestum - amazingly well preserved ruins of Greek temples

Amalfi Coast - daytrips to Positano, Amalfi, Ravello

Capri - daytrip by ferry (see Emperor Tiberius' ruined villa, the Natural Arch, village of Anacapri, etc.)

P.S.
Here is a link to my trip report (May 2005). We spent about a week in the Campania region

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34625798

Yes, I am a Fodors virgin at posting ?'s
I'm going to look into Piemonte and the Campania region. I think I need to go to Venice on this trip and I agree about the driving. I drove in the countryside and outside of Rome and that was enough for me.
Thanks for your thoughts. This gives me somewhere to start.

H again,
I just saw you mention vineyards. The Cinque Terre region of Italy has some very unique vineyards and wonderful white wines. My last trip to the region is discussed in the trip report link I posted for you.
The Amalfi Coast is famous for its lemoncello, a lemon-flavored liquor. It's awesome

If you need to go to Venice, stay in the region of the Veneto and drink Amarone and Bardolino! In fact, GO to Bardolino, which is quite a charming town.

In the summertime, planning a lakes region trip is pretty cool -- literally.

If you can, fly into Venice, do your touristing, then head out to Verona, Bassano di Grappa, Bardolino and do a tour of several towns on Lago di Garda. You don't need a car. You can travel by boat. Or if you want, spend some time on Lago di Como. You can also hook up to Lago Maggiore via train, and spend a night or two there enjoying its ambience before catching a plane back to the States. The airport in Milan is just as close to Lago Maggiore as it is to Milan central. If you want to go shopping and eat fantastic food, also spend a night or two in Milan.

Hi I would spend first part with the car in the Piedmonte around La Morra or Barolo area and surrounding hill towns.It's like Tuscany with fantastic wine and 1/3rd the price.then the second part around the cinque terra/Lucca?Pisa area.

I have never been to Italy, but I know, that when I do go there, I definately want to visit Florence.

Ok, here is a suggestion...find a reputable perfumerie (sp?) shop and have them make you a signature scent/cream. I am sooo going to do that when I go there!

And yes, I got the idea from a movie...

Wish I could join you. Plan Venice around your car rental as you won't need it there. We did a trip in April 2003, with kids, and went to a small town in Umbria, then took the train to Venice. When leaving we rented a car in Venice and drove to Lucca (near Pisa) which was wonderful and got into the middle of a bike race as we were riding along the top of the Medieval wall! Great fun. Lovely small, well-preserved medieval town. Maybe do Venice first, get a car drive around small towns and make an adventure, then drop the car somewhere where you can get a train to Rome. Good luck.

I am topping this older thread. Nessundorma has the right idea. Eat and drink your way through Piemonte and Liguria. Start in Turin, head down through the Langhe and Monferrato, stopping at towns like Barbaresco, Asti, Acqui Terme, Sasello. Head down to Genoa, do a city tour, then wander on down to the lower part of the Cinque Terre via Camogli and Portofino.

´This will give you:

Wine
Food
Gorgeous ancient towns in the mountains and on the sea
History
Culture
The most beautiful scenery in all of Italy (my humble, very biased opinion)
Did I mention food and wine?

Best of luck....

Diana

Birthday Girl,

Go to Paris to get your signature sent. Much better idea.

Bellacqui,

You sound like you know that area... Perhaps you could help me! I am thinking of going to N Italy for a few days/week and am looking for a fab place to stay, some sort of converted barn or similar... In the hills. It has to be an easy drive from, my home in, Geneva.

swissmissy,

If you could send me an email, my email is listed on my post above.

Diana