Bobsicle

Hi fodor's,

Would appreciate your feedback on the itenary and also suggestion of what we should do in the locations listed below or locations we should not missed.

Travel preference - off the beaten trail, scenic, food and drink, road trip, light hiking, and romantic

Time of trip - landing into Milan on Aug 31, 2018 and leaving from Dubranovic on Sept 22,2018

Estimated budget for trip (excluding flights) is 4000 Euros for two of us

Aug 31 - Milan (930 arrival)

Sept 1 - sights and sounds in Milan

Sept 2 - train to Cinque Terre (stay at Vernazza)

Sept 3 - Vernazza

Sept 4 - train to Florence

Sept 5 - day trip to Pisa (don't want to do this on the way to Florence because of luggage - and we've heard of cars getting broken into even we decided to spend day there... What do you guys think)

Sept 6 - rent a car to sienna

Sept 7 & 9 - Tuscany region (Chianti...any suggestions of where we should go?)

Sept 10 - drive to verona via parma/bologna

Sept 11 - drive to lake garde

Sept 12 - drop off car in venice

Sept 13 - take ferry to rovinj

Sept 14 - pick up car for drive to istria

Sept 15 & 16 - plitvice lakes

Sept 17 - drive to split via zadar

Sept 18 - ferry to hvar

Sept 19 - Hvar

Sept 20 - ferry to Dubranovic

Sept 21 - stay in dubranovic

Sept 22 - flight to London around noon

Would really appreciate your feedback on this

Thanks!

kja

Are you sure that you can see and experience what you want with this plan in this time frame? This plan sounds unpleasantly ambitious to me – too much time in transit for far too little time to actually see or do anything while in any of these fascinating places. But what I would like is irrelevant – what matters is whether it suits YOUR needs.

Here's what I recommend: Get some good guidebooks (or spend some time with a few in your local library), identify the things you most want to see in each location, check their opening/closing times on the internet, and mark them on a calendar. Then pencil in your transportation, add some time on either side (for getting to/from your lodging, checking in/out, packing/unpacking, getting lost/oriented, etc.). Then see how things fit together.

Good luck!

HappyTrvlr

Tuscany region, Chianti- Panzano and Radda in Chianti are lovely small towns.

neckervd

August 31st:
I would relax on Lake Maggiore (may be at Arona, less than 30 min by taxi from MXP airport) after a overnight flight.
Sept 1st:
Go to Milan (1 hr by train), put your luggage into the lockers and visit the town. Trains from Milan to Vernazza at 16.05, 18.05 and 19.05. Journey time 3 1/4 hrs.
Sept 5th:
There are luggage lockers at Pisa railway station.
Sept 17th:
car drop off at Split, I suppose
Sept 20th:
It's not a ferry with open deck, but a catamaran.

Everything should be feasible without any problem.

kybourbon

>>>Sept 5 - day trip to Pisa (don't want to do this on the way to Florence because of luggage - and we've heard of cars getting broken into even we decided to spend day there... What do you guys think)<<<

Makes zero sense to go to Pisa twice which is what you would be doing. Stop at Pisa on your way to Florence (store your luggage at the Pisa Centrale station).

A better alternative is stop at Pisa to visit the tower and then pick up your car in Pisa. The airport is only 5 - 10 minutes from Pisa Centrale and you could pick up a car there most times of day. Head from Pisa to Siena (note spelling in case you are doing any searches) or hill towns in Tuscany for a few days (I much prefer southern Tuscany over Chianti area). After that, you can drop your car at Florence airport and then visit Florence. You do not need a car for the rest of your Italy itinerary. You aren't allowed to drive in most of the cities you listed and could spend a good chunk of your time finding parking outside the ZTL's and finding transport into the towns.

FWIW - You have about 10 days in Italy and 9 of those days are travel days. I'm not sure how you think you will be able to see anything if you are spending all your time transporting from point A to B.

rialtogrl

This is way too much driving. Consider choosing one country or the other, and slowing things down a little so you have some time to see something.