Hello Everyone! I am new to the forum but not new to traveling. I would love some suggestions on places to stay and must see on our upcoming trip. A little information about us before I ask for suggestions. We are coming from the West coast of the United States and will be arriving at the end of April and staying for 10 days. It will just be myself and my husband. We travel very very light with our luggage and are not worried about moving lodging every couple of days. We are early riser and tend to be out exploring by 7 am and back at our lodging by 7pm. The things we love to see and do are hiking trails ( 1 to 4 miles) castles, caves, museums. scenic views, and good food. This will be our second time to Italy and we are hoping to visit the Northern region vs the Southern. The last time we were there in 2022 we saw Venice, Florence, and Rome. Currently we have nothing planned but the flights and I would love to hear what your must see and do's are for this region. The itinerary below are just my current thoughts but I am open to ideas.
Itinerary:
Day 1: Fly in to Milan
Day 2: Explore Milan
Day 3: Head to either Lake Como or Lake Garda ( I am leaning towards Lake Garda)
Day4: Explore Lake Garda or Como area
Day 5: Head to Verona and stay 2 nights - Skip this? Something else?
Day 6: Explore Verona
Day 7: Head to....Bolzano, Merano, or Ortisei? Can we access the Dolomites from these towns that time of year? Spending our last three days there before heading back to Milan to catch our flight back home.
We plan to take the train until we reach Bolzano area and then we hope to rent a car for our last three days.
We appreciate any tips or suggestions.
Thank you - Eava