8 days in northern Italy? August

Posted by rwreads (Washington State) on 05/31/26 07:13 PM

I'm planning a trip ending in Italy with my mom. We travel in August because that's the onlly time I have. We are looking at flying home out of Venice back to the US (we've been to Venice and the Dolomites (stayed in Villandro) before together). She is leaving the planning of this leg up to me since Germany was her request. We will be coming by train from Germany (Munich/Berchtesgaden). We both liked the Dolomites but will be coming from 5 nights hiking in Berchtesgaden. I'm thinking of going to the Cinque Terre (i spent two nights in Vernazza in August and found it lovely in the evening). I've been to Lake Como before and enjoyed it. 8 days doesn't seem like a lot. I'm open to other places in the area. Haven't been to Lucca yet, liked Florence (she's never been)

Here's my current thought:
Tues night - Bolzano or ?
Wed night - CT (SML or Camogli or another town?)
Thur night - CT
Fri night - Lake Garda
Sat night - Lake Garda
Sun night - ? or Venice
Mon night - Venice
Tues night - Venice
Wed - fly home to US

Posted by jules m

Twin Cities of MN

05/31/26 07:46 PM

8354 posts

Before you get your itinerary solidified, make sure there is a midday or later flight to your home airport from Venice. For some travelers, the only choice of flights is very early in the morning, and to get to the airport from Venice, on the island, is a process.

Do you mean, Corniglia? Friends were just there and enjoyed it. It is quieter. It is up on a hill, however, consider how you will get to other towns with your mom before you book. We stayed in Manarola, which is lovely and a bit quieter. If you go to Manarola, you might consider. Billy's restaurant. Great food and views, reasonably priced, nice folks. We also found Riomaggiore quieter, and it feels more like a place people live.

For Sunday night, you might consider Verona or Padua, or another night in CT or Lake Garda, or actually Bolzano. Have you been to the museum with the "Ice Man" (Otzi)

Posted by ChristineH

Gettysburg PA

05/31/26 08:10 PM

9384 posts

Tues night - Bolzano or ? Wed night - CT (SML or Camogli or another
town?) Thur night - CT Fri night - Lake Garda

8 days doesn't seem like a lot.

SML and Camogli are really Ligurian coast- not CT

It's quite a long haul to and from CT (or SML) - 2 nights gives you just 1 full day- it will take a good part of the day to get there from Bolzano then all the way back to Lake Garda.
Doesn't make sense to spend 2 days traveling when you only have 8 nights (7 full days) to work with.

Spend a night or 2 in Bolzano- then consider Lake Garda, Verona, Padua.

Posted by BethFL

05/31/26 08:36 PM

3490 posts

We were in Lake Garda last year and the north end of the lake which is lovely is filled with Germans. I was told it is only a few hours from Munich.

If it were me, I would spend 3 nights on north end of lake Garda, 2 nights in Verona, and 3 nights in Venice. It is a whole lot less travel than what you are proposing.

Verona is one of my favorite towns and I convinced one of my neighbors to visit this past April. They liked it better than Venice and Florence which they also visited. Now Venice is still probably my favorite…

Posted by Marsle

Atlanta

05/31/26 09:28 PM

3298 posts

We took a northern Italy trip last fall and enjoyed visiting cities a little farther east than you're considering-something completely different from what you've proposed. These are smaller cities to visit for a more relaxed itinerary closer to your final destination...Venice.

We used buses, trains and GoOpti ride-share - we did not rent a car.

Cities that you might check out to see if they fit what you're looking for are (and there are other options in this region as well):

Verona

Bassano del Grappa/Asolo (you'd need a driver to go from Bassano to Asolo)

Treviso

Use Google Maps to find a route that makes the most of the time that you have includes places that are of interest to you and your mom.

Depending on your flight time, I'd suggest staying close to the Venice Airport your last night. For a non-nonsense hotel with a shuttle near the Venice Airport and an excellent restaurant, we stayed at Hotel Antony the night before our morning flight.

Edit to add: It's really nice that you're planning a trip with your mom!