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arrive in Milan on Wednesday-suggestions appreciated

We fly into and out of Milan next Wednesday 11/5 and have 10 days and no firm itinerary -cheap plane tickets and we needed a vacation. We had planned on the Lakes and/ or Cinque Terre, Florence, maybe the Dolomites. The weather now appears it will be rainy most of the time. We've been to Rome several times but no further south. The weather on the Amalfi Coast looks good as does the weather in Spain. We're willing to use a budget airline and fly somewhere else for better weather maybe. Not stressing over the weather in Northern Italy though. Even if we stay in rainy weather, I've never had a bad trip to Europe. Just looking for suggestions to consider.
Thanks,

Posted by
8889 posts

Crete. Lots of old stuff (ruins). Some nice towns and the weather should be OK that far south.
Needs a hire car. Most of the towns and resorts are on the north coats, with a few roads across to the south coast. The only way to travel along the south coast is by ferry.
But I have no idea if there are suitable flights from Milan.

Posted by
19654 posts

I see Merdiana has flights to Catania from Linate Nov 8 to Nov 12 for $145 round trip. Taormina?

Posted by
15043 posts

This time of the year you should stick to visiting cities and towns. Even with rainy or cold weather there are plenty of indoor activities in a city (museums, cathedrals, ancient palaces, exhibits, etc.). Milan itself will keep you busy for at least a full day or two and since you need to be there the night before your flight back, I would keep it for last (that can be your last day shopping too).
I don't know what you have visited in Italy before, but Venice, Verona, Bologna, Parma, Turin, Ravenna, Mantua, Vicenza, and many more in northern Italy, will keep you busy for at least a day each. You could choose a base and visit them as a day trip from there.
Florence and Tuscany are also less than 2 hours from Milan via high speed train.
The Amalfi Coast is more enjoyable with nice weather as most things are outdoors. Also it's not that close to Milan.
If you plan to fly away, I would choose Sicily. Sicily will keep you busy for your entire 10 days. There is a lot to see and do. Just look into a flight from one of the 3 Milan airports (MXP , LIN , BGY) to airports in Sicily (PMO, CTA, TPS, CIY). Look at Skyscanner.com for low cost airlines. Both RyanAir and Easyjet (and others) connect the two locales.

Posted by
50 posts

All the places you mentioned I've been to. And only Florence would be OK if it's raining. I like Castelrotto near the Dolomites for hiking around. I would stay in Sorrento in the Amalfi Coast area, a good home base. If you are not going to drive, you can take local buses which go around the Amalfi Coast to Positano, etc. You can take the 30 minutes hydrofoil to the island of Capri. Also you can go on the local train from Sorrento north to visit Naples (60 minutes) and also on the way stop to visit Pompei and also another town which actually has better ruins. And you can take a tour bus up to Mt Vesuvius. A great very reasonable place to stay in Sorrento is the IL NIDO, several hundred feet above sea level and their breakfast is the best I have ever seen in Europe. They have a shuttle bus down to the city center of Sorrento. Our room had a view of Mt Vesuvius across from Naples Bay and their dining room has a outside dining area with Mt Vesuvius in the background. The hotel was in Rick Steve's guide book at one time.

Posted by
11613 posts

I agree with Roberto's recommendations, with a preference for Sicily. Will you have a car or use punlic transportation?

Posted by
32173 posts

EB,

I also agree with Roberto's suggestions. A few thoughts on some of the places you mentioned....

  • LAKES - you could certainly spend a few days on Lago di Como or Lago Maggiore, but if the weather is inclement that may not be the best experience.
  • CINQUE TERRE - many of the tourist businesses there will be starting to wind down for the season, so some may be closed. Again, not the best place to be during rainy weather as there won't be much to do. If you take a day trip there, you most likely won't have to worry about crowds, so that's a benefit.
  • FLORENCE - that would be a good possibility for several days. As previously mentioned, there are lots of "indoor" activities you could do there. It's also a very convenient home base for day trips to other parts of Tuscany such as Siena, Pisa, Lucca, Assisi or even the Cinque Terre (if you get a few days of sunny weather).
  • DOLOMITES - I'm not sure what it will be like in that area, as it's just after the summer season and not quite into the winter season yet. If it's wet and overcast, hiking won't be too pleasant.
  • AMALFI COAST - you could spend a few days in Sorrento and use it for day trips in that area. However, you'd use a day or so of your very short holiday time in getting back and forth from Milan (I assume your return flight is from MXP?).
  • SPAIN - while the weather will likely be good, again you'll lose the better part of a day each way in getting back and forth from Milan, which will reduce your already short holiday time.

Happy travels!