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Day Trip From LaSpezia to Maranello/Modena

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I will be coming to La Spezia on a cruise and would like to go the the Ferrari Museum in Maranello with the possibility of doing the Lamborghini museum in Sant'Agata Bolognese also. The ship will be in port from 8:30 AM to 8:30 PM. Everything I have seen looks as if renting a car should give me enough time to make the round trip. Ferrari is just over a 2 hour drive from the port, Lamborghini is well under an hour from there, the return trip is 2 1/4 hours, all of this according to Google.

I'd love to hear any words of wisdom that anyone can offer on car rental, driving, whether or not I'm an idiot to attempt it, that sort of thing or any other advice you're able to give. I have been studying ZTLs, international driver licenses and that sort of thing so I think I have a start.

Thanks for your help

Eric

Posted by
1814 posts

We made the drive from the La Spezia area to Sant'Agata many times as we had friends there. The Google time seems right to me. The A15 over the Cisa pass is pretty but there are long long curves where you just have to slow down. You'll then be able to make up the time when you hit the plain. The likely slow downs are fog and traffic. You'll be partly on the A1 which carries a LOT of traffic and when there's a fender bender it backs up quickly. Make sure you have an App or GPS that can give you guidance as there are more than a few turns after you leave the autostrada and you never know when you'll need a work around.

Note that Google is the only place you'll see the 'E' autostrada numbers. The road signage will all be in the 'A' numbers. Watch the closing time for whatever La Spezia car rental you choose - probably 19:00 - or arrange an after hours drop. See this article for info & a map of locations: http://www.apathtolunch.com/2015/11/where-to-rent-car-from-cinque-terre-la.html

You reminded me about an early autumn morning when we were driving on a local road near Sant'Agata in a light fog. Without the slightest warning we were overtaken by seven bright red Ferrari's that zoomed past us one after the other and disappeared into the fog. My friend explained that they will take little test rides for final adjustments. Unfortunately it was before the age of smartphone videos and it happened too fast anyway.

Posted by
1814 posts

Also check the museum hours as lunch time could interfere with your schedule.

Posted by
2 posts

Some great tips here. I'm going to try to use Google Maps on my phone. I have downloaded an offline version of the route from La Spezia to Modena in case I can't get an active map while there.

I'm glad of the reminder about lunch time. I guess that I'll plan on doing lunch at the same time then see how much time is left when they re-open.

Please keep the info coming. Thanks all

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