Day-Trip to San Marino from Venice

Seems to be a bit far to me. for a day trip. Train to Rimini then a bus to San Marino. About 3.25 hours on the train and 30 -40 minutes on the bus. there is a significant amount of things to do in Venice, on the lagoon or not too far away in the Veneto.

There ain't nothing there, including good grub. Our highlight was a chinese joint before we scrammed.

San Marino has lovely spots - if you stay clear from the main souvernir alley. It has some picturesque countryside as well. There is also Urbino, another interesting city nor far from San Marino. Take a car if possible.

With a car it's about a two and a half hour trip. I like SM myself, yeah, there's nothing major to see but it's a nice spot.

Italy is loaded with nice spots (and yes, I know that San Marino isn't part of Italy, but it is within Italy). The challenge is to try to pick the places that you will find most interesting without trying to ensure that you've picked the absolute best places to visit. I would factor in heavily the amount of time that it's going to take you to get there and back and decided if it's worth it to sacrifice all those hours when you could be experiencing someplace else that's closer and more likely to be interesting to you. There are tons of day trips from Venice. I suggest you buy the Rick Steves Venice/Veneto book. It lays out a whole bunch of them. BTW, I'm green with envy that you're going to be in Venice for two weeks. Happy travels.

Thanks, everyone, for your suggestions. We (my family and I) are aware of there not being that much to do in San Marino; however, we feel compelled to get there, even if it is for a few hours. After all, it is another country and (for personal reasons) my wife's cousin played baseball for San Marino's national team (I know, I thought the same thing when I was told.). By the looks of the messages, it appears that we're looking at 8+ hours of train and bus travel, which would leave us with 4-6 hours of sightseeing. From the San Marino tourist board website, it seems as if there are 1-2 museums in the center and that would be doable...along with getting our passports stamped. Thanks, again, for all of the help! Cheers, Peter

Peter Sorry to pop your balloon but you may find that your passport is not only not stamped but never looked at. With the crossing of country borders about as exciting (and about the same amount of time) as crossing from California to Oregon or Nevada (but with much smaller signs, if any at all), the concept of passport stamp collection has disappeared with the border posts.

I did San Marino last year. I will say the views are beautiful but otherwise it is pretty much one big souvenir shop and the food is not very good. Many people go there because it is tax-free and therefore very cheap. They do not check your passport, however you can get your passport stamped at the tourist info office for 5 euros, but it is not an "official" border stamp but rather a tourist collector stamp... which I found very odd. I'd say if you had a car and were already driving past that way (that's why I stopped) then it's worth dropping in, otherwise I'd skip it. Just for some more tips... a great day-trip from Venice is Verona. I really enjoy Verona: wonderful food, surprisingly beautiful architecture and churches, the music, the art... very cool. Padova also makes for a perfect half-day trip for the Giotto frescoes and the Mantegna paintings. They are stunning. Let me know if you want info. Also, Vicenza has the amazing palaces and villas by Palladio, very worth visiting if you have the time. Another place I highly recommend is a thermal bath park close to Verona, on Lake Garda. It was one of the best days I spent on the trip: http://www.villadeicedri.it/parco_main_prova.html You have 2 weeks so that gives you lots of time! Hope this gives you some more ideas!