Hi, we are in Australia, heading it Italy for 6-8 weeks Sept 2026. Flying into Venice to begin trip. Will collect car when leaving venice (3-4 nights) We are after ideas of "off the beaten track" outer area farm stays to blend in with locals on our journey. We will fly out of Sicily. Will do all the major sights Venice Milan Rome Tuscany Naples Pompeii Puglia Amalfi Sicily etc. After ideas of country areas to enjoy and stay. We are lovers of good food, wine & history. We do not want to rush the trip. Thanks in advance Kellie
Posted by
Philadelphia, PA, USA
617 posts
First, I think 6-8 weeks in Italy sounds wonderful. Your questions are a bit general so I have no specific response except to question whether you will want a rental car in some of the cities you mention. Driving and parking will be challenging and public transportation will be faster and less expensive. You might plan an itinerary in the Milan-Rome-Naples part of your trip without a car.
Posted by
San Diego, California, USA
1747 posts
Hello Macca & Kel and welcome to the forum,
I would start by figuring out how much time you want in Sicily. I would say one week minimum and I'm sure others would say two but you need to balance your time in main land Italy with Sicily because that's a dividing point. You also have to decide how you're getting there. You can car ferry from someplace like Salerno but sometimes rental companies forbid use of ferries. One possibility is to drop the car off in Rome (probably the airport), spend your time in Rome where a car does you no good and then fly to Sicily. Enjoy your time in Palermo - do not drive in Palermo - and the pick up a rental car outside the city to enjoy the countryside before flying back to the mainland.
Once you have your Sicily time carved out you have your mainland timeline. You'll have 5+ - 7 weeks to plan out. Close to Venice is Bologna, Modena and Parma that should probably be on any foodies list. And from there I would pins the places you want to visit and then be shocked by how quickly the time runs out. Once you have a general plan I'd come back here and post for specific information about specific area since that allows experts to chime in on their areas of expertise.
Remember that two nights somewhere is only one day. Most planners here plot nights - helps with lodging tracking - but you get one fewer full days than the number of nights.
You have a big trip with a lot of planning, but it sounds amazing,
=Tod
Posted by
6276 posts
I agree, do the cities separately and then get the car, as they are two separate trips. It would be marvelous for example to explore Calabrian national parks by car en route to Sicily, after you have done everything else so easily by train. The exception would be rural Tuscany, but even with that I’d make it a separate rental.
Posted by
Washington DC
29672 posts
Even two weeks in Sicily (with a car for part of the time) will require painful choices. Since Sicily is a bit awkward to get to unless you fly, I'd want to do a good job of covering Sicily rather than assuming I'd be back in a year or two. It's usually a lot easier to return to Rome, Florence, Venice, etc.