Driving and Accomodation in Bologna

Bologna is a rail hub. Drop the car as soon as you get there. There are a number of places to day-trip by train: Modena, Parma, Ferrara, Padua, Florence, even Ravenna, though it's the longest journey. Do you want a single room for 4 people or 2 rooms for 2 people each? Rooms for 4 are pretty rare. If you want 2 rooms and you don't require twin beds, it's definitely easier. Look at the difference in prices on tickets from Bologna to Rome and Rome to Naples. For instance, a full price ticket to Rome today costs €62. A discounted ticket for June costs less than half that. Not to mention that finding rooms in Rome is probably not going to be easier than in Bologna, or Naples either for that matter.

In all my travels to Italy, I am hard-pressed to think of anywhere I didn't want to stay longer, including Bologna, Rome and Naples.

I'm sure you already know about ZTL zones, but either you are booking hotels out of historic centers or you'll have to ask the staff what to do with your car .

If the hotel you are booking in Bologna has no reserved parking or can't put your plate number in the ZTL white list, I'd just drop the car off far from the historic center and travel by train.

Be aware of the speed traps on tolled motorways, locals know where they are.

Going south on the A1 through the mountains, there are less tunnels on the old section (called Panoramica) and, since it takes more, it's also trucks-free.

Nobody likes to drive in Rome and you shouldn't even dream of driving in central Naples.

Do not leave anything in the trunk. Never.

We spent a week in Bologna with our two kids. We had a rental car and we so glad we did. We found lovely rural places for day trips - picking figs from a centuries old monastery on a hilltop, anyone? ZTL is not hard to figure out, honestly.

I live 1/2 the year near Bologna. The train rides to Parma, Modena, Ravenna, Rimini, Ferrara are all regionale (Verona also) and very inexpensive and all relatively short rides even on the regional trains (Piacenza and Reggio Emilia also). There is parking Riva Reno maybe that is easy to access and you can avoid the ZTL. There are several other parking areas but I haven't used them. It is very easy to visit all those towns in Emilia Romagna area by train (Ferrara is a bit longer walk from the train station but you can take bus or taxi). Gas is expensive in Italy and many of the stations are closed in the afternoons so plan accordingly.

Thanks everyone.

What about not booking ahead for accommodation? Or should we book every night ahead of time as much as possible?

Why would you want to waste precious vacation fine trying to make hotel reservations? Book ahead.

Based on the places you seem to be interested in visiting (mostly cities well served by rail) I think the car is needed only for the Dolomites portion. If you plan a visit of Verona on the way south, you might even want to drop the car in Verona. You can store your luggage at the train station while you visit the city. However, if you have so many days at your disposal, instead of spending them all in Bologna, you could spend a night or two in Verona. I would also consider a visit at the lake Garda on the way down (a car is recommended there).

You can generally find accommodations on the fly, if you are not sure about your plans. I can’t imagine Bologna being totally booked in July. The place gets so ridiculously hot and miserable that nobody would want to stay in Bologna in July. Dolomites and Lake Garda will be busy, along with the Amalfi Coast and Sorrento, if you go there.

Yes, we’ve already booked rooms for Venice, Val Gardena, Rome and Naples. Those are easy decisions because they mark our entry and exit from Italy. Once we hit Bologna I can only guess where we’ll want to sleep and if we want to spend a couple of nights in Florence instead (of course we want to but we can only visit so many places...).

If you haven't already, i strongly advise to book ahead. Once you're on the ground, you'll discover that you aren't the only geniuses with the idea of visiting in mid-July and your options will be very limited. We've just returned from Bologna and we stayed at this place that was perfect for us 3, but would be great for a family of 4, too. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/3064628 Good luck!

We stayed in the historic center at Hotel Novecento which we liked. It was very hot during our stay, 103F, so staying in the center nearby was welcome for taking cooling breaks.
There was a garage adjacent where we parked our car for our stay, and didn’t take it out until we left for Tuscany.

doug,

For travel in mid-July, I would highly recommend booking your accommodations in advance. That's right in the middle of peak tourist season and hotels will be busy all over Italy.

As you're going to be driving in Italy, I assume you're aware that each driver must have the compulsory International Driver's Permit which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. Also as others have mentiooned you'll have to be extremely careful to avoid the ZTL (limited traffic) zones which exist in many Italian towns, as each pass through one will result in hefty fines. Do NOT drive in Florence!

Travel by train will be faster if using the high speed trains between larger cities, as the trains travel at up to 300 km/h. That's a more efficient use of your valuable holiday time.

Traveling between Bologna, Modena, Reggio Emilia, Parma and Ferrara will be easiest by train, if you want to see the cities. But it will be hot everywhere. Know that Bologna has lots of traffic cameras and they are very forceful about ticketing. We just got our 4 tickets from Bologna sorted out after 4 years. But we will return to Bologna, without a car.

Thanks everyone. We have a room booked and we decided to drop off our car as soon as we arrive. We’ll train in the area and then onwards to Florence, Rome and Naples.

Wise choice on the car--we were in Bologna this spring and train transportation is SO convenient. The city bus system was easy to use. Bologna's Tourist Info center, on Piazza Maggiore, is a wealth of information. They offer a 2 1/2 hour walking tour of major sites, including the Anatomical Theater. The guide was a great storyteller, weaving together history and humor! She also provided great restaurant recommendations. I noticed there were many other tour options available, from several-hour to day-long tours. They also offered a number of pamphlets with suggestions/maps for self-guided tours based on themed interests.

I recommend taking a bus to The Sanctuary of the Madonna of San Luca (bus info at the TI). The bus takes you up into the hills outside Bologna--beautiful views! After visiting the basilica (free, but can pay to climb the dome), walk back to Bologna through the world's longest portico (3.5 km).