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First Impressions Wanted on my Northern Italy itinerary, please

Hello, All! I hope everyone is doing well today!

First, allow me to say that I owe you a trip report from our recent southern Italy trip. My husband and I just returned from 5 weeks in the Puglia, Basilicata, Salento, and Campania regions. It was our longest (and slowest paced) trip since we retired a few years ago. In fact, we were going to travel from south to north on this past trip but I accidentally came across an airfare - for lack of a better term - "sale" on the Delta site and was able to get two round trip tickets for the price of one. In all my years that's never happened. That to say that my husband and I divided our original faster paced trip into two parts: Southern Italy in May and Northern Italy mid-Sept. to mid-Oct. I only have half of northern Italy planned/booked which is not my style, but that's the way it worked out this year. I already have flight tickets and two key bookings for lodging. It's the beginning of the trip I'm having difficulty with which is to be expected with so many people traveling in September. Will you please take a look at my tentative itinerary and let me know your first impressions? I'm especially wondering if my husband and I should drive straight to the Dolomites from Lake Como or stay someplace, say on Lake Garda, en route? I've even read that some drove to Switzerland (and stayed in Soglio) and continued via St. Moritz towards Castelrotto/Kastelruth. Anyway, the point is that we will have a car for the MXP > Lake Como > Dolomites portion of our trip which makes me think of good scenic driving and tweaking the schedule on the front end if need be. I would appreciate your feedback. Thanks so much!

Sept. 17 > Fly ATL to MXP nonstop

Sept. 18-22 > arrive Milan, pick up car at the airport and drive to Lake Como; stay 4 nights ideally in Varenna but not looking good (Perhaps having a car will increase our options? Perledo?)

Sept. 22-26 > leave Lake Como and drive to the Western Dolomites (Castelrotto); stay 4 nights and hike each day

Sept. 26-30 > Drive to the Eastern Dolomites (Cortina d'Ampezzo); stay 4 nights and hike each day

Sept. 30-Oct. 7 > Drive to Verona and drop off car at train station; Reserved 7 nights at Residenza Palazzo Negri; enjoy Verona and take day trips by train to Lake Garda (Desenzano to Sirmione), Padua, and Vincenza. Perhaps, time permitting, Brescia, Rovereto, or another quaint place? We have been to Venice before.

Oct. 7-14 > Train from Verona to Bologna; Reserved 7 nights at Antica Residenza D'Azeglio B&B; enjoy Bologna and take day trips by train to Modena, Parma, Ferrara, Brisighella, Ravenna. We have visited Florence previously.

Oct. 14 > Overnight stay in Milan or near airport to catch flight home

Oct. 15 > MXP to ATL noon flight

Posted by
87 posts

Hello, All. I guess the bottom line is whether this itinerary, and the order of stops, from Sept. 17-Oct. 15 looks reasonable. Also, on the way to the Western Dolomites, whether driving north clipping Switzerland (and staying a night or two somewhere), or driving east towards Lake Garda (for a two night stay) makes the most sense.

Sept. 17 > ATL to MXP
Sept. 18-22 > Lake Como area
Sept. 22-26 > Western Dolomites
Sept. 26-30 > Eastern Dolomites
Sept. 30-Oct. 7 > Verona (and day trips by train)
Oct. 7-Oct. 14 > Bologna (and day trips by train)
Oct. 15 > MXP to ATL

Thanks for your thoughts on this itinerary and/or drive route recommendation to the Dolomites from Lake Como.

Posted by
7229 posts

Can’t speak to your driving portion questions but overall it looks like a lovely itinerary!

Bassano de Grappa has been on our bucket list for a while
Day trip from Verona? Not sure how complicated train would be to get there
(ETA actually not so bad about 2 with change in Padova)

Posted by
104 posts

From Lake Como, I would drive north to Castelrotto. This route takes you through Val Venosta and the Merano holiday regions of South Tyrol. Both are breathtaking. If you want to spend the night, I suggest somewhere around Merano. https://throneandvine.com/things-to-do-merano-meran/. The waalweg trails are wonderful to hike. Have a wonderful trip!

Posted by
17562 posts

What a wonderful trip, with lots of time to spend in each place.

I would suggest staying in one of the Val Gardena Villages (Ortesei of Santa Cristina) instead of Castelrotto. There is plenty of excellent hiking on both sides of the valley to keep you busy for 3 full days. Lifts go up from each town to the high trails of Alpe di Siusi and the Slopes of the Puez-Odle group. And you can have a view of the peaks (Sassolungo or other spectacular peak) right from you balcony to greet you each morning.

Posted by
17562 posts

If you are having trouble finding lodging in Varenna, try searching on booking.co. I see lots of highly-rated holiday apartments on offer, many with lovely views over the lake. Having a car will make it possible to choose one of these.

Posted by
87 posts

Thanks for your replies to my earlier post!

@ChristineH - Thanks for the lovely itinerary feedback. I tend to overdo so that was nice. I've been looking at your bucket list item...a visit to Bassano de Grappa. You had me at grappa. :-) Looks beautiful!

@Kate - I took note of your suggested driving route and I'm sure that my husband and I will cover some of that area. I also appreciate you mentioning Merano.

@Lola - I was debating between Ortesei and Castelrotto and you helped me take a second look at Ortesei. That's what we're planning! I love the thought of seeing mountain peaks from our balcony.

Thanks, again, everyone!

Sincerely,
mcalico

Posted by
271 posts

We were in Ortesei for 4 days in June. Great location for hikes and easy access on 2 gondolas and 1 funicular. We stayed at Hotel Grones which I would highly recommend. Great food for breakfast and dinner as well as stunning views from our balcony.