How does this sound for a mid- summer, do-it-yourself, public transport-only itinerary?

Two weeks in Italy is always a good idea, and this is a good itinerary. Anyone who likes Giotto has a clear sense of priorities.

Some people are a bit put off by Venice. It has its sights and an occasional bit of magic, but it lives on tourists and can be a bit cut-throat, especially in mid-summer when it's prime tourist season. Check out other guides and forums and see what information you can gather. You may be able to do everything you'd like in Venice on your day/night of arrival and day/night of departure. Spend the extra time hiking.

There are other forums where there is information and advice on hiking in the areas you intend to visit. Just google.

The trains in Italy are occasionally on strike, and it's usually a 24-hour disruption in service. Strikes are announced days in advance. The trains don't shut down completely, they just run a bit more inefficiently than normal. It's part of the charm of Italy.

Once you have your flight scheduled and your lodging booked, then get your train tickets right away. You can save hundreds of dollars buying fares in advance, but you have to take the exact train at the exact time. Train reservations open up about 90 days in advance. Check out the "Man in Seat 61" web site for more information about trains than you can possible absorb.

The small towns and areas you are visiting will be lots of fun. Tutto Italiano.

Thanks for the encouraging reply, Bodo! I did spend three days in Venice before, and wanted to fill in some things I missed e.g., going to the top of the campanile in the Piazza San Marco; visiting the Basilica dei Frari (pay respects to Monteverdi); visit the museum within the Ca' d'Oro, instead of just gawping at it from the vaparetto; going to see Torcello (did make it to Burano last time). However, I could probably do all that in two days - I like your idea of more Dolomites hiking.

We had a similar trip to the Veneto region, and we traveled by train other than a bus into/ out of Moena and the bus to Padova. Here's the order of itinerary that worked well for us - looks like we went counterclockwise while you're going clockwise.

Fly into Venice and take the bus to Padova - 2 nights
Padova to Verona - 3 nights
Verona to Dolomites (we went to Moena by taking the train to Trento & bus to Moena) - 3 nights
Moena to Trento - 1 night
Trento to Bologna - - 2 nights
Bologna to Venice - 4 nights
Last night at Mestre to fly out early morning.

The Scrovegni Chapel is gorgeous. We went early in the morning, and there were only a handful of people in the chapel with us. Our least favorite town was Bologna. We LOVE Venice, and next in line were Moena & Verona.

Thanks- Moena looks delightfully tiny! I was also thinking about Malcesine as a day trip by bus from Verona - anyone done that?

I can highly endorse Ortisei as a location for hiking. You are right "in" the mountains and can access the lifts to both sides of the valley. The Rick Steves' guide covers the Alpe di Siusi well as that is the place accessible from Castelrotto, but there is more in the Val Gardena. From Ortisei the funicular up to Raciesa leads to some stunning walks, as does the gondola to Seceda. The TI can give you good advice based on how strenuous (or not) you want your hiking to be. Be sure to look into the Val Gardena pass which covers lifts and buses.

Verona has the opera in the summer at the Arena which draws big crowds, so mid-summer may not be the best time to visit, especially for 3 days, unless of course, you are going because of the opera.

Bologna would be a good hub for day trips to Ferrara, Padua (instead of staying there) and Ravenna with its wonderful 5th-6th century mosaics.

If you would consider the nice small town of Quarto d'Altino, with a regular train into Venice and close to the airport I can suggest 2 hotels, one family run and in its own grounds on the River Sile and the other a chain next to the small station.

I've never stayed in Mestre - it doesn't appeal - always in Venice or if I have the car or am spending time in the Veneto, I will stay in Quarto d'Altino.

If you haven't been up the San Giorgio bell tower yet in Venice - I'd recommend that. Our 4th time to Venice this year and we finally went over there and up that bell tower (we did San Marco our first visit - and were lucky enough to be up when the bells started ringing...that was awesome).

The positives - absolutely no line (when we were there - early afternoon on a Mon in mid-Sept). I think the price was 5 or 6 euro. Maybe 10 people up top - and the most amazing views of St Marks Sq - and all the craziness over there. San Giorgio is the cathedral across the canal from St Marks. It wasn't entirely obvious (to us) how to go up, but we found the entrance/elevator after not too much looking

I also recommend getting up at 7am and hitting St Marks - practically empty and my fav part of my trips to Venice.

We also really enjoyed the Frari church - not big 'art' people, but something about that one captured me...

I like the idea of 3 nights in Venice, but you can do it in two since you've been there before. Do not miss Torcello, the mosaics are stunning.
I also like the 2 nights in Padova, one of my favorite cities. The Scrovegni Chapel ticket will get you into a couple of other places as well, I think; the Chiesa degli Eremitani is very close by and definitely worth a visit. If you get to Valle del Prato, there's a market there every morning. I know a little hotel in that area; PM me if you are interested.
Why spend the night in Mestre? You could spend your two nights in Padova and get to the Venice airport from there (I didn't check train times).
So, I would route it this way: Venice, Verona, Ortisei, Bologna, Padova. Add your Mestre night to Bologna and daytrip to Ravenna.

Ravenna works very well as a day trip from Bologna. There is a Regionale Veloce train which goes straight there, or you can take a variety of trains to Ferrara and change there to a Regional or RV.

Nice easy walking in Ravenna but we found that getting to most of the mosaics and having time to really study them took us a long day.

Lots of wonderful suggestions - thanks, everyone! I think I'm back to 3 nights in Venice - climb both bell towers, visit the Ca' d'Oro and perhaps one or two other museums, Torcello, the Frari church and perhaps one or two others, etc., and still have time to just wander around outside. Starting to lean towards 3 nights in Padua, also... :)

FSBusItalia #15 runs direct between Padova and Venice airport. That worked well for me on the incoming direction, going from the airport to Padova this year, so I also used it for my next leg "back" to Venice.

Two nights in Verona would be fine, if you need a night to allocate elsewhere.

Excellent! Reassuring re: catching flight. Thanks!

Just another couple of questions - would this itinerary be just as good, if not better, in October? And, would Ferrara be a good addition?

"Would this itinerary be just as good, if not better, in October?"

Fewer fellow tourists in October than in mid-summer.
My impression from some trips in the Sept - October time period is: as a very general statement only, October is a transition month weather-wise in the part of Italy you're talking about.

Going in October: the place where it will make the most difference is in the Dolomites. Fall weather ( rain and fog) may set in. Crowds are not just less, they are gone. Many small family-run hotels will be closed, and many of the lifts as well. We spent the last week of September in the Dolomites a year ago and were fortunate to find a nice place to stay. Most lifts were still open but most were. Losing at the end of the week. As for weather, it was 50-50 very nice and cloudy/foggy/rainy.

After the Dolomites we spend a full month in Venice, with trips and day trips to Padua, Ravenna, and Orvieto. The weather was warm and pleasant 90% of the time. It is generally a great time to visit Venice and the Veneto, as crowds are much reduced. Not so much in Venice, but in Padua for example we had the Botanical Gardens all to ourselves. ( however the gardens were less interesting than they would have been in summer! as many of the plants were dormant). The Dolomites are not as good in October, if you are interested in hiking. Some of the trails can get unpleasantly muddy and slippery, and it is not as much fun hiking when views are obscured by fog and clouds.

Ferrara is an excellent addition, you can day trip from Padova.

I've never wanted to go to Italy in mid-summer because of the heat and the crowds. My first trip was in mid-October - to the areas you are planning - and I had warm to hot weather everywhere, though I did not go to the Dolomites.

would this itinerary be just as good, if not better, in October?

All of our trips to Italy have been in the Fall. We usually go at the end of September & have had good weather.
We were in Northern Italy this Fall & visited Verona, Venice, Padua & Ravenna.

We had wonderful weather & only a couple of days with light rain.

When we visited Padua, we visited the Scrovegni Chapel without having advance reservations( I called a few weeks in advance & was told that reservations were not needed at this time of year) & there were only 3 other couples at the same time!

It's nice to miss all the crowds that are common during the Summer.

Thanks to everyone for the seasonal info - September sounds more promising for the mountains.