Islands, Spello, Verona, Rome

You certainly are covering a lot of ground but you're spending good amounts of time places.

I can only help out in detail about Verona. Stay in old city center "Città Antica" which is based on the old Roman city in the bend of the river. The Veronetta neighborhood - north of Via Gaetano Trezza - across the river is nice as well. If your concentration is on Verona then stay in the city and grab a 2e bus or a 10e cab to train station as needed. There is a taxi stand in Piazza Erbe if you want to cab back to the station. I've had good luck with the AppTaxi app for getting cabs in northern Italy.

Verona is a chic, mostly pedestrian, cafe culture like city the bend of the river centered around the old Roman core that feels smaller (to the tourist) than it's size would suggest. It has an intact Roman Arena, Theater which are still used for music with music and opera being a big part of the city's summer schedule. If you like modern art check out the small Palazzo Maffei Casa Museo which mixes ancient and modern art, a palazzo and rooftop tour all into one place overlooking piazza Erbe and is underadvertised. I think Piazza Erbe (looking past the market stands) is one of the prettiest piazzas in Italy. Verona has the 'elegant decay' feeling with faded murals on medieval buildings that the Veneto does so well.

Al Grottino - Osteria e Sbecoleria is a great hole in the wall place off Piazza Erbe for a drink and cicchetti. Cafe Monte Baldo nearby also has great cicchetti and more serious food if you want that. Right near the cafe there is Arcivio a super small, super hip cocktail bar. There is no lack of good restaurants in Verona but read the menu carefully at the older places because the cuisine can be very traditional.

If you want to get off the tourist trail I would also suggest Brescia as a day trip from Verona - especially if you like Roman ruins since they have some amazing ones. Upper Lake Garda is reachable by bus from Verona. The lowest part of the lake is accesible by train but because of that is very touristy. For Palladian architecture fans Vicenza is very close. Venice is easily reachable by fast train and I will always go to Venice.

Hope that helps, have a great trip!
=Tod

All great choices and you have researched what you want to do. Brava for having stays giving you enough time to really enjoy.

Take a look at your travel times using the Trenitalia site. You have a couple of long transfers and that might cause you to rethink your itinerary. Ponza to Spello would be via Naples so ferry to Naples then a minimum 4 hour trip by train to Spello. Spello to Verona is a minimum train trip of 5 hours. Do you want those long transfers? Given the transit times, Verona seems like an outlier. And it will be HOT.

Thanks so much for your replies, Tod and Laurel!!
Tod, I really appreciate the advice about where to stay and eat, things to see and do, and transportation options! Laurel, you are right that Verona is an outlier. My husband and son are really fixated on Verona, so we'll probably keep it in the itinerary and just deal with the long train ride. On our last Italy trip, we got up early and started our train travel early so it didn't feel like it consumed a whole day, and that worked pretty well.

Question....other than the opera, are there sights/things to do in Verona that need pre-booking, or can you usually show up to most sights and get a ticket without long lines? One place I'd like to visit is the Giardino Giusti.

Tod, You mentioned the lower lake Garda area being more crowded/touristy, and Laurel, you mentioned probable heat in Verona. Do you think a day trip to Malcesine would be more enjoyable than Sirmione? I have given that one some consideration also, because I thought maybe we could get some cooler weather if we take the cable car to Monte Baldo for a hike if it's really hot. Another consideration if it's really hot is to go to one of the water parks in the area, which my son might like. Maybe we can combine a half day visit to another town with a half day water park outing. Any suggestions on how to do this?

Thanks again so much for your thoughtful replies!! If anyone else has any thoughts about Ischia versus Minori (or the travel logistics of these within my overall itinerary), I'd love to hear them!

Outside of the Opera or musical performances like those in the old Roman Theater and some of the very fancy restaurants I don't know of anything that would need to be booked ahead. During season of any large Italian city dinners at specific places should be made a couple of days in advance if you really want to go to specific place.

Unfortunately I think Malcesine is too far for a realistic day trip. Driving straight there is over an hour (plus lake traffic) so taking the bus, or the train to Pescheria la Garda and then the direct bus, is going to be several hours one way which I think is too long for a happy day trip. It is technically doable but I would look at taking train to Pescheria la Garda and then the ferry from there to a midlake town and exploring. Malcesine is doable but I think something like that is more reasonable.

I haven't done it (because I'm skeptical of the whole endeavor I'll admit) but there is an Eatly Verona now and the people I know who went really enjoyed it. It's just beyond the train station and yard the opposite direction of downtown and a number of bus lines stop right there.

Have a great trip,
=Tod

During your time in Spello, you could drive down to Cascata delle Marmore. You could see Spoleto that day, too. We were in Bevagna for the medieval festival several years ago. Make sure to visit at night.

In Spello, Hotel La Bastiglia is not the lap of luxury, but is in an optimal location and has a pool. We went as a family with two kids, 7 and 9, who loved splashing around. https://labastiglia.com/

We found it easy to park nearby.

Tod, thanks for the feedback about the feasibility of Malcesine as a day trip! We’ll probably stick with Sirmione, as that sounds more doable. Also, appreciate the tip about Eataly! We haven’t tried that before and I’d like to! Really appreciate your insights!

Elena, thanks so much for the Spello tips! I’m curious about Bevagna at night. Does the medieval festival carry on into the night, and what did you enjoy about it specifically at night? I’d love to do that but we’re planning on using public transportation for the most part, so I guess a nighttime excursion to Bevagna would depend on if it’s possible to catch a bus or taxi back to Spello at night. Do you know? Thanks again so much!

Personally, the logistics of two islands would be more than I would want to do. I would pick one. You seem more set on Ponza (which I don't know anything about) so maybe your idea of Orvieto and five nights in Ponza would be the better option. Certainly, it would be simpler to get to Orvieto after your flight than to Minori and it would cut down on the time you will be spend traveling which currently is considerable.

We spent 3 nights in Verona and made a day trip to Sirmione. It was very hot when we were there so it was the best choice but meant we could have used one more day in Verona. So I think 4 nights is perfect. I would not go to Venice during that time.

We stayed near the train station in an apartment which worked well for us as we had only one day we weren't either coming or going by bus or train. But certainly staying in the old town is more charming.

We took the bus to Sirimone which was very easy--we bought tickets the day before from the bus station which is in the parking lot by the train station. It drops you off right by Sirimone. But coming back is a bit more complicated. There is a bus right outside the old town that takes you to the long distance bus. There was a very long line there and it was obvious that we weren't going to get on the next bus. So we decided to walk. It was a good 20 or 30 minutes in the heat so probably not the best decision. Just a heads up. I think parking there would be a nightmare so consider bus even if you have a car (we didn't).

We rented a motor boat for two hours on Lake Garda that was a highlight. Our son drove the boat. There is a pebble beach which we enjoyed as well. It is touristy and the like but we did enjoy our day-trip there.

You can buy a pass for all the Verona sites inside the train station. It simplifies site seeing and we figure we at least broke even. There is a museum there which I can't recall the name of off the top of my head that had knight armor in it. My 18 year old nephew was fascinated with it. I would think your son would be too.

CK, re Bevagna festival. We went one day and one evening. There was music, crafts, food, etc., at night, and we enjoyed the atmosphere. However, maybe that was a special evening event. I don't know. If you can rent a car for the Umbria part of your trip, I would recommend it.

Beth, thanks so much for your reply!! I think you might be right about the logistics of traveling to 2 islands in one trip….maybe it is better to go to Orvieto right when we arrive and forego minori or ischia. I really appreciate the feedback. Thanks also for the tips on bus transportation to Sirmione and the Verona pass! You have been very helpful.

Elena, We’ll consider the rental car as you have recommended. I’m just a little nervous about the ZTLs and incurring big fines if we make a mistake. Did you find it easy to drive and find parking in Umbria? Thanks so much for all of your replies!!

Hi CK, we typically Google map a few parking lots on the periphery of a town before heading out. We want to avoid the ZTLs and also any streets/vicoli that might be too tiny for our vehicle. We would rather walk in for ten minutes than deal with all that stress. At some point, searching on TripAdvisor or maybe Reddit, I found online maps of ZTLs, usually by comune or city.

There is a website, I think it's momintialy, with very detailed step-by-step how-tos. Knowing road signs is important: https://mominitaly.com/italian-road-signs/

I am usually the driver, because I would rather drive than navigate haha. I have found driving in Umbria and throughout countryside Italy, really easy.

We loved Spello and spent 5 nights there in a fantastic VRBO apartment. A day trip to Deruta is easy but we didn't buy anything there. Lovely to look at but too pricey. A shop near the old town main entrance had better prices for some of the same items. Free parking in Spello is east of old town and north of the Mosaic Museum in a vacant dirt lot. ZTLs can usually be avoided by parking near the bus/train stations in the towns. Orvieto is free & near the funicular, Sienna is cheap & close to the mall/escalators, other hill towns similar. Assisi has paid parking lots that fill fast. Perugia has paid lots but were a long wait to get in. Better to take a bus from Spello. Better not to have a car in Roma - the ZTLs change by the day and time as well as being extensive.

Consider staying in Rome twice, at the start and at the end. You are bound to be fatigued travelling eastwards, and recovering in a nice central hotel that can be quickly and conveniently reached, instead of travelling on, could prove crucial to your experience. It is surprising that others have not commented on this. Returning is always a good idea in itself, as you will be more familiar with the city on the second visit and can therefore be more relaxed. Choose Ponza as your only island destination and add Orvieto if you feel inclined.

Elena,
Thanks so much for the super helpful tips about driving and the Italian road signs website!! You have reassured me. :)

Larry42, I really appreciate the info about where to find parking lots and avoiding ZTLs. Thanks so much! Glad to hear you loved Spello!

Thanks so much for the advice, Cherryplanter. Really appreciate the feedback!