I posted in December about a possible trip in September to Italy. An update: we are now planning to go to Sicily for 8 days meeting friends there and continuing on to Italy. We will be coming from Northern California, probably flying into Palermo. From there, after touring Sicily (early October by then), going to Venice, Lake Garda, Dolomites, Siena, Rome and flying home from there. We will probably spend 2 1/2-3 weeks on the Italy part. We have been to Italy before, Florence, Rome and Venice but Venice got a little shortchanged so would like to go back. We will probably rent a car for the Dolomites/siena area. My question is what order to do this and best connections between Sicily and mainland Italy. And any other suggestions....
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16239 posts
I don't know if you can change your plans a bit, but I would do Northern Italy first, for 2 reasons:
1. There are no easy options from NorCal to Sicily. It would be a 3 leg trip at least, with 2 layovers and you would be pretty much stuck with Alitalia from the US, because that's the only major airline that has multiple flights to Sicily (all other major European airlines either don't fly there or only have a very limited number of daily flights that would make it difficult to connect for you coming from NorthAmerica). Instead, you can get to either VCE or MXP with one stop only if you are willing to drive to SFO.
2. Since you are traveling in September, you may want to hit the Dolomites early, because later in the month it might get too cool or rainy in the mountains. Of course it's hard to predict the weather, but I've encountered rainy weather in the Alps at the end of September, but it's less likely at the beginning.
I would do the following:
SFO-VCE (via any European getaway you can fly directly from SFO (AMS, CDG, FRA, ZRH etc.). That will get you there with one stop only. Actually if you go via MUC with Lufthansa, you could also consider VRN. Milan MXP is not too far either, and it would have a plethora of airlines going there from anywhere.
Visit Venice first. After Venice rent a car from Venice and visit Dolomites, Lake Garda by car. If you intend to roam around Tuscany, I would drive to Tuscany and keep the car there too.
At the end of Tuscany I would fly to Sicily. You can do so from either Florence FLR (Volotea to CTA or Vueling to PMO) or Pisa PSA (AirOne to CTA or RyanAir to PMO). If those flight options don't satisfy you, you can always drive 2-3 hours south to Rome Fiumicino (FCO) and take a flight from there. There are lots of options from Rome to both PMO or CTA. Ryanair flies out of Rome Ciampino (CIA). You would return your car at whichever airport you fly out of.
After you visit Sicily, you would fly back to Rome, which would be your last place to visit. After visiting Rome, you would return home via whichever gateway. FCO is Italy's largest airport and Europe's 6th or 7th largest airport, therefore you have plenty of options. Obviously if for example you arrived from SFO to VCE with Lufthansa (via Frankfurt), you would probably come back to the US with Lufthansa via either FRA or MUC. Both those German hubs used by Lufthansa have non stop flights to SFO.
Posted by
OP
Sacramento, CA - Calif, United States
339 posts
Wow, Roberto. What great advice. That solves a lot of problems for us since the folks we are meeting up with in Sicily will have been in Europe for two weeks and we could start touring with them in Sicily without jetlag. Venice would be a much better idea to recover from our flight. I hadn't considered those options and thank you so much for suggesting them.
How is Venice in September? We were there in October in the past and it was fine. I like traveling in fall to avoid the heat but that is not predictable.
Posted by
OP
Sacramento, CA - Calif, United States
339 posts
Thanks to Roberto, I have altered my itinerary to the following:
Fly into Venice-4 nights
Rent Car, drive to Dolomites-3 nights
Drive to Lake Garda-2 nights
Drive to Tuscany-4 nights
Fly to Palermo-8-9 days (this part is fixed, meeting friends)
Fly to Rome 7 nights
I have the airlines scoped out and have not started with accommodations yet. This will happen Sept 10-Oct 8 2014
My question: any recommended changes to this? We have been to Rome, Venice, Florence but nowhere else in Italy. One possible idea would be Assisi but not sure when.
Thanks
Posted by
Carmel, CA, USA
2456 posts
I think Umbria, including especially Orvieto and Assisi, is wonderful, and you might consider visiting those and nearby areas, either by train or by car, instead of spending so many nights in Rome, where you say you have been before. Both Orvieto and Assisi are lovely small and very old hill towns to just stroll around, daytime and evening, plus both have various beautiful sites you will enjoy. As always, there are never enough days to include every wonderful area.
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
11852 posts
Claire,
As to what else to add... I think you have plenty of stops. Instead of adding Assisi this trip, you may wish you had another night in the Dolomites. It depends on what you like to do. If you love the outdoors and hiking, take an extra night in the Dolomites. You could steal a night from Rome. As to your long stay in Rome, bravo! People don't take enough time in our fair city. It's nice to wrap up your travels with 5-7 nights settling in to a nice Roman apartment and making like a local. When in Rome, if you feel you have run out of things to do (impossible!) you can take a day trip to Orvieto or Tivoli. Villa d'Este is a lovely option.
As to weather, Sept is good; still a bit warm. Take a sweater for layering in evenings by mid-month, and a light jacket to add in the Dolomites.