Itinerary ideas, please!

Since we’re talking general terms, the Veneto is kind of an underrated region. You could devote a week between the main towns of Padua, Verona and Vicenza easily. They are well connected via train as well.

A train to the lakes (Lake Como, et al.) would also be a good option in September.

Hello tomgwenlong,

With an open itinerary there are a lot of possibilities - what are your biggest interests? You mainly mentioned big cities but there is a lot of charm in small town Italy if you're interested in it.
The biggest towns in the Veneto are Brescia, Verona and Padua/Padova all around 200K people. Brescia has some amazing Roman ruins if that interests you and a series of chained grand piazzas and even a castle. Padua has piazzas, colonnades and some grand churches including Scrovegni chapel. I think Verona is the most pleasant of these cities with a Roman arena and theater - both still in use - and an emphasis on the arts and opera.

Lake Garda is popular and the base of the lake is easily reachable by train - but these areas are heavily touristed for the same reason. You could easily catch a bus in Verona to get to the upper lake towns like Malcesine with ferry access to Limone Sul Garda
and the other upper lake towns for more of the remote lake experience.

If you stay in the north there is no reason to rent a car unless you want to do something really specific that's off the beaten path. The area is flat - unlike Tuscany - and train service is good.

If you add to your criteria and expand on the number of days you have people can make more specific suggestions.

Have a great trip,
=Tod

We did this on a recent trip:

From Venice we took a GoOpti Ride Share to Trieste, Italy and spent 4 nights at Albergo Nascosto near the port and city center. From there we took another GoOpti Ride Share to Ljubljana, Slovenia for another 4 nights at Hotel B & B Slamic. It was a nice trip with variety in scenery, food, and fun. We flew home from the Airport in Ljubljana.

...then travel to Venice for a few days. Our plans from there are pretty loose...

Not sure exactly how much time you have, so this is a consideration. Base yourself in Venice. Verona, Padau, Vicenza can all be done as day trips from there. That will eliminate a lot of time lost relocating.

All of the above can be done just using trains.

We will be ending a cruise next September in Ravenna, and plan to spend a day there, then travel to Venice for a few days.

Make sure you ride the train to the end of the line and get off at the Venezia S. Lucia station when everyone gets off: https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html.
If you fly out of Venice, it’s best to take a late morning flight home so you don’t have to take an expensive water taxi to the airport. If you do take an early morning flight you may want to sleep near the airport the night before.
Venice makes a perfect base to fly home from because it’s accessible by direct train to Padua (30m), Vicenza (45m) and Verona (1h 15m). For the latter you want to get off at the Porta Nuova station.
Venice alone requires three nights and for each day trip add a night. If you go to Padua, buy tickets for the Scrovegni Chapel before leaving home.
Another option is to fly home from Milan that may cost less. If you fly home from Milan and would like to visit Padua and Vicenza do that as a day trip from Venice not Milan. Or, you could store your luggage at the train station in Padua on your way to Milan. I don’t believe Vicenza’s train station has a place to store luggage. Verona's Porta Nuova also has a left luggage area that’s about equal distance from Venice as it is from Milan's Centrale station.
If you fly home from Milan's Malpensa airport sleep near the central train station. Another good day trip from Milan is Lake Como. From the Milano Centrale station take a direct train to the Varenna-Esino station (1h 15m). When you get off take a 30m ferry from Varenna to Bellagio. After you finish seeing Bellagio go back to Varenna and walk around the lake area before going back to Milan.
To get to Malpensa airport catch a direct train from Milano Centrale to Malpensa MXP (1h).

If you want to see all the mosaics in Ravenna, not just the top seven mosaic sites, you'll need to spend two days in the city.

I haven't been to Ferrara yet, but it comes highly recommended. It's the transfer point for many of the rail departures from Ravenna to Venice.

I would not take multiple day trips from Venice because of the very high cost of lodging there. Padua is a much less expensive city and positions you closer to Ravenna, Vicenza, Verona and Brescia, as well as to the sights in Padua itself, of course.

If you relocate and sleep in Padua (pronounced Padua but the Italian spelling is Padova) you’ll be closer to Vicenza (30m) and Verona (45m). Visit Vicenza and Verona from Padua and Lake Como from Milan.

Thanks everyone for your insight. We appreciate your help.