My family of 4, including 2 older teenaged sons, will be making the trip back to Italy in June, centered around our younger son's 18th birthday. We will be celebrating this day with the rest of Florence on the feast of San Giovanni. We will have 15 ground days, and I hope we have an excellent repeat trip. We are exchanging just one city, Bologna for Sorrento, and I still need to figure out which village in CT is best. The first time, we stayed in Riomaggiore. This time, I am looking at Vernazza or Monterozza. I am interested in opinions of your experiences in those 2 villages. We do enjoy hiking.
Here is our itinerary as of now:
June 17- SFO-Bologna
June 18- Bologna (first day)
June 19- Bologna
June 20- Bologna-Venice
June 21- Venice
June 22- Venice-Florence
June 23- Florence
June 24- Florence
June 25- Florence
June 26- Florence-CT
June 27- CT
June 28- CT
June 29- CT- Rome
June 30- Rome
July 1- Rome(Orvieto day trip)
July 2- Rome (last day)
July 3- Rome-SFO
Any ideas on day trips from each city, and thoughts on Cinque Terre would be ever helpful.
Thank you!
Posted by
Washington DC
28965 posts
Bologna has a wealth of daytrip possibilities, but I loved-loved-loved Ravenna. The mosaics are glorious (even to non-religious me), and the historic district is pretty in itself. Other good possibilities are Padua and Vicenza (both west of Venice), and others have spoken very positively about Ferrara.
I love Venice, but I'm not sure I'd make a return trip there for just one full day when there are so many new places to see.
Posted by
OP
Martinez, California San Francisco Bay Area
78 posts
@acraven- Thank you for your reply. Since Bologna to Venice is a relatively quick train ride, I planned on leaving early that morning to have a somewhat full day there, plus the next day to go over to Murano. We didn't do that last time, and I regretted it.
Thank you for the tip on Ravenna. That will definitely be factored into a day trip.
The first time we went, we only did one day trip from Sorrento to Pompeii. I plan on branching out more this time.
Is there a must-see day trip from Florence I should consider? We have no interest in Pisa, but are open to any other suggestions. =)
Posted by
Washington DC
28965 posts
Lucca and Siena are very nice. San Gimignano gets a lot of tourists, but those towers are seriously impressive. I've noticed that there are tours hitting San Gimignano and Volterra in a single day. I've been to all those places and enjoyed them, but it was literally decades ago, so I can't tell you anything about current conditions. Posters here have had positive comments about a lot of other places in the area. Tuscany and Umbria are very popular for a reason.
There are some small-group specialty tours run out of Florence. If you're not an extreme budget traveler and don't plan to have a rental car of your own, options like that can be worthwhile if you have a special interest in wine, food, etc.
I like Orvieto a lot. There are many sights worth seeing there, in addition to the fun of wandering around the large historic area. I suspect it will have more tourists on the weekend (July 1 and 2). Much of the tourist traffic seems to be Italian, and I'm guessing some of them are just day-trippers from fairly nearby. I mention that in case you have some flexibility with your daytrip. I realize that the opening hours of the Rome and Orvieto sights are a factor.
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15806 posts
Please don't skip Ravenna. Even as a non-Christian, I was blown away by the mosaics. Bring binoculars to see them better. Tour the old university in Bologna. I'd stay there an extra day (instead of Florence) to day trip to Ferrara. Padua and Parma are also possible. It depends on how much time you want to spend in Florence itself.
Posted by
Portland
3657 posts
If you go to Murano, continue on to Torcello. It was the original settlement of Venice and has a very old church with mosaics. When we were there, there was a good restaurant, as well.
As I have said many times on this site, I am not a fan of the CT. I think they are over-hyped. There are many equally or more beautiful places; and at the time you plan to visit, they will be monstrously overcrowded.
I also endorse the suggestion for a visit to Ravenna.
Posted by
OP
Martinez, California San Francisco Bay Area
78 posts
@Rosalyn, what other cities would you exchange CT for? Looking for beachy places where we can relax away from the city and do nature hikes.
Posted by
616 posts
I would certainly stay one more way in Venice.
If you want some beach And want it rather calm go to Maremma, Argentario or Elba.
Another very nice area is South Of Salerno.
From Florence you have many worthwhile places to visit
Siena is a real must. The cathedral is a wonder and all the little streets are wonderful, the market square are wonderful.
Vinci and its museum of its discoveries by Leonardo da Vinci is also very interesting in getting you to understand how cathedrals were built at this early age or how olives were pressed. Also interesting to do are some daytrips in the Chianti. Certaldo is also nice to go to. Orvieto, Perugia need to spend at least one night.
Posted by
18 posts
Wow, this isn't a helpful reply but I just found it funny that we have practically the same itinerary.
I'm there from June22-July3, with your itinerary on those dates, but rather than CT, I chose Sorrento/Amalfi!
Enjoy!!!
Posted by
OP
Martinez, California San Francisco Bay Area
78 posts
@evelyn88 Are you flying out of SFO, too?
Great minds think alike. Maybe we will cross paths and not even know it! Have a fabulous trip yourself!! :)