Killer Drive from MXP to Tuscany - I just can't

It's really not advisable to drive right after a long flight, especially if it crosses time zones. Why not just take the train to Monterosso, chill for a couple of days, then take the train to La Spezia and get your rental car there?

I booked a package deal that has flight, hotel and car. To make changes to that will cost me. The car I have to pick up from MXP. Do you know of an area close by that would be good? I can come out of pocket and spend the first night elsewhere and just let the travel agency know that the drive is too far and I'll miss out on the first night of hotel in San Gimignano. I don't want to stay at an airport hotel because I'd like to be somewhere that we can get out and walk around and enjoy the day.

But, Milan Malpensa airport to Monterosso al Mare is 3h30+ (see viamichelin.com ). Not much improvement.

Do I need to get train tickets before hand or are they available where we'd park?

Not sure what you mean here. You walk from the car park at Monterosso al Mare into the town. The train is between the 5 towns (cinque Terra) and linking them to the rest of Italy.

When is your trip taking place?
Is there a possibility to cancel the whole package & then you can make other arrangements?

I'd not drive after a long transatlantic flight either...

If your trip is happening soon, like next month, keep in mind that many establishments in the Cinque Terre close down for the winter months.

We leave next Tuesday and will arrive Wednesday morning.
I'm not familiar with the Cinque Terre so I need to read up on that. I thought that you'd park somewhere then take the train into the towns.

We've stayed at Villa delle Rose near MXP airport several times. It has free parking, a decent restaurant and good beds. It's not too traditional, but would be easy to get to and a good place to rest before your vacation.

Thank you! Since we arrive around 6am after an overnight flight. I'd like to be in an area where we can sight see and do some things. I don't want to be cramped inside of a hotel all day on our first day. So are there any areas outside of Milan or the MXP airport that are worth visiting?

You are smart to recognize that you may have a problem. We did the same with a package through Travel Zoo that landed us in Rome and drove to Florence - three or four hours? Seemed like forever. All adults - it was a struggle. Finally pulled into a parking area off the express way and everyone kind of took a nap in the car for about an hour. That and a couple of espressos got us pass the initial sleepiness getting off the plane. Not a recommended plan with kids. Good luck.

I would also caution against driving too far after a long international flight, a practice which has been compared to impaired driving. I assume you're aware that you'll need the compulsory International Driver's Permit for driving in Italy. These are used in conjunction with your home D.L. and are valid for one year. You can easily obtain I.D.P.'s for a small fee at any AAA office (Passport photos required, but those can often be supplied by AAA).

If you haven't driven in Italy before, you'll also have to be vigilant to avoid the dreaded ZTL (limited traffic) areas, as hefty fines will result for each pass through one! Do NOT drive in Florence as it's just about saturated with automated ZTL cameras. I just received a note from someone who received two ZTL tickets, which where eventually referred to a North American based collection agency. By the time the matter was settled, the cost was about $700! You'll also have to contend with speed cameras, including the devious Traffic Tutor on the motorways, parking, tolls, etc.

One option you might consider would be to spend your first night in Stresa. It's relatively close to MXP and a beautiful city. That would be a great place to have a good rest and start to get over jet lag. There are lots of hotels, good restaurants and you'd be able to browse the stores. Ask your hotel for restaurant recommendations (or possibly your hotel may also have a restaurant on site).

The Cinque Terre is not a good choice at this time of year. Many of the tourist businesses will have closed for the season, and the weather may be an issue. Parking may be a problem in all of the towns except Monterosso. There won't be much to do in the towns at this time of year, so not much fun wandering around a town that's mostly closed in the pouring rain. It would be best to leave that for a future trip at a more favourable time of year.

There are shuttle buses from MXP to Bergamo taking 75 to 90 minutes. Bergamo has an extremely atmospheric hilltop old town, but that's a lot of time on a bus when you're jet-lagged. Then again, maybe you'd all be able to nap.

I'm not sure how you'd manage your luggage, though.

Slightly unclear on the details... so the package trip includes flight into MXP, rental car from there ; then multiple nights in San Gimignano before going to?

It sounds like you have already decided to go out of pocket for the first night stay and arrive in San Gim a day later.
I would find out the extra charge for renting the car a day later and ask to rent the car from the Florence city location on Via Borgognissanti. I really don't think they will charge much to make this change, their costs should be lower since you would be renting the car for 1 less day and from a non-airport location which in Italy is cheaper.
Arrive In MXP ; take an easy train ride into Florence. Stay a night in a hotel in Florence, touring the city after you arrive and the following morning and then you have a very easy drive from there to San Gim the next day.

Cinque Terre is out of your way and doesn't make sense for a 1 night stay in your case.

Your situation is a great example of why I avoid package trips. Seems there's always some catch. Please come back to share what you decided to do and what, in hindsight, you would have done differently. That could be really helpful to future travelers.

Good luck.

Your OP kind of jumbles Cinque Terre and Tuscany together, as if they were the same place. They are not. Did you have one night in Monterosso already, or multiple nights starting on arrival day, in San G.?

Milan is a superb URBAN place to see on foot. I'd sleep there the first night. Problem is that the hotel room won't be ready at 7AM. And you are too late to book The Last Supper viewing. If you want to get the car and get out of town, I would go to Reggio Emilia. That is NOT an important town, but I have been there four times on business. It's easy to negotiate with a car, has a few things to see, and has a nice small CITY vibe to it. It is not a wooden village from Band of Brothers, because those are all gone. It's on the way to Tuscany. Another idea might be Piacenza. Bologna is more important, but it's too far and too annoying with a car.

Find out where your hotel wants you to park in San G BEFORE you get there. Learn what is a ZTL. Get maps or a GPS.

Tim,

Yes, I have multiple nights starting on arrival day in San Gimignano.
I was thinking that I could drive down along the coast. Stop and stay in Monterosso then the next day go to Pisa and get a picture with the Leaning Tower then head to Lucca then on to San Gimignano.

You're suggestions of places outside of Milan are great. Thank you!

My hotel in San Gimignano has free parking there.

Katherine, Head what the others say, please please DO NOT drive in Italy until:
1) You are legal. If you have a US licence this means you also need an IDP (International Driving Permit). And you need to carry both.
2) You have read up on the driving laws and where they are different from those in your country (speed limits, ZTL, parking)
3) You have learnt the road signs. See here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_signs_in_Italy
4) You know what an Autostrade is and the tolls you have to pay.

You can look up routes and times on: https://www.viamichelin.com/ This will also show you the tolls. Note that the times it lists assume no stops. In reality, add 25% to 50%.

As the others said, this is the wrong time of year for the Cinque Terre. For reference, the Cinque Terre are a group of 5 towns (hence the name) along a precipitous section of coast. They are virtually inaccessible by road. For each town you park at the top of the hill and go down on foot into the town. There is a railway line along the coast with lots of tunnels which links the towns to each other and to the outside world, south to La Spezia or north to Genova.

viamichelin quotes for Malpensa airport to San Gimignano as 400 Km, 4½ hours (+stops) and "Costs: 59.73 € including Toll 25.70 €, Consumption 34.03 €". Montorosso is not much less.
I concur you need to spend your first night a lot nearer to the airport. How about Stresa, one of my favourites.

The trouble is Michael, sometimes the package deals are just too good to pass up even with a catch or two. Two years ago on Travel Zoo we grabbed a package that was, in mid May, RT New York/Rome, 10 day car rental - mid size - including all insurance, seven nights in a agritourismo about 30 mins outside of Florence, three nights in a Rome hotel, all for $1400. How do you pass that up? The agritourismo was a thousand year old castle and our rooms were actually a five bedroom villa on the castle grounds. Granted the "Rome hotel" was a 15 min drive to a park n ride at the last stop of the subway on the far south side of Rome but it was very convenient to the airport. All package deals are not always bad.

Stresa on Lake Maggiore is the answer.

Stresa is just 40-45 minutes drive from MXP, and Lake Maggiore is very beautiful and relaxing.

Generally I would advice at least 3 nights in Stresa, but you can stay fewer nights. The time of the year is not ideal like spring or summer, but the Cinque Terre would be worse. First of all Liguria is one of the rainiest corners of Italy, but besides that, to drive to the Cinque Terre you need to go through the Po Valley, which is likely foggy in November. I wouldn't drive in fog while jet lagged.

What I would do in a situation like this is pull up google maps, set the foute from mpx to San G and then start clicking on little towns outside of Milan. Most will have a photo pop up and a little info - pick one and stop there for the day & night. You can then carry on to San G the next day a little fresher.

Going from Milan to Monterosso you'd drive through the mountains using the "A7 Milano-Genova" highway. After an 11 hours flight? With your daughters? No way, the A7 is a good divided highway that still makes its job, but it's old.

I'd forget about the Cinque Terre out of season. If I were you I'd just head south using the "A1 Milano-Napoli" via Bologna and Florence. You could easily find an hotel near an highway exit: not far from Bologna if you aren't tired, but before the Appennines. If you look at a map or check on www.viamichelin.it you'll see it makes sense.

The new part of the A1, the "Direttissima", runs straight in tunnels under the mountains between Bologna and Florence. It was opened one year ago and it is way easier to drive than the old A7.

Bologna is a wonderful town, I bet you'd love staying there and walking around without the usual hordes of tourists. Unfortunately it also has a camera controlled ZTL that keeps non residents' cars out of the ancient central area. If you want your kids to see something important on the first day, forget about the highway hotel and sleep just out of Modena's small ZTL: Modena is a small "real" town like Bologna, it is in the right direction and the main square is on the Unesco list.

Katherine,
You're going to love San Gimignano! The whole area is gorgeous!

Are you staying in the city or in an agriturismo outside the town? I'd touch base with your accommodations, especially if you are staying within the city walls. The entire town is ZTL. The good news is there's plenty of parking just outside the walls and you can walk from one end of the town to the other in about an hour's leisurely stroll.

I understand you hesitancy to drive such a long way in a foreign country after taking such a long flight. How much international travel have you done? To me, the best way to overcome jet lag is to immediately adopt your new time zone. Exercise would help. My suggestion would be to research somewhere within about an hour's drive of the airport and visit there. You'll get there maybe 9:00 am. I'm not sure if Milan would be a good choice, I'm thinking of a smaller village. Go there and walk around until lunch. After lunch, drive 2-3 hours towards San Gimignano and stay there for the night. You might go to bed a little early, but you don't want to go to sleep before 8:00-9:00 p.m. You can finish the drive to San Gimignano the next morning.

We went to Tuscany in December and the Rhine in July. Both times we got off the plane and made a full day of it. For Tuscany, we landed in Rome and drove directly to Greve in Tuscany. For the Rhine, we landed in Amsterdam, then took a commuter plane to Switzerland, arriving at about 11:00. We had lunch and spent the afternoon sightseeing.

Not to scare you but if you are staying in the center/city of San Gim. your hotel may have free parking but it is likely not on site.
You may have to park outside of town, then walk to the hotel. At check-in they may or may not be able to give you a 30 minute pass to drive up to the hotel and unpack your luggage and then park your car for you in their lot outside of the city walls.
The whole town within the walls is a ZTL zone and I cannot imagine any hotel parking lots within the walls.

Only mentioning it so you don't just drive in past ZTL signs thinking you are fine because you have a hotel reservation in town, that would be a costly mistake! Most towns in the area function similarly, San Gim is not unique. You will appreciate the lack of cars while walking/shopping in town.

Your plan of driving the coast is adding more driving overall, a little less after landing but not by much and the coast will be cold this time of year and out of season so for many reasons is a bad plan. Instead of driving a long distance 1 day you would be doing it 2 days straight.

Have I go this right? You arrive at Milan Malpensa and want to get to San Gimignano, with an overnight stop of interest, on the way??? Pavia is a beautiful town on the way - about one and a quarter hours (1 hour 15 mins) approx., from Milan Malpensa. Have a look on the internet about Pavia. It has the most amazing and famous Certosa (abbey complex). The town has charm and is an elegant ancient centre. It would make a lovely base with plenty to explore on your arrival day. The next day the trip to San Gim is about 4 hours drive. Let us know what you decide to do. Good luck

sometimes the package deals are just too good to pass up even with a catch or two. ... Granted the "Rome hotel" was a 15 min drive to a park n ride at the last stop of the subway on the far south side of Rome but it was very convenient to the airport.

That's exactly the kind of catch that would be a deal breaker for me. I do see a recurring theme of "7 nights at out-of-the-way location" combined with "3 nights lodging well outside the historic center of a major city" and a rental car for the whole time, never mind that it's useless for some of that period. Not my cup of espresso, but YMMV, obviously.