May-June Itinerary Advice

Hi Bill,

I can't give you details on road conditions for May/June, but I see too many one night stops. Give yourself a minimum of two nights - think of it as each location needs at least 12 hours of daylight. For instance, if you're driving to the Dolomites, usually the best weather in mountain regions is during the morning. During good weather conditions, by the time you pick up the car, have lunch, take a wrong turn, you're arriving late afternoon. Check into your hotel, and there's only time to walk around the village and enjoy the view before it's night. You're leaving the next morning when you could be taking a gondola to go hiking and enjoy a peaceful meal with these gorgeous views. Also, check whether you really want to stay in Bolzano or head nearby with better views and in the actual villages.

At a minimum, I'd save Sorrento for another time and add those days to other locations. Personally, I'd want to stay in one Dolomite village for 3 days and definitely keep 3 days for Venice.

I understand this is not your first visit, so you're probably filling in around spots you've already seen. As much as I love Orvieto, it's well served by train and makes an easy stop on most any trip to Italy. With a car, I'd aim for towns that are not served by train, such as Gubbio in Umbria, or many others. Sorrento seems to be the odd destination, certainly the furthest, although the autostrade driving would be pretty fast. Are your flights already booked into Venice and out from Rome?

Flights are into Venice, out of Rome. Never been to Sorrento, Pompei, Positano, etc. so that's why we're going there. Never been to the Dolomites or Orvieto either. I enjoy the driving, hence the Stelvio Pass bit. I find the train to be a hassle (hauling big bags through cars, looking for seats). We will be taking the train from Sorrento to Rome, however. No way I'm driving there.

Sometimes viamichelin.com gives better times for driving in Europe. I haven't been to the Bolzano area, so I'll trust Jean's knowledge. One way to offset the morning vs. afternoon time is to consider driving late in the day for your next hotel and having the early, hopefully better weather, for sightseeing.

I like that you're staying 3 days in Venice, giving you time to relax and adjust. And 2 nights in Orvieto sounds good. . . unless you're planning a day trip to Assisi, then I'd add a night.

Have you been to Rome before? If so, can you drop a night or two and add them to Sorrento. One day to get in and out of Sorrento (2 half days), a day for Pompeii and a day for Positano . . . I think it could use a little more than that. There's Herculaneum, the not-to-be-missed archaeology museum in Naples, Ravello, Sorrento itself . . .