Hi! We are just in early stages of planning and would like your recommendations. Arrive in Milan on Oct 11 spend one day in Milan. Our dates are Oct 11-20. I want to see Lake Como and Cinque Terre then San Gimignano, Bologna. We have been to Pisa, Florence, Venice so would like to explore other towns. Then go to Slovenia? We fly out of Milan again. Any suggestions on how to train all of it?Thank you!
Posted by
Charleston, SC, USA
922 posts
That's a lot of places in a short period of time. It will take the better part of a day to get to Slovenia, even if you fly. I would leave it off the list for this trip. Assuming you depart on Oct 11, you will arrive on the 12th and spend that day trying to get to the first destination, which I would recommend as Varenna (2+ hours by train from Malpensa airport). Take a look at rome2rio.com and plug in your destinations. They are not all close together so each time you change locations, you will eat up a good portion of the day.
I suggest that you focus on the things you want to do/see rather than a list of locations. The CT is good for hiking and relaxing. Lake Como is great for scenery and visiting the towns. Bologna and the Emilia Romagna region are famous for food and fast cars. And San Gimignano is a great town with a lot of towers. Think about what you liked best about Pisa, Florence and Venice and go from there. With only 9-10 days, I would try to limit the number of times I change location.
For reference: On our last trip to Italy, we arrived in Milan and spent the first 3 nights in Varenna. We then took the high speed train to Florence and rented a car. We drove to our hotel just south of Siena and stayed there 5 nights and drove around to many Tuscan and Umbrian towns. We then drove back to Milan and stayed the last night there. For train routes, check trenitalia.com/en.
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
Beginners guide to trains in Italy: https://www.seat61.com/Italy-trains.htm
Don't forget Cinque Terre is five places (the clue is in the name). You need to pick one, and use that name when looking up hotels and trains (each one has a station).
Lake Como has many towns around it, you need to pick one. Como town itself is large and not the best choice.