N. Italy

Short flight to Sardinia as well as to Milan from there, so that's good. See if you can opt for Linate in Milan as I find it easier to take the bus to Centrale from there. Also, cost of flight is typically less expensive. I'd also opt for the beach portion of the trip to be later rather than at the beginning of the trip. Varenna and surrounding area deserves more than a day and a half.

Best of luck on your planning!

Thank you Marc. Linate is out (not available). It's Ryan from BGY or TAP from MXP. Also Im leaning toward Padua over Verona, and could eliminate this altogether and add the time, well anywhere, but to Bologna let's say. Padua is en route to Bologna and Im intrigued so wanted to spend some time if possible
Also, the plan would be to fly from Bologna to Sardinia, and then Sardinia to Milan

Ryanair has a flight from BGY early July 13 that gets to LIS with plenty of time to make our flight home to the U.S. I would much rather take this flight, because then I wouldn't have to leave the LIS airport (less airport transition time!), but thought it too risky. Im right, right?

What is 'plenty of time' ?

Any checked bags?

If the early flight you plan is cancelled what is "Plan B" to get to LIS in time for the flight home?

but thought it too risky. I'm right, right?

That is a very real possibility

Thank you Joe

"Enough time" is 4+ hours, and no checked bags. No Plan B. Or rather, the Plan B would be to pay the difference to change my return flight from Lisbon. So, a gamble

I'm currently leaning toward changing our time in Portugal to fewer days (6 instead of 7 ½) and adding that 1 ½ to Italy. Still flying out of Italy to LIS the night before our departure from LIS-USA

Can you convince your daughter to look at Lake Garda instead? It would fit much better with your itinerary, plenty of variety of things to see and do.
While the beaches are not as nice as Sardinia, trying to fit it in could make your planning easier.

https://www.gardaitaly.com/

Verona over Padua. While Padua is worthy, Verona is magic.

Thank you all. I truly appreciate it.

Current thought is:

Portugal June 21-29
Fly to Venice June 29, arrive afternoon (sleep)
Venice June 30 (sleep)
Venice July 1 (sleep)
Depart for Verona July 2 (sleep)
Verona (day trip Brescia?) July 3 (sleep Verona)
Train to Bologna A.M. July 4 (sleep Bologna)
Bologna July 5 Until 8:00pm. Fly to Sardinia late July 5 (sleep Sardinia)
Sardinia July 6
Sardinia July 7
Sardinia July 8
Morning flight to Milan July 9. Maybe spend a few hours in Milan (store luggage in lockers), or continue right on to Varenna (sleep Varenna July 9)
Varenna July 10 (sleep Varenna)
Varenna July 11
Morning train to Milan. Store bags in locker. Spend time in Milan. Train to MXP for late flight to LIS (sleep LIS)
July 13 Fly home from LIS (noon)

I know the late and early flights could be a thing but they work for me. As for the Verona/Bologna nights, I know its short shrift, but I think Im ok with it

I think the final decision is whether to take 1 ½ days from Portugal, and just have 6 there, so that I can linger between Venice and Sardinia... but I think I like the above

I haven't been to Verona or Brescia, but I liked Padua a lot. It seemed more like a university town than a tourist town. Verona sounds like a zoo (albeit a pretty one) because of all the Romeo and Juliet groupies. Rick's guide to Venice covers both Padua and Verona, and the Padua section is considerably longer, which I take as an indication there's more to do there than in Verona.

It may still be right for you to go with Verona (many people really enjoy it), but I have a hard time imagining Brescia is a better side trip from Verona than Padua would be from Venice. There are several trains per hour that would get you to Padua from Venice in less than 30 minutes. The Scrovegni Chapel in Padua needs to be booked ahead of time.

Thanks Ann. I would say that whether we go to Padua or Verona is one of the less stressful decisions I have had to make. Deciding how long to give Portugal v. Italy has been very stressful. I think Ive decided on that (the stress is there because I purchased tickets from LIS to Venice last night, and only [in the middle of the night while laying awake with my head spinning] did I think about changing where we are putting out time. I have until 8pm tonight to make any change to that - without being charged anyway).

Meanwhile, what do you all think about MXP vs. BGY (Bergamo airport). There is a flight out of Bergamo at 6pm I like the price of. I would be checking out of Varenna in the morning, so technically have all morning and-then-some to get there.

Alternately there is a TAP flight out of MXP at 8:30p

I would flip the trip so as to do Portugal at the end. That way you are already in the city you need to be in for your flight back home. Even if you end up having to do one night in Lisbon at the start of the trip it will be the same number of nights but no risk of not getting back to Portugal in time for the flight home. If you get into LIS early enough you might even be able to fly to either Milan or Venice that same day. You might end up with a few hours in the airport cause you couldn't schedule your flights too close together in case your arrival fight is delayed, but I'd rather do that than spend an extra night.

I've flow in/out of BGY and it's fine and I think the bus into Milan is not any longer than from MXP. If you do fly in or out of BGY and can arrange to have at least a few hours be sure to try to go up to the old town on the hill. It's one of my favorite places in Italy. In fact, I'd add a night there so as to have time for that. You should probably do Varenna at the time you are in Bergamo, it's very close.

In fact, as I like to get most of my flying done early in a trip (less stress) I would consider flying from LIS to Milan and then to Sardinia. Couldn't do that all on the same day but maybe with just one overnight. You say you don't like the order of things that way but it does make the most sense. However, I'd talk to your daughter about how certain she is that she needs to see Sardinia. Two flights for just 2-3 days there seems like a lot. And from what I've seen (have not been to Sardinia, I have been to everywhere else you mention) it takes more than 2-3 days to see the highlights of the island. If you could skip Sardinia you'd free up almost five days. Is there any place else she is dying to go?

Verona is more visually stunning than Padua but Padua has a great feel to it. If you skipped Sardinia you could do both. And an easy side trip from Verona is Sirmione on the lower end of Lake Garda which has a gorgeous castle.

Sardinia is probably the difficult point. But... why don't you do a direct flight Alghero - Lisbona at the end of the tour? Or Lisbona - Alghero at the beginning. Ryanair has a direct and solve a lot the stress to add two more flights. You can do Sardinia at the end for a final relax on the beach before coming back to US.

As to which airport to use for the flight to Lisbon, I get the impression from your post that you will be using public transit, not driving. Is that correct? From Varenna to BGY or MXP on transit is each approximately 2.5 hours, so it’s a wash. If you were driving, I’d pick BGY for less driving around MIlan’s busy roads. I’m currently living just outside Milan and driving on those roads daily. It’s not impossible, just a little unpleasant.

Do you have experience with Ryanair? They’re really not so bad, but of course read and follow the fine print rules or expect to pay extra fees. I’m flying with them from BGY next weekend and can report back if the airline is a differentiating factor for you.

I agree with you that getting to Lisbon the night before your flight home is the lower-risk choice. I have actually missed a flight home from Europe once and it took the rest of the day and a lot of teeth grinding to sort it out and get rebooked for the next day. I learned my lesson and always stay close to the airport now.

why don't you do a direct flight Alghero - Lisbona at the end of the tour?

I do not see that there are direct flights. What did I miss? The best I can find is a one stop itinerary that takes over 7 hrs

Thank you all for giving me a place to think out loud and not laughing at me like my family does because I get so ... hyper-vigilant

This has helped me today come to the realization that Sardinia, funnily enough (because it has never been on my radar ever) is going to get more time, not less ;p I ended up taking the day-and-a-half from Portugal and will use some in Sardinia and some in the place[s] between Venice and Sardinia. I also reserved a place in Varenna that Im excited about, so as someone mentioned, I will spend the last two days on a lake, and not in a car, which I like.

What I realized is that I would like some time that feels more like an island holiday and less like Im a tour guide. I read a RS thread from 2017 that convinced me (Roberto compared it to Yosemite, and that is a very important place in our family). Also, its been a very rough two years on top of Covid, and if Im going to do this for my daughter (of course I will enjoy it, but it is also work) at a time when I might rather lay down flat for a month, Sardinia seems appropriate.

I did look at all the flight possibilities, from Lisbon Sardinia, to Lisbon from, and all the towns to and from all the towns in every variation of these locations. I like what Ive got at the moment, and I like it in part because Sardinia and Varenna are at the end, with one day in between for Milan, but not sleeping in Milan (which was also hanging me up)

Thank you Nelly. I was leaning toward BGY and you reassured me. And thanks everyone again for thoughts. I'll still have to figure out which of Padua, Verona, and Bologna to visit...

Just completed my trip out of BGY. It went smoothly and the airport is easy to get in and out of. However, it’s bigger and busier than I expected. My flight was already on last call for boarding by the time i hoofed in from the far reaches of the parking lot and got through security. So allow plenty of time.

I take you are aware of the interesting Ryan Air pitfalls and traps?

If by pitfalls you mean luggage rules and price gouging (pay 'this' now, or pay 'THIS' later). I believe I am. Ive flown them before. I do pay for the appropriate luggage. Now just to keep mine at 22 lbs