Northeastern Italy May 2016

we did this as a day trip from venice.....highly recommend!!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquileia

I have been to most of those places, and I travel in May, also. To me, the weather is perfect, not cold, never wore a sweater or jacket. If it rains, it is not usually for long. It is impossible to predict weather, though. Parma and Verona were warm enough to wear shorts this year.

Crowds weren't too bad, especially in the smaller towns. Venice has it's crowded time, but go out early or in the evening to escape most of it.

My concern is that you seem to have a lot of cities planned. Remember, your first day you may be jet-lagged. Try to stay at least 2 nights per city, otherwise you waste a lot of time packing up and traveling to the next. Yes, you can do day trips, but train travel also takes up time. Get to know the city you are in and you will enjoy it more :)

I was in all but Ravenna in mid-May, '14, and the weather was beautiful. Sunny and warm, but not hot. The Adriatic was a little too cold for swimming though. We used Bologna as a base, before moving on to Venice. It was not crowded, other than on the weekend when the Mille Miglia road rally passed through Bologna- then it was packed, mostly with locals. We loved Bologna, and had a wonderful private tour to Parma and Modena. Of course Venice is always busy.

Thank you for your responses. Charlotte, I was thinking of using Bologna as a base then planning day trips to Parma, Modena, and Ravenna. Venice would be allotted 3 days and Verona 2 days. My itinerary, at this point, looks something like this:
Depart PHX for Venice, from Venice take train to Bologna. I have no plans for anything once we get to Bologna except dinner and sleeping, so I am not counting travel and landing day as part of my stay. Then,

1. Explore Bologna, sleep Bologna
2. Explore Bologna, sleep Bologna
3. Parma day trip, sleep Bologna
4. Modena day trip, sleep Bologna
5. Ravenna day trip, evening train to Verona, sleep Verona
6. Explore Verona, sleep Verona
7. Explore Verona, sleep Verona
8. Early train to Venice, explore Venice
9. Venice
10. Venice
11. Depart Venice for home Do you think this is too much? The train trips seemed relatively short but I'd like to know what you think since you've spent time in this area. I also wondered if Parma and Modena could be combined into one long day? I am also open to add another day if necessary. I would love to hear some critiques of my plan. Thanks, Erica

a first day of Venice trip to Bologna might be a bit too hectic. You might consider doing Venice first, then Ravenna on the way to bologna or even one night there. Then it's easy to do side trips from bologna to Parma and Modena and finally go to Verona and perhaps leave via Milan

The weather in May should be superb.
Fly in and out of Venice.
Don't pre purchase any train tickets - nothing to be saved as you will use cheap local trains.
Book your 3 hotels close to the stations.

From Verona (4nts) - Day trips to Mantua, Vicenza
From Bologna (5nts) - Day trips to Parma+Modena, Ferrara, Ravenna
From Venice (4nts) - Day trip to Padua

I visited many of these places during August 2012 and being off the main tourist path found virtually no crowds, even in high summer. Venice, and Verona perhaps, are exceptions to that observation of course.

Your plan looks great- I like the idea of three "resting places", with at least three nights in each. ` I disagree with Ralph about the hassle of getting to Bologna from Marco Polo airport. A bus to Le Mestre station, then train to Bologna may in fact be less hectic than taking a bus to Piazzale Roma, and then dealing with the vaporetto, and would not take a whole lot more time. And Bologna might be a little easier to get settled in on your first night.

I did visit Parma and Modena on the same day, although it was with a driver-guide. It was a wonderful day, and the guide was excellent (as was her driving). We visited a small cheesemaker early in the day, and a balsamic producer later on. It was just the guide, my wife and I, and the cost was 200 euros for the whole day, pickup and return in Bologna. But the train rides to each are short, so if that's your planned mode of transit, it should also work.

Mid-May last year, I spent 1.5 weeks from Bologna to Orvieto. The weather was warm and sunny, but as you already noted, it's unpredictable. Except for Florence, there were no real crowds anywhere - my guess is that Venice will be like Florence.

I day-tripped from Bologna to Ravenna. It was my second visit to Ravenna, so I only wanted to hit the highlights for a second look. I think it would be a shame to go that far without spending a night and giving yourself enough time to see it all. Besides the world heritage sites, there is a good museum and a few minor sights, and it's a pretty town.

Plan all your day trips on days that you will be sleeping in Bologna. You'll be taking regionale trains. You could miss a connection in Bologna to Verona if the train back is late or if it takes a few minutes longer to pick up your luggage from storage. That also gives you the flexibility to stay as late as you want.

Other ideas for day-trips from Bologna are Ferrara and Padua.

"I also wondered if Parma and Modena could be combined into one long day?"

Yes, unless you are taking food tours or the like.

"Other ideas for day-trips from Bologna are Ferrara and Padua. ""

I'll second that recommendation - both are great places, mostly off the tourist radar.

I have stayed in Bologna and Verona many times. Two of my favorite cities. Let me know if you need any hotel/restaurant recommendations. Weather will be good that time of year. I like to go in April (shoulder season) with very few tourists but May will be good too.

Karren, thanks for your response and offer. It was my intention to go in April, but the person who is coming to babysit my dogs can come in May, so May it is. I am hoping crowds will not be too bad at that time. I would love to hear your recommendations for hotels and restaurants. I would like a hotel that is close to most sights, if possible. I am not exactly sure of my budget in Euro but I don't want anything extravagant. I know that isn't much help but I have not really looked at my options as far as rooms go. Have you done day trips from either town? If so, I would like to know if my itinerary, as far as day trips from Bologna, is doable? Considering that the train rides are fairly short I was figuring day trips to surrounding towns would be somewhat easy. I would be appreciative of any help you could offer.

One potential problem with day trips from Bologna is timing. For some cities, I could leave Bologna at 8:30 or 11, but not in between. Check carefully to avoid losing a half-day (very important in these places, where many sights still close for lunch for several hours in the middle of the day, or are only open in the morning).

My trip was in 1997 or so, so you have the advantage of being able to look at online train schedules in advance, at trenitalia.com.