northern italy

I would tweak your itinerary in the following manner. You seem to be unsure about Verona, and it wouldn't be on my list for a first trip to Italy. If you do include it, do it as a day trip from Venice, possibly by train. As has been said here many times, driving around, finding places, and changing hotels eats up time. I'm not a fan of the CT. If you feel they are a must-see, make it 2 rather than 3 nights. Add that time to Tuscany. There are many lovely towns: Montalcino, Montepulciano, Pienza, and Volterra, to name just a few. You might want to stay in an agriturismo near one of the them, for a unique Italian experience. Pm me if you have more questions. We've been to Italy ten times, including extended time in the Veneto, Alto Adige, and Tuscany.

Richard, we were in Italy a month ago on a trip very similar to yours, except that we traveled mostly by train. We did not go to Venice, which I love too much to visit in the summer when it is too hot and crowded with cruise-ship visitors. And we did not go to the Domoites, as it was a bit off our path, and I can't go there without spending a whole week because it is so beautiful.

So our path was Milan to Verona (2 nights)--Firenze (2 nights)---Lucca (2 nights)--pick up car and drive to Siena, staying at an agriturismo outside the city for 1 night---return car at Pisa airport and train to Manarola at Cinque Terrs (2 nights but I wish we'd had 3)---train to Varenna (3 nights)----train to Milan for 1 night. I wouldn't change a thing except to add a night at Manarola.

And I'll add that the driving was very difficult and stressful, even with the combined navigation skills of our daughter (using a Blackberry) and me (with a d map). I know you said you prefer a car, but you might consider taking a train for part of your itinerary, especially since you'll just have to pay for parking and not use it at all in Venice and Cinque Terre. The same may well be true for your Tuscan town, depending on which you choose.

A car definitely maks sense for the Dolomites, but---Bolzano is not in the Dolomites. It is down in the river valley, hot and humid in the summer. Stay "in" the Dolomites if you possibly can.

To answer your questions:

1) We loved Manarola and especially our hotel La Toretta, which was a lovely oasis of peace and quiet. Vernazza, where we hiked for half a day, felt very crowded, filled with day visitors sitting all over the walls and benches. It was the one place in all of Italy where we were treated dismissively by shopkeepers. Deepwater swimming at Manarola was a big plus.

2) Lots of places have AC but it may or may not work well.

3) We loved Verona, even in the rain.

Richard -

Nice to know other fifty-plus, year olds enjoy traveling the same as we do.

Comments on the CT are spot on. Less is more and we enjoy Vernazza as a base, if you chose to go over night there.

Just drove the Bolzano route in May and stayed up in Soprabolzano for the views, taking the gondola down into Bolzano. Be sure to visit the Fischbanke, run by Cobo, while there. Its an outdoor bar. A bit of 'afternoon' life is warranted and you will enjoy yourself.

We also love Siena and if smaller is preferred, Montepulciano.

If you need to ease your blood pressure and still have a car in Italy, have your wife do the driving. I do and it works out much better for both of us. I navigate better anyway.

On our trip, in which we also went from Bolzano to Venice, we stopped overnight at Basso del Grappa and dropped off the car there, then took the train to Venice. You really do not want to drop off the car in Venice. I am thinking the car drops must be on the mainland.

Also, that itinerary is not in the order in which you are planning to do it, I hope: ...."Drive to Venice (2 nights). Drive to Cinque Terre (3 nights)Drive into Tuscany region (stay for 2 nights)"..... If it is, I think it would behoove you to start looking at an Italian map soon.

I see your point regarding the order of towns I posted. I guess it is best to drive from venice to the Florence area and then up to the CIngue Terrre. I will need the car in Tuscany which is after Venice so I will have to park it on the mainland in Venice. Since the Cinque Terre will be our last stop would you suggest we drive back to Milan to fly home or look into Genoa or back to Florence

I'd go by whichever is the most convenient and less expensive flight. Pisa is the closest sirport to CT, and there are usually good flights out of there. When my son lived in Florence he preferred Pisa airport to Florence.

Once you know where you will be ending the trip, just keep in mind how far you want to drive back to an airport. What we normally do is drop the car at a convenient town that has good train transportation to the airport from which we will be flying. Bear in mind that returning a car to an airport is not all that convenient and requires a lot of time to complete.

Actually---we returned our car at Pisa airport and it was a piece of cake. We chose it for that reason---people on travel boards adivised us that it was easy, and it was. There is an easy and frequent shuttle from the rental car drop to the airpport terminal.

If you're not big on art, you might want to reconsider time in Florence. It's my favorite city in the world, but that's because of the art; not sure how much else there is, unless architecture is of particular interest. And even off-season it can be crowded. (Can't believe I'm suggesting to someone they skip Florence.) You might enjoy a drive wandering through some of the small towns in Umbria more.