Northern Italy itinerary possibilities

Not technically in the Dolomites, Merano is easy to reach from Bolzano. Many years ago we spent a very long day there, driving from Vipiteno. Merano's a fantastic place, nice walks in and around town. Always a touch out of the way for a return trip so far.

There are buses from Bolzano up into the Dolomites, definitely including the popular Ortisei. Then there are lifts. There's even a lift from right in Bolzano.

Please consider flying from London to Italy - Turin, Venice, Florence. Not only will you save lots of time, it most likely will be much less expensive. The trip from London to Turin including changes and waiting time would be about 11 hours. Flying from London to Turin would be under 3 hours.

I'll look more into Merano. I've only heard of it, but don't know the geography around that area well enough yet.

I did not know about the lifts from Bolzano - I will for sure give those some further research! Looks very cool.

Thanks Phillip - I recognize that flying might be faster in this situation, but train travel is super appealing and would be very outside-our-usual life experience, plus it seems like a fun way to see a part of the world we've never seen before. I did not think it would be dramatically more costly to travel by train based on the Seat61.com site quotes:

"London train to Paris by Eurostar in 2h20 from £78 return then Paris to Turin (5h40) or Milan (7h) by TGV or Frecciarossa from €29 each way, with cafe-bar, power sockets at all seats, free WiFi, a glass of wine to hand and not an airport security queue in sight."

But maybe his quotes are not current/accurate. Will keep researching. Thanks all.

Merano is a beautiful Little City. Bolzano is an amazing city as well, very Austrian, well-maintained, and surrounded by mountains. From Bolzano I visited Seiser Alm. That could give you a good feel of the Dolomites.

I’d say The Man is a little out of date with those prices.

I just checked a date 2+ months out (March 25) and found the following prices:

London to Paris by Eurostar, $76 IF you take the 6 am train. From 8 am to noon, one-way is $130 per person. Afternoon trains are down a bit, to $99.

Paris to Turin—-a 10 hour journey with 3 changes on the way (Geneva, Zurich and Milan). The direct train does not appear in my search using Trainline. Cost for the journey $135 per person.

Paris to Milan—-9 hours with 1 or 2 changes on the way, $92-$130. Some trains already sold out on that website.

Thinking I need to look further out, I tried mid-week dates in late April and mid_May, and they were actually more expensive.

Then I did a quick check for flight prices from London City Airport to Milan on the same day in late March. I chose LondonCity Airport to reduce your pain, compared to returning to Heathrow for the flight. ITA has flights for $157 in late March; $107 in late April.

Check out rome2rio.com especially March-April to correspond to the time frame you will be traveling. I've taken a number of long distance trains and did London to Amsterdam in March and you might think there is going to be glorious scenery the whole way, 3/4, 1/2, maybe 1/4 of the way--at least in my experience.

Croatia--was in the Istrian Peninsula in April 2022 for a month with a few days in Zagreb as well as Venice. Croatia was wonderful and plan on going back. Actually the Peninsula was under Venetian rule for about 700 years to they speak italian, Croatian and english and is very inexpensive compared to the rest of europe. Venice is unique but so are lots of places but it probably would not be out of the way for even one day for one of the worlds most special cities. Walking out of the train station is a breathtaking. I thought so when I was 16 and again in 2022.

Northern Italy--I did Northern Italy for the month of November 2022. Not as crazy about Milan as I adored Turin and found Bologna INCREDIBLE!

London--April 2023, was there after Edinburgh and before Amsterdam. Point of the trip was to see the tulips in Amsterdam which bloom starting at the end of March. In Cambridge, Windsor, York area in 1971 so not up to date on that area but if not changed in about 1000 years doubt it changed much in 60.

I would list where I wanted to go London, then York, Windsor, etc. Then Northern Italy and cities there then Croatia, etc. I think you will find the 3 weeks goes rather quickly and to use one whole day on train travel (oh those connections!) versus a 3 hr flight might be time better spent when you plan it all out on a tight more logical schedule. Again rome2rio.com.

A note: the further out the train date, the cheaper it is.

My plans for April 2025 already roughed out so you are not silly but a gal after my own ravel heart.

Merano is one of my favorite towns in Italy. A lovely blend of history and natural beauty. You will enjoy palm trees paired with snow-capped mountain peaks. Here's a good guide on how to visit: https://throneandvine.com/things-to-do-merano-meran/
The lift from Bolzano does not take you into the Dolomites, but does carry you to the Renon plateau where there is plenty of hiking and tremendous views of of the Dolomites. If you visit the plateau, consider a hike to the Earth Pyramids. A very unique place. Happy planning!

Rome2Rio has proven itself laughably unreliable in many cases as to the fares, travel times and frequencies it displays. You really need to use the rail websites for train information and something like skyscanner for flight schedules. Always buy your tickets from the company operating the transportation unless it proves impossible because of issues with something like acceptance of your credit card.

The Frejus tunnel, one of the key rail links between France and Italy, remains closed after severe damage last year: https://trans.info/frejus-tunnel-closure-extended-until-end-of-2024-370424. It's expected to reopen before your trip, but the current situation must be affecting schedules into Turin and other northern Italian cities. My guess is that it's affecting costs as well, because there's greater-than-usual demand for alternative transportation, both on the ground and in the air.

Hello again Kathy:

Your trip sounds too busy to me. Public transit is more convenient and less stressful than driving, but transfers take time. Also, trains can be late and this is quite common in countries like Italy. 3 weeks in 3 countries is doable, but you will spend a lot of time switching trains, packing up in your hotels, and unpacking. Also, in mountainous areas such as the Dolomites, the weather is fickle and hence you may not have all nice days to do hiking. So, you will need to budget some slack too. Croatia's weather is more predictable than in Northern Italy.

By Spring-Summer, which month(s) are you talking about? Note that some cable cars in Val Gardena are not operating till mid to late May (some even till June).

Just wanted to say that I am also planning 2026!!! But ours is 89 days (almost 3 months, but gotta get out before Schengen wall), so I feel it’s not too early.

You seem to be enamored with the idea of train travel, Europe and mountains. You are not alone! This would be somewhat different from your current plans but thought I would pass it along since you are a good ways away from your intended travel time. I am referring to RAILBOOKERS. I only recently checked them out myself even though they have been around for some time. They offer what sounds like fantastic train travel on wonderful trains that appear to harken back to the way train travel used to be. They offer dozens of exciting destinations. The great thing is that they put forth a basic plan and you can customize it to fit what you want (add destinations, days, tours, choice of hotels,etc.). If you would rather not rent a car, this might be something to check out. Just wanted to toss that suggestion in the hopper.

Just a mention--Thought I might do small countries of europe but they are so spread apart I am about to nix the idea as I usually stay in one place 4-6 days and do day trips. But kept a list of under the radar airlines in europe that don't necessarily pull up when doing a search and this might help you with train vs air.

French Bee
Norwegian
Jetstar
Eurowings
Scoot
Justfly
Norse Atlantic

Good luck.