My husband and I are taking our first trip to Italy from Australia. We are needing help with the itinerary and would appreciate advice. We are traveling from the 5th of October till the 16th of November. We fly into and leave from Milan. We have organized a lease car for the entire period. Our plan is to drive from Milan to Trento for one night to stay with a friend, then our only other definite is a booking we have Saturday 24th of October 2015 till the 31st of October in Positano at LA TAGLIATA accommodation. We want to experience the real Italy. Authentic food is high on our list especially seafood (as we both fish whenever possible for tuna squid etc and grow our own produce and attempt to make our own salamis etc.). We are undecided whether to avoid the regular tourist places and stay at smaller towns and visit them for a day trip. Nightlife is not high on the list either apart from restaurants. Itinerary suggestion welcome as there is so many places we want to see.
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
11852 posts
This is a very broad question so I am having trouble deciding where to start. Can you narrow down a little more? What do you like to do? Outdoor activities? Museums? Ancient sites? What attracted you to Positano? Do you have a guide book that has inspired you? The "regular tourist places" are pretty fantastic: Venezia, Roma, Firenze. Do you want to see them?
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Yes i know its a bit broad. Our plans are to drive down the coast from Trento and would like to see the Abruzzo and Molise regions. Then go down around the boot. We had thought of Sicily for a visit for a few days then onto our booking in Positano for that week. From there Tuscany and Umbria but open to suggestions as I do not think we have enough time for the whole of Italy. Rome and Florence would be good to spend a few days in and thought we could stay outside somewhere as a base and catch a train into those cities. Then going back up to Milan and include the Emilia-Romagna region. Time wise is this itinerary a bit optimistic?. There is so much to do and see.
Posted by
693 posts
Personally I think it would be a mistake to not visit the "regular tourist places" of Rome, Venice and Florence if you have never visited Italy. They are popular for a reason.
If you want good food you may want to think about places like Parma and Bologna. You might also enjoy the Puglia region. Perhaps spend time in Umbria which is a little quieter than Tuscany.
One resource that I would recommend is Lonely Planet's Italy's Best Trips. It has a number of suggested car trips and you could string some of these together.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
Sicily deserves more than a few days, if you can manage it. Seafood is a major part of the coastal diet all over Italy.
Places not to miss (just my opinion, mostly in the south): Matera in Basilicata, the hill towns of Puglia (I know a great small B&B outside of Alberobello, if the weather is good the owners will take you into the orchard; all of the fruits and preserves are made by the owners from their own property). If you want to see some of the western side of Italy, Napoli and the surrounding area, the Amalfi Coast (I know a little hotel with parking onsite and every room opens onto the sea view), Paestum, Tropea, and then continue to Sicily. For a few days in Sicily I would pick the eastern side (Cefalu, Taormina, south to Siracusa). Great restaurant in Cefalu is Ostaria del Duomo.
PM me if you want specific recommendations for these areas.
Posted by
Green Bay
21407 posts
With nearly 6 weeks, its amazing that you still need to do some editing as there is quite a lot to see.
Even Trento is worth a couple of days. Go north to Ortisei in the Dolomite mountains. A few of the cable cars will still be running through the weekend ending Oct 11. Italy with an Austrian touch in the most scenic mountains in the world.
Take at least a couple of days in Venice. You can park at the Tronchetto parking garage on the island.
Since you have a car, there are a couple of things to be aware of. First. speaking of Venice, there are 2 robo-cam speed traps crossing the causeway that will send you a souvenir speeding ticket to your home if you are as much as 1 kph over the speed limit, plus a ding on your credit card from your leasing agency to tell on you. Second is ZTL's which use robo-cams to record your number plates when you cross into forbidden (for tourists) centers of historic cities. More souvenirs and credit card dings. So doing a bit of research on these will help you avoid any additional "tourist taxes".
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
About the car: if it's possible to turn it in before Rome, spend the last part of your trip in Rome, take the train to Milano and spend the last night or two there.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
With a car, a flexible attitude, and a smaller-town focus, you can keep your travel plan very flexible. Most towns in Italy that are of interest to tourists are not undiscovered or unvisited. Those with the greatest concentration of art and history are busy year-round. However, you'll find less of a crowd in October. Last October, Urbino and Gubbio were low on tourist hoards, for instance. I practically had the Palazzo Ducale in Urbino to myself and could say the same about the great Etruscan museum in Volterra. I noticed a greater number of Americans at Montalcino and Montepulciano, but not to a difficult level. If you want a sightseeing priority system different from Rick Steves' book and info, then I'd also suggest Michelin Green Guides, especially the regional versions, such as for Sicily.