I need help from all of the Italy lovers. My husband and I have been travelling in Italy for many years and since 1994 have always had a car, sometimes augmented by public transportation. We yearn to go again but my husband is beginning to be bothered by the responsibilities of driving and we also find a lot of train travel to be tiring. Our ideal trip would be to fly into Milan Malpensa and make our way to Sasso Marconi, just south of Bologna) for 2-3 nights. We stayed there one night on our trip this year and found it so be so delightful that we would like to have a longer stay, which would give us a chance to explore Bologna. Then we would go to Hotel Sovestro, just outside San Gimignano, for several days, perhaps a week. We have always ended our trips in Santa Margherita Ligure as it is my husband's favorite spot in Italy, and from there back to the Milan Airport. We cannot afford a driver at our disposal for 2-3 weeks but I am wondering about the possibility of a private car for one-way trips and doing some taxi rides while we are in one location. So we would need transportation from Milan Malpensa to Sasso Marconi, from there to Hotel Sovestro San Gimignano, thence to Santa Margherita and, lastly, back to the Milan Airport. We could use a car service or an individual who comes highly recommended. I know this doesn't qualify as economy travel but we have been prudent in travel for years and feel that perhaps we can expand the budget, which would give us one more trip to paradise. Does this seem very impractical or is it a reasonable idea? Italy wizards, put on your thinking caps! Thank you.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16235 posts
Based on the itinerary you mentioned, I would fly directly to Bologna BLQ.
I live in the Bay Area also and generally fly Lufthansa to Italy, most often to Florence but occasionally Bologna. Lufthansa has several flights to Florence and Bologna from both Frankfurt and Munich. Sasso is between Florence and Bologna, but closer to Bologna. Lufthansa (and their partner United) have 3 non stop flights a day from San Francisco to Frankfurt, and one daily to Munich. Last year Lufthansa also started a seasonal (summer only) non stop service from San Jose to Frankfurt (which I have used last July on my way back from Italy). You could also fly to Bologna or Florence with Air France or KLM, via Paris CDG or Amsterdam respectively. Both those airlines have non stop service to San Francisco.
For your return trip from Santa Margherita, you might have to go to Milan or back to Bologna or Florence or Pisa to catch a flight, since nearby Genoa has few flights. However try Genoa also.
If you decide to fly back home from Milan with a European airline (Lufthansa, AirFrance-KLM) select Milan Linate (LIN) airport. It has more flights within Europe and AirFrance-KLM don't even fly out of Malpensa anymore.
You can also do the exact opposite itinerary (Santa Margherita first and Sasso Marconi last).
A private car service from the Bologna airport would not be that expensive since Sasso is only 15 minutes from the Bologna airport by car. You would save greatly compared to flying to Milan and taking a car from there, which would cost you hundreds of euro. Once settled at your hotel in Sasso Marconi, you can take the regional train to visit Bologna. There is one every 30 min in each direction. That would be cheaper and faster than a car, and not inconvenient since you will have no luggage to carry.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16235 posts
Regarding San Gimignano. Having a base in San Gimignano without a car is going to be very expensive. Consider renting a car in Bologna or Florence for at least your San Gimignano stay and return the car in Genoa.