September 2017 itinerary review and comments

I think all of these are doable, but you should map this out to try to piece a reasonable order of travel. I would substitute Lake Garda/Verona for Bellagio as it is more "on the way" to Venice. You can go something like this

Florence --> CT --> Modena (between Bologna and Parma) --> Lake Garda/Verona --> Venice

I have never been to Parma, so I can't say if it's worth a day trip. If you wanted to skip the CT (it's sort out of the way), you might want to go Florence --> Modena/Bologna/Parma --> Garda/Verona--> Venice. With 9 nights, you could spend 3 nights in each location and get the chance to really explore the backroads.

If we chose Lake Garda.. can anyone comment on the Truffle Festival? Will accommodations sell out quickly? Donna

Bologna and Parma are only about an hour apart (by either car or train), so I agree that you should use one base for both. It could be either of those cities or Modena, which is between them and has received positive comments here. Bologna would leave you closest to Venice; the other two would probably save a bit of time if you were heading for the lakes.

I liked Bologna a lot. It has a really large historic district, in addition to being a Class A foodie destination. Weather should be nice in September, but if it happens to rain, the arcaded streets in Bologna provide a lot of protection.

People here gush even more about the lovely Ravenna and its stunning mosaics (due east of Bologna, not really on the way to any of your other destinations, but only about a one-hour drive) and Ferrara (on the way from Bologna to Venice). You also have the very interesting Padua and Vicenza along the route from Verona to Venice. Too many choices!

If you decide to rent a car, be very, very care about the no-drive zones (ZTLs) and bus lanes. Nothing spoils vacation memories like a slew of $$$ tickets coming in 6 to 12 months after you return home.

If you are a foodie, In Bologna, Modena take the Italian Days Food tour. You will visit three factories and eat more food then you can imagine. The two hour lunch in the countryside after the factory tour is no joke. You eat and drink for two hours in a wonderful countryside restaurant. Alessandro, the owner and tour guide is a hoot. We took it a couple of years ago. I think it was around 150 euros/person and worth every penny.

Donna,

A few thoughts and questions.....

• Have you considered flying inbound to Milan rather than Florence? That would make your tentative Itinerary "fit" better.
• Bellagio is good but staying in Varenna might be easier. If you start in Milan, you could instead start your trip in Stresa on Lago Maggiore. It's beautiful, has some good day trip possibilities and would be a great spot to get over jet lag. Also it's very easy to reach from MXP so you wouldn't have to rent a car for the first few days. I'm not a big fan of Lago di Garda, but I suppose that's a matter of personal preference.
• Which of the Cinque Terre towns were you planning to stay in? As you may be aware, parking is a major problem in some of them.
• Be sure that each driver listed on the rental form has the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. These are easily available at any AAA office and valid for one year.
• Also be sure to do some research on the dreaded ZTL (limited traffic) areas, the speed cameras and other "traps", as hefty fines will result, which you won't know about until several months after you return home. Do NOT drive in Florence!
• If you decide to modify your Itinerary, it should be easy to work out an efficient route.

Personally, I would definitely keep Cinque Terra in the itinerary, especially given that you will be travelling with a couple who have not visited there before. The beauty of that area is certainly worth the visit. I see that some replies suggest to drop it out of your itinerary due to it being 'out of the way', but realistically, nothing in Europe is really that far away (or maybe that's just my view because I live in Australia, and the whole of Europe would fit in Australia!). Florence to Cinque Terra is a 2 hour drive, and Cinque Terra to Bellagio is approximately 3 hours. Wherever you choose to stay in Cinque Terra, just be aware that parking can be an issue, so maybe you could consider staying in Levanto and catching the train to each of the CT towns. We did this one year and it was very easy.
I hope this helps. Enjoy your holiday :)

I flew into Florence earlier this year, but the Air France flight had to divert to Bologna because of the size of the plane, wind speeds and runway length in Florence. The flight attendant made it sound like this happened on a regular basis. Given the speed with which a bus was procured for us to travel from the Bologna airport to the Florence airport, I'm inclined to believe that.

Based on that experience, I've considered just starting in Bologna next time. But other planes did land successfully that day in Florence. I'm just mentioning it since you're talking about taking in both cities.

Thanks so much for all your comments.

Interesting note on the AF flights to Florence. We are flying with AF for this trip.

I will share all this with my husband and traveling companions. It's nice to have a few months to plan. We wanted to get our flights which than gave us the parameters. IF we were traveling alone we would not consider CT but I do think it is a little treasure just can't decide if it fits this trip or not. I'll see what the others in my group think.

When we planned our first trip to Italy we used the Travel Consultant service at Rick's shop in Edmonds and the best advice she gave us was "travel like you will return" - gave us "permission" not to have to see it all.

Donna

Hi Donna
I just arrived home last night from 3 and 1/2 weeks in Italy - yes we experienced the earthquake in Rome.
The first 10 days we spent in a rental apartment in Bologna and we did day trips ( by train ) to Verona, Modena, Ferrara and Parma -. We visit churches and art galleries so all the cities provided excellent sites. I would highly recommend Parma - it was lovely - wonderful old centre that had great lane ways to wander and cafes to enjoy a coffee or drink at.
I will mention that I believe Rick's lack of support for Bologna as a site to visit is misguided. We found the city was amazing - the old centre - with it's porticos, churches, towers and Roman ruins, an fabulous pinoteca full of Northern Italian art. The markets and shops were full of local produce and goods and the university students gave it a very lively vibe. We will return. I would highly suggest you use it as a stop on your trip.

Thanks Joni.... My husband really wants to make Bologna a stop and we have friends we met in Turks & Caicos who live there so it moves up on our list!

Not having Rick's endorsement is sometimes a blessing. You don't see as many folks from the US carrying around his guidebooks :)Donna

Sounds like a great trip.
I wouldn't spend more than a night in 5 Terre. You have been there and your fiends can see everything in short order. Get there, jump the train and see the other towns, relax one evening over dinner, and head out. Don't waste 2 nights of your vacation for your friends. They could stay, we have done that before, they stay a night, we go somewhere else.

I liked Parma. We sat on the street and had an al fresco lunch on a hot day. Fun and there's lots to see. You can do that easily from Bologna.

Think about San Marino if you are in Bologna for a time. It takes a rental car. You talk about hill towns this is one! Ravenna is ok if you have extra time. If you have a car in Bologna I would try to stay a little bit out of downtown so you can hit the autostrada easily.