Three months in Italy, appreciate suggestions, thoughts and recommendations

What nationality are you? That is 93 days in the Schengen zone, and could be 3 too many, depending on your nationality.

We are Canadian

You will absolutely need to leave the Schengen zone for a full week, in order to keep your trip under the Schengen visa limit. How’s Croatia sound?

If the trip is 93 days and you're Canadian, then you're outside the Schengen zone limits if 90 days in any 180 day period. You could face huge fines when you leave and a possible ban for up to 10 years. You need to shorten your stay. And don't forget that both your arrival and departure days count .

To add to what CJean said, both arrival and departure dates count for each arrival and departure, so spending seven nights away chops only six days from the total. I mention Croatia above as it is the easiest place to get to outside the Schengen from norther Italy. Plus it’s a great place to spend some time!

Thank you so much We were unaware of this restriction and would love to spend time in Croatia. Great suggestion!

Assuming you sort out your Schengen issues:

• Stay longer in the Dolomites. 2 nights with one day of skiing is nothing. Why not spend a week if the snow is good? (It's been a great year for snow so far!)

For such a long stay will you lease a car? After the Dolomites, it will be needed to get to some of the less-traveled places

• 3-4 weeks in Tuscany, perhaps base outside Florence where you have the option of train and bus when using the car is ill-advised (i.e., going into Florence)

• 1 month in Sicily (before Rome as it gets hotter in Sicily before Rome and spring is a lovely season there)

• 3-4 weeks in Rome (you'll be leaving in mid-June before it gets too hot)

Maybe do a week in Croatia between Sicily and Rome or consider a week in the UK when you've used up your Schengen time. Fly out of London.

But don't try to see Sicily from a single base. Personally, I think about 5 would be right without any islands, with possibly one night down in Agrigento:

• Taormina/Catania/Etna (maybe about 4 nights total)
• Siracusa (also hitting the Baroque towns in the SE of the island; maybe 5 nights)
• The interior (Piazza Armerina/Enna/Caltagirone; maybe 4 nights)
• Palermo (also Cefalu; maybe 5 nights--much to see in Palermo, so I consider this the minimum time)
• Trapani/Erice/Selinunte/Segesta; maybe 5 nights)
• Agrigento (1 night) Plus extra time for islands (Aeolians must surely be more interesting than Egadis) and other spots your read about and want to see.

Those are just wild guesses; my point is that a month in one place is not necessarily the best idea when you're visiting new territory. I can see perhaps two weeks in Rome if you're extremely interested in the classical sites and churches, but I'd rather shorten Rome so I'd have time for stays in Naples/Amalfi and/or Puglia. There are great places to be seen around Bologna, and between Verona and Venice. I take a lot of day-trips but do not like traveling the same rail line over and over. That makes me feel like I'm not sleeping in the right town.

Just curious - did you think you could just stay as long as you liked?

Excellent points, acraven. I meant to suggest multiple bases in Sicily, even if you just decide to do a week each in Siracusa, Taormina, and Trapani.

EDIT: Rome makes a great base for many little day trips: Ostia Antica, Frascati, Viterbo, Tivoli, Castle Gandolfo are just a few.

Thank you all for great suggestions and raising the time issue. I have never traveled to Europe and any other travels have not been as long. In my excitement I never even thought about time restrictions. My traveling companion has traveled many times to Europe but has a EU passport so he didn't consider this restriction.

You have given me a lot to work with and it is greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Terri

Glad we caught the problem in time.

It almost happened to me in 2015. I knew about the 90-day thing, but I hadn't researched it and assumed I'd be OK if I left the Schengen Zone and re-entered it. Only meeting an Australian couple who had--also fortuitously--been informed of the details saved me from probably rather severe consequences. I was already planning to spend part of my time in Croatia/Romania/Bulgaria/Montenegro. I just had to make a point of getting to Croatia early enough.

Since you'll be going in and out, I suggest that you adhere to the suggestion of one of our other posters and mark the stamped pages of your passports with Post-it strips so the immigration officials can readily see that you haven't exceeded the 90-day limit.

Also keep in mind that people sometimes get sick at very inconvenient times (I did), and there are occasional issues like transportation strikes that might delay your departure form the Schengen Zone.

Ah, if only the world worked that way and people had freedom of movement. There would be no refugees. You are lucky to hold a Canadian passport as most of the world can’t even enter Europe without a visa - a visa which will likely be denied.

terri,

In addition to the strict 90-day Schengen limit, be sure to check the expiry date on your Passport to ensure you have sufficient time left.

Also, if you're considering car rental, each driver travellling with a Canadian driver's license will need to obtain the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. These are easily available at any AAA / CAA office for a small fee, and are valid for one year.

It would also be prudent to do some research on the topic of Zona Traffico Limitato (ZTL) areas, as those exist in most towns and cities in Italy. Each pass through one of these will result in a hefty fine, which you may not know about until several months after you return home. Do Not drive in Florence as the city is just about saturated with automated ZTL cameras.

There are also some potentially expensive caveats to be aware of when using trains and other public transit in Italy. If you need more information on that, post another note here.

As you've never travelled in Europe, you many find it helpful to have a look at Europe Through The Back Door as that provides a lot of good information on how to travel well in Europe. The Rick Steves Italy book also has lots of good information on how to avoid lineups at major attractions, transportation, hotel listings, etc.

Thank you Ken for the information. I already have the RS Italy book but purchased the Back Door one last night.....very helpful. We are currently working on the IDP.

Any other information or thoughts are welcome and appreciated.

Terri