very general Italy itinerary questions

With only 6 nights I wouldnt venture too far, certainly not Rome, and probably not Florence or Venice (area).
If you want to keep moving a little each day and get a 'taste' of Italy then perhaps ...
Bozel - Turin - Genoa - Cinque Terre - Parma - Milan - Italian Lakes - Bozel
Thats a total of 1200km approx.

It would not be a good idea to try to drive a camper van into Rome. If you saw the traffic there, you would understand why.
The same applies to Florence, don't even think about driving a camper van into the historical center of Florence.
This will be a different type of experience than driving a camper van in the U.S.
It's good you're starting the trip research now.

Haha the traffic in Rome can be a little bit 'crazy'. I had a friendly Roman driver before and he was swearing the entire the journey about the traffic. If you can get pass the traffic, I would say why not give Rome a go. Opportunities like this only come one, just grab any chance to do something a little crazy:)

Since you are camping and not staying in hotels, it's a bit difficult for you to stay in cities like Rome, Venice and Florence. You can stay close but not in. For example, a cursory view of this site Camping.IT indicates there is camping in Fiesole, near Florence, and I suppose you could take a bus in from Fiesole to see a bit of Florence.

I'd say stay north - no further south than Florence and maybe not that far. There is much to consider in Piemonte alone! The mountains will be cool while the cities will be miserable. Then I would suggest you consider how far you want to travel and if you really want to drive every day. Maybe you could drive 3-5 hours, find a campsite for two nights, and repeat, allowing a day-and-a-half to explore an area. Lago Maggiore, Lago di Como, or the Ligurian Coast could be great destinations for an Italian camping trip!

I am also of the impression that reservations are needed for campsites, so you will need to plan a route and may not be able to be too spontaneous.

The Asti area near Torino is famous for wine. I would not count on traveling far or fast in a camper, but I have no experience with this. I know from driving with friends that things may take longer in real time than on paper.

Thank you for the feedback! Honestly, I hadn't considered the madness of driving in the big cities, though it makes sense.

I hope your relatives won't be insulted if you take their vehicle to Italy instead of France. There are not many guidebooks covering smaller towns in regions like Piemonte but a regional driving map from the Michlin series contains many symbols and annotations that can help you identify their recommended places. www.viamichelin.com also has destination info online, but in alphabetical order, so you'd find it on a map first.

If you have never been to Venice, consider Camping Fusina where you can park the RV and take a boat to Venice. There is a campground there but we only used the parking lot. It was an easy drive from the autostrade, a secure lot and a great way to get into Venice. I do not recommend driving an RV over the causeway to Plaza Roma parking.

http://mobi.campingfusina.it/

I would stay in Northern Italy with Venice as the far point. Stops in the Alps above Turin, Verona and Lake Garda are other options.

I hope you have driven an RV before and are aware of the typically terrible gas mileage.

Another option - it is easy to park in a train station outside Milan and take the metro to the Duomo where the roof is amazing and has a great view.

Italy is a great place for a road trip, enjoy!

Laura,

Keep in mind that each driver will require the compulsory International Driver's Permit for driving in Italy, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. (it's a good idea for France as well). You'll also have to be extremely vigilant to avoid the dreaded ZTL (limited traffic) areas which exist in many Italian towns (especially Florence which is just about saturated with automated ZTL cameras). I'm sure your relatives won't be happy to receive one (or more) ZTL tickets a month or two after you've returned home!

In addition to that you'll also have to be vigilant to avoid speed cameras, including the Traffic Tutor system which registers both instantaneous speed as well as an average between two points. And of course parking charges, tolls and automated fuel pumps which may only accept Chip & PIN credit cards.

I'd also suggest limiting your trip to the area from Florence north (ie: going to Rome with a camper is probably not a good idea).

Travel by well planned rail trips is another option you could consider, as it avoids many of the problems listed above (although there are also some potentially expensive "caveats" to be aware of when using trains and other public transit in Italy).

Laura, does this camper van have air conditioning?

ITALY...in August...Never Again. Not even Northern Italy! Not even with air conditioning LOL!

Frankly, the last thing I'd want to do in a new country is drive somebody else's camper van through foreign roads - especially for only 5-6 nights. It would take me that long to figure the camper out ;-)

In Italy, I would definitely avoid the beach areas in August - that's when the Italians go to the beach. But because of that, you can get good deals on hotels in the cities.

For 'real life' and wine, I'd stay in Tuscany. Also, it's closer and easier to return to France (if you need to for your return airline flight).

I hope it is a newish camper and good on mountain roads.

Don't be tempted to venture northeast from Bozel into Switzerland unless you are prepared for the additional expense of the Swiss toll Vignette. It is CHF 40 for a car. I don't know the cost for larger vehicles.

Both Switzerland and Italy are tunnel mad. Especially Italy. Switzerland has plenty but they are well lit, plenty high, with smooth walls and generally reasonably straight.

Not Italy. There are tunnels everywhere. Often not lit, or not lit well, often unannounced, often hewn of unfinished rock and not as wide or as high as some would like. And who puts sharp corners in the middle of tunnels. It is fun enough in a car - I'd need to take a couple of deep breathes with a camper.

I dunno if your vehicle will have diesel or petrol, I speak diesel which is way cheaper than petrol in France, Italy and Switzerland.

Diesel is expensive but France is cheaper than the other two countries. Italy has the most expensive diesel in non-Nordic Europe. Switzerland is only a tiny bit cheaper.

Tolls on French autoroutes - if you need any - and Italian Autostradas (which you will need) add up fast, and may be higher with a camper. Watch the height restrictors in the left lanes at the toll plazas.

With only 5 nights I wouldn't go any further than Piedmonte. Maybe Lake Garda.

Seeing how much your husband likes wine, don't drink and drive. European levels of permitted alcohol in the blood are extremely low, much lower than in North America.

Penalties are severe.