My husband and I and two teen daughters are doing a rick steves tour that starts June 2016 in Venice for 3 nights, Florence 3 nights, Rome 3 nights. Then we are renting a car and going to Tuscan area staying at Podere Spedalone for 4 nights. Then dropping car at Pisa and staying in Cinque Terre 3 nights.
We have 3 nights available before our early afternoon flight out of Venice to US. We will check out of Cinque Terre on a Sunday morning and would like to have suggestions on where to go for 2 nights before arriving for final night in Venice. We like to hike, see sights, quaint villages,architecture,art, festivals, food, wine. We won't have a rental car anymore. Originally I thought we would go to Croatia but I'm thinking that will be too ambitious. Thank-you so much.
Posted by
Charleston, SC, USA
927 posts
Croatia would probably require flights to pull off. I would check into Lake Como (Varenna) or Lake Garda as possibilities. Varenna is 30 minutes from Milan, so train travel is easy. There is a ferry system on the lake which makes travel between towns easy.
Posted by
Pacific Northwest
2699 posts
I really enjoyed my day in Verona and wished I had more time there. It's pretty, walkable, lively. There were enormous farmer/artisan markets when we were there in April. There were two huge public squares that were hopping with activity. There is a Verona Card that is quite inexpensive and gets you into lots of sites like the spectacular arena. You might have to search a bit for lodging...i think it's crowded in the summer.
Posted by
Brisbane, Australia
7175 posts
If your flight home is in the afternoon then you really don't need to spend your final night in Venice. Verona is 1hr 10min away by train from Venice, and Padova 30mins. Choose either of these places, from where you can visit Vicenza as well.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32405 posts
alice,
There are a few choices you could consider.....
- Stresa (Lago Maggiore)
- Varenna (Lago di Como)
- Verona
- Padova
It's relatively easy to get from those locations to Venice.
Posted by
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
80 posts
I would advocate for remarkable Bologna- more or less half way in between your two locations, and an easy train stop. It's an amazing city, and one that often gets overlooked..
Posted by
Boston, MA
1832 posts
If you keep your rental car the Dolomites would be an option
Probably doable without but I would not recommend that
Look up both Ortiesi (closer to CT) and Cortina (closer to Venice)
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16238 posts
Strange itinerary. You should have done:
Venice, Florence, Tuscany (by car), Cinque Terre (no car), Rome, then fly home from Rome.
Too late to make changes now. I would keep the car and visit the Dolomites and/or Lake Garda.
Without car, then Padova base is the most logical option, closer to VCE. you can easily visit Verona and Vicenza from Padova.
Posted by
316 posts
Bologna, and if you like food and like to eat take the Italian Days food tour with Alessandro. You will visit a cheese, ham and balsamic vinegar factory. Then a 2 hour lunch. Yes, you will eat for two hours non stop in the countryside. Of course, you have already had a boat load to eat at each factory. The tour lasts all day. You are picked up and dropped off at your hotel. It was my husbands favorite tour in all of Italy. Of course my husband loves to eat.
Posted by
OP
6 posts
Thanks for all your suggestions. I found a beautiful apartment in Verona via airbnb. We also love staying in lovely homes and have been able to do that thanks to airbnb.
Robert below suggested our itinerary was strange. But I don't think he realizes we are on a planned rick steves tour of Venice, Florence, Rome for half of our trip. Then we head without a tour to Tuscany, Cinque Terre, Verona, Venice to fly home. We also used free airline miles for our family of four and the only way we could use them was to fly in and out of Venice.
Strange itinerary. You should have done:
Venice, Florence, Tuscany (by car), Cinque Terre (no car), Rome, then fly home from Rome.
Too late to make changes now. I would keep the car and visit the Dolomites and/or Lake Garda.
Without car, then Padova base is the most logical option, closer to VCE. you can easily visit Verona and Vicenza from Padova.