Roads around Italy with manual car

After cancelling our 2020 Italy trip, I've just booked a trip for spring 2022. We fly into Venice in late April and will be in the country for 21 nights before leaving from Rome. I've booked accommodations online but everything is cancellable so I'd love to know you suggest any changes to my itinerary. And I have a few questions. Any input would be much appreciated as I've never been to Italy!

Here's what I've booked:

3 nights Venice - Wander, see Doge's palace & St. Mark's Square

3 nights in Sirmione, Lake Garda - explore Roman ruins, drive around lake, maybe boat trip to Isola del Garde

3 Nights in Florence - Museums & sights. Rent car when leaving & drive to Montepulciano via Chianti.

3 Nights in Montepulciano - Wine tasting, explore hill towns in Tuscany (& maybe hot springs?)

4 Nights in Sorrento (day trips to Capri & Amalfi Coast & maybe Pompeii, but that would be all the days and I want to just relax & wander in Sorrento too)

4 Nights in Rome - Colosseum, Vatican, and maybe day trip to Tivoli or Ninfa Gardens (though my husband won't be that excited about the latter so may skip it)

Does this look like a good number of days / nights in each place?

Also, I have a few other questions... From Venice to Sirmione - Would I be better off to simply take the train from Venice to Desenzano and rent a car there, meaning I could drop it at the end of my Sirmione stay and not pay one-way charge? Or rent a car in Venice and drive to Desenzano? And when we leave Montepulciano to go to Sorrento, am I better off dropping the car in Chiusi and taking train from there to Sorrento, or driving back to Florence & dropping it there, taking the high-speed traing?

Or should I re-order the whole trip, driving from Venice to Sirmione and then to Montepulciano, then take the car back to Florence, spend 3 nights there and then train to Sorrento?

I've noticed that a lot of accommodations are booking up already for next spring so if my itinerary isn't logical, I want to switch it around now while there's lots of options. I know there's plenty of time for booking cars & trains, but does the order make sense? Thanks in advance for any input!!

I won't be travelling for about a year, but I am already excited and thinking about a solo trip back to Italy. Ideally, I would like to start my vacation relaxing in the Tuscan or Umbria countryside. I am thinking outside of either Lucca or Cortona or anywhere in between. (I'm not fussy, I love the Italian countryside and am just looking for peace, hills and beauty so I know that could be anywhere!) And I would like to do this mainly by train, and without driving myself (I don't want to rent a car). So my initial question then is.... if I fly into Italy, take a train to the nearest small town to where I would be staying, is it expensive to get a taxi to drive maybe 20km or so to a location outside of that small town. Also, any recommendations on what small town country side I should focused on? I know it's not much to go on, but any advice would be appreciated!

Hi,

My wife and I are planning to drive to Italy this summer. We will leave in late July and we will be staying for 3 to 4 days in Germany on the way.

So this means that the Covid test we get in Denmark before we leave will be more than 48 hours old when we reach Italy.

Therefore I am thinking that the easiest thing to do is get a Covid quick test in Germany so it is valid before we enter Italy. But I can't find much information about how easy it is to take a test in Germany and if you would be able to get it close to the autobahn?

Can anyone shed some light on this?

Thanks in advance

I know i am early especially with Covid, but we are hoping to visit in third week of Feb 2022 to Italy, we have about ten days. Visiting from Vancouver, Canada.

We have only been to Rome 25 years ago, this time we hope to visit Florence, Pisa and Venice. We would like to drive ( five adults ), because we would like to include smaller pretty towns along the way between cities. is this a good idea or would train be more convenient? The weather seems wet but this is the only time we have and we thought Italy being south might be a better choice than some other european countries?

Any advice, comment, recommendation will be much appreciated.

Hello, we have been searching through articles online and guidebooks. When we think we have made a decision we read something else that peaks our interest. We were originally planning on staying somewhere near Cortona but now we're thinking maybe more centrally located might be better? This is our first trip to Italy, this stop will be around 5 nights. We will be renting a car and would ideally like to take in the scenery, drive around and stumble upon great views and small towns, we will probably go to a winery but food and just taking in the Tuscany countryside is our goal. Any suggestions?

Spending a couple weeks in Italy. Have a few days in Florence and I thought I would take the kids out into the countryside one day. Teenage boys and they love cars so thought even a vintage Fiat or some convertible. No destination in mind. Maybe leave about 10 or 11am drive an hour - 90 minutes out of town. Ideally a scenic drive. Not so much highways. Enjoy the scenery along the way. Stop for lunch around 1 or 2. Maybe hit a market or something ideally. Head back.

Any ideas? In addition to the scenery they like architecture. And history. Thought maybe San Gimignano. I know it’s often slagged in guidebooks as “touristy” but the distance is right. And obviously has some architectural appeal. But I don’t know if there is a scenic route there that is doable in half day?

Any other ideas? Thanks in advance

Hello, my husband and I (both fully vaccinated) will be in Switzerland for one month (Sept. 21-October 21). We are thinking of extending our trip for 1-2 weeks and visiting Italy because we end up in Lugano, and would be able to take the train to Italy. (We will need to return to Zurich for our flight home, so as to avoid change fees.)

We have been to Italy several times, but have never done anything other than the main cities and tourist areas. We did visit Cinque Terre from Florence on one trip, and did the hike from village to village, and we have visited Lake Como twice, but only on day trips. We also did a vacation in Italy one time that included the Dolomites, Verona and Sienna. We love nature, hiking, quaint villages, pretty beaches, biking. We have never done the countryside in Italy (Tuscany area), seen Portofino or Genoa. Based on when we'd be there (late October), and the fact that we will need to get back to Zurich for our flight home, we don't want to travel as far south as the Amalfi Coast, so we'd appreciate any suggestions for places to visit for 1-2 weeks that are more north. We prefer being able to use public transportation, but are open to car rental, if need be. Really appreciator any advice/suggestions!

My husband and I are planning to vacation in italy for our 25th wedding anniversary next year.

i am so overwhelmed with decision making and he is no help as he is very go with the flow and says yes to everything. which doesn't help me decide. lol.

we want to go to rome, pisa, florence, tuscany, amalfi coast

is it better to rent a car and travel this way or is it better to travel via train with all our luggage as we move from city to city?

or

could we be based out of one city for the entire vacation and travel to each place for the day trips?

if so, which city do you recommend to be based out of?

is renting a car a good idea?

i am planning a 14 day vacation to Italy, what is the best time of year to go?

thank you so much in advance for all of your help in planning this trip.

We drive frequently to Italy from the UK, obviously we will need to quarantine upon arrival this year but we will have to stop for petrol and provisions on the way to our home. Does anyone know what the guidelines are regarding this ? we have been double vaccinated and will have tested ourselves obviously for the journey.

We are planning again for our revised 40th anniversary trip next September 2022. Like so many, we were canceled last fall 2020. So, Italy 2.0! I know I will have many questions going forward so I appreciate these forums tremendously. Our plan is for 5 nights in Rome, 5 nights near Pienza, 5 nights in the Chianti area, 4 nights Florence and 4 nights in Venice. I am checking what route would be most scenic? Would it be possible to drive through Bagno Vignoni and San Quirico to Pienza? Is Lake Bolsena worth driving to or by? Thank you in advance for your input. Planning is part of the journey!