December Christmas Markets and Krampus around Merano

Help! My granddaughter is studying in Florence from August -December 15th. My husband and I are taking this opportunity to visit her and travel some throughout Italy. I have studied and have an itinerary of places to visit from Rome to the Dolomites. We love views and sightseeing. I can not decide if it’s best to go the first two weeks in October or the first two weeks in December when all the Christmas markets are open. My main concern is weather….mainly rain. Decided on December but read several places it can rain a lot in December. First time visiting Italy. Thanks for any input!

Optimistically planning a month long visit to Austria and Italy in December.

Our initial plan was to spend five nights in Val Gardena (have booked an apartment in St Cristina) and five nights in Cortina d'Ampezzo.

We're now considering spending five nights in Dobbiaco/Toblach or San Candido instead of Cortina, as I've been told the landscape is entirely different than Val Gardena and it will provide a nice contrast. It also looks like its easier to get to (we're traveling by train and bus).

I'm having trouble finding apartments in Cortina that won't break the bank, and I get the distinct impression that Cortina is sort of the St Mortiz of Italy. Correct assumption?

We prefer quiet, laid back areas. We will not be skiing, but rather winter hiking, and it looks like both areas offer plenty of winter hiking options.

Thoughts on differences between the two and which would provide a more low key holiday would be greatly appreciated (we'll be there from December 17-22 if that makes a difference).

Should we choose to forgo Cortina, is there any reason to choose Dobbiaco/Toblach over San Candido, such as easier access to cable cars that lead to groomed hiking trails, etc?

Our family is planning to ski 3 to 4 days in Italy in late December 2021. We are intermediate level, 2 adults (late 50's) and 2 teenagers. We plan to visit Milan and Venice either before or after the skiing.

We are looking for some advice on the following:

1. Is there usually enough snow in late December or early January?

2. Which ski resorts will be suitable and easy to travel to from Milan? We do not have a car.

3. Will it be easy to rent skis at the resort? We plan to bring our own boots and helmets.

4. We have not skied in Europe before. Will it be very different from US and Canada?

Thanks in advance for any tips and suggestions you can provide!

Buon Giorno, Advisors;

We scored a great round-trip fare to/from Firenze (kudos to Scott's), arriving on December 4th and departing on the 19th. We've been to Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, and France (twice), but this is our first trip to Italia.

I know this is nearly an impossibly open-ended question, as one can easily spend 15 days in any one city or region. But we're thinking we'd like to maybe spend 3-5 days each in 3-4 places, traveling by rail. We don't want to spread ourselves too thin, but would like to feel like we got a good introduction to Italy.

Our general travel style is to find the authentic and local and avoid the mobs, but should we mainly hit the major buckety-list big city touristy things, given it will be Low Season? Given we're looking at 40s-50s-ish weather and probably a fair amount of rain, is there any point to go to any typically summery places, e.g. Amalfi coast?

Tell me, with the assumption of flying in/out of Florence, what you would do with your time, and in what order. Gratzi in advance for any and all wisdom!

Cheers,

Geoff and Mandy

We are optimistically planning a trip to Austria and Italy for December. Our current itinerary has us in Val Gardena for five nights and then we'll head to Cortina d' Ampezzo for five nights the week before Christmas.

One of us skis, but doesn't plan to. We're more interested in winter hiking, and we've found plenty of options in Val Gardena.

What we're not sure about is Cortina d'Ampezzo - because it's ski season and so close to Christmas, we're finding accommodation is quite expensive (and limited - we're looking for a moderately priced apartment) and we've been unable to determine if this area offers ample winter hiking opportunities, or if we'd be better off basing elsewhere and perhaps making a day trip to Cortina d'Ampezzo.

We're experienced winter hikers - not mountain climbers. We've spent many Decembers in Europe hiking (we prefer hiking over snowshoeing) and usually find plenty of trails, but these areas are completely new to us so we're not sure what to expect.

Would appreciate any insight or suggestions.

Hello

Me and my friends (~8 people) are planning to visit Sicily from the last week of December until the first week of January.

We want to stay in a villa and not a hotel and because of the weather want to stay at the coast. Because of reasons we need to land at Catania so I searched around this region.

At the moment all the villas of interest are in the southern region of Sicily.

I have two questions:

Firstly, I would like to know a good area to spend new years. I read in earlier threads that Catania is reommended for the most lively time regarding new years eve.

Do you know how long public transport operates around this time? (we will most likely have a rental car but I guess on this day all want to have a drink) I have a hard time finding any information on public transport to be honest...

Also are private fireworks allowed ?

Maybe there is also a city nearer to the south you could recommend for new years eve ?

Secondly, I read in several threads that in the winter season some places aren't as busy so I just wanted to ask if the South region also has these problems (I'm talking about the Pozzallo and Santa Maria del Focallo area and maybe a little to the right and left of it since we have a car)

Thank you in advance and best regards,

Bastian

We are a couple in our late 50's, thinking of going to Rome on December 25th until January 1st.

We are looking for a newer hotel close enough to walk to the sights and restaurants.

I found the Doubletree in the Monti neighborhood.

Is that a good location.

Hi

I'm starting to plan a trip to Sicily and the Aeolian islands in early September (covid permitting of course) and I'd be grateful for some advice.

We're planning to fly into Catania Airport on an early morning flight from London, then head straight to Milazzo port to catch a ferry to Lipari and then stay as follows:

4 nights Lipari

3 nights Panerea

2 nights Taormina

Just wondering what's the best way to travel when we get to Catania? We need to get from the airport to Milazzo Port and then from Milazzo to Taormina, and finally from Taormina back to Catania airport to catch our mid-morning flight back home. Would we be best to hire a car for the whole duration and pay to park it for a week at Milazzo while we're in the Aeolian islands, or can we do everything easily by bus/public transport? And would we be missing out by not having a car to explore the area around Taormina?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Hi,

We are spending some time in Sardinia and have a few days spare en route from Alghero to Cagliari.

Can anyone advise on a nice place between the two for which to spend 3/4 nights?

We will be travelling by public transport between the two so we need it to be easily accessible by train/bus.

All tips appreciated!

Thanks!

We will be in Brindisi centre for 4 days. I am thinking to visit Ostuni by train or bus for a day. Can you suggest other day trips that are easy by public transport from Brindisi? (apart from Lecce as we have already been a couple of times and we would like to visit new places).