Trip through Italy

[K77 CTR]

Myself and two friends (all girls) are wanting to take 10 to 14 days seeing the sights of Italy in September. We are thinking of using the train to get between cities. Any suggestions on routes, places we must visit and the best way to plan it. Staying in hotels, Airbnb or b&b along the way.

Thank you

[loskie]

you must get the train along the Cinque Terra. Easily doable from Pisa Airport. from there to Lucca and then Florence.

I've only done the Pisa to Levanto bit then a day trip from Levanto to Lucca and back

[Condi]

In no particular order...

The lakes (Garda/Como/Maggiore)
Cinque Terra
Florence (Pisa is not far away, if you want to see tower of)
San Marino
Rome
Milan (has mixed reviews, it's good enough for a day or 2, but no more, pre book Duomo tour)
Venice (again, a day trip is fine)
Amalfi coast (gets v busy in summer, but much better outside of July/August)
Pompeii

I don't know the South that well so you're better off getting recommendations from someone else, although Sicily is nice enough so I don't see why other towns/parks etc wouldn't be. Most of the bigger towns and tourist spots will be in that list above. The West coast is a lot more dramatic and exciting than the East, but San Marino is definitely worth popping over for. If you like a party atmosphere then Rimini just down the road from San Marino has good night life during the summer, mainly local and German tourists.

Edited by Condi on Thursday 12th January 00:38

[105.4]

The Lakes
Milan / Monza
Verona
Venice, (ideally outside of peak)
Bologna
Maranello and the Apennines
Pisa
Florence
The Amalfi coast


I’m not too familiar with the South of the country, so no personal recommendations for down there.

[Griffith4ever]

Trains will become more problematic in the south. They are excellent in the North

Don't miss

San gimignano - lovely cheap digs within the city walls
If you go to Pompeii then absolutely don't miss Herculaneum if you are remotely interested in archaeology/ preserved history

[Byker28i]

We did italy by train, London to Paris on Euro star. Paris to Venice on the overnight sleeper fo a few nights.

Then onto Verona - thoroughly recommended plus you can hire a car and have a drive around Lake Garda. Well worth it, very beautiful and the Malcesine to Mount Baldo cable car is worth a trip to the top for the views.

Most of the routes through the north go via Milan. You may like to have a stop there just to view the fashion shops etc.

If doing the Cinque Terra, then Genoa first, then onto Pisa, Florence, Rome.

Coming back we went Milan, through the Goddard Pass to Zurich, stayed overnight and then onto Paris from there. The Goddard Pass is supposed to be the most beautiful train ride in europe. We've also done Frankfurt to Italy via Milan by train, which takes you past Innsbruck, with the former winter Olympics buildings, ski jumps etc and again through beutiful countryside/lakes etc.

[Truckosaurus]

K77 CTR said:

...Staying in hotels, Airbnb or b&b along the way...

Watching the Harry Metcalfe road trip videos on Youtube he often stays in Agriturismos in Italy, some of which are pretty fancy.

https://www.agriturismo.it/en/

[Louis Balfour]

K77 CTR said:

Myself and two friends (all girls) are wanting to take 10 to 14 days seeing the sights of Italy in September. We are thinking of using the train to get between cities. Any suggestions on routes, places we must visit and the best way to plan it. Staying in hotels, Airbnb or b&b along the way.

Thank you

See Naples and die.

Well, maybe leave out the "die" part. But Naples is special. Utterly mad, but special. See it.

10-14 days really won't be long enough. Also, Italian trains are not altogether brilliant in many places. Have you considered a road trip?

[Gin and Ultrasonic]

Louis Balfour said:

K77 CTR said:

Myself and two friends (all girls) are wanting to take 10 to 14 days seeing the sights of Italy in September. We are thinking of using the train to get between cities. Any suggestions on routes, places we must visit and the best way to plan it. Staying in hotels, Airbnb or b&b along the way.

Thank you

See Naples and die.

Well, maybe leave out the "die" part. But Naples is special. Utterly mad, but special. See it.

10-14 days really won't be long enough. Also, Italian trains are not altogether brilliant in many places. Have you considered a road trip?

Agree with the above, 10-14 days isn't really long enough to see much of Italy.

If getting the train, I'd personally consider
Start in Rome (must see - Rome is spectacular)
Siena (my favourite city in Italy)
Florence (lovely, plenty of art to see)
Lucca (small city, lovely to walk around)
Pisa (not great outsde of the stunning Leaning Tower are)
Venice (must see, but try not to go when it is really busy)
Verona (I've not been here but my wife said it is great!)
Lake Garda (you can get the train to Desanzano del Garda). Most of the towns on the lake can then be accessed by boat.
Milan is great for shopping and has some great sights, but I prefer the other cities to be honest


As others have suggested, a road trip might be an alternative (or maybe part of the holiday). Exploring the hilltop towns in Tuscany such as Pienza and San Gimignano is amazing.

[K77 CTR]

Brilliant ideas so far, thank you. We were steering clear of driving as none of us want to be too concerned about a glass of wine with lunch and also not that comfortable with driving abroad.

[gareth h]

Naples, definitely
Pompeii, get there early to avoid the crowds, it’s not much fun when it’s mobbed.
Venice, from experience best seen out of season due to the crowds.
If you go down south Sicily is great, I loved Palermo

[James P]

I’m somewhat biased but I’d recommend a trip just circling Sicily but also taking in the Aeolian and Egadi islands. Depending on where you are UK flights available to/from Palermo, Catania and (March to October) Trapani-Marsala. Getting round the island I’d recommend buses rather than trains as likely to be quickly and more frequent.

Don’t overlook western Sicily, I moved here 2 years ago hence impartial

[Louis Balfour]

James P said:

I’m somewhat biased but I’d recommend a trip just circling Sicily but also taking in the Aeolian and Egadi islands. Depending on where you are UK flights available to/from Palermo, Catania and (March to October) Trapani-Marsala. Getting round the island I’d recommend buses rather than trains as likely to be quickly and more frequent.

Don’t overlook western Sicily, I moved here 2 years ago hence impartial

I am just reading a book about the history of organised crime in Sicily. Do you see much evidence of it in day to day life?

[James P]

Louis Balfour said:

James P said:

I’m somewhat biased but I’d recommend a trip just circling Sicily but also taking in the Aeolian and Egadi islands. Depending on where you are UK flights available to/from Palermo, Catania and (March to October) Trapani-Marsala. Getting round the island I’d recommend buses rather than trains as likely to be quickly and more frequent.

Don’t overlook western Sicily, I moved here 2 years ago hence impartial

I am just reading a book about the history of organised crime in Sicily. Do you see much evidence of it in day to day life?

I’ve no doubt that it is here but I don’t personally see evidence on a regular basis other than news reports. I used to live close to Croydon and general crime reports are no worse here.

[Louis Balfour]

James P said:

Louis Balfour said:

James P said:

I’m somewhat biased but I’d recommend a trip just circling Sicily but also taking in the Aeolian and Egadi islands. Depending on where you are UK flights available to/from Palermo, Catania and (March to October) Trapani-Marsala. Getting round the island I’d recommend buses rather than trains as likely to be quickly and more frequent.

Don’t overlook western Sicily, I moved here 2 years ago hence impartial

I am just reading a book about the history of organised crime in Sicily. Do you see much evidence of it in day to day life?

I’ve no doubt that it is here but I don’t personally see evidence on a regular basis other than news reports. I used to live close to Croydon and general crime reports are no worse here.

Croydon... Sicily... now where would I rather be?

[BananaFama]

James P said:

Louis Balfour said:

James P said:

I’m somewhat biased but I’d recommend a trip just circling Sicily but also taking in the Aeolian and Egadi islands. Depending on where you are UK flights available to/from Palermo, Catania and (March to October) Trapani-Marsala. Getting round the island I’d recommend buses rather than trains as likely to be quickly and more frequent.

Don’t overlook western Sicily, I moved here 2 years ago hence impartial

I am just reading a book about the history of organised crime in Sicily. Do you see much evidence of it in day to day life?

I’ve no doubt that it is here but I don’t personally see evidence on a regular basis other than news reports. I used to live close to Croydon and general crime reports are no worse here.

To not derail this too much , there was a sea change after the murder of judge Giovanni Falcone ,which was almost 31 years ago .

[The Leaper]

K77 CTR said:

Myself and two friends (all girls) are wanting to take 10 to 14 days seeing the sights of Italy in September. We are thinking of using the train to get between cities. Any suggestions on routes, places we must visit and the best way to plan it. Staying in hotels, Airbnb or b&b along the way.

Thank you

My wife and I have been to Italy many times. Stayed in maybe 20 or so cities and visited many more. It's a reasonably large country so I suggest that you consider visiting one part of it eg the Tuscany area that will include places like Pisa, Lucca, Florence, Sienna, Voltera.

Verona is a lovely city to be based and it has a good airport (we have been there 4 times!). From there you can use the train for day visits to Bologna, Florence, Mantua, Vicenza, Padua and Venice, and get a bus to Lake Garda.

We have used Italy's excellent train service many times. We've always booked and paid and got the tickets here in the UK before setting off. I use

https://www.trenitalia.com/en.

Note that when using this site you still have to input the Italian name not English name for destinations eg Firenze not Florence. Note too that the timetables in Italy are often published no more than a few months in advance so you may not yet have the timetables available for your journey....you need to go back and check availability regularly.

Each train in Italy has its unique service number. This is shown in timetables, all the departure boards at the station, and on the train itself. This makes it very easy to find your train and get on the right one.

There are regional and express intercity trains, all very good. They can often be busy so reserve seats if you can...compulsory on many services anyway.

If you need any help with location information or train booking, just ask.

R.

[James P]

BananaFama said:

James P said:

Louis Balfour said:

James P said:

I’m somewhat biased but I’d recommend a trip just circling Sicily but also taking in the Aeolian and Egadi islands. Depending on where you are UK flights available to/from Palermo, Catania and (March to October) Trapani-Marsala. Getting round the island I’d recommend buses rather than trains as likely to be quickly and more frequent.

Don’t overlook western Sicily, I moved here 2 years ago hence impartial

I am just reading a book about the history of organised crime in Sicily. Do you see much evidence of it in day to day life?

I’ve no doubt that it is here but I don’t personally see evidence on a regular basis other than news reports. I used to live close to Croydon and general crime reports are no worse here.

To not derail this too much , there was a sea change after the murder of judge Giovanni Falcone ,which was almost 31 years ago .

I understand that’s the case although my time here is much later than 1992. All I can say is that I don’t feel that it impacts my life despite accepting that, like most places, crime is always present to some level.

[James P]

Louis Balfour said:

Croydon... Sicily... now where would I rather be?

My thoughts too. But not to derail the thread, I believe that Italy has enough choice to cover many holiday visits.

If temperature is important then I’d suggest checking where the OP would be comfortable. Here in the south it easily hits 40+C in July/August so make sure you’ll be comfortable wherever you do choose to visit.

[Louis Balfour]

James P said:

If temperature is important then I’d suggest checking where the OP would be comfortable. Here in the south it easily hits 40+C in July/August so make sure you’ll be comfortable wherever you do choose to visit.

It's a good point. We went to Tropea in 2019, possibly my favourite place in Italy, but the heat made it challenging.

The other thing I find tricky in Italy (in some areas) are the mosquitoes.