Travelling around Italy, what do you recommend?

Glowing

Hi there,

I'm planning a 10 or 12 day trip to Italy this June. We're planning a wedding, and are thinking about having it over there - I've only ever been to Rome so don't have a clue where to start looking for a venue.

I've heard Florence is lovely, and so is the Amalfi coast. I'd like to look at a couple of different regions, but want to have a holiday at the same time!

We were thinking of flying to Florence, hiring a car, and driving around Tuscany for a few days, then getting the train to the Amalfi coast. I've heard however that that area is very expensive and touristy - are there any more 'off the beaten track' places that are worth visiting too? What would be your ideal Italian holiday?

Thanks a million for your advice!

P.S I haven't put this in the wedding forum because I thought there'd be more people here who would have travelled to Italy!

tinkerbell

On the Amalfi coast there are the usual tourist hotspots such as Positano and Sorrento. While they are lovely, you should go further up the coast (in the direction of Naples) and you'll come across Amalfi, Ravello and Minori. Maoiri is further up (well it's the next village beside Minori) but it's not that nice.

Ravello is set up on a cliff whereas Amalfi is more near sea level. They are both gorgeous.

I absolutely adore Hotel Santa Caterina - it's in Amalfi and it's absolutely gorgeous. It's a five star and their beach club area is actually built into the cliff so you go down this elevator from the hotel into the mountain and then you arrive at the beach club. All the sun loungers are on this massive deck built into it and you can just jump into the sea. They have a pool as well on the deck. Oh and the food is divine! The service is impeccable too. I'd highly recommend it!

rossie1977

Amalfi coast is lovely, sorrento is a good base because it has good public transport connections from naples. capri an island off the coast is easily accessible by ferry from sorrento too as is pompeii by train.

pisa and florence are probably worth a day each, venice maybe 2 days, the mountains north of venice (the Dolomites) are a great way to spend a few days relaxing

zemphis

I would definitely recommend Florence and Tuscany. We were there last year and the whole area is gorgeous. We spent five nights in Florence and loved the place. We also hired a car and drove around Tuscany for a few days. There are so many little towns and villages which area lovely. And the scenery itself is just magnificent! If you hire a car and rent a villa in the Tuscan Hills you can do day trips to all the various places.

I haven't been to the Amalfi coast yet but I would certainly recommend Tuscany.

aloevera

does anyone know what turin is like? i know a few friends going for a week,flying into turin and talking of driving across to venice?

anyone done this?

they have their flights booked, but no beds organised yet.

ajc100

We stayed up at Lake Garda last year and there are some stunning towns around there.
Most notably, Sirmione and Peschiera Del Garda, both at the southern end of the lake.
Up the East side of the lake is Garda Town, another beautiful spot.
Verona is only about an Hours drive from there and Venice is an Hour and 15 mins away on the Train.
We went in mid May and the weather was a "Bearable" 23 -25c every day.
Fly in to Bergamo with Ryanair and hire a car from there.

bills

Dont think you can go wrong in italy. Definetely reccomend florence & tuscany area.
Just amazing scenery & food & wine is fantastic too. Venice is about 3 hours away on a train from what i can remember & thats well worth a look too. Its expensive but you can get reasonable hotels if you do your research. Its really romantic too.

Owen

I'm just back from Sicily, and have been to Rome too, couldn't recommend both highly enough ... Other parts well worth visiting include Lake Garda (Although it's getting a bit popular), and of course Venice. It's all very dependent on how much time you have.

Sicily :
http://owenkelly.com/blog/2009/01/sicily-italy-2008.html

Rome :
http://owenkelly.com/blog/2007/11/rome-italy-2007.html