Travel & Holidays Road Trip - Help with my Itinerary (Italy, north/south)?

Sienna is a must too, it's a beautiful place and not too touristy.

 

You could row in Venice, cars are not very useful there...

 

Not a fan of Venice, too busy and dirty

 

Curious what would be your budget on an airbnb, as a couple

I am budgeting $150 per night

MTR

 

@MTR, driving in Italy was confronting at first, to say the least, but after a few days you get used to it. I got by with a Volvo that was much bigger than many of the other tiny city cars and I still got by, even in the tight streets inside cities. This was the first trip. Second trip I had a cheap manual Renault, much smaller & more practical for parking, but honestly the volvo was awesome for the long trips, when not fussing about city centres.

Car is definitely worth it if you are gonna be doing some touring!! Driving in Italy is a unique experience of beautiful rolling hills, rarely any traffic when you are out of the city, lots of beauty and nature to just stop at, at your own discretion, etc.

Little heads up.. there are sections of cities & towns (esp historical) where you are not allowed to drive within a significant portion of the city unless you have a permit, this usually needs to be supplied by the place you are staying at - if relevant. For example in Bologna I was only permitted to park in/near the centre because of this permit.

Speaking of parking, it can be a nightmare, especially in historical cities where they were built centuries before cars were even a thought, keep this in mind when booking accommodation. In some places, e.g. Rome, you can do a "park & ride" from metro areas, plenty of parking and the trip in to the city is literally about 2 euros and only 10 mins approx.

 

thanks, great tips.

 

Also another tip book accommodation just outside tourist precincts, cheaper and less noise, people. Just need to make sure transport is nearby