30 years ago we were supposed to meet in Venice while I was in the navy. Just married. But while on patrol in the Adriatic trouble came up in Bosnia. Everything canceled. Now still together happily married we plan to finish our original plan. First Venice, then rent a car driving south. We don’t care so much for staying in big cities but prefer the countryside. Vineyards, small villages, parks, outdoor concerts, tour buses (to big cities) great restaurants. And finally where to fly out to go back home. We would really appreciate any ideas where to go and what to see. May 25 to June 7th.
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Traveling by car from Venice going south 2 weeks late May: what should we see on our 30th anniversary?
- Thread starter Tnt4him
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Tina
100+ Posts
So much choice! And it depends how far south you want to go. There would be a lot of pleasant places to see without going far -
Padova (but quite big, or you could day trip from Venice), Chioggia, Comacchio and the surrounding area and Abbazia di Pomposa
slowtravelitalyspain.blogspot.com
Ferrara
slowtravelitalyspain.blogspot.com
Ravenna....
Padova (but quite big, or you could day trip from Venice), Chioggia, Comacchio and the surrounding area and Abbazia di Pomposa
Comacchio
A blog about travel, vacations and holidays in Italy and Spain with advice, tips and trip reports
slowtravelitalyspain.blogspot.com
Ferrara Trip report
A blog about travel, vacations and holidays in Italy and Spain with advice, tips and trip reports
slowtravelitalyspain.blogspot.com
JMichael
100+ Posts
How long do you plan to stay in Venice? If time allows, you may want to explore a bit of the Veneto before heading south, since it's a major wine region. Heading south could take you to Emilia Romana where food is the star. Parma, Modena, Bologna, and Ravenna are wonderful cities. You can fly out of Bologna or you might want to drop the car there and take the train to Florence or back to Venice for your return flight.
Ian Sutton
1000+ Posts
A few I was going to suggest as well.So much choice! And it depends how far south you want to go. There would be a lot of pleasant places to see without going far -
Padova (but quite big, or you could day trip from Venice), Chioggia, Comacchio and the surrounding area and Abbazia di Pomposa
FerraraComacchio
A blog about travel, vacations and holidays in Italy and Spain with advice, tips and trip reports
Ravenna....Ferrara Trip report
A blog about travel, vacations and holidays in Italy and Spain with advice, tips and trip reports
I've not been to Comacchio, but feel like it's just the sort of quirky, somewhat off the beaten track places I like in Italy. It's criss-crossed by canals like Venice, but without the mass tourism. I also recall there was a strong love of eating eels there.
Ferrara remains off the mass tourist trail, but is an absolute joy. The car would be mostly parked up here, as cars are excluded from much of the city, leaving it to pedestrians and cyclists. Plenty of historic buildings, including Copernicus' drinking place, near complete city walls and a fine castle with moat (and huge carp in it). Evening passeggiata often takes a linear route along the pedestrianised street that heads in opposite directions out of the city, plus the central squares. The weekly market in the centre of the city is excellent.
Ravenna surprised. I thought it would be more touristy, but no, there are a multitude of sites special to Ravenna, that attract tourists, but the rest of the city seemed pleasingly normal.
Elsewhere in Emilia-Romagna there are plenty of options, with coast/beach, motorsports, food, drink, history. I'll throw in a curveball suggestion of San Patrignano, who I believe do accept visits. It's a unique social project, taking in those with drug problems, but who wish to change that. They're looked after not just medically, mentally, but also in developing skills that are useful in the outside world. I recall one video where one of their cheesemakers explained how an obsessive behaviour pushed him towards drugs, but how the opportunity to obsess about cheese making turned a big negative into a huge positive. I first came across them via their wines, in particular a sangiovese based wine called Avi. Well worth a try if you see it, and I'll also recommend their Cabernet-Sauvignon led wine Montepirolo.
p.s. back up near Venice, we very much enjoyed our stay in Mezzane di Sotto, about 30 mins ENE of Verona. The place we stayed at was Massimago, who grow their own grapes and make wine (Valpolicella, Amarone and a few others). Decent but slightly small apartments (there may be bigger ones there), but with a lovely swimming pool, sauna, superb grounds and an exceptionally good & substantial breakfast delivered to your door, to eat inside or on you patio.
NoSpin
100+ Posts
Firstly, I will second Ian's suggestion of Ravenna. We made that our base for a few days a couple years ago. It is a delightful little city.
A few miles south is Cesenatico. It is a lovely little town. It is a beach town, but you should be there at a perfect time with nice weather and before the crowds.
Then keep going a few more miles to Rimini, another quant town perfect for strolling around.
We were in all three of these towns both in December and in May. At Christmas time these towns are just magical.
Depending how far you want to keep driving, there is San Marino. It is worth going to the very top, there are some hilltop structures/castles to visit. The little town at the top is a bit touristy, but very quaint.
I don't know how far you want to drive. We have driven basically the whole coast down to Bari, which is a city you can fly out of. If you do go that far, definitely stop in Giovinazzo. There's a lovely restaurant on the harbor. I don't remember the name off hand, but if you are going there I will look it up for you.
A few miles south is Cesenatico. It is a lovely little town. It is a beach town, but you should be there at a perfect time with nice weather and before the crowds.
Then keep going a few more miles to Rimini, another quant town perfect for strolling around.
We were in all three of these towns both in December and in May. At Christmas time these towns are just magical.
Depending how far you want to keep driving, there is San Marino. It is worth going to the very top, there are some hilltop structures/castles to visit. The little town at the top is a bit touristy, but very quaint.
I don't know how far you want to drive. We have driven basically the whole coast down to Bari, which is a city you can fly out of. If you do go that far, definitely stop in Giovinazzo. There's a lovely restaurant on the harbor. I don't remember the name off hand, but if you are going there I will look it up for you.
Ian Sutton
1000+ Posts
It was Tina's suggestion, I was just a copycat
Rimini in December would appeal to me. I've always had this vision of it being a primarily beach resort location (is that correct?), but I love such places in winter, shorn of the tourists.
Thank you! This is fantastic information! Yes we will travel to Bari to fly out. Can you recall the restaurant?
Thank you so much! It’s now on our list!So much choice! And it depends how far south you want to go. There would be a lot of pleasant places to see without going far -
Padova (but quite big, or you could day trip from Venice), Chioggia, Comacchio and the surrounding area and Abbazia di Pomposa
FerraraComacchio
A blog about travel, vacations and holidays in Italy and Spain with advice, tips and trip reports
Ravenna....Ferrara Trip report
A blog about travel, vacations and holidays in Italy and Spain with advice, tips and trip reports
I was thinking 3 days. First day to recoup from jet lag, then 2 to explore. We plan to fly out of Bari after our zig zag travel. Thank you for those suggestions!
JMichael
100+ Posts
If you plan to fly home from Bari, you'll have to cover a lot of ground in a relatively short time. Our first trip to Italy (a long time ago) we started in Venice and drove from Florence to Sorrento. We're from California, where long commutes are normal, so it didn't seem like it would be too difficult. My mistake. We burned a lot of time on the road that we could have spent really getting to know Italy, its people and culture. I'm not saying you shouldn't go to Bari, just consider that the more time spent in the car is more time in isolation. Everyone has their own travel style and, as they say, "your mileage may vary."
Would 2 weeks be enough from Venice to bari? A few days here and there? We do want to see as much but not a world wind packed trip. Thank you for helping and sharing.
Ian Sutton
1000+ Posts
It's doable, but the risk is that you fill the trip with 7+ destinations, and as a result spending an overly long amount of your holiday packing bags, checking out, driving, checking in, unpacking and barely finding your bearings / seeing anything until you have to move on.
With a car, things like an overnight stop are viable, but makes sense only when there's just a single thing that interests you in that location. It can work nicely to just pack 'overnight bag(s)' when leaving the previous destination, leaving the rest of the luggage in the car. So perhaps try to intersperse overnighters, with longer stays of 3-4 days (and also consider simple ~3-4 hour stops between accommodations if that would be enough time for a specific sight/site).
Whereas 2 weeks would normally have us looking at 3, or max 4 destinations, with a car and an idea of a road trip, that could easily spread to 5 or 6 places you stay, but I'd be wary of increasing above that.
With a car, things like an overnight stop are viable, but makes sense only when there's just a single thing that interests you in that location. It can work nicely to just pack 'overnight bag(s)' when leaving the previous destination, leaving the rest of the luggage in the car. So perhaps try to intersperse overnighters, with longer stays of 3-4 days (and also consider simple ~3-4 hour stops between accommodations if that would be enough time for a specific sight/site).
Whereas 2 weeks would normally have us looking at 3, or max 4 destinations, with a car and an idea of a road trip, that could easily spread to 5 or 6 places you stay, but I'd be wary of increasing above that.