# Honeymoon in Italy



## r6demon

Hi All, Some of you may have seen my previous thred in the general forum regarding our planned honeymoon. It looks as though our original 'plans' were a little ambitious (as many countries as poss in 3 weeks) and would have resulted in us spending all our time driving!!

Soooo..... We have decided on a tour of Italy!

Below is a VERY rough route and is open to change. The only bit so far that is booked, is the ferry from Dover - Calais on the 8th June and the return on the 27th.

The plan so far is to get an early ish ferry on the 8th and drive to Clairvaux les Lacs in france staying for 2 nights.

We would then follow the route below unless anyone can see any obvious reason to go else where.

My questions are:

what should we see.....??

How do you go about finding campsites in Italy?

is the route too ambitious \ not enough for 3 weeks ? We would want to be back in calais for the 26th so we can get the dog sorted for ticks etc etc at the vets.

I would love to have a couple of goals for the trip (being a very keen cook) like learning how to make fresh pasta the italian way, pizza etc any suggestions

your thoughts please


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## Zebedee

Just for starters, and to ruin your plans completely 8O I wouldn't bother going all that way up the East coast.

My suggestion would be to turn inland and go Spoleto, Folignio, Assissi, Perugia (Sapori cake :wink: ) Siena, Poggibonsi, San Gimignano, Firenze.

Much, much more interesting, and the Tuscan Hill Towns really should not be missed. Far preferable to touristy, flat sandy beaches in my opinion.

I'll say no more as you will get loads of conflicting opinions. (Moderators are never wrong though! 8O :lol: :lol: )

Enjoy it, wherever you go, and don't miss Annecy on the way there or back.

Hope this helps

Dave


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## HurricaneSmith

I agree with everything Dave has said. I drove down the Adriatic Coast many years ago, and found it rather flat and repetitive.

I turned inland into the hills, and found another beautiful world.

The west coast is also fabulous.

Come to think of it, I must return soon.


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## pippin

Why not just relax - get as far as the lakes and just explore.

Lake Maggiore - fantastic, Cannero Riviera, wonderful.


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## Pusser

pippin said:


> Why not just relax - get as far as the lakes and just explore.
> 
> Lake Maggiore - fantastic, Cannero Riviera, wonderful.


Can you relax on honeymoon.? It was hard work as I remember and had it not been for the full English Breakfasts in the morning, I may well have not survived the onslaught. 8O


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## pippin

Are you boasting or complaining?

:love4: :forcefeed: :spermy: :spermy: :spermy: :spermy: :spermy: :spermy: :spermy: :spermy: :spermy: :spermy: :spermy: :spermy: :spermy:


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## r6demon

Zeb,

Thats an interesting point thank you. I was planning on coming south along the east coast returning north along the west (I have a friend with a Ducati tour business in Lucca that I hope to see on my return)

After your comments I am thinking maybe the following:

Milan\monza, Lake Garda, Venice, Bolonga (ducati factory), 

Ravenna\ Rimini (the old roman ports)???? worth seeing?? Or should we just stay inland?

Imola (we are big motorsport fans bikes and cars) then down to Firenze, San Gimignano, Poggibonsi,Siena, Perugia, Assissi, Folignio, Spoleto

We had hoped to get in to the parco Nazionale delle foreste casentinesi monte falerona campigna (google around Campigna) as it is supposed to be stunning!??

We would also like to get down to Tivoli and Rome


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## Zebedee

You'll certainly be knackered if you do all that, and on honeymoon too.  8O :lol: 

Wouldn't bother with Rimini. It's nice enough I suppose, or was before the Irish bars and English pubs began littering the promenade!!

Ravenna is nicer, but missable in comparison with the inland hill towns.

The rest of your itinerary looks OK to me, if a little ambitious, but wait for Russell or Eddied to offer their opinions. My knowledge of those regions is a bit dated now.

One thing though. Don't pull onto a lakeside campsite (Garda etc) on Saturday or Sunday. It will be packed with Italian motorhomes. They go for the day quite often, and stay until dusk when there is a mass exodus. By 9.00pm on Sunday the site is all but deserted, and all the best pitches are available again.

Hope this helps a bit

Dave

P.S. I'd still plan to stop at Annecy on the way back, even if only for a day!


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## eddied

Ciao demon,
I would tend to agree with those who have sugested a more relaxing itinerary. Trying to get down to Roma and Tivoli is going to turn it into a marathon, and following all the route you are planning is also going to be very tight in 3 weeks.
Go for the lakes, Maggiore, and/or Orta/ Garda, and an extension as far as Venezia and to Bologna fo your Ducati thing. Or the west (Tirrenia) coast - the 5 Terre, Portofino, Lucca/Pisa/S.Gimignano/Siena/Firenze.
If you have the time then you could look at Perugia/Assisi, or dedicate more time to Bologna.
How do I find campsites?
www.camping.it
www.camperonline.it
www.fattoreamico.it,
eddied
saluti
edited to correct website suffix


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## r6demon

Zeb, is annecy THAT good??


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## r6demon

Or.......

the other option is to miss out the BIG cities venice rome etc as you can fly straight there for weekends?

So many bloody options


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## r6demon

eddied said:


> Ciao demon,
> I would tend to agree with those who have sugested a more relaxing itinerary. Trying to get down to Roma and Tivoli is going to turn it into a marathon, and following all the route you are planning is also going to be very tight in 3 weeks.
> Go for the lakes, Maggiore, and/or Orta/ Garda, and an extension as far as Venezia and to Bologna fo your Ducati thing. Or the west (Tirrenia) coast - the 5 Terre, Portofino, Lucca/Pisa/S.Gimignano/Siena/Firenze.
> If you have the time then you could look at Perugia/Assisi, or dedicate more time to Bologna.
> How do I find campsites?
> www.camping.it
> www.camperonline.it
> www.fattoreamico.it,
> eddied
> saluti
> edited to correct website suffix


EddieD, TBH I just want to have a good time and see the REAL italy. we are not package holiday type people I prefer to be involved in my holidays and experiance the culture.

At the moment I am like a kid in a sweet shop trying to eat as much as possible without tasting.

I wanted to get to lots of different places as otherwise it would not feel special as it would seem like a normal holiday hence why we are taking 3 weeks.

My plan was to get to look around places and if there is more to see mark it in the journal as a place we will spend a week at next holiday, on the other hand I do not want to feel as if we are constantly driving and have seen nothing


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## r6demon

Also, worth adding is that we MAY not even stop in these places. This is a rough outline. If the place is good we will stay longer, if bored (or raining) we can move on.

I guess we just want a semblance of a plan, knowing full well that no plan survives first contact 

Eddie, just looknig at the camping sites now thank you!

Any good books on campsites available as we will not have web access whilst away?


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## JeanLuc

As in my reply to your previous post, I strongly recommend a visit to the Cinque Terra. Also, for Sienna, a campsite in Sovicille is very handy (link below - don't know how I managed to upload the photo twice). The bus calls at the site and takes about 20 minutes into the city. the main square (Campo) and Bell Tower in Sienna are stunning.

http://www.motorhomefacts.com/modules.php?name=Campsites&op=display_results&csid=2638

There is a convenient aire in Lucca and a walk around the walls is very enjoyable. The locals use it as an evening promenade, but watch out for cyclists too.

Regarding distance, we managed to get down to Perugia, Lake Trasimeno and Gubbio as well as Sienna, Lucca and La Spezia in about 2 1/2 weeks. Would have loved to stay a lot longer though.

Philip


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## peejay

r6demon said:


> So many bloody options


I think you've hit the nail on the head there, each time someone suggests somewhere it will send you into more confusion as to what to see and do.
Theres loads to see in all the countries you're visiting but you can't see them all.

With the greatest of respect I think you are planning a bit too much. Just arm yourself with a good book of each country (Lonely Planet/Rough Guide), a few good campsite and maybe aires books (Caravan Europe vol 1&2) and make a rough decision each day as to where you fancy heading next (if at all), within a reasonable distance and if you see something that takes your fancy on the way then stay there instead. It will come naturally once you get over there and into the groove  .

As people will keep telling you, that is the beauty of a motorhome and i'm confident you'll both enjoy it better that way :wink:

Pete


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## wasfitonce

Annecy is worth a visit if in the area.

What's the position regarding "wild camping" in Italy?


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## Rapide561

*Italy*

Hi

Are you going to call in Montepulciano - lovely wine tasting, and also Chianciano Terme - for thermal spas and mud baths.

Russell


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## Zebedee

r6demon said:


> Zeb, is annecy THAT good??


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## pippin

Zebedee - you forgot the 3D specs!

Edited *after* Zeb deleted the duplicate set of pictures!


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## Zebedee

Wot rot Pippin!! 8O

Would I do such a thing?? :roll: :wink: :lol:

_Found a couple more, and some of Garda._









From the campsite near Annecy.









Annecy town.









Lake Garda. I was sitting under the awning to take the photo.









Same position for photo, but aimed a bit to the left.

There are worse places to be of a hot summer evening.

Dave


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## hmh

The nicest places are the little places . . . last time we fell in love with Sansepulcro, and a few other small towns near Lago Trasimeno, on the borders of Tuscany, East of Siena. Lovely hills to wander through . . .

This year it was Massa Maritima, which is not near the sea, it is inland, S.W. of Siena. There are interesting Etruscan tombs further West at Populonia, N. of Piombino, buy the sea. The Tuscan countryside is quite something anyway.

Also loved a tiny place called Giovinatsu, close to Bari.

Venice is wonderful, so is Florence, but might be too full of tourists . . .

Helen


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## jhelm

Have a look at www.greenstop24.it I think a fun trip would be stopping over at a few of the farms listed. Should be a good way to taste the local food and wine and see how people live in the various country side areas.

There lots of Italy pictures on my blog, www.johnandluisa.blogspot.com though you will have to sort through the written stuff and other tour pictures.


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## eddied

*The Italian Dilemma*

:roll: The problem is, Italy has just so much to offer, a lifetime can't do it justice. 
Without coming any further south than Umbria, you could add to your list
Barga, Monteriggioni, Saturnia, Bolsena, Orvieto, Gubbio, Spella, San Gemini, Ascoli and Piceno, Loreto, San Leo, and so on and so on ad infinitum.
Whatever you decide, have a wonderful time.
saluti,
eddied


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## r6demon

Thank you for all the replies so far!!

I really like the idea of the farm stops I will do a bit more investigating on that!

I am starting to get a REAL headache over this now 

It looks as though I will not even be able to drive the way I had planned through france as the tolls sound HORRENDOUS!!


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## Zebedee

Check on >> Agriturismo Italia <<. I don't know if they allow motorhomes to stay, but if they do you are onto a real winner.  

As for the route, having banged on about how beautiful Annecy is, if you want to get there fairly quickly I'd agree with the others that the Eastern route down the German autobahns is the quickest and cheapest.

The Mont Cenis Pass was spectacularly beautiful. I say "_was_" because it's a while since we used it, and they may have modernised it so much that it loses it's excitement. There used to be buses full of gold bullion hanging off every third hairpin!! 8O :lol: :lol:

Eddied will know about the pass, and Agriturismo.

Dave


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## jhelm

r6demon said:


> Thank you for all the replies so far!!
> 
> I really like the idea of the farm stops I will do a bit more investigating on that!
> 
> I am starting to get a REAL headache over this now
> 
> It looks as though I will not even be able to drive the way I had planned through france as the tolls sound HORRENDOUS!!


Chill out, relax, don't over plan it. One of the main reasons for having a camper is that everything doesn't have to be planned and reserved in advance.


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## eddied

*Agriturismo etc*

 Ciao tutti, in the first instance, Agriturismi very frequently allow free stopovers if you have a meal, or buy a bottle or two of wine, or just look interested in the farm, viz: fattoreamico and greenstop24.

If you are really interested in cooking and other activities, and are willing to travel a bit further East from Venice, then have a look at:
www.gelindo.it
This will really get you away from 'tourist tat' and 'chiantishire', and the sosta is FOC!
British farmers take note.

saluti,
eddied


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## Zebedee

*Re: Agriturismo etc*



eddied said:


> Ciao tutti, in the first instance, Agriturismi very frequently allow free stopovers if you have a meal, or buy a bottle or two of wine, or just look interested in the farm, viz: fattoreamico and greenstop24.
> eddied


Thanks Eddie.

Worth knowing for the future. We have only stayed on them as part of a package (a cycling holiday) and I didn't know if they allowed M/Hs to stay - although I'm not surprised to hear that they will.

Far more forward thinking than this country - in so many things!!!! :roll:

Dave


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## eddied

*Forward thinking*

 Ciao Zeb, I think we tend to be more into crisis management!
saluti,
eddied


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## Arizona

The 5 Terre is definitely worth visiting. There is a great site in Levanto, Acqua Dolce, It's in the old town and within walking distance of the beach & main st, (5 mins max). You can get a ferry or train to all the villages of the 5 Terre and to Portofino from here. We arrived there last year to stay for 3 nights and ended up staying for 10!!! 

San Gim is also worth a visit, lovely site 2 km from the town, local bus service every hour into the town, restaurant on site - Amazing!!

Sarteano is another lovely spot.

We also tried a couple of the Greenstops, and enjoyed them but they were not what they appeared to be in the guide!

I would agree with what a lot of other people said, don't try to do too much.

We're headed back again this year, can't wait.

Ciao

Arizona


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