Italy anyone?

1sttimer_2

I've never been to Italy but really fancy going to there but want to know the best place to aim for. OH is a veggie and I've been told that it isn't always easy to get veggie meals in some places. Is this true? Is there any specific areas which are mainly vegetarian eaters (ie pasta/pizza)? I would like to be nearish to the coast if possible, and if there are historical sites nearby would be great.

We usually go in September/October so will the weather still be nice and warm?

Hope I'm not asking too tall an order!

Thanks in advance

bobsa1

We went to Lido de Jesolo, just down the coast from Venice. It may be a bit resorty for you as quite busy but nice.

We went last week in August and it was boiling, easy day trip to venice & Lake Garda.

Sorry I don't know about veggie meals but we stayed in an aparthotel so could use the hotel for meals if we wanted but could cook as well

lisyloo

I've been told that it isn't always easy to get veggie meals in some places.

Does the OH eat fish?
If so then I don't think you'll have too many problems.
If not then stick to pizza and pasta, rather that more "authentic" restaurants.

I would like to be nearish to the coast if possible, and if there are historical sites nearby would be great.

I can recommend the North.
The lakes are lovely (especially Garda).
Fantastic scenery and refreshingly cool down by the lakes.
You can get to Milan, Venice, Verona and the Dolomites to plenty with "day trip" distance.
Venice is great so if you want a "beach" type holiday then perhaps try "Lido de Jesolo".

We usually go in September/October so will the weather still be nice and warm?

September should be fine.
In my experience October is pushing it in Europe (even in Greece).

We are going to this hotel in September.
http://www.h-c.it/

I would recommend looking at a site called
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk

You can see reviews here from fellow holiday makers and even see "candid photos" rather than "brochure shots".
Of course peoples tastes vary but you can get a good idea by reading several reports.

Counting_Pennies_2

If you are flexible with the requirement of going to the coast and would be happy with the lakes, I would strongly recommend Lake Garda. We went there as one of our stops for our honeymoon, we went to Rome and Sardinia as well, but by far we preferred the Lakes.

There is so much to do, with boat rides taking you somewhere new each day, with just an hour cruising to your destination each day.

We stayed in Salo, south west of the lake and it was incredibly easy to get about. The hotel was called Salo du Parc Hotel, it was only 5 mins walk to the centre and all the boats for the other destinations in the lakes travel from there.

The food was incredibly flexible, I don't think there was ever a problem with food, you could request certain foods to be left out, and there were many courses to choose from, definitely there were vegetarian options each night.

summerday

Hi there.

As long as your OH eats pizza and looks out for tomato based pasta sauces, he should be fine. There will be pizzerias in most parts of Italy I should think.

If you go in first half of September any area should have reasonable weather, but if warm weather is important to you I wouldn't push it by leaving it till late Sept/ Oct. I was an au pair in Sardinia and first half of Sept was lovely but after that the weather quickly went downhill. Although if you go to Rome and Southwards eg Naples, Calabria weather will be more likely to be warm. Having said that there's a lot of cultural cities up north that you'd then miss out on.

If I was you I'd go early Sept and try to travel to several of the cities in the North. Just beware that Italy is a big country and the cities are further away from each other than they might appear to be on a map! My Mum and sister loved Lake Garda, food was lovely and the lake itself was gorgeous, with lots of options for day trips.

Have a great time wherever you go!

VickyM_2

Bear in mind that Italians really don't get the concept of 'no meat', so unless you read the menu quite carefully your pasta sauce may well have little bits of ham in it... the safest thing to do would be to eat margerita pizza for a week (but your OH might find that a little dull) or cater for yourselves. that way you get to buy all the wonderful cheeses and veggies without having to worry.

I'd get a copy of a travel guide from your local library - that'll have a lot of good advice on where and when to go - and then come back here for more specific advice as someone is bound to know somehting!