Driving to Italy

balancelife

Hi, been thinking about summer 2018s family hol.

We've done trips where we drive to France and stay in a house.. One year just a couple hours drive once in Calais, one year we drove down near Cherbourg, another year we drove to the dordogne area.

We've also stayed on camping/caravan sites in France and Switzerland which were great. No problems driving to Switzerland, stopped one night in France on the way, then 7 nights in Switzerland, and 3 back in France.

Last year we went to Kos (on a plane!) but went in May because it was too expensive in August. Did the AI thing.

This year we are stuck with August, probably the last two weeks, and have been looking for inspiration. Kids are 12 and 8 and would like to visit Spain or Italy. Have never been to Spain, we took the eldest to Italy when she was a baby, flew into Pisa and hired a car and stayed on a campsite in a caravan out near Florence. Was lovely.

Has anyone driven to Italy? Where abouts would be good to look in terms of staying?

Or is that crazy? Should we look at flying/package? It's just so much cheaper to drive and an adventure and we can take so much with us! My husband likes driving, and I just read in the car and the kids are quite easy too. Just got to think of the miles and logistics!

Thanks for any help

peachyprice

Oh goodness, yes, we drove all over Europe when the children were younger, it's a great way of seeing lot of different places.

For Italy (and Switzerland) we stopped twice, around Reims and Stuttgart and stayed in a house on Lake Maggiore, coming back up we came more west and stopped near Lyon and Orleans. We tried to do a few hours drive in the morning, stop for a nice long lunch and a few hours in the afternoon, being in out en route hotels by 6pm ready for a relaxing evening and a stroll around the town.

maman

Definitely drive.:)


We've had numerous short city breaks where we've flown and used public transport but if you're planning a family holiday then I'd definitely take the car.


What we've done is to be away for 3 weeks using half a week either end to travel and 2 weeks in a rented house. The journey then becomes part of the holiday.


For Italy we drove sort of diagonally across France to Grenoble and then went up over the Alps into Italy.


For Spain and Portugal, we took a ferry to Santander on the way out but chose to come back up through France for the ferry back. We've also stayed well south in France close enough to hop over the Spanish border both in Collioure area (lovely beaches for children) or near Bagneres de Luchon.


We generally stay at Ibis hotels. They're fairly basic but the breakfasts are decent and you know what to expect. Campanile's not bad either.

martindow

I'm not sure I agree that it's quite so clear cut as the above posters suggest.

How long is your holiday? If it is fairly short do you really want to spend two or three days in each direction driving down? Although in theory you see countries as you drive through, going down motorways you often see very little and it is not a restful way of going on holiday especially if you want to go to the south of Italy.

It also depends what you want to do in Italy. If you want to visit cities a car is a nuisance and driving can be exhilarating, stressful or terrifying according to your attitude. City centre parking is always difficult. Italian buses and trains are good and relatively cheap to travel around.

If you need a car to drive around it is worth considering flying and renting to maximise your time in the country.

marky_p

Have a look into going by train as well - if you book in advance it doesn't have to be that expensive. And saves you a lot of driving!

John259

If you don't want it too hot then stick to the mountains and lakes in the north. Some of the smaller lakes such as Iseo and Idro are worth considering if you prefer somewhere a bit quieter away from the bulk of the tourists.

martinthebandit

Drove to the Italian lakes last year and spent a few days in Austria and then the Black Forest on the way back.

But, me and the good lady both enjoy driving, kids have all flown the nest and the roof folds down on the car, which makes it far more fun.

zagfles

I wouldn't drive there if you only have 2 weeks off, I'd want at least 3. Even to northern Italy you'll need at least 2 days each way or 3 if you want to see anything other than motorways enroute.

Lake Garda is lovely and loads to do there, from leisurely boat trips and scenic drives to watersports and paragliding. Also the usualy tacky stuff like theme parks & water parks.

Surprised you say driving is "much cheaper", when we went it was cheaper to fly and hire a car, even with 4 of us, when you add in the petrol, ferries, tolls and hotels en route etc.

peachyprice

Two week is very doable, 2 days travel there, 10 days holiday, 2 days travel back, obviously depending where you are in the UK.

zagfles

peachyprice wrote: »

Two week is very doable, 2 days travel there, 10 days holiday, 2 days travel back, obviously depending where you are in the UK.

Each to their own, I wouldn't do it. It'd be 4 days, nearly a third of the holiday, of solid driving with hardly any time to see anything en route. If I was going to drive there I'd take at least 3 days each way and plan things to see/do en route so it's not just bombing down boring motorways. If I had just 2 weeks I'd fly and hire a car. When we went it was a similar price.

slinga

We had 3 weeks in Tuscany last June.
Flew to Pisa and train to Florence, Bologna, La Spezia (Cinque Terra ) and back to Pisa where we picked up a car for a week in and around Sienna, San Gimignano, Tavernelle, Volterra etc etc all easy driving.

Had a great holiday and I haven't been to Italy since Rome 20 years ago.

The Italian trains are so good with cheap deals a few days before your journey, clean, on time, fast 300kph on some routes that we will use them when we go to Milan, Venice and maybe the lakes or Tyrol next year.