Italy

[Felix]

Got three nights to play with on the east coast between the north of Lake Garda down to Bari for the ferry to Croatia. What's to see/visit bearing in mind we are in a large converted van so dont want to lug it into a city and struggle to park and wife cant walk far due to being an old arthritic fart.

[Bigyin]

I think @gremlin might be able to help as he would drag his "kid" to Italy for their annual bike trip. Dunno if he did that area though

[gremlin]

Got three nights to play with on the east coast between the north of Lake Garda down to Bari for the ferry to Croatia. What's to see/visit bearing in mind we are in a large converted van so dont want to lug it into a city and struggle to park and wife cant walk far due to being an old arthritic fart.

Being as you're virtually travelling the length of Italy, I'd say your options are fairly open.

You could stick the east coast, which I must confess I'm not familiar with. Plenty of lido resorts which get packed in the summer months and are deserted in the winter.

Personally I'd head down the spine of the country and take in any one of the multitude of towns on that route. Personally I like Modena, which is small enough to be intimate but big enough to be interesting. Like all old Italian towns, the main piazza would be a nightmare to drive into, but parking is available, usually in walking distance.
Bologna is fabulous, but much bigger, so parking could be an issue. Florence, on the other hand, is much bigger still, but has park and ride outside the city with trams taking you right into it.

Further south, Arezzo is a hidden gem. Small but well-kept with some nice bars and restaurants and the obligatory church at the top of a hill. Perugia is another nice Umbrian city, but slap-bang on the top of a hill, although they actually have escalators to take you to the old walled town. Could be challenging for the missus, mind.

Not sure if you are sleeping in the van or need accommodation. Either way, heading in the parks, such as the Parco Nazionale del Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga or Parco Nazionale del Gargano will throw up lovely agriturismo accommodation, from basic to luxury, plus camping sites, which I'm told are really good, usually with a restaurant on site.

One boring bit: make sure you have the NHS app for both of you with the QR to hand everywhere you go else you won't get into any bars and restaurants or museums, etc. Not sure when you're going but Italy recently introduced a 'super-Green pass' which is even more of a ball ache, but this is due to expire at the end of Jan.

Either way, faccia un buon viaggio

[gremlin]

For no reason other than it has pretty pictures, here's the link to the thread re last year's trip to Italy...

viewtopic.php?t=3672&start=20

[Felix]

When? Yonks yet. As we have not had a Euro trip for two years and the last one was to see some of Croatia and Slovenia but covid hit so that got canned. As we are driving we would not have much time in each country doing two weeks so planning a three week trip for 2023 but not till the September. I do fancy a tour of Italy one year so thought take this route for a taster as i have only ever played up the north in the dolomites. This idea is roughly this route

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/IJmui ... authuser=0

Not all them stars are places to visit BTW

I think you may be right about driving down the middle or even the west if not adding to much time on. Looking at a few areas down the east looks very industrial and its mostly motorway. There seems to be a coast road (SS16) but again that goes through a lot of industrial areas. We would probably be staying in camp sites what i pre book so will also be looking at park and rides as most sites tend to be on the outskirts of towns but yes, staying in the van. Camper converted mini bus. Probably Covid is still hanging around and TBH i never thought about the NHS app. Got a paper copy of jabs but that could easily be counterfeit. Must look into insurance also as we always just used the E111 form

[dosruedas]

I think the Parco Nazionale del Gran Sasso is well worth a visit - about halfway on the route to Bari.

[Felix]

It does look amazing but sadly also look a lot of walking what the wife cant do so may just be a slow drive through

[rodbargee]

reburner has biked down the length of Italy a few times i believe, Gremlin seems to have it covererd too. we found in the North there were quite a few roads still suffering post earthquake you'd be driving along a flat road and suddenly you'd be ejected out of your seat. This was up in the mountains near Monte San Martino quite afew villages still closed and unihabitable post earthquake ( was it four or five years ago) it takes them ages to get payed out on house insurance.

[Sadlonelygit]

Rather than start another thread, the SS1 Via Aurelia from lavagna to la spezia.
It has to be the best ribbon of tarmac I have ever ridden.
Ok, best suited to a supermoto, but it is an absolute joy to ride, and don't the local Italian boys (&girls) know it!