Northern Italy Road trip to include coast, lakes and mountains

[Taytocrisps101]

Hoping for some advice from others who may have done this trip! We are hoping to spend 10 days road trip in Northern Italy next August. We can fly in / out of Venice or Milan from local airports. We don't want a huge amount of driving and would rather spend the majority of time not in cities, so maybe one night in each city and a couple of nights on coast, lakes and mountains.
Any must see tips? We did a similar trip in Croatia a few years ago and loved it so I'm getting excited about planning our new adventure!
Thanks in advance 😁

If you start at Venice you can do the Ville Venete, visit Treviso and/or Padova (yes towns but quite compact. Treviso is built on water so characteristic), you can then move towards Lake Garda, take inVerona, Sirmione with the thermal baths, move up to Limone and towards Riva del Garda. Then on to the Dolomites, and drive across into Lombardy, where the Dolomites meet the Alps. S. Caterina Di Valfurva is pretty and worth a visit. For history buffs you can visit the WW1 forts in this area, lots of hiking, also glaciers to hike up to. Then you can do Lake Lecco and Lake Como. There is Bellaggio which is charming but hugely over visited IMO. However you can get a boat from there to visit other towns, and see historic villas from the lake. I think you can also get a boat from Varenna and Menaggio, look online nearer the time for routes and times.

Then on to lake Maggiore, IMO the Piedmont side is prettier. You can visit the Borromeo Isles in the lake, drive up towards Switzerland or go to Lake Orta, which has some quaint villages and amazing villas. Orta S. Giulio is a very pretty town, for instance. Then drive down to Milan and fly back from Malpensa.

Or the same thing in reverse.

If you want sport there is rafting, hiking, mountain biking and windsurfing/kitesurfing depending on where you want to go. If you’re into history there are the WW1 forts as mentioned, plus you can hike the old Roman routes through the Alps. Also lots of museums and historic villas to visit.

In the past we've done (not all in one go) Stresa on Lake Maggiore - good starting point for boat trips to the islands and around the Lake, Lake Orta as mentioned above, Bellagio and Tremezzo on Lake Como - the Villa Balbianello is stunning and has been in several films. Bergamo for the funicular and stunning views. Lake Garda - Desenzano, Sirmione, Garda and Bardolino. Visit to Verona. Stayed in a lovely B&B in the Valpolicella vinyards with a pool and nice restaurant. Driven through the Dolomites. We were going to add Bolanzo (the Ice man) and Trentino to our last trip but decided we'd planned too much. Something for next time. All the Lakes are gorgeous in different ways. Very reaonably priced food and wine.

If I was doing that part of Italy and didn't want to drive much, I think I'd do it by train. You could get a return flight to Venice and visit a beach resort near there for your 'beach' bit (Lido di Jesolo, for instance), take the train to Treviso, Padova, Vicenza and/or Verona, then on to one of the stations at the south end of Lake Garda (Peschiera or Desenzano), use lake ferries to get around, then take the train up to Bolzano in the Dolomites and back to Venice to fly home. No driving needed and you get all your wish list.

Bear in mind though that August will be hot, Venice will probably pong (the canals are stinky in summer), and everywhere will be busy. If it's just you and a DP you might want to visit in September, when things are quieter in holiday towns and most Italians will have returned to work. In Italy, the month of August is when everyone takes off for the beach/country/mountains and a lot of small businesses close.

Thanks so much, this is brilliant! I'm sorry, I'm not sure how to reply to you all individually.
It's just me and DP and unfortunately we're restricted to August as I work in a school.
We don't mind driving a few hours between different locations, just not hours and hours on the road every day.
Good point that Venice will be smelly in summer, I didn't think of that.
I'd love to know the name of the B and B in the vineyard if you can remember, that would be right up our street.
We would also enjoy rafting, mountain biking and horse riding. Definitely looking for adventure 😁

@Taytocrisps101

Thanks so much, this is brilliant! I'm sorry, I'm not sure how to reply to you all individually. It's just me and DP and unfortunately we're restricted to August as I work in a school. We don't mind driving a few hours between different locations, just not hours and hours on the road every day. Good point that Venice will be smelly in summer, I didn't think of that. I'd love to know the name of the B and B in the vineyard if you can remember, that would be right up our street. We would also enjoy rafting, mountain biking and horse riding. Definitely looking for adventure 😁

Hi Venice local here Venice does not smell in the summer that is a complete myth and a load of rubbish ! Venice is tidal and so tide comes in and then goes out again - We are more likely to get low water in the winter when the mud and silt becomes exposed and then it smells...... Yes it will be hot and humid though , possibly if you have not seen it fly in and spend a day then head for fresher places . I agree with the mountains , loads of activities to do cycling , rafting zip lines ! or just breath-taking views . Lakes are beautiful but they can be busy in the summer . If you head over to Garda there are lots of places where you can do wine tasting . If you make it to Como look up Villa Tres Jolie.- Cinque Terre offers lots of walking as well but it is the other side of Italy so it depends ho wlong you have got ( and I would take the train over there )

@Melassa in particular, but also other posters, thanks — I’m taking notes furiously.

I’ve been in Venice in August and despite insane cruise crowds, mosquitoes and humidity, I still loved it.

We live part the year in Pontremoli, in northern Tuscany And regularly drive from the uk down through to our home. It’s a two hour drive from Milan and a great base. You could head down there via the lakes, take in the appenines, go to the beach at seater levante or Lerici and take day trips from there to Bologna and Parma and cinque terre if you like (overrated but that coast is lovely- better to go to sestre or portovenere).

It’s a gorgeous area.

Ps Pontremoli is also a gorgeous maedival city. There’s a castle and you can swim in the rivers.

I see upthread boys for starting in Venice- if you go that may make sure to see the amazing mosaics at Ravenna. Faro is a lovely coastal walled city, much less commercial than Rimini or Venice.

BUT if you go down our way, you can go via Piacenza or Genoa, both super cities and head to the gorgeous Lago do Santo and maybe a little diversion to Como on your way down. I’d second the view to base yourself somehweee and take trains- Italian trains are excellent, regular and cheap.

www.cadeimaghi.it/en/hotel/ Found the Valpolicello place. It was lovely and peaceful. We'd driven from our friends' place in Bavaria, through Austria and the Dolomites with loads of stunning scenery and had lunch in Bardolino before we got there. I want to do it again now

Pontremoli is gorgeous. We stayed in a converted watermill in Fivizzano (Lunigiana) once and did trips to Lerici and the Bay of Poets. Cinque Terre also stunning. But a different trip entirely from what OP is proposing. I love Italy. Haven't found a bit I didn't like yet, unless we're talking the motorway around Milan.

Apologies Rosa for assuming Venice might be a bit whiffy!
Great to hear from some locals!
I'm going to write it all down and come up with a plan. Thank you so much for your help x