Holiday in Italy - looking for recommendations

[nearden]

Hello,

This year we are considering holidaying in Italy during August - family of 2 adults and 2 teenagers. We haven't decided on the duration but it is likely to be approximately 14 days. The options we are considering are packing fairly light and travelling to multiple locations e.g. Pisa for several days and visiting places close by e.g. Livorno, Lucca, Sienna etc (maybe not Florence as visited recently) then moving across the country to maybe finish in Venice and fly home.

The other option is self catering accommodation for a week each in two different locations where each serves as a base for visiting different areas using buses/trains. I don't really want to hire a car if possible.

Usually we drive over to France and hire a gite or camp. We have driven over to Italy before and stayed in the Piedmont region which was lovely. At the moment, I am struggling to find accommodation which is reasonably priced. Are there any particular websites (other than booking.com, vrbo etc) which advertise self catering accommodation specifically in Italy or can anyone recommend anywhere either in the Tuscany/Umbria/Nothern Italy region which is reasonably priced for a week i.e. around £1000 max for a week.....ideally lower.

If anyone can recommend any towns/villages which are lovely and not overly touristy that would also be great.

Thank you so much

I’d rethink and do this next year as anything decent will have already gone. The hotels in italy often do 20% off deals if you book by the end of January. Not saying it’s not possible but you’ll be paying more for less if that makes sense. August includes Ferraggosto which is a huge holiday and all the Italians will be off too.

Have a look at agriturismo.it they are usually more reasonably priced and you’ll have an authentic experience and great food/wine

Thank you. I know we've left it quite late. I wasn't aware of the 20% off deals. Good to know!

Thanks. We stayed at an Agriturismo location near Ovada which was lovely but definitely off the beaten track and a car was essential. I'll have a look though just in case there are any locations with access to public transport.

Are you OK with it being hot? Because some of those places will be hotter than the face of the sun in August.

For the sort of holiday you are looking at, I'd pick something off Booking.com or agriturismo.it and plan it myself. However with agriturismo you are going to need a car.

Parma is a lovely city, not too touristy at all.

If you're a foodie, Bologna is great, but it's very much a university town so can feel quite quiet in places in August. I loved it though, so much good food and history!

Verona is one of my favourites, but very busy and hotter than the surface of the sun when I went there, but still wouldn't miss it.

Lake Garda, touristy but not horribly so, had a lovely week there.

Pisa you literally need no more than half a day. It's not as bad as lots of people make out but there's not a huge amount once you've seen the tower.

Bologna is quiet in August because the population has left for the beach. Even some major sites/shops are shut.

The heat is made somewhat bearable by arcades but it will likely be 40C every day.

We went for our honeymoon. When we googled 'Bologna August' the top hits were all 'Don't go in August'.

While it was a lovely honeymoon, honestly the advice was correct, I'd never do it again.

Been to italy many times, Genoa was a lovely place to visit.
again in August, it will be so hot and feels like you left it a bit too late so every places will be expensive

I thought Bologna was lovely in August @AnnaMagnani but then I was only there for three days. It was peaceful. I enjoyed the university, the anatomy theatre, climbing up the big tower. I didn't find it that hot either. Very relaxed vibe.

When did you go? I did Umbria in what they called 'a bad summer' which meant perfectly pleasant for an average UK visitor.

In a normal summer I'd have been flaked out under the air con.

Italy is fairly expensive, so a budget of <£1k per week may be pushing it in august.
For one base, I would really recommend Riva Del Garda on the north shore of Lake Garda. There is so much to do. It’s an hour from the bottom of lake Garda, so trips to Verona and Venice will take a bit longer, but are doable. We did both as day trips and would recommend them. The north shore is fairly sporty and is great for hiring bikes, dingies, kayaks and windsurf boards.
The public transport is good (take the ferry) and there are many tour operators offering bus trips to the dolomites, etc. Loads to keep teenagers interested.

@AnnaMagnani Can't remember what year it was - I mean it was hot but nowhere near as hot as when I went to Verona which was about 38 degrees. It was probably more like 30 in Bologna (which I realise might be hotter than people like but I like the heat!)

Thank you for these suggestions. We've been to Verona pre-kids and really liked it. I went to Pisa recently and loved it as a base but also quite liked the relaxed atmosphere of the City. Some lovely bars and restaurants to visit. Bologna is definitely on the list and interesting to hear it is quieter in August. I wonder if Pisa is also affected as there seemed to be a lot of uni students there. I'll have a look at Lake Garda. Thank you

I went to Umbria a couple of years ago. I was told by others that it might be too hot, but I was in the mountains and it was perfect. No air con, or even a fan needed in the accommodation with thick walls. There was one night when I had to open the window and I got bitten to bits by mozzies despite using the spray, but that was my only heat-related problem.

Pisa has fewer uni students in August obviously, but the tourists make up for it. I was in Pisa in August 21 (so no Chinese, Japanese tourists still, and very very few Americans) and it was still rammed. The thing with Pisa is the Campo is always going to be rammed, whenever you go.
Prices everywhere will fall immediately after the 15th.

Lake Garda IS lovely but likely to be very busy/ touristy in August and the road round East side of the lake likely to have queues.

We have found accommodation in Italy to be fairly expensive compared to Spain, Portugal with less choice - but have a look on AirB&B or VRBO.

In relation to LG the south of the lake is easier with public transport, and we've visited places like Bologna on the train, but the north (like Riva as recommended by PP above) is prettier and you can travel up into the mountains to places like Molveno (sp) also access a road that runs through the valley parallel to the lake to get down to Verona etc. It should be cooler in that part too - I think there's s specific breeze they get for windsurfing on the lane . I don't know about public transport as we had a car .

Lake Garda is great. Lots of water sports. Can get boats from one town to another criss crossing the lake. Spend a day in Malcesine has a castle and a cable car that takes you up to Monte Baldo. Fantastic views and walks up there

Still down a bit of a rabbit hole researching Italy and thank you for all of your suggestions. Now considering using Milan as our start and end point but hoping to also visit Bergamo, Trento and possibly one of the lakes for a few days. Has anyone been to Bergamo or Trento? Thanks :)

I'd go to Garda but you will be reliant on a car or public transport - we stayed near Gardaland and without a car it was a PITA. Gardaland was so fun though.

Last summer we travelled by train up from Sorrento (saw Pompeii and Capri), to Venice and then a few days in Turin. We stayed mostly at Airbnb’s. The trains were great and Turin was unexpectedly very interesting - good museums and nice food. Got the train back to Paris and then the Eurostar. We have teenagers and they seemed to like the multiple locations.

Had a lovely holiday in Umbria. Flew into Rome and a couple of days there and there onto the Umbrian hills. Lovely small town, very local - but we had a car as was quite remote.

We did this a few years ago and travelled to a few places in Italy.

We booked two places with air b n b and one eurocamp. We sorted flights ourselves.

It honestly was fab! I'd definitely do this kind of thing again. We travelled by train which was fine.

We were at a wedding near Strongoli (Ceraudo winery) Calabrian region, several years ago now. Absolutely stunning. You need to hire a car in this part of Italy though - It's the South😂

We’ve just returned from Umbria and Tuscany, and I lived for a couple of years in Milan.Italian cities in August aren’t great, and you’d probably end up in an apartment without a garden. If you’re in the countryside where most of the self-catering is you definitely need a car. One place you could try is the Venice Lido. We took our kids there in August and had a great time, taking the vaporetti and going to the beach. Bergamo is lovely, especially the old town, but only for a few days. How about Bolzano? Also beautiful and possible to take buses and cable cars up into the mountains.