Hello!
We are traveling to Venice this September for a wedding. Following the wedding we have about five days travel and a few options to decide between (unfortunately we can%26#39;t do them all and must decide).
Does anyone have thoughts on any of these options? Can you compare experiences. I%26#39;ll tell you a little about what we want.
Beautiful scenery (my husband is photographer), not very touristy. Would love to spend days just exploring the town, long meals, good wine, perhaps a fun adventure. We%26#39;re 30 and just married, so would also like a romantic vibe. Perhaps a couple nights at a fabulous hotel, but most of the time we are happy to save money and stay somewhere more %26quot;local%26quot; and low key.
We are deciding on these 3 for following reasons.
We heard that Dubrovnik was romantic, not crowded, cafes and cobblestone streets. Neither of us have been to Croatia.
We both love wine tasting and really enjoy going to Napa, so considering Tuscany. Perhaps see if a few friends want to rent a house. I have been to the area but not with a focus on wine tasting.
Have heard that Lake Como (and neighboring towns) is beautiful and neither of us have been to that area before.
I would love any ideas/thoughts.
Thank you so much!
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Well...Dubrovnik will be very crowded and touristy. It is also very beautiful, romantic and picturesque. Hate to sway you away from Dubrovnik, but it will be pretty busy. Not as busy in Sept as opposed to July and August though.
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I can give you a report on Dubrovnik in the middle of June, but from all I have heard it will be crowded.Im stopping there as part of a cruise along the Dalmatian Coast.
Lake Como: Very nice, but since you are in Venice, take a look at Lake Garda. It%26#39;s a relatively short train trip from Venice to Deselcano del Garda. From there you can go by bus or taxi to Sirmione. It%26#39;s on a peninsula sticking into the southern end of L.G. It has a nice old castle, a very nice old town, big park and boats to all sort of places along the lake shores.
The countryside from the Gardesana del Occidentale (the road along the western edge of the lake) is great for photographers.
Car traffic into the old city is lmited to those who are staying in a hotel within the city walls. I stayed at the Hotel Elite, at the end of the tip, across from a Roman villa.
As for Tuscany: I think Siena can%26#39;t be beat. With a car, you can take day trips to St. Giminano, Pisa, Gubbio, Orvieto and, by train to Florence. Check it out.
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Thank you so much everyone! So great to know! We thought that we were totally escaping the tourists in Dubrovnik! Guess not! I%26#39;m excited to look into these other suggestions. Thank you!
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Do you all think that there are better (aka less touristy, beautiful) places in Croatia (instead of Dubrovnik?) Or still opt to stay in Italy? We wanted something %26quot;different%26quot; but might try to find that different in one of those new areas of Italy.
Thanks again!
JL
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Not far from Lake Garda (and Venice) are Dolomiti- Italian Alps.The list of breathtaking places is endless but I will name my pilgrimage site-Monte Pasubio
http://www.ebepe.com/html/mtb_e.html
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Three great choices. Hmmmmmmm!
Of course can%26#39;t beat Tuscany in Sept. There is an amazing B%26amp;B perched on the hills overlooking wall town of Sienna called Francis Lodge (check out website). They serve a delicious breakfast surrounded by lemon groves/grapes vines. Once in a lifetime experienc. Sunsets with a bottle of vino, a baguette and cheese we picked up during the easy day trips to Montalcino and Montelpulciano-wine county. We left only once for dinner out of 4 nights. Being wine lovers and pretty picky we were wowed by our stay and scenic pictures!
Another fav is Cinque Terre. Hiking between the five towns along lemon/olive trees with the coast as your backdrop. WOW! Check out Villa Steno in Monterrosso. It is easy to stay here three nights and then take the train to Como for two and return home from Milan. Como is gorgeous scenery but in my opinion not much to do for five days. Good for 1-2 nights. Rick Steve%26#39;s Italy is great book.
We are plannng Rome and Amalfie coast ending in Dubrovnik in Sept. While concerned about the crowds, there seem to be good options out of Old Town (ships). It is on my list of must sees so gotta do it! Probably not enough time, but you could take ferry from Venice and maybe stay in Hvar and Dubrovnik. Check out www.find-croatia.com.
Hope this helps!
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Have you thought about visiting Istria? It%26#39;s the peninsula bit of Croatia not far from Venice and has gotten a lot of press for being a foodie haven with Tuscany-like scenery. I traveled there last April and thought the scenery was beautiful (the rolling hills, villas and vineyards do make it look like Tuscany), but while it lacked the tourist crowds of Tuscany, it also lacked the convenient tourist infrastructure. So you win some and lose some.
Mark Bittman has raved in the New York Times about the food in Istria, but my friends and I, despite our best efforts, didn%26#39;t see what he was going on about.
I wrote up my trip on my blog (click on the %26quot;Croatia%26quot; category on the right) - rwapplewannabe.wordpress.com
Happy travels!
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I%26#39;ve been to all three and they are great in their own way. However, as others have said, Dubrovnik is packed with people. We were there last October and we were constantly literally bumping into people.
As the above poster suggests I would consider Istria. It is my personal favourite part of Croatia and you can easily escape the throngs of people.
Lake Como can be crowded but it is stunning, as is Tuscany. September is a nice time to be traveling regardless of where you choose.
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Wow, again, I am so thankful and impressed that you all took the time to write. Thank you! I%26#39;ll definitely spend some more time going through all these and looking up websites, but just wanted to say that I really appreciate the advice :)
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So will Dubrovnik be terribly crowded in June too?? I suppose it is the place to be now it is not dangerous.... As someone else said - there are many places to visit and all have their special qualities, sometimes it is just nice to grab a car and drive and find lovely places along the way.
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