Destination Suggestions after Greek Isles cruise

[LFLcruiser2]

We have 3 or 4 days between cruises this fall and are looking for an interesting place to spend it. Any ideas within several hours of Venice that would be easy to access by train or bus?

[CruiserBruce]

Rome is 3.5 hours away by high speed train. Hard to pass up on one of the greatest cities in the world.

[LFLcruiser2]

Thanks! Thought of Rome, but have been there several times. Any ideas in northern or eastern Italy?

[capriccio]

Big Cities: Florence, Bologna, and Milan Smaller cities Verona, Parma, Sienna, Trieste, and Ravenna. Lakes: Lago de Garda. Obviously the smaller cities and Lago de Garda would be faster to get to with a rental car as opposed to a bus or train that would require transfers.

[sail7seas]

One of our Greek Island cRUIS es ended in Rome and though we had been in the past, we did post cruise stay there and loved it. again ;

 

Athens is certainly a choice.

[sail7seas]

Thanks! Thought of Rome, but have been there several times. Any ideas in northern or eastern Italy?

 

 

 

There is so much to see and do in Roe=me, surely thre are some thigns you'd enoly ? Have you seen ALL of Vatican MUSEUM? St. Peters', ? bOGHESE gaRDENS? Roman Forum, Coloseum Cistene Chapel

Just think of all the choices for incredible dinners. :)

Edited May 8, 2018 by sail7seas

[CruiserBruce]

Thanks! Thought of Rome, but have been there several times. Any ideas in northern or eastern Italy?

 

Nice if you had given us a little more specific info...

 

Florence is about 2 hours away by train. Cinque Terre is about 3.5 hours away.

[jocap]

There's also the ferry to Pula in Croatia from Venice, around 3 hours...I've not done it, but my family has used it.

[wheezedr]

I could always find things to do in Florence and Tuscany but for us to help we need more info on your interests as well as previous Italian travel.

[Velvetwater]

I am not a fan of Rome (which is weird because my husband runs a very popular podcast on its emperors) and once you have seen a lot of Italy it's fun to see something else.

 

May I suggest you leave Italy behind completely and go across the border to Slovenia's Capital Ljubljana?

 

It's a 4ish hour train last time I was int hat part of the world, beautiful and cheaper and certainly less tacky tourist than many Italian places. As much as I love Italy I do think many countries from the Eastern block particularly have just as much charm and history and good food...in some ways they have a lot more to them tbh. It's just they are less famous.

 

European trains are fast and reliable and comfy. Any qualms search maninseat61 who has all the train routes covered.

 

Another Slovenian option is Koper (also a cruise port) which takes a similar time to get to but used to have a ferry going there from Venice. Not done the ferry but it seems a nice way to get there.

[Floridiana]

Big Cities: Florence, Bologna, and Milan Smaller cities Verona, Parma, Sienna, Trieste, and Ravenna. Lakes: Lago de Garda. Obviously the smaller cities and Lago de Garda would be faster to get to with a rental car as opposed to a bus or train that would require transfers.

 

Excellent choices.

[sail7seas]

Go to Lake Coumo

[LFLcruiser2]

Thank you, everyone! We are newbies on Cruise Critic and are surprised with all the comments and suggestions. Sorry we didn't give more info upfront.

We are intrigued by the Slovenia idea, and upon further research, I think we'll opt for Ljubljana (if we can only figure out how to pronounce it!). Will need to do some research, but it looks like a very interesting place to pass a few days. Thanks!

[Izzblizz]

We are going to Ljubjana too after our Venice cruise this summer! So excited. Also doing Prague for a week before. (Found a cheap flight).

 

 

When we cruised from Rome about 5 summers ago, we did Milan & Lake Como before and then Cinque Terre afterwards. LOVED Cinque Terre (stayed in Porto Venere for 4 nights).

[Hlitner]

Consider that you will be in Venice, which is a terrific destination of its own. Certainly give yourself at least 2 days to enjoy this interesting city and have time to go out to both Murano and Burano. You will need to make a decision whether to say in one place, such as Venice, and do some day trips...or actually relocate to a different part of Italy for a few days. If wanting to do day trips from Venice it is easy to take the train to Verona for a day. If you are in the area. If you were in the area during the summer (until Sept 1) we would suggest getting tickets to the Arena de Verona for one of their amazing outdoor Operas (the largest Opera venue in the world presented in an ancient Arena).

 

If you do want to relocate for a few days, our favorite part of Italy (and we have driven throughout the entire country) is Tuscany. If staying in Tuscany, the city of Florence is a terrific base. For those who have a rental car there are other areas outside of Florence, such as near San Gimignano, that are terrific areas to use as a base. That part off Tuscany offers you an amazing large city, the picturesque wine country of Chianti, many cute smaller cities (Volterra, San Gimignano, Colle val d'Elsa, etc) and good food.

 

Another alternative is to head to the Lake Country for a few days. For this you have to choose between Como, Garda or perhaps Maggiore (we love this area).

 

There are so many choices it boggles the mind :). We know many fellow cruisers who have only experienced Italy from a cruise perspective (which is fine) but there is just so much more to this country that can best be experienced with a car and some time. The problem with train vacations is that there are just too many terrific places located away from train stations.

 

Hank

[iancal]

Why take a look at a few guide books and see what catches your eye.

 

There are many wonderful places to spend time within a few hours train ride or car ride of Venice. North, south, west, and east.

 

Difficult to recommend something without knowing your preferences and what areas you have previously visited.

 

You might want to give some thought to how you wish to travel. Car rental certainly opens up some different options.

[Cruise Junky]

I'd do Lake Como, Milan or the Italian Riviera.