Camping northern Italy
Hi
Me and HI are planning a trip to northern Italy for 2018. Any advice as to best time of year and campsites would be gratefully received. We have a 7,3m long motorhome and are no too keen on very narrow roads so we plan to pitch up and use local transport or maybe hire a car to get around.
Thanks.
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Hi
I personally think late Spring is a great time to visit Italy. If you click on the following link (sites) you will be able to read some tips and view all the sites we can book for you. For route planning we always advise using the https://www.viamichelin.co.uk/ website.
I am sure you will get lots of ideas from our Members.
Happy Researching.
Tracy
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Go in the spring if you can, but don't start by choosing campsites, choose where you want to go and what you want to see and do. Ligurian coast? Dolomites? Venice? Some of the smaller lakes? Lesser visited cities like Parma and Bologna? Or hill villages in Tuscany? They all have campsites so don't be afraid to tour around. Have a great holiday.
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We have been to Italy several times over the years and our last trips were with a 7.3mts caravan. (not yet been in the motorhome). You will always read that pitches are small in Italy but whilst they are often not as generous as say the UK or France you can find sites where the pitches are more than big enough. One advantage of a motorhome is that you don't have to park a car on the pitch so automatically have more room. I find ACSI handy as a means of finding out how large pitches are. As to time of year. We favour May and June because of the longer nights but weather in September can be good as well. Have you got any places you particularly like to visit? One thing about timing is the German school holidays, around the end of May beginning of June. Sites in Northern Italy can get particularly crowded during these times.
David
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Hi, so far as a time of year is concerned we have always visited so that we are leaving when the sites that we use stop taking Camping Cheques or ACSI. We usually go mid May to mid/late June.
The use of such almost always gives a saving and at our favourite site this has some years been over €20 a night so significant.
As we are not MH users we do not need to consider the same things but our favourite site at Pechiera Del Garda is a short walk from the town, alongside the lake,from where boats can be taken to other villages and the buses that stop at the gate will take you into town to the train station and onward to Verona etc.
There is a good size supermarket on site, a shop that stocks English newspapers as well as bars, restaurants and takeaway.
We have used other great sites, but they may not be suitable other than for a couple of days perhaps, at Piano Porlezza-Camping Rannochio-, I believe there is a bus service into Menaggio, and at Cannobio-Camping Valle Romantica- where again there are both boat and bus services from the town.
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One of the problems with hillside sites in Italy is that some of the pitches can be sloping slightly. You have the problem of levelling as we did with our caravan here..... Notice how close to the ground we were at the back.
David
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My advice would be not to pre-book any sites in Italy unless you are going in early August or during Pfingsten (Whitsun) when the popular sites will be very busy.
Car hire is very expensive in Italy but the public transport systems are very efficient and much cheaper than the UK.
The Italian Authorities are very relaxed about Motorhome stop overs and you can park more or less anywhere over-night if you so wish. You'll find the roads in general less crowded than in the UK. The Italians love to build tunnels through hills and mountains so you'll have to get used to driving through them. I'm sure you will love the relaxed lifestyle, food and warm welcome you'll receive.
If you tell us which areas you're thinking of going to we can offer more detailed information.
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As per Dave Nicholson you should not need to book except around the end of May especially around the Lakes when the Germans all go for a two week period. Look at the ACSI Site and you will see the busy periods at sites around Garda etc when they don`t accept the card.
Camping Venezia close to end of causeway ten minute bus ride into Venice. Camping Europa - short walk into Bardolino Lake Garda very nice lakeside town. Choice of sites close to Cannobio, Lake Maggorie
Plenty of sites to choose from take a look at the ACSI Site as Italian Sites can be pricey, don`t expect large pitches the nearer you are to a touristy centre the smaller they tend to be.
Finally stick to the speed limits!
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Although I agree with the above comments, to a certain extent, personally I would book, and when booking ask for a large pitch. If you book and ask for a large pitch, there is a greater chance you will get a large pitch when you arrive. If a particular pitch is reserved for you, then I guess that pitch will be kept. If you just turn up, there is a chance that large pitches may be taken first, especially if folk are given the choice on arrival. Just a thought.
David
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We thought we would like Lake Garda in August, but we didn't like the heat and the crowds, so thank goodness we hadn't booked. Florence was even worse - busier still, long slow queues for the Uffizi Gallery with gypsy pickpockets thrown in for good measure. We were glad we hadn't booked there either and moved on again
But an off the radar campsite at a gracious town in Umbria, unknown to ACSI but listed in Caravan Europe, where the locals had laid decking in front of their caravans and put up awnings made of timber for their long summer stay wasn't busy at all. And as they had installed complete kitchens from home with full sized cookers they brought us freshly baked jam tarts. We stayed, and drove over to visit Cortona.
I would never want to tie myself down with a booking.
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Lago d'Iseo is favoured mainly by the Italians themselves. There are several campsites around Iseo itself, though some have small pitches. It's an ideal spot at the end of the summer, or spring. We liked Camping Sassabanek
Here we are by the lake!
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Roads are narrow around the Lakes and pitches are small almost without exception. Ferries are a great way to get around but you need to look very carefully at timetables, particularly on market days. Services are not as good as they used to be. Buses are cheap and reliable but you may need to close your eyes on narrow roads.
Northern Italy is very popular with Germans and some sites can be full even in May because half term holidays are at different times in different parts of Germany - there always seem to be Germans on holiday whatever time of year you go. I would never book though.
Our favourite sites are around Lake Maggiore and Cannobio. Val Romantica is stunning and Riviera (same owners) excellently located close to the town. Both quite expensive due to the quality and location. There is one ACSI site in Cannobio (Del Sol) but often full and small pitches. Half the price of the other sites I mentioned but you get what you pay for.
I think we have been to Cannobio most years for about the past 15 years. This year at the end of September.
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Hi Vincevan, We have an 8m motorhome and visited Italy last May & June. We camped at Bardolino on Lake Garda, then Venice then came back to Lake Garda again. We camped at Bella Italia at Peschiera del Garda & loved it so much we stayed for 5.5 weeks there! A very large camping site with touring area nearest the lake, so in the best location, and the pitches were generally very large with some smaller ones, which surprised us from what we had heard about Italy. All were fully serviced with 16A electric! Despite it's size & being full during the German school holidays we did not feel cramped or overlooked etc. that you may have expected. There was lots to do in the area using or bikes, water busses around the lake and easy trips on the bus to Verona. We absolutely loved it & found it cheaper than we expected. The only expensive thing was fuel but we did not need to get any having filled up in Austria. 2 Lidl supermarkets close by plus others and lots of choices for dining out etc. The campsite had everything and even if you did not want to use the facilities they did not have a negative impact on your stay. We looked at other sites in the area but none were as well equipped or as private on the pitches, we thought. Our Dutch neighbours had been going to this same site for 11 years, having holidayed in the lakes area for many more, so that said it all to us. A real big bonus we found by accident was that there are no pets or motorbikes allowed on site. Whilst we love dogs it was so good having no barking, loose pets or fouling anywhere. Hope this helps. Regards, Roy
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Hi Vince, read the post from r&s and realised that I had not mentioned the site name of our favourite Italian site in my earlier post-its the same one,Camping Bella Italia.
We first visited in 2003 when my parents were staying there after using it as a stopover in 2002 and falling in love with it. We flew out and stayed for just 4 nights but that was enough-we were hooked.
The booked stay at a site in Tuscany was dropped after we realised that although it was expensive the site was taking the, new to us, Camping Cheques.
We have been back many many times and it is interesting that if you described the site-750 pitches, lots of tour operators,seasonal pitches, popular with the Germans etc etc-you might think no thanks BUT it is wonderful and if we could only camp at one site for evermore it would be Bella Italia.
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Some pictures of Bella Italia here http://www.davidklyne.co.uk/camping_bella_italia.htm
David
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I went to Pavia just South of Milan in Sept 2016. Stayed at campsite Tricino. Nice site within walking distance of city (riverside path) and rail station. Bus stop just outside. Campsite is about 1 mile from a dual carriageway. Pitches are large enough for very large RV’s. The owner Marco speaks excellent English.
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Haven't been to Italy in 32 years so enjoying this thread. We only ever went on the Med coast once just south of Pisa, other sites were at Grado, Bibione and Ravenna. With 2 children all we needed was beach and sea. Nowadays that's not our first choice so what other places are must see.
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We would love to return to beautiful Lake Garda again and this site at Peschiera looks wonderful. However we were staying just on the west side of the lake this June at Camping Piantelle and found the mosquitos were a massive problem. We had travelled right down through Austria to Croatia without a bite but we had to leave Lake Garda after 4 days because of the mozzie problem despite taking all precautions.
Was this a problem on the South end of the lake?
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Another site to consider is Camping Tiglio which is near to Sirmione on Lake Garda. Have a look at our story
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We have been to northern Italy three times in the last two years, twice in May/June, once September/October, and can only agree with all that has already been said. Our favourites are the Ligurian coast and Tuscany, although we also enjoyed a stay on Lake Garda on the way back.
We stayed at Camping Tripesce in Vada just south of Livorno three times because it has a lovely beach and it serves as a great starting point for day trips to places like Pisa, Florence, Siena and San Gimignano, for example.
At Lake Garda we stayed at Camping La Ca in Padenghe sul Garda - a quiet and pleasant campsite right on the lakeshore. The only snag is the very steep drive down to the pitches in the front row by the lake.
We have an 8m caravan and have had no difficulty getting anywhere with it, although I agree that some campsites themselves were a bit tight. However, even those were able to accommodate motorhomes of that size, too.
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Hi Vince
We stayed at Camping Fornella this year, on the south-west side of Lake Garda. Here's the link to our story:
https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/club-together/your-stories/jonray57/lake-garda-another-story
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also looking closely, TG....
holidayed in pretty much all of Italy, from the lakes to Sicily, and all the 'touristy' bits, but not yet in the van...
on the 'list' and really must make that effort...
an interested reader.
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One area which seems to be overlooked when this subject is discussed are the lakes a bit further north near Trento. Lake Calceranica is a good example. Several campsite right on the southern edge. We stayed here http://www.davidklyne.co.uk/camping_spiaggia.html but I think there were a couple of other ACSI sites there as well. Not far from the local village with facilities.
David
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Most people posting on here seem to enter Italy from Austria (Brenner or Resia pass) or from Switzerland (Simplon or St Gotthard) but for anyone arriving in Italy via the Great St Bernard Pass or tunnel, or from Chamonix via the Mont Blanc tunnel, there is a lovely first stop in Italy campsite near Aosta - Camping Monte Bianco at Sarre - and it's well worth a few days there to explore the area.
We found it many years ago but it has been on the ACSI list for the last year or two and recent reviews are on there.
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Maybe not ideal for the OP but even further north, with the Austrian border approx 30km is a great Italian ACSI site called 'Camping Toblacher See' <LINK HERE> Although we accessed from the Adriatic via Udine, it was even easier when leaving for the Brenner pass and Natterer See.
Easy road access, variable pitch sizes and terraced. Brilliant restaurant as well as the facilities block. It is a walkers and cyclists paradise and the town of Dobbiaco Toblach is only 3k away. It is set within a national park and the lake is in use for boating and swimming.
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Hi Tammygirl, we too had not been for about 38 years but absolutely loved it. We were blown away with how much we enjoyed Lake Garda so plan to see much more of Italy, including a visit to Lake Iseo. We really enjoyed visiting Venice & spending 2 full days in the city. Camping just outside at Camping Venice was excellent in every way and very easy access on the bus. Regards, Roy
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Hi dickenvicken, We arrived at the start of May in very heavy rains and then left mid June with almost no rain in between and I don't recall getting bitten at the camp site at all. I do recall seeing some sort of flying bugs in the air along the lake side walk to the west of the site on an evening after dusk, but again cannot recall getting any bites. We hate any bites so I think we would have remembered if it had been a problem but then generally after dusk we do not sit outside unless covered up in case there are mosquitos about. Regards, Roy
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That's good to know Metheven. I was planning to stop there on our way south next year heading for Croatia. I like taking different routes, where possible, and planned to go down via Cortina then down to near Trieste but not via Udine. I was looking at via Vittorio Veneto. Which actual route did you take from Udine to this campsite, just the main towns, would be helpful to know so I know it is ok for us. I have stayed just around the corner before on the main road between Brunico & Lienz I loved the scenery. Hope you get to see this and can reply. Regards, Roy
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