Italien lakes and Venice
It's that time of year and we are going to try Italy again, having had to abandon it last year due to floods and landslips.
This year we have decided to travel down through Switzerland and visit the lakes starting with Maggiore.
Hopefully then we will travel across to Venice stopping off at some of the other lakes on the way.
We should be in Italy by the end of April. I'm well aware of the German holiday at Pfingst and have the dates for when it will be busy with Germans. My question is how busy will it be in the first 2 weeks of May.
Also it's been a long time since we visited Venice and we had a car back then which we drove to a big car park and got a water taxi in.
I'm looking for a nice site where it's fairly easy to get into Venice, we have a Motorhome and would prefer to leave it on site.
Our intentions for this trip is to not spend long at each place, just a few days. It's more of a taster trip to see if we like it or not.
I'm not a lover of busy sites or noisy sites these days, so it might well be to much but if you don't try you will never know.
After Italy we are heading to Slovenia and Austria, back through Germany then back to Calais.
Would welcome some help with sites, places not to miss, no cities please. Things we should do.
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TG
Looking back on our trips I was a bit surprised that we had never taken the motorhome to Italy. Been there several times with the caravan which meant we always had the car to explore although we tended to use sites where we could go off site without the car.
We did once arrive at Camping Bella Italia in Peschiera del Garda and were told to park on the football pitch until someone left the following day as they were full and that was during the German school holidays. It worked out fine in the end. Around Peschiera del Garda is a good choice as there is quite a bit to do without the need for your own transport, like lake steamers and a railway station and probably a good bus network.
There seems to be two schools of thought with Venice, either stay on the industrial side, perhaps Fusina or drive around the Lagoon to say Punta Sabbioni. Both have easy access to Venice. We used Camping Miramare for three of our four visits to Venice which is only a short walk to the ferry over to St Marks. There are quite a few campsites nearby as well. Obviously going around the Lagoon adds quite a few miles to your journey but we always enjoyed it there.
David
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A third school of thought for Venice ! Leave your motorhome on a secure campsite somewhere, anywhere, inland. Go in by train and spend a couple of nights in a small hotel or B&B in the heart of the city itself. See Venice early morning and later evening, before and after the crowds.
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Hi TG
There are so may lakes to explore, our favourite being Maggiore. Garda in July and August is a nightmare but in May it will be relatively quiet ahead of Pfingsten. We’ve used Camping Lazise (in Lazise) in the past, it’s handy for ferries etc. Camping Gottardo is a good Swiss site for an overnight just south of the St Gottard Tunnel if it suites your agenda. If you’re heading for Slovenia from Venice then Al Bateo, a small campsite in Punta Sabbione, is the best in the area in my opinion. We use it nearly every year for a few nights. It’s quiet and handy for the water bus to Venice. There’s a regular service until about midnight. Venice in the evening is certainly a different city to that of the daytime. There are so many places to visit in Venice but the Doges Palace is a must and if you get a chance to visit La Fenice opera house then do so (ideally an opera). If you like traditional Italian food in a traditional Italian restaurant then take the SS14 road east from Punta Sabbione towards Trieste. In Lugugnana turn right to Brussa. Mazaracks is very traditional, inexpensive restaurant with an amazing atmosphere. They also have a free Sosta for motorhomes next to the lagoon. From Brussa it’s a short 40 minute drive to Bibione Pineda and Camping Capalonga that I think you’ve used many years ago?
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DK, thanks for that. I think for Garda we will be possibly be looking at somewhere around Peschiera, Bella Italia looks as if it could fit the bill. I know it's a big site but the reviews look good and as it's before the busy period shoulbe fine for a few days.
For Venice your other site Miramare was also on my list. Hadn't though about going to the other side of Venice do will have a look at that as well, would make sense I suppose coming from Garda. Can't remember ever coming from that direction before but maybe we did it was a long time ago.
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Dave, fancy you remembering we stayed at Bibione, gosh that was a life time ago.
Thank you for all your suggestions I'll look at them tomorrow and see what OH thinks. I'd like to spend some time along the coast from Venice (after we've been there) is there anywhere we could cycle along there. Happy to move further along towards Trieste.
Slovenia will be completely new for us so looking forward to that I've read some very good reports about it.
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In Slovenia TG don't miss Lake Bled and the Postojna Caves. Lake Bled has a couple of campsites, Camping Bled on the lake side with an excellent restaurant is an ACSI discount site and is my favourite. The Postojna Caves have an overnight parking area for motorhomes with electrics. The price for the parking was 25 euros a night. My notes of visits to Slovenia are >here<
peedee
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Not far off the route between Venice and Trieste is Aquileia - once a large roman city whose well preserved remains make an interesting visit.
We stayed at Camping Aquileia (as recomended by Chasncath) within walking distance of the archaeological park.
When we visited Venice, like DavidKlyne, we stayed at Camping Miramare which is a short walk or a bus ride to the Punta Sabbioni ferry terminal.
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Tammygirl. Italy is our favourite country for a holiday and we have been there many times. My comments will echo much of what has been said. You are probably aware that the pitches on Italian sites can be quite tight so a little research needed. In the first two weeks in May you should be fine re sites and the weather should be settled. Many years ago we stayed by Lake Maggiore and the weather was awful! A little research showed that the Garda area was enjoying lovely weather so up wound up our steadies and moved there; the joys of staying near mountains! Re Venice we also stay on sites on the Lido and get the ferry across to Venice, by far the best way to approach Venice! There are a number and ACSI is your friend. Slovenia is a gem of a country small and perfectly formed. Also recommend Camping Bled which is just across the road from the lake. Can't help on sites east of Venice. I see you plan to go via Switzerland which is of course one of the obvious routes to Italy. We go there via Belgium, Germany and Austria having a few days in Austria en route. With a caravan and not pushing it (6 hrs driving a day) it takes us three days of easy towing, with a motorhome you should save a few hours. If you are feeling more adventurous our favourite part of Italy is Tuscany/Umbria with its beautiful hill top villages and lovely rolling countryside, but is is a couple of days more driving to get there.
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Thank you, I hope the weather this year will be better than last. As I mentioned we had planned this trip last year but with flooding and landslips we changed plans.
Yes planning on going via Switzerland, we will come back via Austria and then Germany. The route from Switzerland should drop us nicely into Maggiore I think.
We have 8 weeks from Calais to Calais, so should have time to enjoy each place enough, to give us an idea if we want to go back again and spend more time exploring 1 or 2 areas in the future.
Many years ago when we lived in Germany, we used to go to Italy with our boys. We have driven down the Med coast and stayed at a site south of Pisa. We have also been south of Venice to Ravenna a few times, Grado once and Bibione once.
First visit was in 1981 in a small 3/4 berth caravan the boys were 3 and 6 years old. No mains electrics in the van, no fridge etc but the boys loved the shallow sea at Grado, perfect play ground for that age. Last camping visit to Italy was 1990 at Bibione.
Will see how things pan out, if it's OK then happy to explore further south at another time. The areas we have not visited is between Pisa and Rome and south of Solerno.
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Bibione is a haven for cycling with a 25km circular cycle route starting outside Camping Capalonga along the Beach area to the main town and back via a different route. Most of the route is on dedicated cycle paths. In addition a 1Euro ferry takes cyclists across the Taglaimento river to Lignano where another circular cycle route starts. Next to Capalonga another cycle ferry takes riders and bikes through the lagoon to Brussa (handy for Mazaracks) and to Caorle etc. There’s a cycle path along the Tagliamento river to Cesarolo and Latisana but much on the path is fine gravel which is not so road bike friendly. May is a great time to cycle, in July and August it can be very hot but there are lots of refreshment stops on route. You can see the routes on ‘Bikemap’.
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If you are going to Maggiore there are a couple of nice sites in Cannobio. It’s about 9km from Locarno so no need to travel a long way down the lake. Have been there many times.
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We last visited Venice in 2015 on our way back from Croatia. We stayed on the mainland and caught a bus from outside the campsite to Venice. Here's a link.
The bus crosses the causeway to Venice to the bus terminus at the Piazzale Roma. From there you can follow the signs through the alleyways and across canals to the Rialto Bridge and the Grand Canal, and then the Piazza San Marco.
Make sure you know how to get back to the bus stop! You can always take the Number One ‘ Vaporetto’ back up the Grand Canal and back to the bus.
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We have, over the years, been to Venice many many times. Pre 'bucket & spade" holidays (a long time ago), Camping Miramare was our go-to campsite for Venice but then we moved back up the coast towards Jesolo for the beach access. Although some way away from the ferry, there is an excellent bus service that runs up and down the peninsula.
We were last in Miramare in October 2019 on our way south. It is a very convenient campsite for the ferry with good facilities. The only caution I would make is, if you go there and sit outside, make sure you have good mosquito protection.
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Thanks Lutz, yes I am aware of the other 2 holidays in May. I looked up all public and school holidays during our time away. We've been caught out before so always check each country now. 🙂
With a bit of luck we will be in Italy by the 1st. As its a Wednesday, I don't forsee it being to busy, like it is when it's at the end or begining of a week.
By Pfingsten we hope to be the other side of Venice and on our way to Slovenia.
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Thanks David, I think we've decided on camping Fusina. It's right on the water front and can get a ferry across to Venice.
After that it will be the other side heading towards Aquileia.
We seem to have a plan of some sorts, all we need now is to be on the road and find some good weather.
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