Planning a trip to the Italian Lakes

Coastal Cruiser. said:
We stayed here in Venice, not fancy but a few minutes walk to the water taxi that takes you into the back of Venice.
You see so much more coming in the back and walking through the little streets to loads of shops you probably wouldn’t see if you arrived at the front.
www.searchforsites.co.uk

San Giuliano

Details for San Giuliano a Overnight parking - with services Venice, Città Metropolitana di Venezia, Veneto, Italy, 30173
www.searchforsites.co.uk

For Salzburg we stayed on this site, just park where you want and a short walk to the bus stop then 5 minutes into town.
Site has a shop and restaurant/bar and is owned by a lovely helpful lady.
www.searchforsites.co.uk

Schloss Aigen

Details for Schloss Aigen a Independent Campsite Glasenbach, Salzburg, Austria, 5061
www.searchforsites.co.uk
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Looks interesting, thanks.
 
Wanders from Glos said:
Maybe stop in Suave for some wine
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Soave is a great town for a visit. There’s a good aire just outside the old town walls. Plenty of opportunities to get your wine, we bought directly from a producer’s shop.
 
suavecarve said:
Remember to check out the date of the horse race in Sienna to see if you can arrange to be squashed in like a sardine and see nothing !
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Good description of the Palio! We were touring on a motorbike a few years ago and stumbled across it. Obviously hadn’t done our homework. Incredible atmosphere and fantastic fun in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. We could hear the horses, and the noise of the crowd, but even at 6’3” I could see very little. Utter madness! Highly recommended though.

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We went to Como, Garda and one of the smaller lakes last year, Stayed between Garda and Bardolino and managed to land in nice time for the wine festival, We spent a week at lakeOrto i think, waiting for a space on any suitable campsite, it was vey busy. We did need 2 pitches near each other though. Would go back in an instant, first time in the van but had been several times before. We chose to just take a day trip to Venice as we had all been before.
 
Itsmcb said:
Lake Garda is lovely, I liked Lazise and there is campsite just at the northern entrance to the town (which looked ok from the road). Sirmione is also lovely but busy unless you can get there early evening when the tourists have gone. I can recommend the spa there right on the lake, well worth the 20euros or so for a couple of hours. Use the ferries on the lake to visit a few more towns, they are all very picturesque.
I also liked Verona, we went to the opera in the colosseum which was one of those once in a lifetime things.
Lake Maggiore has lots of nice towns if your coming in from the west and Also Lake Orta if you want somewhere less touristy but still very Italian.
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The campsite at the northern entrance to Lazise is Campeggio Comunale CAMPING LAZISE Viale Roma, 1, 37017 - Lazise (VR), it`s a nice site, good facilties ( I think so anyway) and a short flat walk to the town, and a nice lakeside path up to Bardolino etc, the pitches are fine for the up to 7.5m vans, a bit tight for the bigger ones but there is an open area for the really big boys ( Concorde etc).
Been going there for 10 yrs, its one of our go to places for a break and a good pizza, it does get full over holidays.
Verona is a short car hire ride away and the Opera is well worth it in season, it can get very hot in the arena, have done Tosca and Aida, if you have a wheelchair user with you, tickets are very easy to get last minute at the box office....
 
Barryh said:
Soave is a great town for a visit. There’s a good aire just outside the old town walls. Plenty of opportunities to get your wine, we bought directly from a producer’s shop.
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Sounds perfect, a few bottles to take home.
 
scotzsue said:
We went to Como, Garda and one of the smaller lakes last year, Stayed between Garda and Bardolino and managed to land in nice time for the wine festival, We spent a week at lakeOrto i think, waiting for a space on any suitable campsite, it was vey busy. We did need 2 pitches near each other though. Would go back in an instant, first time in the van but had been several times before. We chose to just take a day trip to Venice as we had all been before.
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What time of year did you go?
 
TheMachMan said:
What are the roads around the Lakes like to drive in a PVC?
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Tarmac wise, no issues at all for Maggiore bottom bit of Garda and Como.

Please take my word for it that planning to drive round there on a hot Bank Holiday that doesnt relate to any of ours may slow you down significantly
 
Another vote for Glossglockner, was 35 euro three years ago but well worth it. Keep a look out for the fake (fibreglass) snow.
if travelling through Lake Garda I would advise avoiding the Western side, loads of tunnels and very tight in places mirror damage common, especially if right hand drive. Eastern side okay though. Found many roads in Italy to be full of pot holes so you should feel right at home.
 
tribalbrit said:
Another vote for Glossglockner, was 35 euro three years ago but well worth it. Keep a look out for the fake (fibreglass) snow.
if travelling through Lake Garda I would advise avoiding the Western side, loads of tunnels and very tight in places mirror damage common, especially if right hand drive. Eastern side okay though. Found many roads in Italy to be full of pot holes so you should feel right at home.
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Thanks, it sounds like the Grossglockner will be the route home.

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Make sure you check out the dates for Pentecost and the Bavaria school holidays. (End of May beginning of June I think) The German's head en-masse for the Italian lakes. How do we know? We got caught last year on our first trip to the area, having being used to France and turning up at camp sites, Aires etc as we felt like it! You can generally find out the busy times, as ASCI rates will not be applicable, if you subscribe to it. In my view, ACSI, is well worth it for Italy out of season.
 
I did notice some sites didn’t offer ACSI ratea last week of May and first week of June. Did you struggle to get places to stay. Did you book ahead, we never normally book feeling it curbs spontaneity?
 
We’re thinking off booking something in the Lakes for a few days so that we know we definitely have something.
 
On previous visits we try to go around the lakes clockwise, there are some overhanging cliffs to be aware of not as a problem but if you go anti clock wise and a lorry is coming the other way you have to be careful
 
Are campsites in Italy as flexible as France, can you just rock up at this time of the year?

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Wanders from Glos we did end up having to book and changed when we stayed at the lakes. It was so bad we drove back to a site in the dolomites that had space and stayed there for a week. You will find some farm sites which vary in quality and the one we found was 30 Euro plus for the night. That's when we headed back to the mountains!
 
Don't leave out Como - very classy compared to some of the other areas (lotsamoney) - it has the funicular to the top of the mountain - occasionally above the clouds - Bellagio which is glorious tourist trap and there is Isla Comacina which is really lovely. Get a bit more ambitious and cross over to Switzerland - you are almost there in Como. They take €uro there and the fuel was cheaper the last time I went, Lugano at the top of the lake there has a glorious faded elegance.
 
clanjones said:
Wanders from Glos we did end up having to book and changed when we stayed at the lakes. It was so bad we drove back to a site in the dolomites that had space and stayed there for a week. You will find some farm sites which vary in quality and the one we found was 30 Euro plus for the night. That's when we headed back to the mountains!
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Hmmm sounds like we need to think about that then.
 
Wanders from Glos just check when the German holidays are and hopefully you can work round it. As I mentioned the ACSI exclusion dates are a good guide as to when it is busy. I have had a quick squint at a couple of ACSI site round Garda and theel rates are excluded from 25 May have until the second week in June.

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I have looked at a few more sites and the exclusion dates do vary so if you book you should be ok but it sort of takes the spontaneity out of it. If you like cycling I can recommend a lovely site near Cuneo!
 
clanjones said:
Wanders from Glos just check when the German holidays are and hopefully you can work round it. As I mentioned the ACSI exclusion dates are a good guide as to when it is busy. I have had a quick squint at a couple of ACSI site round Garda and theel rates are excluded from 25 May have until the second week in June.
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It looks like we may have to book, very much goes against the grain but seems pointless going all that way and then not having somewhere to stay. First stop will probably be Lake Maggiore via the Simplon pass, better choose a site!
 
Cannero is a nice little town just north of the spot where you will arrive at Maggiore. There's a campsite with lake access and a nice bar restaurant on the beach. Also several nice restaurants and hotels with lakeside tables along the lake near the Ferry station. Stresa on the opposite shore is worth a visit by ferry especially if it's market day.
The campsite is https://www.campinglidocannero.com/
 
There is quite a big site at the top of Maggiore we stayed there last year whilst it is larger than we normally like it was really quite pleasant. Some good cycling routes as well! It is called camping village conca d'ora. Remember to take your anti mossi stuff!
 
Wanders from Glos said:
It looks like we may have to book, very much goes against the grain but seems pointless going all that way and then not having somewhere to stay. First stop will probably be Lake Maggiore via the Simplon pass, better choose a site!
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Agree, we’ve just booked Camping Parisi for the start of May. Looks like a small site on Lake Maggiore. Plus a 2 night stopover in Strasbourg.

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