1. With 5, car will probably be cheaper, but in Italy it will probably be a tad slower than by car (city center to city center) which is a problem with this itinerary. You can’t drive in Venice at all and don’t want to drive in the centers of Florence and Rome, so you’ll be staying in the suburbs and commuting in by public transit — fairly time consuming.

2. For routing, I would look for the cheapest place to fly from Zurich and the cheapest place to fly to Barcelona from and plan the route after you’ve figured that out.

3. The best reason to drive in Italy is to explore somewhat remote areas and small villages. Trying to visit 5 Italian cities/areas in 5 days is silly. You’ll want a minimum of 3 days in Rome, 4 in the combination of Florence/Pisa,Cinque Terre and at least a full day in Venice — and 10 days total would be better.

hi

we have increased our days in italy….and now the tentative itinerary is

3 days – cinque terre, pisa and florence
2 days – tuscany tours
1 day – venice
1 and 1/2 day – rome

pls suggest the best possible travel route and mode of transportation….. want to see in tuscany tour for 2 days (also where should we stay)….places to stay at florence/pisa, rome, venice….we are looking at cheap bnb hostel types accomodation….

Assuming you’re coming from Switzerland ( and not driving from Switzerland to Italy) I would look at overnight train to Venice. Rent a car as you leave Venice (possibly in Maestre) and look at wandering to places like Padua, Verona, Siena on your way to Florence. Drop off car in Florence. Take train from Florence to La Spezia with a 1/2 day to full day stop in Pisa between. Take train from La Spezia to the Cinque Terre villages and consider hiking (assuming you have little gear or have a place to stow your gear) between some of the villages.

Get a good map before you go. I always use a Michelin map, purchased at most tour stores (ie AAA, Barnes & Noble…). GPS is becoming more popular and more readily available, although has its short comings in the smaller more rustic areas. Even when using GPS, make sure you know where you are headed and don’t follow it blindly. ViaMichelin is a good site for planning before you go and you can print out routes you create on-line.

I am planning a trip to Switzerland, and noticed that my old Michelin map has become tattered and torn, so I bought a new one. I noted that the map, like the old one, is very cluttered, and it is hard to find a place unless you already know where it is. I also noted that, paradoxically, it is both too detailed and not detailed enough, as they omit most small villages. In seeking a route to my ancestral village, I found that Michelin omitted perhaps 80% of the very small villages, including the one I was seeking. For the last few years I have been using a Garmin GPS, which beats the map in every way as it contains even the smallest villages and sites, and will even find restaurants and gas stations. The only shortcoming is a possible power failure, but most mobiles also contain routing apps, and the only question is whether the app is well written or not.

When we went to Berlin and Vienna, the Garmin even showed us which tram to take, and when to get off. On a trip to France, we never took the map out of the folder and relied solely on the Garmin, and never got lost. I don’t mean to push Garmin, as there are competing products that no doubt do as well, but Garmin has worked well for us. I’ll miss having a map, but a GPS system is so much superior that I won’t be buying any more maps.

Hello
You can use trenitalia to plan your train trips, and it would be cheaper to buy tickets online before
I don’t remember prices now, but approximately it costs 20 eu from Milan to Venice (for exmple).

With today’s technology, I’d say GPS system is a must. It’s hassle free and it will take you to places without you losing on the way. Also, some if not most of the people nowadays don’t know how to read a map properly.

Losing in the way, those hassles you’ve encountered with having a map as your direction guide is worth it. When you look back on your adventures. Truly, worthy memories worth keeping!