TRIP DETAILS

Trip length (including travel days) - 23 days

Time of year - July

Countries visited - Italy (& Germany for an unexpected layover night!)

Cities/Locations visited and time in each:

• Cortina D’Ampezzo (Dolomites) - 4 nights

• Santa Cristina (Dolomites) - 3 nights

• Siena (Tuscany) - 3 nights

• Radda in Chianti (Tuscany) - 1 night

• San Gimignano (Tuscany) - 2 nights

• Taormina (Sicily) - 7 nights

• Munich (Germany) - 1 night

PATH WE TOOK

Fly Denver thru Newark, NJ to Venice Italy

9 passenger rental van for driving from Venice to the Dolomites and to Tuscany

Rental bikes between towns in Tuscany

Fly Florence to Catania, Sicily

Taxis while in Sicily

Fly Sicily to Munich and back to Denver

HIGHLIGHTS

This was a group trip which we planned & coordinated - starting with 7 of us for the Dolomites & Tuscany, and then 5 continuing on to Sicily. It was really fun to be able to share this experience with some of our closest friends and family members!

Our favorite region of Italy was in the North - the Dolomites. Although we currently live in Denver, Colorado, the mountains there are somehow stunningly different. There seems to be endless activities available and the infrastructure felt maybe a little bit more developed than further south in Italy.

Biking between towns in Tuscany was also a highlight activity for us. Despite an historic heat wave, we enjoyed the slower pace of travel between smaller towns, and felt quite safe on the narrow roads with the Italian drivers. We’d consider more bike-packing type trips in the future, based on this experience.

OUR NOT-SO-FAVORITE THINGS

Transportation to Sicily - at the Florence airport we were put on a small shuttle bus to take us to the awaiting plane. We stood on the shuttle bus for 25 minutes in nearly 100 degree heat before they moved us to the airplane. We then proceeded to sit on the tarmac with both front and back doors open (so air conditioning wasn’t working) in the same 100 degree heat before finally taking off.

Transportation from Sicily - due to arson at the airport terminal 2 weeks prior AND wildfires on the island due to the extreme heat wave, our flight was 6 hours delayed and the terminal was a chaotic mess. We missed our connector in Munich and had to stay an un-planned night in Germany, BUT got to experience a free upgrade to Business Class for the first time…always a silver lining!

NOTES

If we couldn’t communicate via email with a vendor (hotel, restaurant, activity provider, etc.), Whatsapp seemed to be the preferred method of communicating. Don’t be shy about reaching out via Whatsapp for reservations!

Bourbon doesn’t seem to be popular in Italy. If you have bourbon drinkers in your group, plan on picking a new favorite drink (maybe some wine or mojitos?!).

In general, it seemed that there was very little in the way of waivers or safety concerns. For example, we didn’t sign a single document before completing our Via Ferrata excursion with our guide. Similarly, we signed a couple documents before taking out a 20ft powerboat by ourselves, but they barely gave us an overview or made sure we actually knew how to operate a boat. Also, at the Seceda ridgeline, there were no ropes or fences at the top of the grassy cliff - you could literally step right off.

Even the Sicilians were shaking their heads at the poor infrastructure of Sicily. From what it sounds like, trains to and from Sicily are notoriously hours and hours delayed. Delays and cancellations at the airport are also not uncommon, even without record heat like we had during our visit. And local business owners often have to figure out their own electricity and water for their guests/clients, since the local government sometimes shuts it all off.

WHY WE PICKED THIS LOCATION

Another trip to Italy had been on our bucket list since our little taste of Lake Como several years prior.

We had a wonderful group of friends & family who were interested in an International trip with us and could all afford time off during July.

We were excited by the idea of having the first third of the trip focused around hiking, the second third focused around biking, and the final third focused on being by or in the water.