Camper trip to Italy - suggestions/pointers? (Now with pictures!)

Bluegrime on 29/11/2014 at 00:21

Watch out for gyppos.

snowcap21 on 5/12/2014 at 11:43

Well, it's been a while, but I remember liking Siena very much and some of the smaller villages in the Toscana, like Montalcino (don't forget the wine).

Tony_Tarantula on 5/12/2014 at 19:06

Quote Posted by Specter

Yes, it really does depend on what you want to see. There is certainly enough to do in Florence to be there for a day, depending on what you enjoy. If one cathedral is the same as every other for you, then il Duomo wont hold much charm.

If you go there, make sure to jump off the top of it into a conveniently placed haystack.

Pity you can't go lower. I would have suggested Maratea.

Specter on 6/12/2014 at 02:51

I can't look at any old building anymore without noting all the possible hand-holds that I'll use in my future career as an assassin.

dj_ivocha on 3/10/2015 at 14:26

So I was about to post another travel thread, when I noticed I'd forgotten to update this one after our trip. Ooops! :o

We had a Rimor Katamarano 5 camper van, which was fantastic. We were 4 adults and a 5-year old kid and had more than enough space, without even having to extend the third bed (where the table is during the day). With it, 6 adults without kids or 4 with 2 kids would have still had fit in. If a lot of downtime in the camper is planned, say several hours each evening, 6 adults would be a bit tight as the table only seats 4. With kids it shouldn't be a problem though, since they can play on the rear and/or front bed. The van had good heating, fully equipped kitchen with a gas stove, a big fridge, a toilet and a shower. Heating, cooking, warm water and the fridge (dual mode, also with electricity) were all on propane gas - the van had two big bottles (10 or 13 kg, IIRC) and we only had to swap the first with the second on the 9th day with one more day to go. The temperatures never really fell below 0, but I expect the heating to be adequate down ot at least minus 10, probably even 20, in which case the two bottles would probably only be enough for 7-10 days.

The water tank was 100 liters and was enough to last us a day, often two. The portable toilet's 14 liter tank was full in about the same time, as was the grey water tank. Refilling and dumping the waste was never a problem, though, because every gas station along the highway is equipped with a dump station. We saved a bit of money by not going to a specialized camping site every evening (except for 2 days in Rome), but instead stopping at the last gas station before our next destination in the evening and sleeping in the parking lot. This is allowed in order "to regain one's driving ability" or something like that (I think it's the same in most of the EU at least). Camping outside of designated spaces on the other hand isn't allowed. Once we parked in an almost empty parking lot in Pisa and once in Iseo and spent the night there - also not a problem. Bear in mind that this was in the off season, though.

That was our van:

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Our first stop was (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manarola) Manarola - a great and picturesque little town in northern Italy. We stayed there for half a day only, but it was enough to see everything. If you start early in the morning, especially in the summer, you should be able to visit most, if not all of the (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinque_Terre) Cinque Terre villages. We didn't have time for that, because we only arrived in Manarola in the early afternoon. And yes, those are oranges in the first picture. In December. In northern Italy! :D

(http://abload.de/image.php?img=18.12.2014-12.39.44.4pyon5.jpg)

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Next stop was (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisa) Pisa. We arrived in the evening, parked in a big parking lot and spent the night there. Then went to see the tower and left around midday - nothing much to see that's unique, other than that, considering we had a lot more to see and do in the 10 days we'd allocated for the trip. We could have spent a whole day walking around sightseeing - Pisa IS beatuful, but we had to fit in Florence in the same day, as well.

(http://abload.de/image.php?img=19.12.2014-05.43.32.49lrz7.jpg)

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After that we went to (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence) Florence. We visited the (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Cathedral) Florence Cathedral and got to the top of the basilica and (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giotto's_Campanile) Giotto's Campanile (IIRC around 500 stairs each), then saw the (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponte_Vecchio) Ponte Vecchio bridge.

(http://abload.de/image.php?img=19.12.2014-11.28.18.394ps4.jpg)

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Next on the agenda was (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orvieto) Orvieto - another beautiful town with amazing architecture AND a funicular! We didn't get to see the underground tunnels or get inside the cathedral or anything else, but even from the outside it was a great experience.

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dj_ivocha on 3/10/2015 at 14:27

After Orvieto was (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civita_di_Bagnoregio) Civita di Bagnoregio. Nothing much to say here - the pictures say it all :wot:

(http://abload.de/image.php?img=sdc148444dref.jpg)

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Im not going to write about the 2 days in (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome) Rome and the one in (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venice) Venice - everyone knows about those. And we didn't travel in a gondola, because our budget was rather tight and 90 Euros for 20 minutes was a bit much.

After Venice we went to (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iseo,_Lombardy) Iseo, which was on the way back and was suggested to us by a friend of my wife. We were there on December 24th, so there was barely anyone around and most of the shops and restaurants were closed. Still, we got our money's worth, because the town is great and we also went to (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_Isola) Monte Isola by ferry.

(http://abload.de/image.php?img=24.12.2014-10.06.44.4z7p94.jpg)

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On the last day we went to (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Como) Como, but only walked around a bit along the shore, because it was the 25th and again everything was closed, including the (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Como%E2%80%93Brunate_funicular) Como-Brunate Funicular and all the ferries.

On the whole it was a great trip, with the highlights for me being all the smaller towns and lakes, as well as the fact that we had a CAMPER VAN! :D We wouldn't never have been able to squeeze so much in just 10 days otherwise, as well as being rather flexible with our itinerary.