Newbie from Australia in a Rental. (1 Viewer)

[LisaB1]

Hi there,
Not sure if this is the right forum to post - but you guys seem like a wealth of knowledge so may be able to help.
We are a couple of middle aged Australians looking to rent a motorhome for 4 weeks in September. (Covid willing, we have had to cancel 4 holidays during this pandemic )

Our plan is to drive from Rome - to Dubrovnik - take the ferry back to Italy and then back to Rome.
I would just like some feedback on our itinerary.

While we have never motorhomed before - Hubby is a driver and drives a Mercedes Sprinter every day throughout Sydney, so driving a van is not a problem, although Italian roads and drivers might be. I think the hire van will likely be a Fiat Ducato. We dont mind paying for safe and secure accommodations - and have picked most out on Campercontact, but if anyone has any secret recommendations in these areas that would be great. With only limited time, we have to stick to a itinerary.

Anyway we have 32 nights up our sleeve. We will spend the first 2 nights in Rome in a hotel, then we will pick up a camper and as you cant pick them up until the afternoon we will stay close by in Rome and head off the next day.

Our next 29 nights will then be..

Saturnia - to be at the hot springs for sunrise
Montelpuciano - can swap this out for another village in Tuscany
Panzano - have a reservation for dinner here
Fiesole - - will visit Siena through the day before parking here
Fiesole - Florence
Cinque Terre - want to stay here to visit early morning and evening - avoiding crowds
Cinque Terre
Cinque Terre - may visit Portofino
Verona - too far to drive to Venice
Venice -
Venice
Venice
Bovek - Slovenia
Lake Bled
Lake Bled
Ljubiljana
Plitvice -
Jajce
Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Mostar
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik
Overnight Ferry
Sorrento - Hoping to stay in camping international - looks tight to get in, but others do it - have looked on google maps
Sorrento - Amalfi Coast
Sorrento - Capri
Sorrento - Pompeii
Rome - Overnight before dropping the camper and heading to the airport for 3:00pm flight.

Does this itinerary look overwhelming? My normal goto travel gurus tell me it is, but I don't think they understand road tripping. I know driving through Bosnia can be dependent on insurance - so we may have to bypass and only down through Croatia, but hubby really wants to go to Sarajevo and I want to go to Mostar. We are fairly well travelled - but have never done a camper before, have done plenty of caravan park holidays here in Aus.
We like the idea of not having to pack and drag our luggage on trains every few days to get about.

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

 

[shrek snr]

Gooday Like most Aussies you want to do Europe in a week yes your trip is possible but you will be on the move most of the day, traffic in Italy and the Balkans can be a experience.

 

[davidbaldam]

Hi and welcome to FUN.

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[MisterB]

Welcome to the Fun House. Sorry I can't offer any advice re your planned journey other than to suggest you check out You Tube. There are a couple on there, John and Mandy, who are currently touring throughout Eastern Europe that may provide some info on places to visit. I particularly liked the Bear Sanctuary they visited in Rumania.
Your trip sounds like a great adventure and I really hope it goes well. Best Wishes.

PS, we are big fans of The Block - can't believe Tanya and Vito weren't kicked off the programme for their cheating scandal lol !!

 

[Westbarn1]

Hi, this reply may well be controversial, but looking at your itinerary and having visited most of the places you plan to visit (by various means) I cannot help but think you would be better off travelling by car/ accommodation.

 

[Kirsten]

Welcome and Hi. Your itinerary looks fantastic if quite overwhelming imo. Italy is great but the roads and can I say other drivers left me blinking - often in terror.
Cinque terre is not doable via Moho- I expect you know that - we did it by one day boat trip , if you intend staying in the villages (as I see you have earmarked several days ) leaving van unattended check insurance.
Not driven in Australia but I imagine you don’t have the kind of REALLY tiny roads that spring up on you unawares whilst travelling in Europe.
When prepping for trips I google each distance timing via car then add some on- in Italy I would double it

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[Geistguy]

Great itinerary with some fantastic places. Plitvice National Park is beyond beautiful but you will need a whole day and good walking shoes, get the free bus to the top and walk down, it's much easier.

Generally speaking Italian drivers are pretty awful, overtaking on blind bends and cutting in on you is the norm.

Just be careful, take your time and keep your touring plans flexible and have fun.

 

[LisaB1]

Thanks - this is the feedback I am after.
We don’t plan on driving more than 4 hours on driving days - and I know that sometimes this blows out.
As for Cinque Terre - this is somewhere that I have debated on missing and maybe heading to Lake Garda instead - there is a campervan site that allows us to walk down to one of the villages - looks pretty cool
Area Sosta Camper - Il Poggio
+39 366 424 6163

https://goo.gl/maps/sBuFzihdukvJgaTu7

 

[LisaB1]

Hi, this reply may well be controversial, but looking at your itinerary and having visited most of the places you plan to visit (by various means) I cannot help but think you would be better off travelling by car/ accommodation.

Yeah I have debated the same. However the thought of packing our bags every day, makes me lean towards the camper.
Also being able to carry some supplies and self cater - although not everyday, is appealing.
Cost wise - paying for a rental car as well as accommodation makes it equivalent to a camper.
We are looking at this as a trial run for our retirement years.

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[royandsharont]

The Plitvice lakes are fantastic & we spent a full 8/9 hours walking them. Best advice is arrive as early as possible to beat the hoarders of coaches. Once inside many of the 1000’s of tourists, many Asian, greatly reduce the further away from the entrance you go. We were too big to park up at the entrance so camped as close as possible HERE at camping Korana, which is a very large holiday site with touring pitches too. It is part of the National park so we caught the free first bus of the day to arrive as early as possible. Good facilities and restaurants etc too. We were shattered after the full day walking but what a breathtaking experience we had, enjoy.

There is a camper stop in the town at Peschiera del Garda which is a nice place to visit. Easy bus service to Verona too. We camped there on a site at Camping Bella Italia, enjoyed it so much we stayed for almost 6 weeks.

You may need cash at some fuel stations as they won’t accept cards & charge more per litre for the attended pump service in Italy