Italy — Travel Recs 🌎

ABOUT

In 2015 I studied in Padua, Italy and visited Venice, Verona, Bologna, Florence, Sicily, Bassano del Grappa, Naples, Cinque Terre and the Amalfi Coast. In June 2022, I returned and traveled to Sardinia, Portofino, Lake Como, the Dolomites and the Amalfi Coast (again). The following recommendations are from the 2022 locations.

This trip was 18 days from mid-June to early July. Best times to visit Italy are May-June and September-October for warm weather without peak summer crowds. Avoid traveling in Italy in July-August, the heat and crowds are intense. If I had more time I would have traveled to:

Tuscany: Wine tasting, cooking classes, and saturnia hot springs.
Puglia: White sand beaches, crystal clear bays, less crowds and the masseria moroseta hotel.

SARDINIA

About: Sardinia is an island about 200 miles long and takes around 4 hours to drive from north to south. Southern Sardinia has the major cities including the capital Cagliari, and most of the population. The northern area is best known for its beaches and the upscale coastline- Costa Smeralda (where we stayed).

Getting There: There are 3 airports, 2 in the north (Olbia/Riviera del Corallo) and 1 in the south (Mario Mameli). You can travel by boat, however flying is fastest. We booked a €60 EasyJet flight from Nice to Olbia.

Accommodation: We stayed in the CPH Pevero Hotel in Porto Cervo. This hotel was very quiet and secluded, with a 3-min walk to a small shared beach. For a higher end option, there is the famous Cala di Volpe hotel. Costa Smeralda is quite upscale, however there are some budget friendly options like Hotel Piccolo Pevero which shared the beach with our hotel.

Getting Around: Rent a car, the area is not walkable and Taxi’s are expensive. Having a car allows you to access more beaches, restaurants and towns. Downtown Porto Cervo is essentially a luxury designer mall so not much to do/see there.

Boat Rental: Renting a boat is by far the best way to access Sardinia’s beaches. We rented with Sardinia Water Taxi Palau. Email: swtpalau@gmail.com. We did a 6 hour boat tour of the La Maddalena Archipelago. The island La Maddalena is a great stop (or day trip) for lunch, shopping and gelato.

Beaches: Our skipper took us to 3 of his favorite beaches 1) Spiaggia La Licciola off of Sardinia 2) Spiaggia di Cala Corsara off of Isola Spargi and 3) Spiaggia del Pesce off of Isola Santo Stefano. The other two beaches we wanted to visit (but didn’t get to) were Porto Ferro, a pink sand beach and Spiaggia Del Principe.

Going Out: We went to Phi Beach, an extremely upscale beach club with nightly DJs. Seating is reserved for people who buy a table so we had dinner at the Veuve Clicquot tent to be able to sit down. We taxied there, but many people arrived by Yacht and even Helicopter. Another recommended option for going out was Ritual Club.

Food: We primarily ate at the hotel, with one stand-out dinner at Dante, a casual spot with authentic Sardinian dishes.

Portofino

About: Portofino was traditionally a coastal fishing village in northern Italy whose colorful harbors have now made it a popular tourist destination. We were only there for 2 days, but it was enough time to explore the area by foot.

Getting There: Genoa is the closest major city and Santa Margherita Ligure is the closest town. We took an overnight ferry from Sardinia to Genoa, then taxied from Genoa to Portofino. But you could also easily travel to Santa Margherita Ligure by train.

Accommodation: We stayed in Hotel Argentina, a more affordable option in the Bay of Paraggi (in-between Portofino and Santa Margherita). We were able to easily walk to both towns via the walking path lining the coast. For a higher end option, Belmond Splendido Mare is one of the most gorgeous/highly instagrammed hotels.

Recommendations: This area is primarily for sightseeing and swimming.

Hike to Castello Brown: A castle at the far end of the harbor, costs €10 to walk through and has a gorgeous view of Portofino’s main harbor.
Swim at Baia Cannone: A rocky cove with great views of grand pink/orange villas. You can reach the cove via public staircase off of the main street.
The stretch of coast between Paraggi Bay and Santa Margherita Ligure has many beach clubs as well as public beach access.

Dolomites

About: The Dolomites are a mountain range in northern Italy close to the border of Austria and Liechtenstein. The towns have an interesting mix of German, Austrian and Italian influence. This was one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been- it’s well worth the trek if you enjoy the mountains. If I had more time in this region I would have liked to visit:

Lago Di Sorapis and Lago Di Braies

Getting There: The closet major city is Bolzano. We took several trains from Genoa to Bolzano, then taxied to the town Ortisei (also known as St. Ulrich or Urtijëi). There are multiple great towns, however I chose Ortisei for access to certain hikes.

Accommodation: We stayed in AlpenHotel Rainell which was perched on a hill overlooking the town with incredible food and amenities. For a higher end option, Forestis Dolomites is a stunning modern luxury hotel.

Hikes:

Seceda Ridgeline: This ridge has some of the most dramatic hiking views I’ve ever seen. We took the tram up, then hiked to Pieralongia Refuge, Rifugio Firenze, Rifugio Juac, and finished in Selva di Val Gardena (~11 miles). We then took the free bus from downtown Selva back to Ortisei. More info on Seceda here and here.
Alpe Di Siusi: The largest high-alpine plateau in Europe. You can take the tram (or hike) up then spend a full day exploring the area of around 21 square miles. We spent the day strolling through the pasture on marked and unmarked trails.
Both of the above areas provided incredible views of the Sasso Lungo. We also considered doing the Ortisei Circular Trail- more trail options on AllTrails here.

Lake Como

About: Lake Como in northern Italy is a long fork shape, about 29 miles long. The town of Como sits on the southern tip of the lake, but the real gems are various towns as you travel up the lake. The towns we visited included Lenno, Varenna, Nesso, Menaggio and Bellagio.

Getting There/Around: Take the train or drive from Milan. If you rent a car you can use it to drive from town to town, or you can travel by private boat, water taxi or public ferry. We took the public ferry most days and rented a private boat for one day.

Accommodation: We stayed in Hotel Villa Flori in the town of Como. For a higher end spot in Como there’s Villa D’este. We also considered Hotel Villa Cipressi in Varenna and the iconic (but pricey) Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni in Bellagio.

Recommendations:

Lenno: Visit Villa del Balbianello (tickets here).
Varenna: Visit Villa Monastero (tickets here), Visit Villa Cipressi Gardens (can walk around for free), eat at Bar il Molo on the water.
Nesso: See waterfall and jump from bridge in front of it into the water.
Menaggio: Visit Villa Carlotta for the gardens (tickets here).
Bellagio: Eat at Hotel Florence at their pink tables under purple wisteria, walk to the famous street of Bellagio, visit Giardini di Villa Melzi (free gardens) to see the Chiosco Moresco, have a glass of wine at Aperitivo Et Al, have dinner at Bilacus Ristorante (make reservation ahead of time). Swim at San Giovanni Secret Beach marked as Spiaggia Pubblica di Bellagio on google maps.
Como: Eat at Trattoria al Gatto Nero overlooking the lake, see the Duomo Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta, get pastries from Beretta Il Fornaio, visit the grounds of Villa Bonomi and Villa Olmo.

AMALFI COAST

About: The Amalfi coast is a stretch of coastline in southern Italy known for its towns nestled into steep cliff-sides. Some of the popular towns include Sorrento, Positano, Salerno, the town of Amalfi and the island of Capri. Skip the Amalfi coast if you’re traveling in June-Sept, the crowds and heat are really intense. Go to Cinque Terre instead for similar topography and a more authentic experience.

Getting There/Around: Drive or ferry from Naples. We booked a driver from the Naples train station. I would not recommend driving yourself, the roads are often steep and dangerous.

Accommodation: We stayed at Covo Dei Saraceni hotel in Positano. We also considered Villa Dorata on Airbnb, Villa Fiorentino, Hotel Punta Regina, Hotel L'ancora and Hotel Poseidon. Our hotel was great (the best part of Positano actually) but I would recommend staying in Sorrento or Capri. Positano is better suited for a day trip as it’s quite small and tourism oriented. No one lives there, the “locals” summer there for work but don’t live there full time.