Right, this Friday I'm jetting off to Milan for a mini Italian road trip to take in some sights and cool drives. I hope to hire something like an Alfa 147 if possible.
I'm going from Bergamo to Como, then staying at Lezzeno. Next, driving across to Garda staying at Desenzano del Garda, finally driving down to Maranello to check out the Ferrari factory, and staying in Salsomaggiore Terme, before flying back from Parma.
I hear that the road from Como towards Bellagio is pretty hair raising, so might be fun. Any other tips on cool drives which I could get in on my route?
What can one do in Maranello? Any firms out there offer cheap high speed rides in Ferraris there?
Thanks!
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>>Driving in Italian lakes>>
Might be better to drive around them...:-)
I've driven around most of Lake Como - stunning scenery, property and azelea displays - but the standard of driving is pretty abysmal and great care has to be taken at all times, as you have clearly be warned.
We did see some pretty nasty accidents.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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I've already opted to reduce the excess to zero on the hire car...
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You will not be doing much speeding or sporty driving the roads are busy and the Police are red hot, with radar in abundance complimented by massive fines its best to stick to limits.Also watch out for pick pockets in the autostrada services.
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Well said Andy. Only time I've driven in Europe & only place I have ever been stopped by the police was beside Lake Maggiore. He didn't speak English, I didn't speak Italian, so he let me go. Don't know why he stopped me.
We didn't drive anywhere other than west bank of Maggiore, but the roads are very narrow so there is little opportunity for spirited driving (as mentioned by others), but the scenery is stunning. There are a lot of Germans who holiday around Maggiore (many on motorbikes in summer), so I found my little bit of German more useful than English.
Have a fun trip - sounds fantastic!
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There is a good Ferrari museum in Maranello, the Galleria Ferrari. Well worth a visit. There is also the official (and many unofficial) shops.
Also, if they're testing you can watch the F1 car at the Fiorano test track, which is about 500m from the museum!
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Have you thought of taking a year's CDW waiver insurance thru insurance4carhire.com? I have driven round Como and Garda and take it from me, if you are driving well and carefully, you won't see any scenery at all! The roads round the South side of Lake Como are bendy and narrow and up the West side of Garda at the North end, you are in and out of tunnels and it is no fun at all. If you go down the West side of Garda I can recommend the town of Malcesine - very picturesque and there is a restaurant on the waterfront, right by the small harbour, that does great wood fired pizzas. Enjoy your trip!
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If you go down the West side of Garda I can recommend the town of Malcesine - very picturesque and there is a restaurant on the waterfront, right by the small harbour, that does great wood fired pizzas. Enjoy your trip!
Eh! Pardon me but when I last visited Malcesine and stayed at the Hotel du Lac, it was on the eastern side of Lake Garda.
Nearly lost my life there one year. We hired a boat for a few hours and the weather seemed fine, however when we were in the middle of the lake, a storm suddenly brewed up and caused very high waves running North to South and we had to make our way back into the harbour at Malcesine (due Eastwards) against these waves and with an inadequate outboard motor - a rather terrifying experience!
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oldgit is 100% correct! I also stayed in the Hotel du Lac and the charming town of Malcesine is on the East bank for the lake as he says!
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There are normally plenty of wind surfers at Riva as the lake (Garda) always seems to always feature a strong wind.
Another point is that there is an excellent sea food restaurant at the other end of the lake, whilst the water itself is so clear that fish can easily be watched moving about at the edge of the lake.
Como features big hydrofoil boats to take people up and down or across the lake.
The whole area is a wonderful place to spend a holiday - apart from those local driving maniacs...:-)
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Armitage,
Thanks for the CDW waiver bit - have just taken adavnatage of that in time for my foray into Portugal!
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grn. I used them a while back, when I hired cars abroad more often. You can get a years cover from them for what the big hirers charge for 7 days. I claimed first time out and it took a month to settle but the payment was full it was just the admin was slow - they didn't dispute the claim. I am sure you will love the lakes, enjoy!
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A lovely way to see the Lakes is to take the car onto a ferry - they're frequent and cheap. I've only done the one across Lake Maggiore, so don't know if there's one across Lake Como. The Guys waving you onto the ferry speak no other language but Italian (ie no English, French or German,even in the middle of a huge tourist area ) but they're friendly enough.They also wear uniform with gold braid on the epaulettes and look a little like a three star General from South America. The actual police look like five star generals and tend to ponce about looking self-important.
Seriously, lovely area and and lovely food.
Enjoy the trip.
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Thanks for the advice chaps. It seems that Italian driving can be manic at the best of times. I aim to come back with some interesting stories to share with the group!!!
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One last thing, my friend has got Tom Tom Mobile with an Italian map, but I don't think he's got the latest map, as it's version v314. I think it's from around late 2004. Is there going to be a big difference between that version and the very latest map?
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I do not think that the roads will have changed to any great extent, since 2004, but you might find the detail is not good and that many small roads are not shown on TomTom (Italy). Perhaps TomTom's website could give you some idea of the detail available. The South end of Garda is also good if you can spare the time - Sirmione is a lovely town, on a great long peninsula out into the lake. Lovely location and great eating!
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We used to drive round to Limone most days and have a coffee and dark rich chocolate cake for late afternoon tea and then remember that it would take quite a bit of time (longer than you'd think) to drive back, via Riva, to Malcesine in time for dinner.
Distances around the lake can be deceptive as you tend to forget the constant bends and traffic density, especially these days.
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I had a job (only a week, alas) in Riva del Garda (at the north end of the lake) last summer and had the most fantastic time. Limone was gorgeous - recommend getting off the main tourist street. You may even hear what I heard coming from an upstairs window - a bizarre S&M scene going on with at least one participant pretending to be a cat. I kid you not.
Have a great time N_N.
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Check out car-by-car breakdown - Alfa 147!
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