The hard part’s done; you’ve decided you want to go to Italy and you’ve decided that you’d like to see this by road. Okay, perhaps that’s not the hard part but still, making those decisions is a pretty great start.

Now, let us take things from there for you and share our 1-week road trip itinerary for Italy. Just remember, our trip was really busy (as we wanted it to be). So, don’t try and squeeze everything we did; pick and choose the elements you like and have a chilled trip with plenty of relaxation time, too.

First – where to fly in and out of?

Arrive in Milan and leave Naples. Why?

They’re both major airports which offer a wide range of flight options so this oughta give you a lot more choice and help you keep your flight costs a lot lower than travelling to a less popular airport.

You can also flip things around by flying into Naples, doing the route in reverse and leaving from Milan. 🙂

How to get around

You’ve got two options.

a.) You can go the bog-standard way and rent a car (or perhaps even a Vespa). Nothing wrong with that.

b.) You can hire a rickshaw and ride this across the country. It’s slower than a car (much slower), more convenient than a Vespa and easily a more exciting way to see the country than the other choices.

Where to stay

Agriturismo all the way! 🙂

These places tend to be family-run farms offering you a true sense of Italian life. You might need to brush up on your Italian (it’s the perfect opportunity to pick up a new life-skill) but to be honest, it’s by no means necessary.

Here are a few examples of what Agriturismos are like – this farmhouse in Cinque Terre, an eclectic Florentine villa, this hill-top gem in the Amalfi Coast.

THE ITALIAN ROAD TRIP ITINERARY

Day 1

1.) Fly into Milan. Pick up the car/Vespa/rickshaw and spend some time exploring the city.

2.) Stop for lunch in Piacenza.

3.) Stop in on Parma.

4.) If you’ve got time to spare, pop into Reggio Emilia (alas we didn’t have much time to do this one as we left Milan far too late).

5.) Drive to Cinque Terre where you’ll be staying for the night.

Day 2

1.) Explore Cinque Terre‘s 5 towns – Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Manarola, Corniglia and Riomaggiore (check out our complete guide to Cinque Terre for when you visit).

2.) Stop off in Pisa for lunch (the pizzas here are pretty great).

4.) Watch the sunset in San Miniato.

3.) Drive into Florence. Have dinner in Bucca Mario (you’re welcome 😉 ).

Day 3

1.) See all the sights in Florence (or as much as you can get through).

2.) Head over to San Gimignano (you’ll understand why when you’re there).

3.) Take in the amazing view from Civitella in Val di Chiana.

4.) Stop in Montepulciano for lunch (and if you’re a Twilight fan, see if you can spot some of the filming locations here).

5.) Spend a night in Orvieto.

Day 4

1.) Have a chilled breakfast in Orvieto (let’s face it, you deserve at least one late morning, right?)

2.) Visit the ancient city of Viterbo. This is probably a great spot to stop for lunch.

3.) Head over to Rome. Leave some time to explore Rome before and after sunset.

Day 5

1.) Catch up on the sights you didn’t see in Rome the night before.

2.) Pop into Frascati. This is also a great place for whoever isn’t doing the driving to try some Frascati wine. (Drivers, you’ll have to wait till you’re not on driving duty to sample the delicious wine from this region).

3.) Have a beach day in Terracina.