Hi essle My husband and I spent a month in Italy about the same time of year in 2012. We looked at all the car options including the buy-back options of a new car after minimum 3 weeks use etc. In the end, in agreement with other posts, we  really enjoyed a combination of planes, trains and automobiles (and ferries) literally! I has really wanted to take a train from France via Switzerland to get to Bellagio, but this was VERY expensive as it turned out, so we arrived into Milan by plane from Paris (€39). We then took a very pleasant train to Varenna and the ferry over to Bellagio. After Bellagio we caught a bus to Lecco and hired a car and drove north up through alps and then thru the Dolomites for a few days, which was fantastic, and then  made our way to Treviso and left the hire car here after a few days driving to beautiful local places. We then caught a bus to Venice, and after this, a train to Bologna, and then to Florence, and here we hired a car and drove around Tuscany for a week, returning the car to Florence and catching a train to naples..for Amalfi.. etc etc...!  I costed all of this out carefully, and in the end, this was the most enjoyable, least expensive, least difficult and most time efficient way to thoroughly enjoy Italy for a month!  We found car hire places at central locations to easily get out of the big cities so as to avoid the local traffic zone fines etc....happy to help! anna
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Hi essle My husband and I spent a month in Italy about the same time of year in 2012. We looked at all the car options including the buy-back options of a new car after minimum 3 weeks use etc. In the end, in agreement with other posts, we  really enjoyed a combination of planes, trains and automobiles (and ferries) literally! I has really wanted to take a train from France via Switzerland to get to Bellagio, but this was VERY expensive as it turned out, so we arrived into Milan by plane from Paris (€39). We then took a very pleasant train to Varenna and the ferry over to Bellagio. After Bellagio we caught a bus to Lecco and hired a car and drove north up through alps and then thru the Dolomites for a few days, which was fantastic, and then  made our way to Treviso and left the hire car here after a few days driving to beautiful local places. We then caught a bus to Venice, and after this, a train to Bologna, and then to Florence, and here we hired a car and drove around Tuscany for a week, returning the car to Florence and catching a train to naples..for Amalfi.. etc etc...!  I costed all of this out carefully, and in the end, this was the most enjoyable, least expensive, least difficult and most time efficient way to thoroughly enjoy Italy for a month!  We found car hire places at central locations to easily get out of the big cities so as to avoid the local traffic zone fines etc....happy to help! anna