[BRAKE!]

Hey, I would also check out Moon Palace in Cancun. All inclusive resort but they offer 27 holes of golf (Nicklaus design) that can be configured into 3 different courses, spa, plenty of restaurants, activities (like surfing, scuba, etc) gigantic pools w/ bars built in, beach front with rooms facing the ocean. Usually some by-gone artist is always having a concert on site. If you're looking for St Tropez type of luxury retreat, this won't satisfy that, but if you're looking for a relaxing getaway with plenty to do and cost-effective quality, then it's worth checking out

[Manny01]

Surprised no one has mentioned Aruba.

Amazing and safe island. Temperate landscape (i.e., not tropical covered in jungle) and outside of the hurricane belt. Everyone speaks English. Food is outstanding with a mix of African, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, cuisine. Lots of fun excursions, great golfing, epic beaches, and crazy fun dive and snorkle spots. We usually stay at the Marriot Stellaris or Ritz (sister hotels).

Book yourself a wrap-around suite and call it a day.

[Watching The World Burn]

Originally Posted by MoeTE87

What are your thoughts on the other Italy race I mentioned. Look like we will need to fly into Florence and make the 2hr drive to the race.

I'm going to second Alfisti's thoughts on Milan. We skipped Milan entirely. We also skipped Rome. I understand you are going because of the race, but it wouldn't be a place I would budget spending a lot of time there...not if you want to try to see Italy for what Italy is.

We flew into Venice (just was cheapest option for flights, but again, only did about 2-3 days there all total for the front and back end as we flew out of Venice too), but where we spent our time was:

- A few days in the Amalfi coast area (amazing pizza, good gelato, very much a seafood area though which was fine for us, but depends on your tastes).

- Cinque de Terre for a few days, did the hike between the five towns (although we had to start 2 towns in I think because trail was not passable.

- Florence - about 4 days I'd estimate. I honestly wasn't looking forward to Florence because museums, art and crap and that's not what I'm into. But honestly, it was probably my favourite stop. Really enjoyed it. There is a fantastic steak place, the name of which I could probably find if you want. We did a cooking class there which was fun. Il Dumo was cool to see and walk around. Went to this overlook just outside the city which was neat too. Also, we went to Scuola del Cuoio S.r.l. in Florence - school of leather. Neat place, seems legit (a lot of the leather in Italy is not legit, very cheap), we both bought jackets which I really like. Not cheap though.

Overall, Italy is absolutely fantastic, and as I said, that's where we went for our 10 year anniversary. I'm sure you will have a great time!

[Alfisti]

Originally Posted by MoeTE87

What are your thoughts on the other Italy race I mentioned. Look like we will need to fly into Florence and make the 2hr drive to the race.

It's a nicer area, though Florence is bedlam at the best of times it is very nice. The surrounding countryside is so nice, very romantic too, rent a little drop top for a week maybe or just a few days etc. As i get older I have less tolerance for busy places but Italian cities are worth exploring, you just really need to plan ahead. One of my fav spots in Italy as a young man was the top of the city at Piazelle Michalengelo sucking on gelato watching the city do it's thing.

It will be busy though, Amalfi coast is bedlam, plan your trip times, it is hard to be spontaneous until you get to the countryside.

[HFW003]

I didn't see the updated potential itinerary.

I might see you there as Monza is the track we are going to next year. We generally go to a different track each year. I'd prefer to go to Imola but the lady (who is Italian) of the couple we go to F1 races with is turning sixty and she wants to go to Monza again.

Without putting too fine a point on it, Milan (IMO) is a shithole compared to the rest of Italy.

If it were me I would stay at Como. From memory the Monza train station is one stop back in toward Milan. You can get a shuttle to the track from the Monza station but it is great fun walking with the huge crowd. You can also stop on the way and have a drink and bight to eat. You can also see where the Ferrari team stays whilst they are there.

If you do want to go to Monza, or just about any race in Europe, make sure you sign up for ticket notification as they sell out very quickly.

I can highly recommend Bologna whilst you're there. It's a wonderful place with beautiful places to see and gorgeous food.

Make sure you head North to the Dolomites as well; the scenery is stunning. When we retire in a couple of years we are moving to a place called Bolzano, have a look there.

Have fun!

[MoeTE87]

Originally Posted by Watching The World Burn

I'm going to second Alfisti's thoughts on Milan. We skipped Milan entirely. We also skipped Rome. I understand you are going because of the race, but it wouldn't be a place I would budget spending a lot of time there...not if you want to try to see Italy for what Italy is.

We flew into Venice (just was cheapest option for flights, but again, only did about 2-3 days there all total for the front and back end as we flew out of Venice too), but where we spent our time was:

- A few days in the Amalfi coast area (amazing pizza, good gelato, very much a seafood area though which was fine for us, but depends on your tastes).

- Cinque de Terre for a few days, did the hike between the five towns (although we had to start 2 towns in I think because trail was not passable.

- Florence - about 4 days I'd estimate. I honestly wasn't looking forward to Florence because museums, art and crap and that's not what I'm into. But honestly, it was probably my favourite stop. Really enjoyed it. There is a fantastic steak place, the name of which I could probably find if you want. We did a cooking class there which was fun. Il Dumo was cool to see and walk around. Went to this overlook just outside the city which was neat too. Also, we went to Scuola del Cuoio S.r.l. in Florence - school of leather. Neat place, seems legit (a lot of the leather in Italy is not legit, very cheap), we both bought jackets which I really like. Not cheap though.

Overall, Italy is absolutely fantastic, and as I said, that's where we went for our 10 year anniversary. I'm sure you will have a great time!

Thank you for your input and the info! We want to be able to see Italy for what it is! We want to go and explore and have a great time enjoying Italy!

I have already made a spreadsheet for both races and have put in the items you listed above. I want to do this trip right, so that is why I am starting this so far in advance.

Originally Posted by Alfisti

It's a nicer area, though Florence is bedlam at the best of times it is very nice. The surrounding countryside is so nice, very romantic too, rent a little drop top for a week maybe or just a few days etc. As i get older I have less tolerance for busy places but Italian cities are worth exploring, you just really need to plan ahead. One of my fav spots in Italy as a young man was the top of the city at Piazelle Michalengelo sucking on gelato watching the city do it's thing.

It will be busy though, Amalfi coast is bedlam, plan your trip times, it is hard to be spontaneous until you get to the countryside.

Sounds amazing! We really want to explore the countryside and see what it's all about! We love to drink red wine and just enjoy each others company and if we can throw in there beautiful countryside back drop..then we are all for it!

As I mentioned above, I started a spreadsheet and have inputted some of the places and "things to do" in it so I can slowly start working on an itinerary.

Originally Posted by HFW003

I didn't see the updated potential itinerary.

I might see you there as Monza is the track we are going to next year. We generally go to a different track each year. I'd prefer to go to Imola but the lady (who is Italian) of the couple we go to F1 races with is turning sixty and she wants to go to Monza again.

Without putting too fine a point on it, Milan (IMO) is a shithole compared to the rest of Italy.

If it were me I would stay at Como. From memory the Monza train station is one stop back in toward Milan. You can get a shuttle to the track from the Monza station but it is great fun walking with the huge crowd. You can also stop on the way and have a drink and bight to eat. You can also see where the Ferrari team stays whilst they are there.

If you do want to go to Monza, or just about any race in Europe, make sure you sign up for ticket notification as they sell out very quickly.

I can highly recommend Bologna whilst you're there. It's a wonderful place with beautiful places to see and gorgeous food.

Make sure you head North to the Dolomites as well; the scenery is stunning. When we retire in a couple of years we are moving to a place called Bolzano, have a look there.

Have fun!

That is awesome! I am working on trip details for both races as I am not 100% sure if Monza or Imola is happening next year. So I will plan everything out for both and see when F1 releases their schedule in the middle of the summer for 2026. Shit, we even toyed with the idea to go to Spa...but my wife likes the Italy idea!

Thank you for being frank about Milan. That is the type of info I am looking for. I don't want to get over there any have everything booked and it turns out to be a dump.

Have you stayed in Como? Really nice hotels? I guess my biggest thing is, on the race off days..we want to be able to explore so to have a town that is close to a lot of the gems is key for us.

Thank you for the ticket info. I will make sure to make it a #1 priority when we settle on which race. Where is the best place to buy the 3 day passes? On the F1 site?

Okay cool! I have heard great things about Bologna and wanted to visit there! Is it a place to visit for a day or is there enough to do for a few days?

Awesome! I will put Dolomites and Bolzano on my list of places to check out!

Thanks for taking the time to respond to my thread! This has been a huge help!

We are excited for the trip! The tough part now is planning it. We want to stay in really nice hotels with character and close to everything! I do plan on renting a car! Will I need to get my international drivers license?


Thanks!

[Watching The World Burn]

Originally Posted by MoeTE87

I do plan on renting a car! Will I need to get my international drivers license?


Thanks!

No - North American license is fine, no need for international. I got along just fine.

Word of caution though, along the highways there, sometimes they have cameras perched on the entryways. These take a picture of your plate and the time. Then they have similar cameras say 20-30 kms away (or whatever / wherever they decide to place them, usually on exits) which again take the plate and note the time stamp. The computer does a match up and calculates the distance traveled and the time taken between the two points to determine if you were speeding and if so, will issue you a ticket.

I did not get a ticket, because I was aware of these cameras and governed my speed accordingly.

They aren't on all the highways though, seemed to be the northern part of Italy as I recall...I think it was as we were coming from Cinq de Terre to Florence. Or maybe Florence to Venice. Just keep an eye out.

I'm not sure I'd recommend driving in the South of Italy (ie. Amalfi) - was a bit of chaos that. We took a bus and I was happy to be in a large vehicle that was likely going to win the fight. We also used a high speed train to get down there which run well. Use the transport when you can - we only used a vehicle to get from one point to another where the train didn't work and then turned it in once we got there - no need for a vehicle once you are in the town you are staying in for a bit usually, especially since parking can be problematic.

[Alfisti]

Originally Posted by Watching The World Burn

I'm not sure I'd recommend driving in the South of Italy (ie. Amalfi) - was a bit of chaos that. We took a bus and I was happy to be in a large vehicle that was likely going to win the fight. We also used a high speed train to get down there which run well. Use the transport when you can - we only used a vehicle to get from one point to another where the train didn't work and then turned it in once we got there - no need for a vehicle once you are in the town you are staying in for a bit usually, especially since parking can be problematic.

this

[HFW003]

Originally Posted by MoeTE87

Thank you for your input and the info! We want to be able to see Italy for what it is! We want to go and explore and have a great time enjoying Italy!

I have already made a spreadsheet for both races and have put in the items you listed above. I want to do this trip right, so that is why I am starting this so far in advance.



Sounds amazing! We really want to explore the countryside and see what it's all about! We love to drink red wine and just enjoy each others company and if we can throw in there beautiful countryside back drop..then we are all for it!

As I mentioned above, I started a spreadsheet and have inputted some of the places and "things to do" in it so I can slowly start working on an itinerary.



That is awesome! I am working on trip details for both races as I am not 100% sure if Monza or Imola is happening next year. So I will plan everything out for both and see when F1 releases their schedule in the middle of the summer for 2026. Shit, we even toyed with the idea to go to Spa...but my wife likes the Italy idea!

Thank you for being frank about Milan. That is the type of info I am looking for. I don't want to get over there any have everything booked and it turns out to be a dump.

Have you stayed in Como? Really nice hotels? I guess my biggest thing is, on the race off days. We want to be able to explore so to have a town that is close to a lot of the gems is key for us.

Thank you for the ticket info. I will make sure to make it a #1 priority when we settle on which race. Where is the best place to buy the 3 day passes? On the F1 site?

Okay cool! I have heard great things about Bologna and wanted to visit there! Is it a place to visit for a day or is there enough to do for a few days?

Awesome! I will put Dolomites and Bolzano on my list of places to check out!

Thanks for taking the time to respond to my thread! This has been a huge help!

We are excited for the trip! The tough part now is planning it. We want to stay in really nice hotels with character and close to everything! I do plan on renting a car! Will I need to get my international drivers license?


Thanks!

You are very welcome!

Not sure how much you've travelled Europe and don't want to teach you how to suck eggs. With the hotels, Italy and Europe generally (and I am generalising) don't do the same level of "nice" as say the States, Asia, or us for example. So perhaps miter the expectation slightly?

I ALWAYS use the official site of the race I'm going to, so, https://www.f1italy.com/en/tickets or https://www.imolaf1.com/en/tickets

Subscribe and they will let you know when the tickets are going on sale.

We spent a week in Bologna and whilst there is plenty to see, we did day trips from there. You cannot see all of Bologna in a day let alone all the cool things around there. It is a lot bigger than we expected.

Things to do -There are a thousand and one Cafe's and restaurants, markets, Modena (Enzo Ferrari Museum) is about half an hour away, the Ducati factory and Museum are in the suburbs, Italian sportscar Lambo, Ferrari and Maserati) factories are all there or around there, did I mention the food!

Bologna is the food bowl of Italy, famous for Balsamic, Parmigiano Reggiano, Prosciutto and red wine (all the good things in life) so you MUST do a food tour. The three of us did a lunch tour. Started at 7am with a visit to a Parmigiano factory tour. Then breakfast of cheese, prosciutto and wine at a Balsamic business and finally a tour of a Prosciutto factory followed by a five-course lunch with wine "tasting". My Son and I rolled out of the van when the driver dropped us back at our unit.

We actually didn't stay at Como, unfortunately we stayed in Milan. There are plenty of nice places to stay in Como though. You must do a ferry trip on the Lake, it is spectacular. We got off for lunch at Bellagio and climb the hill and found a beautiful place overlooking the lake.

I added a few pics of Bologna and surrounds so you can see how nice it is.

Now onto Spa.

This was my dream track and has been for fifty years. We were there two years ago and it was worth the wait. The track is spectacular!!!

We stayed in Maastricht and caught the shuttle bus to the track each day as it is almost impossible and ridiculously expensive to get accommodation anywhere near the track.

Let me know if you have any questions, more than happy to help if I can!

[MoeTE87]

Originally Posted by HFW003

You are very welcome!

Not sure how much you've travelled Europe and don't want to teach you how to suck eggs. With the hotels, Italy and Europe generally (and I am generalising) don't do the same level of "nice" as say the States, Asia, or us for example. So perhaps miter the expectation slightly?

I ALWAYS use the official site of the race I'm going to, so, https://www.f1italy.com/en/tickets or https://www.imolaf1.com/en/tickets

Subscribe and they will let you know when the tickets are going on sale.

We spent a week in Bologna and whilst there is plenty to see, we did day trips from there. You cannot see all of Bologna in a day let alone all the cool things around there. It is a lot bigger than we expected.

Things to do -There are a thousand and one Cafe's and restaurants, markets, Modena (Enzo Ferrari Museum) is about half an hour away, the Ducati factory and Museum are in the suburbs, Italian sportscar Lambo, Ferrari and Maserati) factories are all there or around there, did I mention the food!

Bologna is the food bowl of Italy, famous for Balsamic, Parmigiano Reggiano, Prosciutto and red wine (all the good things in life) so you MUST do a food tour. The three of us did a lunch tour. Started at 7am with a visit to a Parmigiano factory tour. Then breakfast of cheese, prosciutto and wine at a Balsamic business and finally a tour of a Prosciutto factory followed by a five-course lunch with wine "tasting". My Son and I rolled out of the van when the driver dropped us back at our unit.

We actually didn't stay at Como, unfortunately we stayed in Milan. There are plenty of nice places to stay in Como though. You must do a ferry trip on the Lake, it is spectacular. We got off for lunch at Bellagio and climb the hill and found a beautiful place overlooking the lake.

I added a few pics of Bologna and surrounds so you can see how nice it is.

Now onto Spa.

This was my dream track and has been for fifty years. We were there two years ago and it was worth the wait. The track is spectacular!!!

We stayed in Maastricht and caught the shuttle bus to the track each day as it is almost impossible and ridiculously expensive to get accommodation anywhere near the track.

Let me know if you have any questions, more than happy to help if I can!

Thank you for the detailed post! Very helpful and exactly what I am looking for!

I have been to Europe only once. Went to London and Paris in the summer 2002. So it's been awhile and I was 18 then. Wife has never been to Europe.

I will have to look into where to stay and will need to concentrate a lot of my time to that. But if you have any links to places you stayed in then past, that would be a huge help! Thanks!

That is what I thought for tickets but wanted to ask and make sure I was thinking correctly and not just assuming.

I will make sure to put Bologna on the list of towns to explore! We are big foodies and love to drink wine! So Bologna sounds like it has everything we are looking for, for a day or two of our trip.

Thanks for the pictures! Definitely helps to see what to expect and gets planning this trip full of excitement!

Spa is definitely on our bucket list but so is my sister in laws and her husband as well! So we might do that trip with them in a few years. They are actually heading to Germany this September for a few weeks and I wish F1 was still running a race in Germany because we would have totally went with them!

So for the public transportation, do they have a highspeed train or train that we can take to visit places that would be a little too far to drive?


Thanks!

[HFW003]

Originally Posted by MoeTE87

Thank you for the detailed post! Very helpful and exactly what I am looking for!

I have been to Europe only once. Went to London and Paris in the summer 2002. So it's been awhile and I was 18 then. Wife has never been to Europe.

I will have to look into where to stay and will need to concentrate a lot of my time to that. But if you have any links to places you stayed in then past, that would be a huge help! Thanks!

That is what I thought for tickets but wanted to ask and make sure I was thinking correctly and not just assuming.

I will make sure to put Bologna on the list of towns to explore! We are big foodies and love to drink wine! So Bologna sounds like it has everything we are looking for, for a day or two of our trip.

Thanks for the pictures! Definitely helps to see what to expect and gets planning this trip full of excitement!

Spa is definitely on our bucket list but so is my sister in laws and her husband as well! So we might do that trip with them in a few years. They are actually heading to Germany this September for a few weeks and I wish F1 was still running a race in Germany because we would have totally went with them!

So for the public transportation, do they have a highspeed train or train that we can take to visit places that would be a little too far to drive?


Thanks!

You are very welcome, happy to help if I can.

We are lucky enough to have travelled extensively through most of Europe and Scandinavia. Last year we spent five weeks travelling around Norway and a week at the British GP.

This year we are leaving home on December 20th and flying to London for a few days. Then to Zermatt for Christmas, Chamonix for a few days, Paris for New Years, then Strasbourg, Stuttgart, Munich and Berlin.

When we travel we generally like to stay with the locals rather than big hotels. You will find in Italy, other than the major Cities, there aren't many high-end hotels anyway.

In the smaller Cities, and I'm generalising, it's either units or smaller boutique places, a lot of which have been converted from other buildings.

We're always away for four to eight weeks so we need washing machines as well!

I would suggest just getting onto Airbnb and having a look. You will be spoilt for choice.

Europe generally has a wonderful train system and Italy has some of the best. The Frecciarossa trains are like being in a Ferrari with very big leather seats to watch the gorgeous countryside go by.

The hardest thing, and the best tip with catching trains over there, is to know which carriage you are in and where it stops on the platform. There is nothing worse than getting on a train with six suitcases and being on the opposite end of the train to where your seats are and having to struggle through twenty carriages. Ask me how I know

We always have first class seats and you will also need to book a seat reservation with the ticket. I would suggest prebooking the longer trips if you are doing them.

We caught a train from Bologna to Modena on the local network. Very easy to do and you can easily get tickets at the station. Be careful and make sure you go to the correct platform. Some major stations will have multiple platforms with the same number. One will be where the intercity trains are the other will be to catch the local trains.

The only rider to all this wonderfulness is the very local green and white trains in Italy. They are horrendous and I would avoid them at all costs. If you miss the fast train from Como to Milan you will have to catch one of the green and white ones so check the schedule.

Let me know if there are any other questions, happy to help!

[Alfisti]

That's the most Australian post ever. 'Mericans think a week is a long holiday, at two weeks they question your loyalty to your job. 3 weeks is treason.

[CLTMDA]

I used this Company to help identify a travel agent that specialized in the area I wanted to visit.

https://www.zicasso.com/

Zicasso did not plan the trip itself, but did locate an outfit that did. We used them for two separate trips, two week each. The first was a trip to Germany (mostly southern Germany, including Salzburg) and the second was a trip in France that started in Normandy and included stops in Paris, the Loire Valley, Provence and ended in Nice. They were both trips of a lifetime and trips I use as a benchmark.

There is no obligation, but it might be a useful alternative as the sources they suggest are experts in the locale you are interested in. We had private guides where they suggested and a detailed itinerary for each day with options of things to do and recommendations for where to eat.

[The J-Man]

For a one week trip:
Tahiti/Bora Bora.

Hawaii is second best with more to do. 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay on Kauai has the prettiest views in all of Hawaii.

Caribbean is garbage.

For 2 weeks+:
There is no better resort/beach+culture destination than Thailand.

[Llarry]

One thing nobody has mentioned yet is that you need to fly first class for the longer flights. It makes all the difference in air travel. I've done it a couple of times now and it makes the experience semi-sane. The difference in air fare is eye-watering, but I don't care -- life's too short! And maybe you've got points or something.

Back in the 1960s and 1970s I took lots of Trans-Pacific flights (California to Japan or the Philippines or vice versa); some were on prop planes. If I were to do one of those 12 hour-plus trips now, they'd need a coroner to meet the plane!

[MoeTE87]

Originally Posted by Llarry

One thing nobody has mentioned yet is that you need to fly first class for the longer flights. It makes all the difference in air travel. I've done it a couple of times now and it makes the experience semi-sane. The difference in air fare is eye-watering, but I don't care -- life's too short! And maybe you've got points or something.

Back in the 1960s and 1970s I took lots of Trans-Pacific flights (California to Japan or the Philippines or vice versa); some were on prop planes. If I were to do one of those 12 hour-plus trips now, they'd need a coroner to meet the plane!

Thank you Llarry! I think we might splurge on getting First Class tickets. I have a companion ticket that I need to book with by 8/31/25 so that will help a lot when it comes to airfare.

[Alfisti]

I fly business class (there's no first class available in North America unless on Etihad or Qantas or some Asian carriers) when I can scam them on points and no one, i mean no one flys as much ultra long haul as I do on this board and I can 1000 percent say you're utterly insane spending real money in business class tickets. Worse case it is over in 16 hours, you're gonna drop 10 fucking K on 16 hours? 20K for 2 tickets? That's more than a really good 2 week trip.... in 16 fucking hours.

Furtherest we've talked here is Greece, 12 hours .... suck it up.

Utter lunacy. Harden the fuck up.

[HFW003]

Alfisti

"i mean no one flys as much ultra long haul as I do on this board" hmmmm?

[Alfisti]

Originally Posted by HFW003

Alfisti

"i mean no one flys as much ultra long haul as I do on this board" hmmmm?

LOL aussies and our distance. I usually do about 2 trips a yr Toronto to Sydney. Not the Toronto near NEwcastle!

[HFW003]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

LOL aussies and our distance. I usually do about 2 trips a yr Toronto to Sydney. Not the Toronto near NEwcastle!

Fucken soft cock Yanks!

They should try a 27 hour flight from Sydney to London.

I agree with your thoughts on business/first class. We fly very frequently and whilst we're not poor we would never fly business/first class as we prefer to spend the coin on dinners and the like. Same reason we don't usually stay in very high end hotels.

I have insisted on having the extra leg room exit seats now though!

With saying that, people can spend their money how ever they like

[Alfisti]

I'd spend the money on a nice hotel for 2 weeks than 16 hrs in economy but yeah aisle seat at least. I do nab the business first seats every so often on points, obviously a much nicer experience though United's Gen 1 777's are the absolute loudest fucking things in the sky if you get the back of business first, insanely loud.

[MoeTE87]

Damn, okay...that escalated quickly..

I don't need to justify my thought process of exploring wanting to purchase first class tickets. The wife and I take a few trips domestically each year. We have only taken one international trip together in our 13 years of being together and that was back in Jan 2023.

We plan on traveling a lot more once our daughter get's older.

So who cares if we want to splurge on getting a First Class ticket? We may do it, we may not. But it also helps to have a companion ticket in our back pocket to use so we can fly two people for the price of one.

I appreciate everyone's input for the flight stuff, but at the end of the day, this is my wife's and I trip and if we want to spend the money on first class...so be it.


Now back to what my thread is about......


Wife and I decided to go to the Emilia-Romagna race in May 2026. Assuming with the schedule coming out later this year, F1 is still going to this track in May 2026.

We figured with the other Italy race in Sept, with the way Delta has their flight schedule right now..it wont work and the companion ticket would expire a month to 1.5 months before their flight schedule is updated.

Thanks.