It’s been three years since we flew abroad as a full family! Wow! So much time has passed, it’s hard to believe!
My children are currently at my age: 21, 18, 13.
So here it is finally happening!
About six months ago, I ordered our tickets to Bergamo – Italy and hoped that the trip
would actually come true.
In a crazy time like the one we are going through with the corona epidemic, closures, vaccinations
and various restrictions all over the world.
As soon as the flights resumed as usual and crowds of people full of longing for airports began to fly –
the pressure increased in the airports and in the news
On TV they constantly scared and showed the congestion and long queues at the airport.
In one moment of panic, I decided to order a VIP queue shortening service from the Lauper company, I filled
out all the flight details on their website, including
The details of the terminal from which we will depart (Terminal 1) I paid about 1000 NIS and we were all calm.
A few days before the flight I called Laufer to ask where they would meet us at Terminal 1,
they told me at the gate 2 entrance.
The day before the flight, I get a call from Malofer and they tell me that they don’t have service at Terminal 1.
The day before the flight!! Something they have known for a long time!
I was very, very angry at their audacity! I do not recommend you to deal with this unreliable company!
No matter how angry I got, the service was canceled and my money was refunded.
On the day of the flight, we arrived at the field 4 hours ahead of time and in less than an hour we
were already at Terminal 1 duty free.
There was no need to shorten queues and everything went smoothly, to our delight.
The flight was pleasant, although there was a slight delay of about half an hour.
We landed in Bergamo, collected the only suitcase we sent and went to the car rental station to
pick up the pre-ordered car from Rentalcar.
Car Rental
The car was ordered through the Rentalcar website from a company called Noleggiare – we didn’t make sure
to read reviews about this company before renting the car
And when I read bad reviews, we were already too close to the trip date and we didn’t want to make any
changes to the reservation..
I really recommend you stay away from this Noleggiare company and do not order a car from them, for the
following reasons:
We didn’t get the car we ordered, they offered us a car much, much worse than what we ordered,
After insisting on our part, we got another car that was more reasonable than what was offered to us.
And we’re not the only ones who didn’t get what they ordered, there was a couple with us who got a car that
didn’t have enough space for them
Their luggage was mostly small and not roomy.
In addition, it took hours to pick up and return the car!
When returning the vehicle, the fuel level did not go up to the end even though we refueled “Pul”, they sent us
again to a gas station to refuel, where I took a photo for them
In the video they will see that the fuel is spilled out of the tank and the indicator does not go up!
In short – a problematic company, service is not something they specialize in, look for another company with
good reviews and stay away from it!
Here you will search for a car for rent, pay attention to the company name and the reviews.
The first day of the trip - arrival at the destination and Sirmione at night
After a very long delay in receiving the vehicle, we set off.
I arrived in Italy prepared with a SIM card for surfing and calls and it was excellent
Because I had to call our first accommodation to make sure they were waiting for us there.
You will find details about the SIM card and discount here
So we arrived relatively late at our first hotel, which is actually a cute campsite with a pool, washing machines
and dryers,
A private beach on Lake Garda and more..
We got our room, settled in and went out to eat at a cute and quiet restaurant we saw on the way to the hotel,
the food was delicious.
We ate regular pasta, pesto pasta, pumpkin fettuccine (the childrens liked it, me – less), salad, and chips.
From there we took a short drive to Sermione, wandered around the streets and ate a delicious
and beautiful ice cream there.
We returned to the hotel tired and satisfied, tomorrow we will gradually pick up the pace..
Hotels in Lake Garda
The second day of the trip - Sermione + Paschiara del Garda + Borgato
I got up early before everyone else, we walked around the campsite,
I saw the amazing sunrise and the ducks in the slowly awakening lake..
I woke up my husband and we went to Super Lidl at half past seven to buy products
for breakfast and snacks for the day.
We bought fresh bread, vegetables, fruit, butter, milk, Nutella, olives, snacks and more.
I made them: omelettes, salad and a hot drink. We ate and set off.
We started the day in Sermione in daylight (yesterday we were there at night),
but before that – on the way to Sermione we saw a small local market
And we decided to stop and take a tour there.. It was nice, we bought some small and cheap things there and continued on our way to Sermione.
In Sermione, we left the car in the parking lot with Midhan and later sent the older son
Add money and extend the parking time.
Minimum trip there: two-three hours.Sermione is a picturesque town surrounded by water on all sides, the
town is in the southern part of Lake Garda, beautiful and very touristy.In Sermione you will see tall pines,
ancient villas that lie on both sides of a peninsula,
ducks swimming in the lake, shops, ice cream parlors and more.
Point the Waze to the Parcheggio Auto e Camper car park
At the entrance to the old city you will find an impressive fortress (Rocca Scaligera), which was built in the
13th century by the Scaligera family
who ruled the city at the time. If you want to go up to the observation deck at the top of the citadel,
you have to pay, you can be satisfied with seeing it from the outside.
From there, continue walking between the old houses towards the amazing Jamaica Beach.
On the way you will find many ice cream parlors where you will eat the best ice cream of the trip.
We walked through the alleys, sat by the water and watched the ducks, ate ice cream again and a
few hours later we returned to the car
And we saw on the way to the parking lot a large amount of luxury vehicles that especially excited
the boys.
The large parking lot in Sirmione on the right side – the parking lot is very close to the fortress,
It is highly recommended to take a boat ride in the botka, which is 50 meters from the parking lot along the
lake, and ask the boatman to drop you off at the entrance to the fort.
Links to parking in Sermione:
From there we continued towards a shopping center called IL LEON,
it is near our next destination – the karting.
In this center my son was looking for an iPhone 14 and found it in a local store (not an iPhone store),
we convinced him not to buy from there
Because he probably won’t have a sufficient warranty on the device… so after persuasion and efforts
he gave up and will continue to look for a phone during the trip..
In this mall I bought a SIM card with 200 gigabytes for 25 euros from the W3 store and installed it in my
big daughter’s phone.
Two days later the internet ran out, we went to the store and realized that we had to top up the card
with a minimum of 5 euros.
Apparently the seller who sold me the ticket lied to me, but even with the extra 5 euros – the deal is worthwhile.
30 euros for 200 gigabytes.
Open an access point and the whole family surfs together on the same SIM card.
From there we went karting, we saw professional drivers driving the track at crazy speeds that made me think twice
If I want to see my boys on this track! We asked there and were told that only at 17:00
You can rent a car and drive the route, so we drove from there to our next destination because we have until five o’clock…
Address: Via Corte Ferrarini, 2, 25017 Lonato del Garda BS, Italy
Phone: +39 030 991 9958
Useful Links:
This is what the symbol of the store from where I bought a 200 GB SIM card looks like:
From there we went to Paschiara del Garda.
The town of Pesqueira is a beautiful town surrounded by canals, walls, a town bustling with life
and recommended for an afternoon and evening trip.
It has a harbor that is probably one of the most beautiful on the lake. Keep in mind that there is a lot
of parking because all the parking is concentrated at the entrance to the town.
We wandered there in the streets, went up on foot to a high point where we saw people watching
And when we got to the point we realized what they saw there, how beautiful!
When we got off there we sat down in one of the restaurants, we ate different types of pasta, pizza,
salad, chips.
This is going to be our regular food for the next week, no objections (except my fitness trainer).
Links to parking in Paschiara del Garda:
Waze car park in the town of Peschiera (peschiera del garda) close to the recommended restaurant Bellavista
From there we went to Borgato, it was also beautiful there but the place itself is small and there
weren’t too many options of places to sit for dessert or something like that.
Such.. So we just walked around the place, took pictures, took pictures and drove away.
Today we will go to bed early.
We arrived tired at our hotel, showered and went to sleep. Buona notte (good night)!
The third day of the trip - Monte Baldo + Lake Tano + Verona Falls and more
Today was cold.
Today we also had a delicious breakfast at our campsite, this time I bought delicious and warm rolls from the
campsite store, we ate and set off.
Our destination: Monte Baldo cable car. We made a mistake and wrote in the vehicle’s navigation
software “Monte Baldo” and it led us to the right mountain but to the wrong point which is near the
cable car but there is no access to the cable car from there, we have to make a round trip all the way back,
it took us a lot of time and a lot of strength and it’s frustrate us a little!
I only had to rely on the Waze on my phone.
The link I had led us to the second ascent point of
the cable car and not the first one down,
But after all the delay we had this morning we didn’t care where to get on the cable car.
We paid at the second point the same price as you pay at the first point + they took money for the masks
we received (they didn’t say it was
Paid, they didn’t ask if we wanted it, I had such masks in my bag and I didn’t need them) but
I didn’t say anything. I paid for a card + masks
(Consider my older son as a child so it turned out in the end that we paid as we should have
paid in the first place without the masks..).
We boarded the cable car which arrived within a few minutes, the car from this station
(unlike the first car that takes from the first station to the second) turns around
180 degrees and thus you can see all directions of the landscape on the way up. We reached the top and
walked for about fifteen minutes to the edge of the mountain from where there is a point
Good view of Lake Garda.
If you fell on a cloudy day and visibility is not good – you can skip the experience and not go up the cable car.
Ticket cost 25 euros (child pays less).
Parking links (can’t tell you which station the link leads to):
From there we drove to the amazing Tanu lake, a stunning turquoise lake, it was cool so there was
no point in sitting there for a picnic, we enjoyed the sight of the lake,
From the clear water, we fed the hungry fish with bread and about half an hour later we returned to
the car (we parked there for free).
From there we continued to Verona Falls, a lovely place that doesn’t take long to visit, entrance fee:
about 6 euros per person, there is a discount for families with
Children. You can see the waterfall from below, climb a few steps and see it from above as well,
you will get wet from the trickling water, so you should have shoes
suitable and in raincoats or in special bags that wrap the clothes, you can buy at the entrance to the place.
The site also has stunning vegetation with signage next to each plant.
Riva del Garda + lemonade
From there we continued to the beautiful Riva del Garda and Lemona
They say that Riva del Garda is the most beautiful town on Lake Garda!
Parking outside the old town in the parking lot: Parcheggio ex ospedale.
Recommended restaurant: Ristorante Pizzeria Maffei.
The main square in the city is called Piazza 3 Novembre.
In Riba del Garda we had lunch, in Limona we made a short detour because it started to drizzle
so we didn’t linger..
A link to the partially covered parking lot in Riva MonteOro is recommended for those with children
and strollers, close to the boardwalk
The town of Limone sul Garda is a small town located 10 km from Riva del Garda.
The origin of the name comes from the word “lemon” which means “olimus tree” or from the Latin word
“limen” which means “border”.
The town is full of citrus and lemon trees and shops selling limoncello.
In the entire area and the settlements that surround Lake Garda, you can find restaurants,
rent a boat, stroll along the boardwalk and pass between shops.
The beauty of the town is very similar to the beauty of many other towns around the lake,
the restaurants there are touristy and expensive,
And you really don’t have to stop here for more than half an hour, and that too – to mark a V.
From the main road adjacent to the west bank of the lake (SS45) go down towards the lake,
There you can park in arranged parking lots and stroll through the ancient and beautiful alleys.
There are also many restaurants and cafes in the place, and apart from limoncello,
there are also many flavored liqueurs sold there.
We bought liqueur + limoncello from our favorite Lidl supermarket, much cheaper!
From there we went to the baths located near Kfar Kola. Some important things about these baths:
The parking is quite far from the baths.
From the entrance after you have paid, you still have a long way to go to the main building.
To get a locker you will have to pay 3 euros + leave a 10 euro deposit.
It is not worth coming to the place at night and when it is lying because the place is not covered.
It is better to arrive in daylight and in pleasant weather or to choose indoor baths (I will recommend another place later).
The water temperature is different from region to region, and if you entered the boiling jacuzzi and
warmed up – then as soon as you leave it the warm water outside You will have coolers for the jacuzzi.
it’s all relative..There is no time limit at the place.
Address: Via Madonna, 23, 37017 Colà VR
Parking (not close): Link to Waze
We were there for about two hours and when we finished we went back to our hotel to sleep. A long and full day has passed us,
Buona notte Buona notte (good night)!
The fourth day of the trip - Venice
Today is Sunday, New Year’s Eve, 25.9 my birthday – today we will spend the whole day in amazing Venice!
We vacated our room at the campsite and went to another campsite outside of Venice.
We checked in and drove to the Mestre train station. There we left the car in the parking lot
(maximum 18 euros per day),
We wrote in the search in Wise Venezia Mestre station and left the car there.
We bought a daily ticket for 24 hours for public transport from a kiosk located at the station,
25 euros per person for a daily ticket. And we traveled on the Venice train about 2 stops to a station called Santa Lucia station
We got off there and started our walking tour towards San Marco square.
Upon our arrival in Venice we saw a Magnum ice cream shop and indulged ourselves
In a special and delicious ice cream. We continued to walk until San Marco Square,
there are signs all the way and from there we got on a Wupperto
With him we went to our Creator (with our daily ticket)
In our colorful and special creation, we wandered through the alleys, ate chips,
drank something and returned by bus (there is a long line for the boat
Coming back from there! Prepare yourself mentally, we saw this queue already when we arrived at the place).
In the evening we returned to the alleys of Venice and from there we went to the Jewish Quarter
for the holiday eve prayer, after the prayer at the Chabad house we joined the holiday dinner
that we ordered in advance, there was a good atmosphere, it was pleasant and fun,
and all the people at the table even sang to me in a loud voice “Happy Birthday”…
After the holiday dinner we returned by train to our car which was waiting for us at the station
and from there to our campsite to get the room, shower and sleep.
Buona notte (good night)!
A little more about Venice:
Mercato di Rialto Market – Near the Rialto Bridge there is a nice market of souvenirs and also
many stalls of fresh cut fruit and natural fruit juices.
If you travel to Venice in the summer there is no doubt that a refreshing fruit drink with ice
can be a good choice. The market is called Mercato di Rialto.
A nice place that serves reasonable coffee and also delicious sandwiches (worth knowing: if you sit
inside the cafe/restaurant The prices are half the price of those who sit outside):
the place is called Ristorante Al Theatro and I heard that the strudel there is also very nice.
Kosher in Venice: the restaurant also has the meat, there is a pizzeria that has other things (dairy) there,
the name: also Godis,
There is a kosher bakery in Venice, and a meat “restaurant in the ghetto” opened not long ago.
The fifth day of the trip - Verona + thermal Baths
Buongiorno (good morning)
This morning we had a paid breakfast at our campsite near Venice, after breakfast
We emptied our caravan and went to Verona!
There we left the car in a covered parking lot (expensive) and walked towards Yulia’s house (we used Google Maps),
We walked through a boulevard of brand stores until we reached Yulia’s house, we saw the balcony,
We took a picture with Yulia’s statue, the line was quite short and everyone touched her chest
without any hindrance..
From there we continued to the alleys of the city, sat down to eat a delicious dessert, entered a few
shops and returned to our car.
Luckily we didn’t stay too long because the price of parking was excessive.
Verona is a historical city with dozens of attractions: castles and bridges, an amphitheater no less
impressive than the Colosseum in Rome.
You will find a fascinating car museum here and the list goes on. Worth dedicating at least a day to Verona,
we didn’t spend much time on her.
The city of Verona Verona is best known as the scene of the famous and tragic love story between
Romeo and Juliet,
And Julia’s balcony is probably the most famous site in the city. Besides this site, Verona is also
considered a World Heritage Site,
Due to the fact that many buildings from the Roman period have been preserved. History buffs will
especially enjoy the museums and ancient buildings,
Chief among them is the Arena – the ancient Roman amphitheater, which is the third largest in the world.
In its past, Verona was of great strategic value and a wall was built around it, the remains of which
can still be seen today.
The famous balcony where the two confessed their mutual love is in Verona, at Via Cappello 27
In front of a house from the 13th century.
Julia’s house is in a central and touristic area of Verona,
You can come to the place and see it from the outside and feel the special atmosphere of the place
Or purchase an entrance ticket and see the house from the inside, inside the house there are
interesting exhibitions
which include collections of paintings and sculptures and even the setting of the movie
Romeo and Juliet that was released in the late sixties.
You should check the opening times (of the house itself) in advance.
From there we went to a shopping center in Verona ADIGEO – the mall is open every day from 09:00 to 21:00.
The shopping center is at the entrance to the city of Verona and it also has a Primark.
We were focused and did not enter irrelevant stores,
Only to specific and individual stores that you planned to enter. Because we have an outlet on
schedule soon and that’s where we will concentrate most of our shopping.
Waze to parking
From there we drove to our next hotel, got the room and went to the Aquadance baths, not before
eating pizza at a pizzeria on the way..
Tips for those coming to Aquadens baths:
If you want to shorten the waiting time in line at the entrance – order a ticket in advance on
the venue’s website.
If you want to stay at the place for less than 4 hours – order a ticket in advance on the website of the place.
If you don’t order tickets in advance you will have to wait a long time in line and you can order a
ticket for 4 hours or less.
In my opinion, two hours is enough (I personally exhaust myself after an hour, but that’s me).
No swim cap required.
The place is partially covered, the water is warm and pleasant in all the pools equally.
You get a locker at no extra charge.
There is something to buy, eat and drink on the spot (toast, salad, pizza, and more).
You should arrive in the daylight before dark and stay there even in the dark, it’s beautiful there
in the light and in the dark.
And so we ended this day with about 3-4 hours in the baths (we didn’t order a ticket in advance then…)
The sixth day of the trip - shopping and Lake Isau
Buongiorno (good morning)
We started the day at a beautiful and open outlet called Franciacorta Outlet Village
We shopped there mostly at Nike, sat at Starbucks and when we finished there we went to Lake Iseo
We wanted to tour Lake Isau by bike but we couldn’t find an open place to rent bikes, so we did a hike there,
The place is really really beautiful and peaceful, we ate ice cream and returned to the car.
The lake is in the Alpine region of Lombardy between the cities of Bergamo and Brescia.
It stretches 5 kilometers from west to east and is 25 kilometers long from north to south.
You can go hiking in the area in all seasons, but the most popular months are from May to October.
Lake Iseo is surrounded by small towns that can be visited by special boats that run on a schedule
Special from town to town and entrances to each of them.
Tip:
When parking in Isao, I activated the EASYPARK application, very recommended and convenient,
Download the app upon receiving the vehicle, enter details
car and means of payment and when you get to the parking lot open the app,
It scans your location and tells you if parking is found there
which is in an arrangement with them, if so then you can activate the parking, set a time
(it is better to set more)
And when you have finished and returned to the car, you stop the parking in the application.
That way you don’t have to put unnecessary money in the meter without knowing how long
you will be traveling there and without rushing back
to the car…
From there we went to our hotel which is near the airport, we got two gorgeous rooms, the kids
stayed at the hotel and we went to return the car.
Link to the hotel at the airport
We were delayed a lot in returning the car, meanwhile the older son walked in the mall next to the
hotel and found there the phone he was looking for the whole trip (-:
We returned to the hotel to get ready for our flight, my husband helped the child purchase the phone,
they also bought a large and satisfying dinner from the mall
And we all went to sleep.
We got up the next day at 4:10 am, checked out and walked about 12 minutes to the airport.
If you want a shuttle
It’s a minute’s drive from the hotel and costs 5 euros per person.
Depositing the suitcase in the field was independent, also the weighing of the suitcase, it went easily.
The flight back was fast and pleasant, the trip was beautiful and fun for all of us!
Hope we will travel again very soon!
Italy is amazing, enjoy! Chow (bye and hi in Italian)!
Tips and recommendations
Take small coins with you for the dispensers and to enter the toilets.
Keep small money mainly for parking in isolated places like Tano lake where you can’t use bills.
On the highway it is actually possible.
Don’t be afraid to use the freeways, it’s great, it saves traffic and it’s reasonably priced.
Just note that you are in a lane that is not for subscribers (in yellow, TELEPASS) but where there is an
icon of a hand with money in white.
There are sometimes paths that are both.
In the hot season (when it is packed with tourists) it is advisable to avoid driving on the bypass road
of the lake, especially on the weekend.
There is a chance to get stuck in traffic there. Although it’s an amazing road,
it’s likely that you’ll drive there once or twice anyway when you have to.
WAZE works great in the area, you just have to be very attentive because the traffic circles and
small turns are sometimes complicated.
Not everything is parks and parks, don’t run to all the parks and exhaust yourself, the views are beautiful
and there is a variety of things to do.
* Be nice! You returned to the car and you still have time left in the parking lot (where there is a meter)
give your ticket to the person who just arrived in the parking lot, he must be
He will be pleasantly surprised and it will make him very happy, that’s what we did.
Pay attention to driving according to the speed rules, there are plenty of cameras everywhere
and certainly not to enter the restricted vehicle zones (ZTL). This is what the sign looks like:
Driving rules in Italy
*Pay attention to Italy as Italy has its own driving rules, cameras scattered every 500 meters and
inconsistent speeds on roads that can vary 3
times per kilometer, so pay attention to the speed limit, you should download an app called “camsam”
which detects almost all cameras unlike wise.
The speed on most intercity roads is about 70 km/h and on the highways 130 km/h.
We used the vehicle’s navigation software as a backup for Wise’s navigation because it alerted about cameras.
*In addition, in every city center there is an area where it is forbidden to enter with signs in Italian,
Zona traffico limitato, pay attention to where you enter!
Do not enter this area under any circumstances.
I use Google Translate to translate my website into English. If you found mistakes – I would appreciate it if
you sent me a message about it.
Thanks!
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