In the summer of 2023, we spent two amazing weeks exploring a section of the west coast of Italy, making it as far as Rome in our campervan. We traveled to Rome as a four, we traveled back up to Bergamo as a three, as my husband flew home from Rome to continue working for our construction company for the rest of the summer. From this pivotal point in our travels, the journey became a solo parenting one for me.

We loved our time in Italy and the children regularly ask when we will go back. It won't be this summer for sure, but perhaps 2025 will be the year that we finish off the west coast and explore the southern regions and some of the islands. A traveler's list is never shortened...!

Our summer 2023 wasn't planned in advance, we winged it most of the way. The only destination we had in our mind was making it to Rome with Jamie, knowing he would fly home from there, the rest of the trip was a 'do it and hope for the best'- and the best it was! So, here is a breakdown of our 14 days, the campsites we stayed on, the places we visited and our top recommendations for planning your own trip.

Day 1- We drove along mountain passes from Zurich until we reached Lake Maggiore, deciding that we would like to find a campsite somewhere near the lake and perhaps stay for a few days. This was our first mistake. We quickly realised that it wasn't easy to pull up and get a pitch at places as popular as this. We called/stopped in at every campsite, but to no avail. We were recommended two sostas (similar to French aires), but those were full too and needed booking in advance. Eventually we settled in a carpark for the night. Not the most lavish of stopovers, but a peaceful one in a great location right on the lake. The children went for a swim in the beautiful blue waters and we had a tasty dinner.

Day 2- We left Rio Maggiore and headed to Milan, deciding not to struggle again with campsites. I had secured three nights using Pitchup.com at Iron Gate Marina 3B in La Spezia and on the way we stopped at San Siro Stadium for our football fanatic son, Noah. We try to see football stadiums when visiting a new country and buy a shirt from the store. It just so happened that stadium tours were available on that day and were not too expensive. We toured the stadium and Noah was in his element! Then we made the rest of the journey from Milan to La Spezia. We found a great spot on the campsite and had a metre long pizza in the campsite restaurant for dinner.

Day 3- After a great night's sleep and a swim in the campsite pool in the morning, we decided to head out to the beach for our third day in Italy. Read my blog post here to find out what mistake we made today, and what we learnt about going to the beach in Italy...!

Day 4- Located so close to Cinque Terre, we decided to make our last day in this Italian region count by ticking off a bucket list adventure and visiting a Unesco World Heritage site. We drove up the steep mountain sides into Cinque Terre, only to discover another mistake- driving into the villages isn't actually possible! We were directed to a few parking spots and after struggling to find a space big enough initially, we came across a good spot and everybody cheered! We then made our way down into Manarola- one of the five villages and discovered how to get the train which runs between each of the five, headed for Riomaggiore. We enjoyed exploring the shops, bars and cafes in the winding streets of the village, making our way around the outside of the cliff that the village is built in to and headed to Fossola Beach. This breathtaking pebble beach has crystal clear waters and is teaming with fish- the perfect spot for the children's first experience of snorkelling. We spent the whole day here, this was one of our most memorable experiences from the whole trip!

Day 5- We left Liguria and headed for Tuscany- this was a crazy busy day! We stopped at The Leaning Tower of Pisa (another bucket list item ticked!) for those typical touristy photos. It was a quick visit as the day was so hot and the area was exceptionally crowded. We then continued into Tuscany for a day at Acqua Village waterpark- the children loved it! We were mesmerised by a man with his jet ski IN the swimming pool, when he rose up on jet boots, flying around in the air and spraying everybody with jet powered water. Crazy! After our full on day, we headed to our next campsite which had direct beach access- lovely.

Day 6- After learning about paying for a spot on the beaches in Italy on day 3, I wasn't taking any chances today. Despite having direct access to the beach from the campsite, we still needed to pay for access to the private beach with sunloungers, so I woke up early, walked along the beach to watch the sunrise, then waited for the staff to arrive before choosing our beds and getting a great spot! We enjoyed a wonderful day on the beach (until Noah was stung by a jellyfish... be prepared for these beasts if you're planning on beach trips in Tuscany!) and then a chilled dinner in the van before bed.

Day 7- Today we headed for Rome and booked Jamie's flight back home. Each of our locations had been broken up with 2/3 night stays with roughly a 3 hour journey between each region, which made the road tripping along the west coast much easier on all of us. We made it to Rome, checked in at our Campsite and headed into the city in a taxi. We saw the Trevi Fountain (crazy busy!), explored the Sant'Ignazio of Loyola Church (incredible painted ceilings and detailed architecture), the Pantheon and the Vittoriano before enjoying pizza with the romantic atmosphere you expect in Rome. It was incredible to see the city at night- I highly recommend it!

Day 8- Today was our last day as a four as Jamie's flight was booked for the evening from Rome back to Stansted, so we made the most of the day by heading back into the city. We had pre-booked a tour of the Colosseum for 10am, which was Rosie's main request for this whole trip after learning about it at school. It was absolutely incredible, seeing one of the 7 wonders of the world, major bucket list TICK! We also took an open top bus tour which was at a reduced price of just 5 euros each for adults and children were free with a code from our Colosseum tickets- result! We were able to tour the rest of the city out of the sweltering 35 degree heat in the breezy top of the bus! We then drove Jamie to the airport and said our goodbyes, ready to continue our Europe trip for another 3 weeks without him.

Day 9- Today we began to make the journey back up through Italy but steering away from the coast, heading towards Florence. We made a stop in Siena on the way, which was an extraordinary day! Find out what happened when we drove into Siena and discovered thousands of people and a horse draw parade in my instagram reel here:

Day 10- After our crazy day in Siena and a further drive on towards Florence, we made to our favourite Italian campsite of the trip- Camping Village Il Pogetto. On arrival last night, we just felt at peace here and decided to extend the 3 days I'd already booked, to 4. We had our first peaceful night in the van under a beautiful weeping willow tree with the hammock up. Today we had a serious mission though- find a fridge solution! Our campervan fridge had finally given up on us, after a week of ups and downs and messing with our electrics. So I found a Decathlon (campervanner's saviour!) and bought a 12v cool box. Then we went to the supermarket and filled up with a new load of shopping and headed back to the campsite for a disco in the sun at the pool!

Day 11- The children spent the morning playing up in the tree house playground (so cool!) and aerobics and dancing around the pool area. Then after lunch we took the bus into Florence. It was cheap and easy, we loved having the bus all to ourselves and I was grateful not to be spending another fortune on a taxi! We loved looking around the beautiful city, exploring the shops, buying souvenirs and finding a lovely restaurant for a delicious pasta dinner. We took the bus back again and had another peaceful night.

Days 12 and 13- We enjoyed two really slow days after such a busy few weeks on the go. We played games, read our books, played in the pool and generally enjoyed being together in the van. I loved having two full days without moving the van and constantly setting up and down. We truly loved this campsite and would highly recommend a stay here if you are heading to Florence.

Day 14- Our last day in Italy was simply a driving one. We had a long drive making our way up towards the north of Italy, ready to cross over into Switzerland the next day. We had our first night in an Italian Sosta (akin to a French aire) in Bergamo, which was easy, cheap and peaceful. I booked the sosta using pitchup and called on the drive to let him know our time of arrival. The owner was there waiting for us to open the secure gates and show us to our pitch. I was amazed to see that this sosta even had a shower and clean toilet facilities. We had pizza and played games before an early night to bed ready for our big long drive back to Switzerland in the morning.

So, that is a full break down of our time along the west coast of Italy! I hope this is useful and you gain some insight into campervan travels in Italy with young children and the varied experiences you can have when you just wing it! I'll share a full breakdown below of our expenses too, which may help you when budgeting for a similar trip.

Campsites- £605.71

Days out- £433.15

Food shopping- £265.63

Eating out- £258.36

Taxis/trains- £147.17

Fuel- £101.78

Tolls- £91.53

Decathlon- £90.72

Parking- £65

Souvenirs- £39.05

Total: £2096.10

Please do share this post with anybody you know who may be planning a European road trip, I would be so grateful.

Hollie x