1 Month Van Life Adventure in Italy

Here we go on a 1-month trip through Italian lands. We don’t have any set destinations, so every place we end up staying will come up without any planning.

We entered Italy through Switzerland, but we had a serious problem to deal with: the van was overheating so much that we had to stop every 10 minutes to add more water to the cooling system, because the water kept disappearing. We had already changed the water pump, but that didn’t solve it. We even removed the thermostat (to help the water circulate better), but things didn’t improve.

After endless struggles and mountain roads that only made things worse, we finally reached Italy and stopped for 2 days by Lake Maggiore. We knew the van needed fixing, but after the struggle of just getting to Italy, all we wanted was a bit of rest.

We parked by a very pleasant stream, where for the first time our new companion Simba (our cat) had contact with water. At first he found it strange, then he got curious about it.

After 2 days, with more energy, we wanted a quiet place with good internet to work. We used Iliad’s internet, and here’s how simple it is: go to an Iliad store, ask for a SIM card, choose a plan (ours had 250 GB/month for €11.99), it activates in 24 hours. Super simple and works well.

We found a peaceful spot away from cities, perfect to catch up on work and paddle around the lake with our board. We wanted to restock food in the van and move somewhere else. When I went to fill the water tank see that was full of oil. That’s when I realized we had to finally fix the problem, or we’d risk destroying the engine. We went to a mechanic who confirmed my suspicion: the head gasket. The repair quote was €900 and one week of work. Obviously, we didn’t accept. I told Lisa that for €900 we could buy the tools and the parts ourselves and replace the gasket. So that’s what we did. We bought the parts, got the tools, went back to the spot we were before, and started the job. Yes, we opened the whole engine (pieces everywhere) and replaced the damn gasket in the middle of nowhere. It took 2 days, with oil up to my shoulders, but when we turned the key the first time, it worked perfectly. YUPIII! In the end, we spent €180. Good deal.

We stayed there for a week, catching up on work, while Lisa prepared to pick up Mia in Germany, flying into Milan. No point going further south before that.

Finally, the day came to pick up Mia. We were happy because, despite all the work, the hard start to the trip, and the van troubles, everything was now ready to enjoy Italy with her. Mia didn’t even know we had Simba (we made it a surprise). When she saw him, was speechless and super excited, she loves animals. The plan was to spend the night near the airport where I picked up Lisa and Mia, and the next day head to Lake Garda.

Finally, we had water to swim, dive and paddle in. We spent a few days there, and I really recommend a visit but for more info and tips, check out the article about Lake Garda.

From Lake Garda, we headed to Venice. We’re not really into visiting big cities, but going to Italy and skipping Venice didn’t make sense. If you want to visit Venice safely and easily, follow my tips here, they’ll definitely make your trip smoother. We spent just one morning in the city, but it was enough to feel the magic of it. Lots of tourists, of course, but definitely a must-see (see the Venice article).

Since we were already on Italy’s east coast, the plan was to follow the sea south and then cross over to the west side to visit Rome, before heading back north along the coast to Milan. After Venice, we stopped at a beach Porto Garibaldi, it wasn’t anything special. After checking online, we decided to head toward Cinque Terre. We had seen amazing pictures of beaches perfect for swimming. We went to Monterosso public beach (Fegina). It was chaotic, any space to walk and it took effort just to lay down a towel. No doubt the place was beautiful, way too crowded, we stayed for an afternoon and kept moving south.

Finding places to stay near the beach is difficult. Since our next destination was still a bit far, we spent the night in the mountains, It was very comfortable, just imagine an absolute silence and a sky full of stars like a painting.

Continuing south, we drove down a dirt road near another beach (just 3 minutes walk away). That was it! The place we were looking for: a clean beach with not too many people around, couldn’t ask for more. The plan was to stay a few days, however on the second night, a car kept circling the van, flashing its lights at us. Rule number 1: if we don’t feel safe, we move. So we left and drove to the nearest town to sleep.

The next morning, we wanted to go to Rome, was a 5-hour drive. We decided to stop halfway at Bolsena Lake. I’m writing this from the lake right now, and it’s absolutely wonderful. We’ve been here 4 days, parked just 2 meters from the water, on a dead-end road with any traffic, clean and calm water, just perfect. If you’re traveling through Italy, I recommend coming here. It’s not as famous as Lake Garda, but it’s just as good. We’ll stay another 2 days before heading to Rome.

We went to Rome, as always with big cities, we arrived the evening before and slept on the outskirts. The next day, we parked the van in a secure (paid) lot and took the metro. You can buy a 24-hour ticket for €8.50, which lets you travel anywhere in the city. It’s cheaper, and kids under 10 travel free, you can probably buy it online but we bought it at a kiosk in the station. We visited the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Roman Forum and Pantheon. The size of these buildings is impressive, the way they’ve survived time is incredible. Everything was extremely expensive to get inside, so we didn’t go in (that’s not really our type of trip). I liked Rome for its grandeur and personality, mostly from its history and monuments. Be ready for lots of tourists and long lines if you want to enter.

After a day in Rome, we headed to the hot springs Cascate del Mulino. The biggest issue for vans is finding parking. There’s a paid lot but you can’t stay overnight, so that was out. We parked on a dirt road nearby, at 3 am someone knocked on the van saying it was private land and we couldn’t stay. Annoying, but nothing to argue. Luckily, the security guy showed us a better spot to park overnight, actually closer to the springs than the paid lot. If you go, you won’t find a better place to stay.

We spent the day at the springs. The water was around 35ºC, smelled a bit like rotten eggs (nothing too bad), very clean (running water) and relaxing. As expected, it was crowded, I would say that these springs, along with Bolsena Lake, were the best spots of the trip.

That night, we packed up and headed straight to Milan and then back to Portugal.

Even though this trip started with problems and we didn’t always find the places we hoped for, we managed to solve everything, find amazing spots and live moments that will stay with us forever.

As always, if you’ve got questions or just feel like exchanging ideas, feel free to send me a message.

Don´t forget:

If you go there,

go barefoot.

Carlos