Text: M.Zisso; Photo: Václav Pavlas
There is no doubt that Italy is among the most popular holiday destinations for Czech people. We love its history, the friendly people, the food, and the sea. We love it so much that we keep going back there every other year – together with our dogs, of course. This summer, we drove to Sorrento, specifically to our most favourite seaside place in the South of Italy – Relais Regina Giovanna.
A lot of things go through your mind while you prepare for a 10 day car holiday with two dogs. Among them are the sweet memories of our two Labradors (R.I.P.), who loved swimming in the Mediterranean Sea, and whom the Italian people called “Bello and Bellissimo”. With our two new puppies, Dexter and Boomer (who are Bernese Mountain Dogs), we now load the car for the trip to the south of Italy, about a 1500km drive in total, with a few stops on our way in order to explore Italy’s history before we can enjoy the seaside in our final destination of Sorrento.
When you travel with your dogs, about half of your car is full of their stuff. Several days before the trip, they should receive a dose of ‘Strong Hold’ – a medicine that will protect them against the infection carried by the Mediterranean Fly. You must prepare the dogs’ EU passports with the confirmation of required vaccinations, dog food, dishes, toys, towels, and treats. Much less is needed for us – basically our passports and travel insurance, clothes that we can wear when visiting museums and churches, and those for the beach. We bought The Vignette – Austria’s Motorway Toll Sticker. In Germany, there is no toll, and in Italy, you pay on the road.
With a full car and in an excellent mood, we left Prague early in the morning.
Prague – Baden-Württemberg (5h 45 min / 527 km)
Our first drive was from Prague to Baden-Württemberg to visit three monasteries: Ochsenhausen Abbey, Schussenried Abbey, and Basilica St. Martin. These are three monumental and exquisite examples of baroque religious art in former Upper Swabia. Although all of these were magnificent, in Schussenried you may see one of the most beautiful libraries in Europe.
We spent our first night at the Austrian Löwen – Hotel & Gasthof, Kohlgasse 1, 6800 Feldkirch. We made all our hotel reservations in advance via Booking.com, while opting only for hotels that welcome dogs and offer parking.
Feldkirch – Genova (5 h 30 min / 420 km)
After a tasty breakfast, we drove from Feldkirch to our next overnight stop at Ostello Bello Genova, a nice place when planning to explore Genova. This was a simple and clean hotel. It was a really hot day, so after a short walk in the city centre the “boys” were happy to sleep in the room and let us further explore the city on our own. We were lucky, as it was the day with free entrance to all museums. First, we visited Palazzo Reale and Palazzo Spinola e Galleria Nazionale della Liguria.
The Royal Palace is a huge urban palace, converted into a regal seat when new Genoa masters Savoy Royal House needed a representative palace in the Liguria Capital. On the other hand, Palazzo Spinola, hidden in the maze of small streets in the old town, is a beautiful representative of a Patrician palace, later changed into a Museum and Galleria.
The next morning, we visited Villa del Principe and Giardini, a beautiful palace and garden with a completely different story. Villa, originally built as a suburban palace by Andrea Doria (famous navy admiral of the Genoa republic fleet), is considered a marvel of Italian renaissance. Adorned by splendid frescoes, Villa is still managed by the Doria-Pamphilj Family. Don’t miss it.
Genova – Santa Margherita Ligure (50 min / 49 km)
We drove again, this time from Genova to Santa Margherita Ligure, in order to see Chiesa di Santa Margherita and walk by the Monumento a Cristoforo Colombo.
Santa Margherita Ligure – Chiavari (30 min / 19 km)
Our next hotel was Bed & Breakfast 4U, in the small village of Leivi. It is a nice small apartment hotel with a friendly owner. Watch out when parking there, they have a really narrow entrance. A short walk from the hotel was a local restaurant, Rostio (www.rostio.it), with really tasty food and a friendly service.
The next morning, we went for a small breakfast in the hotel itself. The breakfast room looked like a museum of vintage items, and we found out that the owner is a collector. One of the items that made me very curious was a big bomb (you can read more about it in our article on Chiavari Bridge).
In Italy, dogs can swim only at special dog beaches. Bagni Oasi is one of them, located just a short drive from Leivi at Spiaggia Villa Piaggio. This would be the first time our puppies Dexter and Boomer will swim. How will it go? It was a new experience for them, they were a bit afraid but slowly tried it a few times.
Chiavari – Tarquinia (4 h / 369 km)
The next morning, we left for Tarquinia, a small, charming city with really (!) old history, going back to pre-roman times. As one of the oldest Etruscan towns, it gave ancient Rome two of its seven legendary kings.
It was a very hot day again, so we left the boys in our nice apartment in the old part of the town and went to explore the place by ourselves. We visited the Duomo di Santa Margherita, Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Tarquinia at Palazzo Vitelleschi (where you can see the famous horses from the Ara della Regina), and took a long walk to the Necropolis to see several tombs.
After a short rest, we had a great dinner at the restaurant under our apartment (THERRA – Osteria e Carne al Fuoco) – those large and tasty portions were something we hadn’t experienced in a long time.
Tarquinia – Sorrento (4 h 20 min / 355 km)
New morning, new area. No more history. The real holiday is at the gate. We drove to our final destination of Sorrento, and, early in the afternoon, we arrived at the place we really love in South Italy – Relais Regina Giovanna. I still remember the first time we arrived in this magical place twelve years ago – a small, nice hotel with a private beach, where our puppies (back then it was only Zorro) will be allowed to swim. A charming place that the owner, Gianluca Picone, had big plans to make into a luxury home for people who want privacy, good service, and good and healthy food. Just above the beach, there was an empty place that became the heart of it all – a small restaurant and bar, with tasty food, wine, and of course Aperol Spritz. This venue’s incredibly friendly team made our holiday even more relaxed and fun.
We always feel at home here, walking around, surrounded by lemon and olive trees and a romantic sunset. In recent years, the hotel has become a bio-food hotel, with food made from their own vegetables. The breakfast is rich and tasty. The service is friendly. A very nice start to a real holiday at the beach.
So, here we are, and relaxing on the beach with our boys, Dexter and Boomer, was the highlight of this holiday. Our previous boys, Zorro and Choko, were Labradors and loved to swim. For our new Bernese Mountain Dog puppies, it was a new experience. It was Václav’s job to teach them how to enjoy the sea and swim, which wasn’t an easy task. After a few days at the dog beach, Dexter was swimming well, but Boomer hated it.
The hotel had an “a la carte” restaurant serving dinner, but the offer was limited, especially if you are not a seafood lover. So, in the evenings, we drove a few minutes to the nearby port Marina di Puolo, a place with a variety of restaurants. Ristorante-Bar DonVino was the best – make a booking in advance though, as it’s full most of the time.
Sorento – Cori (about 4 hours of driving)
Every good thing has to come to an end, and so, after a few days in this heaven, we drove back north to our home in Prague, again with a few stops on our way. In Cori, we took a short walk in the town centre, before arriving at our hotel – Cincinnato Wine Resort.
What a nice surprise! This was a lovely place, with a big modern swimming pool and a delicious variety of wines. The restaurant is open only on weekends, but just a short drive away we found a very good restaurant with delicious food. Cincinnato Wine Resort is located about 40km south of Rome, and it is a nice place to return to for a holiday, a company event, or even for a romantic wedding.
Cori – Trento (6 h 30 min / 627 km)
Trento was our last stop in Italy for now, and we stayed overnight only to continue driving again in the morning.
Trento – Prague (8 h 15 min / 729 km)
Home sweet home, full of new memories of our exciting adventures. We love Italy and the Italian hospitality, and hope to return soon. Arrivederci!