[Contact Patch]

Hi all,

My wife and I are planning to do our first ED on a '07 E90 328i around this Thanksgiving . Any suggestion to our itineray will be greatly appreciated.

Day 1: LAX to MUC. Arriving Munich in the late afternoon.

Day 2: Pick up in the morning :thumbup: . Factory tour at 13:35. Head to Venice.

Day 3: Venice.

Day 4: Venice --> Bologna --> Modena --> Florence.

Day 5: Leaving car in Florence, taking 7:30am train to Rome, sightseeing by Vespa and staying in Rome for the night.

Day 6: Sightseeing by Vespa, taking evening train back to Florence and staying in Florence for the night.

Day 7: Florence --> Pisa --> Portifino --> Milan. Maybe stay in Portifino for the night?

Day 8: Day-trip to Lake Como. Back in Milan in the afternoon for some shopping (wife’s request).

Day 9: Milan --> Munich/Zurich (have not decided on the drop-off city).

Day 10: Free day in the drop-off city.

Day 11: Early fly back to LAX.


Do you recommend staying in Portifino, instead of Milan, in the end of Day 7? Do you recommend drop the car off and spend the extra day in Munich or in Zurich? :dunno: We prefer Munich a little more, but figure Zurich would be another city to see and shorter drive from Milan.

 

[Me530]

I'd spend the extra day in Munich. Also, you may have posted before, but what car are you getting?

 

[JSpira]

You are covering too many cities in 10 days. I recommend chopping the list in half and spending more time in each.

 

[Contact Patch]

I'd spend the extra day in Munich. Also, you may have posted before, but what car are you getting?

We are leaning torwards drop the car off in Munich and spend the extra day there. BTW, the car will be '07 E90 328i w/ ZSP.

Does it snow around Thanksgiving time in Munich?

 

[JSpira]

Does it snow around Thanksgiving time in Munich?

Well, and I have posted this here a million times, last year it started snowing around 18. November rather heavily and didn't stop until mid April.

 

[MarcusSDCA]

It sounds like a great trip if you like sitting in the car all day. Cut out Rome and forget Zurich, You'll get to Venice pretty late if you leave Munich at 4pm-ish. (and at that time of year you'll most likely miss a lot of the mountain scenery since it will be getting dark early)
I'm exhausted just reading your itinerary.

 

[X3 Skier]

Way to much unless the objective is to excercise your new wheels. Suggest more time in Venice and/or Florence and skip Rome this trip as Marcus suggested. Also unless you plan a drive by for the intermediate locations, you have too many places.

I agree with your drop off in Munich instead of Zurich. We had a 4 hour layover for a train change in Zurich and saw enough to prefer Munich.

Cheers and have a blast.

 

[Contact Patch]

You are covering too many cities in 10 days. I recommend chopping the list in half and spending more time in each.

J: would it help if I throw Austria into my itineray? I kinda felt that my original itineray was a bit amitious as well. I was trying to squeeze too many cities into our 1st ED. Here's my revised itineray. I've chopped off Rome all together and factory tour on the day of delivery.
11/16: Arrive Munich in the afternoon.

11/17: Pick up car and drive to Venice.

11/18: Sightseeing in Venice.

11/19: Drive to Florence.

11/20: Sightseeing in Florence and its surrounding area.

11/21: Drive to Portifino. Stop by Pisa along the way.

11/22: Drive to Milan in the afernoon.

11/23: Day trip to Lake Como.

11/24: Drive to Munich. Drop off car.

11/25: Exploring Munich via U-bahn, and doing beer garden hopping.

As always, any feedback/recommendation is welcome.

11/26: Catch early fly back to LAX.

 

[X3 Skier]

Better Plan

Factory tours are interesting to some but having worked in a Chevrolet assembly plant in Norwood OH along with a few others working through school waaaaay back in the day, I avoid them like the plague unless there are really great freebies handed out like at a brewery.

Now the Perfromance Center Experience and Driving School is another thing altogether.....

Cheers

 

[chrischeung]

Have you considered taking a train?

In Italy, when they are running, trains are very easy, comfortable and convenient. Travel to Venice by train, then, you could go from Venice to Rome overnight in a sleeper, and then do Rome and Florence. Then fly out of Florence back the the USA.

I haven't been to Lake Como, but out of everything you listed, it seems to be the least unique.

 

[Contact Patch]

Factory tours are interesting to some but having worked in a Chevrolet assembly plant in Norwood OH along with a few others working through school waaaaay back in the day, I avoid them like the plague unless there are really great freebies handed out like at a brewery.

Now the Perfromance Center Experience and Driving School is another thing altogether.....

Cheers

We are still thinking about booking the factory tour, though, on the day of drop-off instead of pick-up. We figure that if we can make it, fine. If not, there's always the next ED.

 

[Contact Patch]

In Italy, when they are running, trains are very easy, comfortable and convenient. Travel to Venice by train, then, you could go from Venice to Rome overnight in a sleeper, and then do Rome and Florence. Then fly out of Florence back the the USA.

I haven't been to Lake Como, but out of everything you listed, it seems to be the least unique.

I've not been to Lake Como, either. However, from the pictures and write-up's from other EDers, it looks like a must-see while in Italy. Does anyone agree?

We plan our route in the way that we AVOID dropping the car off in Italy and have someone drive it back to Munich.

 

[SouthBayM5]

I would stay in around lake Como if you are already heading up there. We stayed at an amazing hotel called Tremezzo Palazzo, which was on the lake directly across from Bellagio (a short boat ride away). It was fantastic and one of the highlights of our almost two-month trip in Europe. Personally, I'm not particularly fond of Milan, unless you are just going there just to shop. It is light on historic attractions and has a frenetic pace to it, which makes me feel like I'm not on vacation anymore. Seriously, since you live in the OC, tell your wife that you'll take her to Fashion Island, Rodeo, whatever, since shopping is shopping no matter where you go (you might even get some of the same stuff for cheaper in the states). Better yet, go to Portofino for a night instead, as they have almost every upscale retailer there, while maintaining the charm of this little fishing village turned yachting haven. As for the Austria, with the exception of Salzburg and the experience of driving through Tyrolean Alps, I didn't much care for our time in the country; I rather would have spent more time in Italy or Croatia. Finally, I recommend that you keep a city outside of Italy as your final destination (Zurich is a good choice), since they physically drive your car back to Munich if you drop it off in Italy. I don't know about you, but I don't want a perfect stranger driving my car for several hundred miles. I hope this was helpful.

 

[Contact Patch]

Well, and I have posted this here a million times, last year it started snowing around 18. November rather heavily and didn't stop until mid April.

Is this the typical the snow season in Germany/Northern Italy? This raises a concern of drivability because my car will come with summer tires. Will I encounter high-elevation, driving based on my revised itineray? If I will, is there other route to avoid that?

 

[JSpira]

Is this the typical the snow season in Germany/Northern Italy? This raises a concern of drivability because my car will come with summer tires. Will I encounter high-elevation, driving based on my revised itineray? If I will, is there other route to avoid that?

I would say, not atypical but last year's winter was harsh.

For planning a winter-time trip with a factory delivery, you need to be flexible and not have a schedule etched in stone. You might find conditions are such you will need to stay in Munich (i.e. not drive anywhere) - or it might be very nice for those days. Of course, you don't want to drive somewhere and then have a snowfall come 4-5 days after the start of your trip, isolating you with Heidi, her grandfather, and her goat.

 

[Contact Patch]

I would say, not atypical but last year's winter was harsh.

If the risk is high enough, I'd probably move the ED to late-October. However, that creates another potential problem. I joined BMWCCA last November. Will I still get the BMWCCA rebate if I do the ED in late-October and take re-delivery in the US around the New Year?

 

[GBPackerfan1963]

Of course, you don't want to drive somewhere and then have a snowfall come 4-5 days after the start of your trip, isolating you with Heidi, her grandfather, and her goat.

Hey, what's wrong with goats???? :bareass:

 

[JSpira]

If the risk is high enough, I'd probably move the ED to late-October. However, that creates another potential problem. I joined BMWCCA last November. Will I still get the BMWCCA rebate if I do the ED in late-October and take re-delivery in the US around the New Year?

From what I was told (by the exec. dir. of the CCA), it's the redelivery date that counts so you get a little bit of leeway.

I would recommend you verify that just to be sure nothing's changed.

Regarding whether the risk is high, I would add that summer tires significantly lose their adhesion below 13° and the average november temp. towards the end of the month is an average high of 5° so you will have significantly less adhesion as it gets colder. It will be "OK" but not ideal at 5°.

I would simply recommend going when you want and being flexible in your plans.