A flight from Paris had us landing in Munich, the German city where we started our hop-on hop-off adventure with Busabout – a tour company that operates transport between 3 different loops, allowing you to ‘hop-on’ and ‘hop-off’ at the destinations you choose. The 3 loops covered the North (Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria), the South (Austria, Italy, France, Switzerland) & the West (France & Spain). We opted for the south loop. Busabout has no age limit and takes you between destinations on the loop that include must stop locations (at least 1 night stay) & optional stops (at least 2 nights stay). For example, you’ll be picked up in Munich at 8:00 am, it will travel via Innsbruck where you can choose to stay for a minimum of 2 nights or skip & continue on to Venice; where you have to stay a minimum of 1 night. You can change your travel frequently, choosing to stay for 1 night or a month if you wanted. Once you’re ready to leave, just jump back on a passing bus to your next destination.
Our quick stopover in Munich greeted us with hostel dorms, giant pizzas & even larger beers to match. We didn’t explore Munich in our short stay, choosing to leave it to the end of our trip as our Busabout loop finished here. We hopped on the bus, driving through the beautiful town of Innsbruck, regrettably not staying as we continued through the Italian alps to Venice!
Venice… two words: get lost! It’s the best way to explore the island and experience the quirkiness of Venice before you finally stumble across Piazza San Marco or St Marks Square & the Basilica where birds and tourists filled the square. Be sure to head up St Marks Campanile for great views over the square.
The back streets are your best options for tasty & authentic meals. Feeling as though we reached gelato heaven, we purchased different flavours each day as we walked the beautiful canals & the bridges that crossed them (like Rialto Bridge that crosses the grand canal). Due to the high price of €80, we chose to share a Gondola ride with friends. I believe it’s worth it as the Gondolier takes you through the canals to explore Venice with views of the Doge’s Palace & the bridge of Sighs.
With a free day, I recommend jumping on a ferry to the neighbouring islands of Venice.
Morano
Known as the island of glass blowing, we watched a demonstration of how it’s made as the man created a stallion in no time before it shattered into pieces! More delicious gelato will greet you as you explore the beautiful streets before heading on to the next island….
Borano
A small island filled with colourful houses, quaint streets, bridge crossings and lace making. This historic fishing village was my personal favourite and prettiest of all three islands especially as there was hardly any tourists in sight. We stumbled across a bar selling duff beer from the Simpsons which was both funny and random.
Back on the busabout bus and we were headed for the capital city of Rome.
ONLY HAPPY WHEN I TRAVEL 