Mini Road Trip Italy: Sirolo – San Marino

At the end of March, I travelled to Italy for four days (from which two full days). Me and my friend booked flights to Bologna, from where we decided to rent a car and went on a mini road trip! In this article I would like to tell you some more about our trip and experiences, which may give you some nice ideas for planning your own trip to Italy!

Sirolo and the East coast

We started our journey in Sirolo. When we arrived late in the afternoon in Bologna, we picked up our rental car and went straight to our destination. We drove around 2,5 hours when we finally got in Sirolo somewhere in the evening.

Our accommodation for the night was L’Orizzonte Relais Sirolo, where we’ve had a nice stay! After a warm welcome by our host, we went into town to eat something. We ended up in a nice Italian restaurant, where we ate a delicious pizza while enjoying a beer.

After our breakfast the next morning, we wandered along the streets of Sirolo. It’s a typical Italian town with much atmosphere, but not too large. This beach town isn’t yet that popular by tourists, so it can be very quiet, especially outside high season (which is also nice). During holidays, most Italians will travel themselves to Sirolo. One of the nearest beaches of Sirolo, is Camero. Through a steep staircase you can reach this beach.

From Sirolo we wanted to go see the “Due Sorelle”, located at the coastline. These Due Sorelle (Two Sisters) are two white rocks located in the water. Around these rocks, you can find a beautiful beach. However, the beach cannot be reached very easily (only by boat). We decided to go to the beautiful viewpoint. We drove to the area of Bar Belvedere and B&B L’Infinito, where we parked the car and walked further to the viewpoint.

Viewpoint near Due Sorelle — Due Sorelle

The walk itself took us around 30 minutes and wasn’t that hard at all. At the end of the hike, we were rewarded with some gorgeous views over the Due Sorelle and the rest of the coastline. It was breath taking; that’s also the reason why we sat down there for quite some time to just admire the beautiful views.

After an hour or so, we went back to our car from where we drove a little back towards Sirolo. Just before town, we headed towards the coast. We had find a nice beach (Sassi Neri), where we would like to relax a bit. We parked our car close to a fish restaurant, from where we walked the last meters downwards to the beach. Because of the fact that it wasn’t summer yet, the beach was very quiet and there were barely people. It definitely is a nice place to enjoy some time.

When we were getting a little hungry, we decided to drive towards our next destination: San Marino. On our way, we stopped at a nice, local restaurant, where we ate something. At the end of the afternoon we arrived at our next accommodation.

San Marino

We booked a room in Agriturismo Le Bosche. You can find many Agriturismo’s in Italy, so we found it definitely a must to stay in at least one agriturismo during our stay. An agriturismo is a small accommodation (can be compared with a B&B) located at a quiet and beautiful place from which the owners produce something; for example wine or vegetables. We found Le Bosche, located at the border of San Marino and Italy, and it was a perfect stay! Our host was very friendly, the room was clean, nice and the surroundings of the accommodation were beautiful! We had a nice beer on our own terrace and after we had dinner in the restaurant of the agriturismo. Our host was our cook as well and he cooked absolutely delicious! I think this was the best pasta bolognaise I’ve ever had. We enjoyed a nice dinner together with a nice glass of wine.

Sunset at agriturismo Le Bosche — A beautiful cat at the agriturismo

The next morning we went to the city of San Marino. We decided to go early, so we could get the most out of the day. From our accommodation, it was around 15 minutes by car. San Marino is located on a hill, so you can have some breath taking views over San Marino and Italy from the city. It is a beautiful city with small, winding streets. There are many nice places where you can eat or drink something. We wandered some time around the mysterious streets and admired the views.

We went quite early, so it wasn’t that crowded yet. However, you have to take into account that San Marino City can be very touristic. We already saw it at al the souvenir shops and all the parking places for the busses. At the time we decided to drive further towards Bologna, it was already more crowded. You should definitely avoid the busiest times of the week and on the day if possible.

Although it can be very touristic, the city also has a great structure. There are many parking places and garages which are pointed out perfectly. With a elevator you can go to the centre of San Marino.

One nice tip: if you like to collect stamps in your passport (like I do), you can receive one from San Marino at the tourist office for a small price of € 5,- .

Around noon we went back to our car and drove further towards the city of Bologna.

Bologna

Somewhere in the afternoon, we arrived in Bologna. First we checked in at our B&B, named Ambra. This B&B also is a recommendation! Located at only a few minutes walking to the city centre, this B&B has everything you need. Our host welcomed us and also gave us some tips for the city.

After our talk, we went into town. We wanted to go into the Two Towers (Le Due Torri), but unfortunately it was fully booked (keep in mind to make your reservation at least a day before!). We went to the tourist office and asked if we could enjoy nice views over Bologna somewhere else in the city. There was another place!

On Piazza Maggiore you can find the “Basilica di San Petronio” and at the back of this beautiful basilica you can go upwards with an elevator, where you can have some nice views over the city.

We wanted to see more of the city, but we also wanted to just chill for a little bit. Because of the beautiful weather, lots of people where sitting in the middle of Piazza Maggiore. We absolutely loved the atmosphere, so we bought ourselves some beers and snacks and decided to join the other people. We sat down for quite some time and it was lovely! There was a guy playing some beautiful music on his keyboard and the sun shined brightly. It was a perfect afternoon.

So at the end we hadn’t seen much of the city, but we definitely experienced the atmosphere. In the evening we ate and drank something in the city. The next the day we had to go up early for our flight back home.

It was quite a short trip, but we definitely enjoyed it! It was a great mix of nature, culture, city and beaches.

How would you plan your trip to Italy? Let me know in the comments below!

Author: Tamara