bnbnm

Hi! New to forum. Visiting Italy mid-May for the first time to visit family and do genealogy research. Driving there from Naples via A3 primarily but want to return along the coast. SS 18 looks great but would like comments on places to overnite and what the road is like. I'm planning on 3 days to return to Naples. Also, any info on A3 toll costs greatly appreciated. Thanks for any input!

bnbnm

Sorry, meant to post to Italy. Please excuse the newbie boo Boo!

sandralist

Hi,

I really wish I could help you with your questions, but the only reason I am answering your post is that I had never heard of Altomonte (I live in Italy) until I saw your post, so I looked it up. And if I found this YouTube made in Altomonte that is so charming and funny and well done, I must give it you if you haven't seen it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEDcmjOrGOY

I totally envy you the trip to meet these wonderful Italians! I have yet to go to Calabria, and I really want to do it, and now I want to make Altomonte one of my destinations there.

Buon viaggio -- and if you don't get an answer here, try posting on Frommer's or Tripadvisor message boards because I know there are people who post there who visit Calabria every year or live there and they might be able to answer all your questions.

ekc

Do you have a link to a map? The only portion of SS18 that I can find is just south of Salerno (which is easy driving - have done it to get to Paestum a couple of times from Positano).

bnbnm

To "eke" I have been using the ViaMichelin website. I don't know if the number stays SS 18 but it seems to run along the coast beginning just south of Fortino and going all the way to Falerna where it seems to join a different highway. I want to pick it up at Belvedere and take it north to Fortino and then continue to Salerno, etc. I'm traveling solo and want to have lodgings where an older woman will feel "safe".

To sandralist, thank you for the response. I have traced family to Mangone, then north to Torano Castello, then Altomonte where my grandparents come from. I have family in Altomonte but plan on driving to the other 2 places to do research. Very excited about the trip!

sandralist

I can see why you would like more info about the roads!

http://allthecities.com/cities/mangone/

Kidding aside, you should use Google Maps to plot your route. They are clearer, I think, and you can also use the "Street View" and Satellite View features to get some of idea of what kind of roads you will be traveling. Just type "Almonte Italy" into a google search line, and it will offer you a zoomable map. There is a "directions" button you can use to get a driving route between 2 places.

Google maps show that the some of the roads you could take due west from Altomonte to reach the coast look extremely mountainous and twisty, and possibly poor surface. It might be much faster driving a few miles further south on the A3/E45 to catch up with the S283 near Scalo Ferroviario, and take that road west all the way Marina/Guardia Piemontese at the seaside.

There are also a few roads that drift southwest past Malvito and Fagnano Castello to eventually hook up with the S283. But I think you need to add for local advice about the best route. My concern would be the possible lack of any services on that road if you have a mishap (sorry! just thinking of all travel stuff). If you travel the main routes, you are sure to have any cars using those roads with frequency, so if you need any assistance, it will be simple to get it.

You are right to do good research about lodgings, but I would not worry a lot about finding lodgings where you will feel safe. You are probably going to get adopted everywhere you go by everybody, and the culture of southern Italy is exceptionally respectful to older women. You will be quite a sensation a solo traveler in that part of Italy, I bet, and people will go way out of their way to be protective of you.