ekscrunchy

I am doing some advance thinking about a trip to Italy for early next year. Anytime from January through early May. We only have 7 nights for this trip, which makes this a bit problematic.

We would like to spend about 2/3 nights on or near (Sorrento) the Amalfi coast, in order to do a day trip to Pompeii and some looking around at the views and towns along the coast. Do not want to spend the entire week there, however. I have been to Capri so we can leave that out. Think we will give Naples a miss this time (have been twice but both were long ago) but that is not set in stone.

Question is, what place(s) would combine well with Sorrento/Amalfi? I originally thought Puglia but time would be too short. Is it at all possible realistically to spend 2-3 nights in Amalfi area and see some of Puglia? (We could fly into Naples and home from Brindisi/Bari).

We are willing to rent a car but I would be concerned about the long drive from AC to Puglia in one day. Not sure of driving time, for example, from Amalfi to Matera.

If we leave Puglia (Lecce, Matera, Martina Franca, Ostuni) for another trip, what possibilities combine well with the AC?

Maratea? Paestum? Other parts of Campania or Basilicata?
How to combine with my time limitations?

We are open to anything and I would appreciate help from those who know these areas....

Late April seems like a good time for this trip. Prices in the Sorrento hotels that I checked, for example, rise sharply after May 1 so we could get in just before the spike. We do not care about beach time.



Good food is imperative but I know we will find it in this region!

I know this is vague and I am in the very early stages of thinking so please forgive the sketchiness of my plan at the moment....

Other options if this one does not work out would include a week in Puglia or a week in Liguria...

Many thanks for any and all advice.

LaBellaDona

Hi -

I just went to viamichelin.com and calculated the drive from Amalfi to Matera and it's only about 3 hrs (134 miles). I drove from Puglia all the way to Rome a few years ago - and it was very doable.

I love Puglia. Like so many regions of Italy, it's like no other area. The Trulli are "truly" fabulous and exist only there. Matera is a wonderful place to see - also like no other. Martina Franca is a little white jewel. And Poeta Contadina in Alberobello is one of my favorote restaurants. There are very few tourists in Puglia - still rather undiscovered.

I also happen to be a fan of Naples. Lots to see and do - and a lot more like the Italy I know and love in New York City, i.e., pizza like no place else, great red sauce, wonderful seafood, and openly passionate people.

I hope this helps.

LaBellaDona

I forgot to mention that I was in Paestum and Maratea 2 years ago, in April. Very pretty - and the Greek ruins are certainly memorable - however, a lot was closed in Maratea since it really is off season.

ekscrunchy

Thanks, La Bella. I read your reports and they inspired me. It seems that one week would be too short to try to fit in both Puglia and the AC area. I have to do some more reading....

We could go in early May.......

Flame123

We are planning a 10-day trip to Puglia this May and I still think it won't be enough time to see and do all we want to. Originally we thought to combine a trip to the Sorrento/Pompei area as well but nixed it and decided that each of these two glorious areas "deserve" at least a week on their own and so will do the Sorrento area on another trip.

Steve_James

Hi Ekscrunchy - How about island-hopping? You could spend a pleasant 3/4 days visiting Ponza, Ischia and Procida.

Or Abruzzo?

I would save Puglia for a longer trip ...

Steve

Sue_xx_yy

Hi eks. YOu don't mention how you are planning to get around. We went by public transit, so needed to allow more time.

We did 2 n Sorrento for a day trip to Pompeii, 2 n on the Amalfi Coast, including a day trip between Ravello (our base) and Positano, and 1 n in Paestum before heading back to Rome. I would not have wanted to do Paestum as a day trip if using public transit. If you have a car and you're staying in Sorrento, that changes things. But I think you really have plenty to do closer at hand in just 2/3 nights.

bilboburgler

Puglia beats Napoli hands down. The small hill top towns in the central hills are very austere but interesting while Naples is just big.

Car travel ok. There are trains into Torrento from Naples going over the hills but probably not that worthwhile. Tren italia has a good web site.

Brindisi and Lecce worthwhile but i found the food and wine better at say Salice Salentino or others along the appinine way

ekscrunchy

Great responses, thanks. We are willing to rent a car, I forgot to mention that.

It does sound like too much of a rush to combine the 2 destinations.

Not sure about the islands that early in the season...Steve?

Bilbo, I have to get out my map to look up Salice Salentino. I am already intrigued.

And Maratea? After I posted I looked at a few of the hotels sites for that town and got the impression that the area might be very focused on tourism..many large concrete hotels, etc. I would love to hear personal reports about Maratea and the Cilento coast.

Mille grazie to all of you. Please keep the ideas coming!

franco

Hi ek, just a short note to greet you and to assure you I didn't miss your new thread... it's just... you don't want to know my opinion on these parts of Italy, that's for sure.
Few hints, nonetheless: I wouldn't combine Campania and Puglia, that's a kind of trip I'm typically advising against - two different regions with their different flavours (not just, but also gastronomically!), just three days each - what insight are you going to get into either of them? None that I'd call satisfactory... So why don't you stay in the region, i.e. central Campania? Rent a car, not necessarily for the whole week, but at least for the trip to Paestum - easy driving, as far as I recall, and on your way, you could (SHOULD) stop in Salerno, which seems to have one of Italy's greatest Romanesque cathedrals (and I HATE myself for not having stopped there when I went to Paestum - what the heck did I think?). And when you're doing Pompeii, don't make the usual mistake and visit ONLY Pompeii - DO visit Ercolano (ancient Herculaneum), which is way smaller, but even more beautiful and more interesting IMO than Pompeii.
Btw, both Maratea and Matera are in the Basilicata region, not in Campania or Puglia, respectively.

ekscrunchy

Welcome Franco! So glad you are following another of my rambling discussions! I am so ignorant of that area that I did not even recognize the Salentine Peninsula until I looked it up just now.
Silly me, I just thought of it as "the heel!"

Yes, I see that combining the two areas (actually three since Maratea and Matera are in Basilicata) would be crazy in one week. I think that is an excellent point about the food. It is much better to visit one region in depth than to be skittering all over the map for a night or two.

I have actually been to Ercolano; years ago I was advised that if I could only see one of the two major sites that I should visit Ercolano instead of Pompeii for the reasons you describe. No one else on this board seems to feel that way, apparently. Magical.

So I should settle either on Campania OR southern Puglia. And maybe venture as far as Maratea/Cilento? I really have to do some more reading and map-studying here....

And of course the perennial question about Naples is bound to pop up.....

Interesting about Salerno. I spent a night there years ago and remembered it fondly. So a visit to the city and the cathedral....

And we have not even begun to delve into the food yet!

Just to complicate matters, I just borrowed Fred Plotkin's book on Liguria from the library. It looks like I will have 3 trips planned by the time this discussion is over!

franco

Just three ? Think, it's more than one entire year until you'll be going. In the meantime, we'll have trips planned for the rest of our lifetimes!

ekscrunchy

Franco, I am not even going to tell you where I am planning to go in the meantime. I am begining to worry about this obsession of mine!



I am home today and it is snowy outside so I have the entire day to stretch out my maps and books....danger ahead!!

Although you have not asked, my current favorite Italian canned tuna is As do Mar...adding the toasted pignoli nuts has make a large difference in the quality of my green salads with tuna and white beans.

Huitres

If you are staying on the Amalfi Coast, it is very easy to do a day trip out to Paestum, as it is outside of Salerno. I took a train down to Salerno, then a local bus to Paestum. Maratea and areas of Campania and Basilicata might warrant staying in Salerno even. I liked Salerno, it is oft-overlooked in favor of the other glitzier Amalfi Coast neighbors. I have stayed at the Hotel Plaza in Salerno for very reasonable accommodation (80 euros for a room, including breakfast) and enjoyed the area very much.

ekscrunchy

Huitres, thanks. Where did you take a train from in order to reach Salerno? And are you suggesting that I use Salerno as a base for visiting Maratea and other places in Basilicata/Campania?

This is developing into quite a dilemma: Shall it be Campania/Basilicata or Puglia/Basilicata? Or just Campania? Or only Puglia (around Lecce)?

franco

Or just Basilicata? THIS would really something unusual... The salad, btw, sounds great!

Huitres

ekscrunchy: My (ex) fiance lives in the Cinque Terre so we had come from the north all the way down to Salerno. However, Salerno is a big train station (not as big as Naples) so any trains from Rome, Naples etc go there. If you are coming from Rome area, just take train down to Salerno. Yes, I am suggesting you use Salerno as your base for Maratea, Paestum, and points further south since easier to access than being in Sorrento. Paestum is quite close to Salerno. Maratea is a 1 1/2 hour train ride south from Salerno. From Salerno, you should be able to combine it to see Campania/Basilicata since adjacent to each other. I would not try going that far south to Puglia since you are limited to only 7 nights total on your trip. You'd be spending your entire time driving or taking trains everywhere and not too fun if limited time.

ekscrunchy

Huitres, thanks you. That sounds like a good plan. So with a week I could base first in Sorrento, perhaps, and then move south to Salerno. We could rent a car in Salerno.....

ekscrunchy

No..take the train to Salerno first and use it as the first base....

ekscrunchy

Here is another question...would staying in Paestum be a good option? What is the town like? Any charm at all? I took a brief look at Savoy Beach Hotel..large and modern but gets good reviews....

That would be assuming we have a rental car...