JSamps

I have a choice to go to Cilento Coast area or Lake Maggiore area for a short trip to Italy (around 5 days), which do you prefer? I realize they are very different. We will be traveling with a young adult who might like activities like rafting or hiking or maybe horseback riding, and we mainly love scenic drives, possibly a boat ride, quaint villages and nature, not big museum goers.
Thanks.

neckervd

In which month?
Cilento has stunning beaches, some (not too many) good hiking trails, medieval hill towns like Castellabate and the Greek temple site e of Paestum not too far away.
Lake Maggioe offers endless panoramic hiking trails, frequent ferries, buses resp trains along the whole lake and many really scenic villages along and above the lake.
8 cableways along the lake and in nieghbouring valleys go to viewpoints, from where you see the Alps and the lakes.
A train ride from Stresa to Milan or from Locarno to Lugano takes less than a hr..

JSamps

[QUOTE=neckervd;17434630]In which month?

Thanks for this information. Will be either April or May.

neckervd

In Aapril/May, I would prefer the Lake Maggiore area.
But it's up to you!

JSamps

One other possibility came up - the Milano Maritima area on the Adriatic Coast. How would that compare to the other options? Thank you

neckervd

Cervia?
Absolutely nothing of interest to do in spring. Forget hiking, scenic drives or quaint villages if you stay there.
Of course, you can use Cervia as a base for day trips to Ravenna/Classe, Ferrara, San Marino, etc.although a city like Bologna might be the better choice for that.

JSamps

We may be leaning towards the Cilento area for various reasons, although Maggiore sounds beautiful too.

What would be the best scenic drives to take there?

Might there be boat trips to see grottos, or other boating type activities in the Spring?

yorkshire

Not sure if they are running in April/May, but there are boat trips out of Marina di Camerota and Palinuro.
Several years ago I heard of the wonderful Hotel Mariluvo in Pisciotta here on Fodors, and I rented an apartment from them--the owners are very helpful. Lovely area. There is a lot online about Cilento (European newspaper travel sections are a good source of info for places not otherwise heavily covered.)

JSamps

Thanks very much for this information!

JSamps

Would I be correct that it would be possible to drive from Cilento to spend time in Positano on the Amalfi Coast?

yorkshire

From Pisciotta as just an example, it would be a two-hour drive to Salerno, and I would recommend parking there and taking the Travelmar ferry. (Otherwise the driver has to white-knuckle it and may not enjoy the views, plus parking is expensive and scarce.)
There may be some ferries operating from the Cilento in summer, but I am not sure if any operate that early in spring.
There are driving restrictions on the Amalfi Coast, so be sure to be aware of those.

JSamps

Thanks for this information. Not as simple as I thought, but possible.

JSamps

is it worth going to the Amalfi coast?

ekscrunchy

Cilento is lovely. I think Palinuro may be pretty shut up in April/early May, though. There are quite a few boat trips from there but check to see if they run when you plan to go.

I'd look at a few agriturismi in the area...you can combine a stay on/near the coast with one a bit inland if you like.

Pisciotta is beautiful. There is a ton to do in the Cilento but not all that much info in English.
You might consider a visit to the Greek temples and museum at Paestum, and include a mozzarella farm such as Vannulo which is nearby.

My visit to the Tenuta Vannulo Water Buffalo Farm, near Paestum

I would not try to include Amalfi Coast with such a short amount of time.

JSamps

Thanks for this information!

JSamps

For a 3 day driving trip between Naples and Cilento, what might be some of the best places to visit?

We are mostly interested in scenic photography, nature, water, mountains, gardens, villages, possibly boating or kayaking

Less interested in ruins or museums and prefer less touristy places.

Also, recommendations for affordable but nice places to stay?

Thanks!

JSamps

[QUOTE=JSamps;17436546]For a 3 day driving trip between Naples and Cilento, what might be some of the best places to visit?

We are mostly interested in scenic photography, nature, water, mountains, gardens, crafts, villages, possibly boating or kayaking

Less interested in ruins or museums and prefer less touristy places.

Also, recommendations for affordable but nice places to stay?

Or would it be better to travel from the south towards Cilento and skip the Amalfi Coast???

Thanks!

yorkshire

We’ve shared many specific suggestions, have any of those been ruled out or in so far?
if you want “less touristy,” that easily rules out the Amalfi coast.

JSamps

Yes thanks very much for the information!

I would like suggestions for creating a 3 day itinerary for a driving trip from the airport to the Cilento area in April. Because you said many things aren’t open in April, we need to create the itinerary with that in mind.

Thanks so much again

ekscrunchy

The hill towns of Castellabate and Pisciotta are scenic and I would think, good subjects for photography. Both these hill towns also encompass sister villages on the coast: Sta Maria di Castellabate and Marina di Pisciotta, respectively. I stayed in the hill village of Pisciotta, and on the shore in Sta Maria di C. Not sure about staying on the beach in October, but you can check to see if things are still open.

We stayed in Villa Sirio in Santa Maria di C. In Pisciotta I wish we had chosen the Marulivo, as Yorkshire did. We stayed, instead, at the B&B A Machina.

We also stayed in Palinuro but that is mostly a town for beach tourists, if I'm not mistaken.

Are you interested in visiting Vannulo?
You can also dip down into Calabria from Cilento..not that far south.

I drove from Calabria north to Cilento and on to Amalfi Coast about 10 years ago; there is a lot of good information in this planning thread, which is from the Fodor's of another era!

CILENTO--Where to base on a week-long trip....(?)



It is a good region for sampling local food delicacies, if that interests you. See if you can get your hands on the book by Carla Capalba that covers the region of Campania and has a good section on Cilento. It's food oriented but has general info as well.