cmndesign

My family and I are spending a month in the Cilento National Park, specifically the town of Perdifumo. My 8 year old son and I are going first and then my husband will be meeting us later. Any recommendations for things to do, places to eat, etc. etc. I love architecture and exploring. If anyone has feedback on hiking paths, ruins to discover, I would love the help. I have been to Italy 3 times, and my husband and I got married in Ravello. So I have done all the major tourist activities and I really want to have an adventure! This will be my first time exploring south of Salerno. I want to take drives to Alberobello, and many other places.

Thanks in advance!

Carey

ekscrunchy

Alberobello is not located within an easy drive of the Cilento. It is also so overrun with tourists that I would not recommend a visit for anything more than a few minutes....

If you want to take a long drive, you might want to consider Matera.

I am considering a trip to the Cilento in the future and have found these threads helpful:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-long-trip.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...tum-puglia.cfm


http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...redictions.cfm

cmndesign

ek, thank you for your response. I have Matera on my list of places to see. I love to drive so I am planning many different excursions. I was hoping the Alberobello would be of architectural significance. bummer! I did check out your threads and appreciate the info. Carey

ekscrunchy

Your welcome! I returned 2 days ago from Puglia and will eventually write a report about our trip which included a visit to Alberobello. I should have been more clear: the entire trulli zone is a paradise for an architecture buff. The trulli are everywhere in that area and Alberobello has a deep concentration of them, but because of this the town also attracts coach tourists and many of the trulli have been converted into B&Bs, shops, eateries. If you time your trip for early in the day, or late in the day, you might encounter fewer tourists. We stayed at a hotel near there and the owner told us that Alberobello was her least favorite town and that she counsels guests not to even bother with it, since there are trulli all over the place! But I thought it was interesting to see the trulli area of the town; we spent about 15 minutes there. By contrast, we saw very few tourists anyplace else in Puglia, except at our hotels.

But whether or not you actually go to Alberobello, you will see hundreds of trulli. You will also see incredible non-trulli architecture including the masserie, and glorious towns such as Locorotondo, Polignano a Mare, and Ostuni which are two of the most beautiful towns I've seen in Italy. You must put those on your list and you can probably fit in a visit to all three in one long day. And do not forget Lucca.


So if you do not mind the drive, go for it--you can check the driving time on ViaMichelin.com.


I am VERY interested in your visit to Cilento as I ahve that marked for the near future. What made you choose Perdifumo--do you have lodgings in that town? I am trying to work out which town would be the best base.. When is your trip?

If you are interested in wine and food, be sure to try to find a copy of Carla Capalbo's book,
THE FOOD AND WINE GUIDE TO NAPLES AND CAMPANIA.

ekscrunchy

New copies are pricey but the book is a treasure:


http://www.amazon.com/Food-Wine-Guid.../dp/1873429711

cmndesign

Ek, Thanks again. Actually, I have been planning this trip for about 5 years. It was supposed to happen sooner than this, but grad school and babies got in the way ;-) I am a college professor, so I thought if I am going to pay the crazy amount for airfare, I am going to go for a month, not a week or two. I choose Perdifumo because I found a house that was super cheap and really beautiful, family friendly, and housed 10 people. I have friends and family coming and going throughout the three weeks that I have rented the house. Here is the link to the company and the house that I am renting:

http://www.summerinitaly.com/eng/ren...001!italy_.htm

My husband and I got married in Ravello, so I am very familiar with the area, but prices are just too crazy during the summer. So I just kept on researching until I found a place that I liked and was within my budget.

I will keep Alberbello on my list of places to go. And I am thinking a good drive around the area. It looks like it is around 4 hours from Perdifumo. Thanks for the Michelin site. That is an awesome resource. Do you think I am realistic about driving like that? I have driven from Amersterdam to Venice..via south of France, Cinque Terre so I am used to driving. But now I will have an 8 year old with me...so I won't be foot loose and fancy free.

Anyway, my trip is June/July 2011. Check out the house and tell me what you think........I will keep you posted as my plans progress! Nice meeting you! Carey

cmndesign

sorry for my disjointed response. I have had a hard day of teaching and I barely have two brain cells to rub together!

ekscrunchy

CMN: Villa Trotta looks gorgeous! Really beautiful, and the reviews on the rental site are excellent! I have never been to the area so cannot discuss the driving, but you have to keep in mind that because you are in the hills, it will likely take a while to reach the highways that will take you in the direction of Puglia. (Look at Via Michelin for details). Since you have an entire month there, I think you should plan at least one overnight in Puglia rather than doing a daytrip. The roads that we traveled in Puglia were excellent and so well signed that we barely needed a map--just follow the signs. We made a couple of wrong turns, at night, but on the whole it was much easier than I had feared. Another possibility is to fly to Puglia and rent the car there, and tour for a couple of days and then drive to the house, flying home from Naples. Either way you look at it, it will be a fabulous trip! I am eager to hear about all the planning details, and to read the eventual report! I am playing around with a possible trip to that area, maybe even as early as next spring, so I will keep you posted.

You are also within an easy day trip of the Paestum area and the mozzarella factories around that town and Battipaglia, if that interests you. And while I did not want to do the driving that a visit from our base near Fasano/Cisgternino would have entailed, you should certainly put Matera on your list..

cmndesign

EK, I have been looking at Ostuni and it looks AWESOME! I was thinking that I should drive there, stop at some places along the way, then stay the night in Ostuni. Any suggestions for accomodations? Any food suggestions? I am still figuring out if we would go there after Cilento, or while I am staying in Cilento. C

ekscrunchy

Ostuni is incredibly beautiful. And that is not the only gorgeous town in that area...I will do a trip report and discuss what I ate, but for now, you have to decide whether you want to stay in Ostuni itself, or in a masseria/agriturismo in the country side near there. There are so many beautiful properties and there are advantages of each option--staying in the town or in the countryside but I think with a car is might be better to find a rural location near Ostuni. Anywhere is the Ostuni/Locorotondo/Cisternino/Martina Franca area will be fine as there is not so much distance between those towns. Take a look at Venere.com, and TripAdvisor.com, and also tell me your approximate price range...

Just for example:


http://www.masseriaparcodicastro.it/index.htm

willit

June/July will be good, if maybe a little hot. In a straight line, you are only a couple of miles from Santa Maria di Castellabate/San Marco and Castellabate itself.

The point has been made about roads - from your posted webpage, click on the Google map and look at all those little grey squiggles - very pretty, but you are not going to be going anywhere fast.

The best beaches around are Santa Maria - particularly the main one between Santa Maria and San Marco, although in peak season it is mostly segregated off into private beaches (the end nearest San Marco is public). The beach below the cliff accessed from the San Marco Harbour is really protected for kids.

Ruins and old buildings - obviously Paestum (you've probably done that, but if not it is highly recommended). Large sections of Castellabate itself are medieval - and great to get lost around the narrow streets. There is another medieval castle at Agropoli.

My favourite restaurants would be Ristorante Bellavista above San Marco - it was closed last September, but the owner told me he was just taking a break. Otherwise L'Arlechino is good, and the restaurant on furthest from the road on the main square as you drive into SMdC (name escapes me at the moment) is inexpensive and usually full of families with kids.

cmndesign

will,

I have not been to Paestum, and definitely look forward to it. Thanks for the restaurant suggestions, we love any place that is kid friendly! Did you do any hiking in the area? C

ekscrunchy

And if you do get to Paestum, both you and your kids might enjoy stopping at one of the mozzarella "farms," to watch the cheese making process. I believe this is done in the morning, so you would go there first, before the temples. This is one place but there are others, including the one I visited which I mention in my report from 2008. It would be an interesting way to stock up on cheese for the house...

http://www.vannulo.it/eng/caseificio.html

willit

cmndesign - The restaurant whose name I forgot is Ristorante Il Cantuccio. Not at all bad although some of the translations on the English menu are somewhat idiosynchratic.
In terms of Kid friendly, I am sure they exist in the posher parts, but I have never encountered an Italian restaurant that isn't welcoming of children.

I forgot to mention that there are many restaurants up in Castellabate itself. I have not tried them, although some were recommended to us. I have always tended to stick to the restaurants I can walk home from so I can drink with my meal.

In terms of Hiking, I've done quite a bit but mostly in the Santa Maria/San Marco area. San Marco out to Punta Licosia is very pleasant, although if you take the long walk back it takes you for part of the way on the main roads.

The Hill above San Marco is fairly steep, but the views are stunning, and the paths quite good.

There is quite a long hike between Santa Maria itself and Agropoli. It goes up over the hills with some fair climbs, but good views. It took us about 4 hours and we caught the local bus back.

I have an Italian book of walking maps of the area, but have no idea where it is - I will try and find it, and see if there are any trails around Perdifumo.

cmndesign

The Mozzarella farm is a great idea. As I looked at their website, it seems like fun for my son and a great shopping trip. will...where did you get your walking map? I am sure I can contact the people I am renting the Villa from, but if you have a good resource, that would be great. There are a lot of books I want to get for the holidays. Am I crazy to think about renting a scooter while we are there? I thought it would be fun to run down to the beach and into town. Not sure of the cost. Any winery suggestions? Mama needs her juice... ;-)

cmndesign

eks...I was looking at your trip report....

http://www.fattoriaterranova.it/

looks like a must see/eat......yum!

We had our rehearsal dinner at

http://www.villamaria.it/


It was divine.....our guests thought it was the best meal they had ever had.
C

willit

Thre is certainly a place that hires scooters in Santa Maria - just near the main square, but I would be wary (and I speak as somebody who occassionally commutes to work on a scooter) The roads around the area are narrow and very winding. An example - standing on the beach between San Marco and Santa Maria, you are near enough directly under the Church at Castellabate - you can clearly hear the sermon if it is being relayed on speakers - but the distance by road is more than 5km of tight switchbacks. Perdifumo is further out, and has even windier roads.

I got the book of maps for about €3 at the tourist kiosk at the end of Santa Maria. It is a folder of pull out maps and descriptions (all in Italian, but a map is fairly obvious.)

I have loads of pictures of the area, including some of the hikes - if you wish I can upload them to a Picasa album for general viewing.

cmndesign

that would be awesome will, I would love to see photos. And I am sure my guests that are staying at the villa would love to see them too. They aren't doing as much research as I am. ;-)

willit

http://picasaweb.google.com/williams...dCastellabate#

I've just selected some random photos from a couple of albums - but all were taken within about 15-20 miles of where you are staying.
I have some large panorama shots as well, but they do tend to be about 4-5mb each, so I would need to upload them to a website if you wished to see them.

ekscrunchy

I enjoyed the photos, too, Willit.


Can you tell me the location of photo #14? There is a town/towns on the sea and a town on the hill....which towns are these?