jerryp

Hello Fodorites,

I've gotten tons of great advice from this forum for my last two trips to Italy. This May my wife and I will be spending some time in both Sorrento and Rome. I'm planning on renting a car in Sorrento and driving to Rome. The reason I'm not taking the train is that I want to stop in my Grandmother's home town of Gallese, about 40 miles north of Rome.

I'm planning on leaving Sorrento early on Saturday April, 22. I plan to drive past Rome to Gallese, then back to Rome. It looks to me like I can do this in one day without too much problem. Is that realistic?

I've never driven in Italy, but I live in Chicago, so I'm used to urban driving. How much worse is Italy than Chicago?

Lastly, has anyone been to Gallese? It looks pretty small from what I've found on the internet. Will there be a problem parking for an hour or two? I'm thinking we'll just take a look around and have something to eat.

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks, Jerry

j_pancini at yahoo.com

ira

Hi Jerry,

The train goes from Rome to Gallese Teverina and to Gallese Bassanello.

Both take 1 - 1 1/2 hr.

Are these your Gallese?

See www.trenitalia.com/en

jerryp

I believe that's it, but it doesn't quite get me to where I want to go. There's still a bit of travelling to do from the train stop. I'm kinda set on driving now, anyhow... it seems like a good way to take in some of the countryside.

Thanks for the response.

jp

Maddy

I don't think you'll have a problem doing the driving in one day. The first 30-40 minutes or so will go a little slow as you make your way back out to the autostrade from Sorrento. Once you're on the autostrade past Naples it's very easy driving - the only thing you have to be careful of is the tangle of roads and signs as you near Rome. Make sure your navigator is alert to keep you on the right track at that point.

We've driven from Sorrento into Rome several times and it usually takes 3 1/2 or so hours given that we usually make a wrong turn somewhere after we leave the highway and try to work our way toward our destination in Rome. If you haven't already done so, go to viamichelin to get the route and driving time. On our last visit, we noticed that viamichelin's times often underestimate driving time, and that was with my husband pushing our economy rental pretty hard.

Also keep in mind that if you arrive in a small town in Italy during the siesta hours it will likely seem pretty deserted.

jerryp

ttt

ozzietex

Jerry....april 22 2004 is not saturday. It's thursday...I know because thats when I depart for Paris from australia.