After reading EKscrunchy's wonderful trip report, we are thinking of breaking up this long drive with an overnight in either Sulmona, Ascoli Piceno or Vasto. For some background, this is part of a month-long adventure from Umbria (staying in Spello), to Puglia (and Matera), then Salerno and Naples. We are starting and ending in Rome. This is in mid-October, so a beach is not important, however I would love to see the trabucco. It seems like all the trabucco restaurants close by the end of September so this may not be an option. We are needing a place with easy driving access and easy parking. This is one night only. All suggestions and ideas are gratefully welcome and we are not opposed to stopping somewhere for a wonderful lunch and then continuing on. On another note, I know there are a few trabucchi further south in the Salento region. Does anyone know if any of these stay open later in the year? TIA!

Ascoli is lovely, but is not that far from Spello. Sulmona is more inland; Vasto is on the coast. Have you decided on a route? Not sure if the trabocchi will be open but they are still cool to see. We stayed in an apartment in Fossacesia, right on the water, with trabocchi all around us. It was through Airbnb, literally just off the little SS16 highway, with secure parking onsite. Vasto is nice, too. If you can share your desired route, you might get more advice on this.

Thanks Rocket. We haven't picked a route yet. We can either take the coastal road or go inland. This is the third week of October, so the coast is not as important. Also, we're headed to Puglia and the Salento coast, so will get to see plenty of pretty beaches. We will be in Spello for a week and hope to get to Spoleto, but if we don't then we might like to stop there in the morning. We may have to fly by the seat of our pants and just see how far we get in a day. Originally, we were going to stay in Vasto because it about half way, but the more I read about all these other towns, the more I want to see them all! Obviously, another trip to Abruzzo will have to be planned.

I've been to Vasto and Ascoli Piceno, but not Sulmona. Between Vasto and Ascoli I'd definitely choose Ascoli, a lot more to see and a very nice old town. Vasto is really quite small.
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About the trabucchi. They were actually used for fishing and most of them are quite small. Only a few will host restaurants. Where will you go in Puglia? There are a lot of trabucchi between Peschici and Vieste and there's one in Vieste which you can visit with a guide who explains it. But mid-October is very late in the season for the Gargano area. The season starts to finish mid-September there, so you'd need to contact them to be sure you can see it.
I don't think there are trabucchi in the Salento area, but I may be wrong and am ready to be corrected.....
They are typical more of the east coast of Italy on the Adriatic side, from Pescara going south and in particular on the coast in Abbruzzo, Molise and the Gargano area of Puglia. We also saw somw on the coast near Ravenna, further north

I'm the opposite, kind of. I've been to Sulmona and Ascoli, but not Vasto. I really liked both Ascoli and Sulmona, so I'd say take a look at what you want to do/see/eat during your stop and make the choice based on that. We didn't find driving or parking difficult in either town, and didn't seek out hotels with parking either place, just sussed out public parking lots in advance.

ETA: I don't know your Umbria plans, but would you consider cutting a night from Spello to give yourself two nights either in southern Le Marche, i.e., Ascoli, or Abruzzo, i.e., Sulmona? These less touristed areas are highly rewarding/relaxing.

I will just repeat that if you’re wanting to break up your drive, Ascoli is only a couple hours at most from Spello. Why not stop there for lunch, then continue your drive? I agree with Leely that there are many great places to stop in Abruzzo; I’d choose Sulmona or Vasto, as they will get you closer to your destination. Let us know what you decide!

Thanks all! Leely, I do wish we could spend 2 nights in the Abruzzo area, but truth is, there's never enough time no matter what you do. There's a lot we want to do/see in Umbria and a week will be stretching it. The most reasonable idea, I guess, is to drive to Ascoli for lunch and then head over to the coast and drive to Vasto for the night. There's also a little town of San Salvo in which I saw a lovely B&B. The next day, we would have a 3 hour drive down the coast to Monopoli. We will have to make sure we get to Spoleto during our time in Spello. All that said...... any restaurant recs for Ascoli or Vasto? Obviously, there is much to discover in Abruzzo / Le Marche for next time.

Huge fan of Ascoli Piceno, but agree with prior comments that it is too close to Spello to meaningfully break up your drive. While in Ascoli, we enjoyed our meals at Osteria Nonna Nina and Pizzeria Pub Da Bruno.

abqdeb - Do a search for lodging all along that stretch of coast. You don't have to stay in Vasto; we found many lovely places to stay. We chose our apartment because it was close to my husband's family home of San Vito Chietino, but also, it was really nice and had A/C. And boy did we need it, it was mid Sept., and it was quite warm. I'm envious. I can't remember where we had lunch in Ascoli, sorry. Do walk around the piazza as mentioned someplace else and pick up a bag of the Anisetta Meletti candies. If it makes you feel any better, LOL, we only spent the day there, and will certainly try to go back to explore more of that town.

Consider Termoli instead of Vasto, I think.

Thanks eks! I will check out Termoli. Did you eat anywhere special there?

The big food draw in Termoli (on border of Molise and Abruzzo) is the brodetto....a fish stew with many kinds of fish and shellfish in a tomato-based broth..There is an entire routine for eating it.....

We sampled brodetto in DA NICOLINO, near our hotel diffuso, the SVEVIA....a clutch of renovated historic buildings converted into residences.....my partner was in terrible shape during the trip and could barely walk but he did his best, and its also rained all the time!!! Free parking nearby....

But the difference between. Vasto and Termoli is that the beach in Termoli is easy to access from the main town, whereas in Vasto, just to the north on the Adriatic,, there is a long walk down to the beach......I asked some questions on TA about this.....you might find them..I am Anonymous05 on TripAdvisor.

Obviously, I "HAD" to try the brodetto but I cannot say the I loved it.....many fish, many bones, large eel in the cazuela......but fantastic broth....fantastic!!!
Give me the broth and leave the fish for someone else!! Partner would not take even one bit..I think the large black curled eel was a turn off...

There is a whole procedure for eating brodetto (very well explained by our wonderful waiter; little English spoken here) and the best part for me was when they brought the spaghetti to sop up the broth.......I hope I can post photos here..also remember that gbrodetto from Molise is very different from brodetto north along the Adriatic coast and in Croatia....

This is MUST......one of the signature dishes of Adriatic Italy and it would be a shame to miss it....

From Termoli, we drove inland to an agriturismo in Molise which was wonderful..two days there....highly recommend and will be happy to offer information..it's only about a half hour's drive from Termoli and from there, we wandered our way back through Molise and Lazio (two nights (not essential) at VILLA EUCHALIA) to spend two nights in Fiumicino town which we love......LOVE!!!!! Love Fiumicino town!!!! NOT the airport hotels..you need to stay IN the town,, near the Tevere (Tiber)...


Happy to offer any more info on this..I wrote a brief report on this site....





Traboccho, Termoli

DA NICOLINO, RECOMMENED BY a poster here.....for brodetto

At the end of the brodetto, one eats the broken spaghetti with the tomato based sauce..divine! (This photo should be after the following one)

Brodetto at DA NICOLINO in Termoli

Kitchen with brodetto in terra cotta vessels

DA NICOLINO, THE brodetto address in Termoli, just on the edge of the historic center; reservations necessary

A few assorted snaps of our drive from Molise to Fiumicino town; we love PASCIUCCI AL PORTO and had wonderful pizza and lots of fun at CLEMENTINA...




Drive back to Fiumicino from Molise..we did not spend time in Rome this trip....

The Tiber River (the Tevere, in Fiumicino town, as it enters into the Tyrrhenian Sea)

FIUMICINO town

Pizza menu at CLEMENTINA in Fiumicino

CLEMENTINA...our fave pizzeria in FIUMICINO....do not stay in hotels near the airport...go into town..10 minutes from FCO...go to taxi line for loan rides, NOT line for Roma. We stay at HOTEL SECCY but there are other options including VRBO.

Wow! Thanks eks! Lots of good information and very much appreciate it all. We always look forward to all the regional cuisine, especially when it involves seafood. This will be our 5th trip to Italy, but we've never been south of Rome so this will be all new. Umbria, Puglia, Salerno and Naples. Very excited. Thanks for the help.