ogolan1

My wife & I are considering an 8-day trip to Southern Italy in late March. We're in our 40s, and we'll arrive and depart from Rome and drive a rental car. We've already been to Rome, Naples and the Amalfi coast, so we're looking for other highlights. Interested in both natural beauty (hiking in national parks etc.) and old cities and villages.

Any ideas for an interesting 8-day itinerary would be most welcome. Thanks !

massimop

Suggest going to the Sabine hills even though it is arguably not south. Points further south could have difficult wet weather.

bilboburgler

Basilicata has some fine hiking but March....

massimop

hiking elevations in Basilicata in March get ice. Too rural to be safe.

massimop

http://lamiasabina.blogspot.it/2015/...speria-to.html

http://www.italytravelandlife.com/20...-sabine-hills/

ogolan1

Thanks for the above info. Re weather - how bad/wet will it be in late March ? In which areas of Italy (if any) can we expect a comfortable weather in this time of the year ?

massimop

Problem is that all of March is within a transition period from winter to spring, cold going to warm. If the transition comes early, the most violent storms & downpours are done & stabliity settles in by the middle of March. If the cold lingers, you end up with instability into early April.

Despite the risk of bouts of windy rain, the temps are usually nice except at higher elevations. Brisk, maybe some sharp winds, but nice. If you position yourself somewhere not too far from Rome or naples or Salerno , in any direction, where there are also some interesting towns if you get a day of rain, you have a good shot at a nice trip with opportunities for outdoor activity -- although it is just to early for high elevation hiking.