dsinger731

I posted a couple of questions about Puglia on this forum, which we had planned on coupling with the Amalfi Coast. We are arriving in Rome in late July and were going to fly to Bari or Brindisi and stay in Puglia for a week or so, spend a night or two in Matera and end in the Amalfi Coast, in a less touristy town, such as Praiano, having already stayed in Positano about 17 years ago, but never exploring the area very much (we were honeymooners who preferred catching up on sleep by the pool) other than a visit to Capri. We are taking this trip with our 14 yr old and I am struggling finding accommodations to our liking. We are picky and like charming but updated/boutique like rentals in town with a sea view, a/c, 2 bedrooms and bathrooms, etc. Since most places were rather dark and/or had no sea views, I started exploring Sicily, where I had initially had wanted to travel, but was discouraged early on by postings saying that 1 week in Sicily is not enough. It sounded as though Puglia was much more manageable to get around and had plenty of sites to see and was less touristy.

However, now I am back to wondering if we should 1) swap Puglia for Sicily, 2) just stick to the plan of Puglia plus the Amalfi Coast, or 3) skip the AC and do one week in Puglia and one week in Sicily. Incidentally, we are flying into Rome and leaving from Naples and we are staying for 14 days. The activities we enjoy most are exploring, getting lost in a maze of quaint narrow streets, swimming, eating good food and seeing archaeological sights or places of interest. We don't like spending hours driving in a car or traveling from one location to another, unless it is via boat, ATV or moped. Some of our favorite vacations have been exploring the Greek islands by boat, traveling to Seville and Mallorca, Spain and staying in quaint seaside Mexican villages of San Pancho and Sayultia.

I would appreciate as much feedback as you are willing to offer!

Leely2

Completely random, back-and-forth thoughts:

Do you plan to spend any time in Naples? What about Rome?

I've been to Sicily and the AC but not to Puglia. I'm not a beach person, so can't really address the "where is best for swimming" part of the equation. However, I do think you can visit Sicily for a week if you are okay narrowing down the almost endless interesting sights to something manageable. Maybe just Siracusa/Ortyigia + an island/beach place? If you like achaeological sights, do try to see the Valle dei Templi at Agrigento...

Though I would think it would be awfully hot in Sicily in late July.

Then again, I was in Naples and the AC in early July this year and I was sweltering (I'm a wimp). I guess it depends how comfortable you are walking around in the heat.

annhig

I just got back from 10 days in Sicily and i can't say that a week in July there would appeal - it would just be too hot, unless you stayed somewhere like the lovely lodge in the woods half-way up Mount Etna, which i doubt is what you have in mind.

in a week you would really only have time for 2 bases, whether you pick Rome or the AC or Sicily. My choice for that time of year would be completely different - I'd head to the lakes, pick a nice spot with good access to boats, and use them to get around. We did that a few years ago with our kids then aged about 11 and 14 and we [and they] had a great time. We chose Garda on Lake Garda but there are plenty of other options.

Dayle

You might really enjoy a week in the Aeolian Islands. Base on one amd do whatever visits to the others appeal. Limiting yourselves to the islands would male a 1 week Sicily trip realistic relaxing and would give you beaches history great food and scenery plus as much activity s you choose.

You might want to ck some Sicily TRs for ideas amd recs. Aprilliacs and I both visited the islands on our trips.

dsinger731

We don't mind the heat so long as we are close enough to water and spending part of our day at a beach or pool to cool off. I had thought about the Aeolian Islands, but assumed I should see a little bit of Sicily first. So, would you suggest Puglia and Sicily or just Sicily and maybe the islands, or fitting in the AC and combining it with Sicily or Puglia?

When I searched the boards, people seemed to prefer Sicily over Puglia. I never got a sense why exactly and as I said, Puglia seemed easier to tour without spending hours in a car. However, if there are enough sites to see in the Siracusa area or on the Aeolian Islands (the day trips to different islands sounds cool, both figuratively and literally), we might be up for that. In fact, maybe we should just do Siracusa/Ortiega and the Aeolians?( Wasn't planning on spending much, if any time, in Naples and Rome. That sounds hot and undesirable to me-- kind of like Athens was for us this past July.)

Dayle

Dsinger,

Read some trip reports and I think they will help.

If you really feel the need to move more quickly in Sicily during a week, I would recommend maybe. 3 nt Ortigia and 4 nt island split. However your split might vary depending on what you want to see and do at each location.

If you prefer to skip crowded touristy places, do not go to Taormina!

Leely2

If I were going to Sicily for a week in summer and wanted water, Dayle's split is probably how I'd go. Unless you found a place inland somewhere with a great pool--and I'm sure you could.

There can be a lot of driving in Sicily, though, and you said you'd rather avoid that. I personally didn't find the driving difficult, except we got lost a lot (didn't rent a GPS, lesson learned). But others here have reported being less comfortable with navigating little hill towns, hill roads--not to mention walking them. That was not an issue for me and I was the sole driver on my trip.

I was in the AC, staying in Ravello, for just a few days in July this year. It's very beautiful. A lot of the AC is touristy and crowded, but worth it, in my opinion. It's so beautiful.

I love dramatic natural scenery, and I got those in spades in both Sicily and the AC.

kja

I do not consider Sicily a good location for 1 week. It takes some travel time to get there, and there is so much to see that it really warrants at least 2 weeks, if not 3. JMO.

If you have already booked into Rome and out of Naples, you might consider sticking with just those two, or adding some time along the Amalfi Coast. Or
stick with Puglia and Matera, which can be squeezed into a week or perhaps more comfortably stretched to 10 days, with a day or two in Rome or Naples. Or even just Naples – since you'll want to be there before your departure flight. With a day trip to Capri and/or Ischia, Pompeii and/or Herculaneum, Naples could certainly fit your bill.

It really depends on your interests. As examples, I loved my time in the Aeolians -- all of an afternoon, enough for my interests. ;-) I adored a few days in Ortygia, but would have hated going that far to see so little of spectacular Sicily. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Puglia and Matera -- just under a week, but I'm not into beach time or down time, and I skipped chunks that I'm sure I would enjoy. So really, I think you need to figure out what works for you and yours.

Hope that helps!

annhig

We don't mind the heat so long as we are close enough to water and spending part of our day at a beach or pool to cool off.>>

ok, no beach at Siracuse/Ortigia, though there are beaches nearby; there is a swimming platform of sorts but I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with my 14 year old using it. The snag of Ortigia as a base was that we found the traffic so awful that we didn't want to move the car once we'd arrived and parked at our hotel though otherwise it was ideal for us with enough restaurants and bars to keep us interested in the evenings for weeks!

Our hotel advertised a pool but it turned out it was part of the indoor spa and not open after about 3pm so not much use after a hot day out exploring. I'm sure that there are other hotels with pools, but at a price.

<<I personally didn't find the driving difficult, except we got lost a lot (didn't rent a GPS, lesson learned). But others here have reported being less comfortable with navigating little hill towns, hill roads--not to mention walking them. That was not an issue for me and I was the sole driver on my trip.>>

good for you, Leely. We are experienced drivers but we found Sicily one of the most stressful places to drive we've ever been - if it wasn't the behaviour of other drivers it was the road surfaces, [in which great holes suddenly appeared with no notice at all] the windy roads, the hills, and sometimes all 4 together. We loved it, but it was not relaxing in any shape or form!

Personally I would not go to Sicily just for a week - there are plenty of other wonderful places in Italy to visit which are just as lovely and less taxing; for example you could think about staying in or near Orbetello which is 150kms north of Rome - it is an ancient town, with tiny streets, lovely food, and lots of interesting excursions. Plus it is situated on a lagoon which you can ride to on bikes and swim very safely. I'm sure that there are other places too in Puglia which would be a lot easier to get to than Sicily.

bvlenci

Yes, Orbetello is a good base for trips to the islands off Tuscany, especially Isola del Giglio and Elba.

Sardegna is another good seaside location.

I didn't think the coast on the Garagano peninsula (Puglia) was anywhere near as beautiful as the Amalfi coast, or as many parts of Sardegna. I haven't been to Sicily (yet).

Dayle

I agree that I would not recommend going to Sicily for just a week. As those who have been and those who are in the planning stage know, its just much too difficult to choose your destinations even with a much longer teip.

My thought of just going to the Aeolians is that you would not be tempted to stretch yourself too thin by adding even more places. A week in the islands would be very doable and not at all rushed, but would still provide a nice variety of what the OP is looking for.