heading to italy for 3 weeks in may. have 3 villas that we are going to use as bases for exploring the italian countryside - CALITRI (capania - 1.5 hr se of naples); CASTELLI (abruzzo - 1.5 hr east of rome; BARGA (tuscany - 1 hr west of florence). spending a week in each and have a car. plan daily day trips to small villages and countryside. no major cities, been there, done that, twice. might hit sienna since we haven't been there. suggestions that will fit into our plans.

thanks

No help?

Could you be more specific? What has already stood out to you to do from your research?
I have been to Barga, but I stayed within its environs and only left on foot to hike around the town. Fantastic restaurants there and plenty to see in the surroundings.

You must have picked those locations for a reason---what appealed to you? From Barga, you want to see Lucca and Castelnouva Garfagnana. I would see Paestum from Campania.

I think you have chosen interesting spots for your vacation. There have been recent reports here of time spent in Abruzzo (near the top of my own list for an upcoming trip) and there is also quite a bit of info here on the area around Calitri...there was a poster here who owned/owns a B&B in that town but not sure if she has posted lately.

http://southernitaly.wordpress.com/



There is much of interest in the areas of Campania, Puglia and Basilicata within a day's drive of that town.....are you interested in wine? Food?

There was also a recent report on this forum about the joys of the small city of Benevento:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-benevento.cfm



Take a look at reports about the Cilento, and also about the Abruzzo..here on this forum.

In Tuscany, Pienza, Siena, San Gimignano, Monteriggioni were all towns we enjoyed. Various abbeys and monasteries.

actually rented villa from lady @ http://southernitaly.wordpress.com

question: we are arriving in naples about noon but our friends don't get in until about 8:00. we will have some jet lag going on and not sure what to do with the 8 hours or so. get rental car, do some grocery shopping (not much open sunday in small town that we are staying), take a nap. or take the bus into naples, lunch, wander, nap. can you check bags at naples airport or do modern day security matters make this not possible?

another question - sorry to bother you but info is so good from fodor users! we are about 100 km from la spezia, in barga, and would love to take a day trip to see cinque terre. understand that it would not do the region justice but that is what we have. drive? take train from lucca?

Yes, there is baggage storage at the airport.

http://www.portal.gesac.it/portal/pa...iUtili/Bagagli

There is also baggage storage at Napoli Centrale.

thank you so much for airport info

Barga - 5Terre can be done by train:
Barga-Gallicano dp 7.38 - Monterosso ar 10.07
Monterosso dp 17.30 - Barga-Gallicano ar 20.15
Local trains along a scenic itinerary through hills and mountains.
Trains between the 5 villages about every 30 minutes.

thanks, sounds better than driving unless it is expensive - there are 4 of us

neckervd - trying to find info on trains but rail europe doesn't recogize Gallicano or Barga. where did you find info?

thanks