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Puglia, Matera and AC itinerary?
Planning trip in Sept or Oct 2020. Second trip to Italy. Retired, active couple. Final itinerary will depend on flights....hoping for open jaw Inyo FCO and out of Bari, but will most likely be RT through FCO from Ohio. first question: any big advantage of late Sept over early October? (Weather, crowd size) Fly into FCO, train to Salerno4N. Daytrips to Amalfi/Ravello, Positano, pompei Rent car Matera 2N. Paestum and buffalo farm on way there Martina Franco 2N daytrip to Arberobello, Locorotondo Lecce 2N, return car upon arrival Train to. Ostuni, then on to Polignano a Mare 2N Train to. Rome. 3N i have a vision impairment that prevents me from driving, and would like to give my husband some time to enjoy the scenery while we travel-reason yo return car upon arrival in Lecce. i feel like the time after Matera can be fine tuned-suggestions for one home base? A reason for skipping Sorrento...I am prone to motion sickness in busses. Did ok on all of the trains last visit. If the weather is not conducive to ferries, we will not be able to get to AC from Sorrento. Maybe go there upon arrival for a few nights and visit Pompei from Sorrento? I am assuming bus from Salerno to Amalfi is not as “challenging” as bus from Sorrento to Amalfi?! |
Sept is warmer and most of the tourists will have gone home already, October can be wetter.
You could fly into Brindisi as well as Bari Bits of Puglia are accessible by Pullman bus, this might help BUS - Aeroporti di Puglia or this HTTP://www.aeroportidipuglia.it/en/brindisi/bus Also, don't ignore the train systems in the area. Very comfortable and interesting. You might want to rent a car for local visits but public transport can be very restful. |
Yes, Sept is better.
There is no need to rent a car for the Salerno - Matera etc. legs. There ar buses fron Naples to Bari and Matera (Marinobus) and trains from (Naples -) Salerno to Ferrandina with connecting buses to Matera. Frequent trains between Matera - Bari and Bari - Castellana Grotte - Alberobello. trains from Naples to Pompei -Sorrento and from Salerno to Paestum are frequent too. So are buses from Sorrento to Amalfi and from Amalfi to Salerno. |
Could be a great trip!
You might want to check flights into Naples rather than Rome. It's been a long time, but I seem to recall a fair number of twists and turns on the bus from Salerno to Amalfi. If motion sickness on buses is an issue, you might want to consider a motion sickness preventative, perhaps motion sickness bands. |
We were in Puglia last fall, in early to mid October and had beautiful weather, no rain, not too hot. We had a wonderdul trip and found it so interesting and less touristed than many other parts of Italy. |
Thanks for the info. Perhaps public transport to Matera and Lecce, rent a car and visit the remaining towns on the way to Polignano a Mare? Glad I am planning this early! |
Public transport is pretty good in Italy but limited in Puglia, it is a good solution for major point to point routes. As well as Pullman (buses) there are two train systems, some of those are very tatty and a bit comical and some are more normal European. Car rental for local visits is a good idea except for parking in the really tight small historical centres (Romans just didn't have cars). So you may want advice from your accommodation as to where to park etc. I'd book car rental from Auto Europe which acts a broker and sorts out what can be an error caused locally (this is southern Italy after all).
In Italy the right to drive a taxi is pretty well controlled so, for example, it is safe and sensible to catch a taxi from the Lecce bus station to your hotel. I might avoid Uber which is supposed to be illegal in the south. |
And there weren’t any taxis in Polignano a Mare which surprised us. It was hot that day and we had to walk quite a distance to a laundry. |
If you suffer from motion sickness on busses, I'm not sure I'd opt for public transportation from Salerno to Matera. But it's been a while, maybe I'm misrecalling the ride.
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Originally Posted by kja
(Post 16994740)
If you suffer from motion sickness on busses, I'm not sure I'd opt for public transportation from Salerno to Matera. But it's been a while, maybe I'm misrecalling the ride.
The flight from Bari to Rome at the end of my itinerary is approx same price as train...and takes only an hour, vs 4 hr train trip. But withsecurity, etc, I imagine it’s not really that much faster an option? We may be ready for a 4 hour sit on a train at that point! :) |
I've done the train ride and once in the mountains it is spectacular.
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We flew Rome to Bari for our Puglia stay and we flew Bari to Palermo at the end.. All short, efficient and inexpensive flights on Alitalia and Volotea. |
Originally Posted by greenacreswife
(Post 16994866)
The flight from Bari to Rome at the end of my itinerary is approx same price as train...and takes only an hour, vs 4 hr train trip. But withsecurity, etc, I imagine it’s not really that much faster an option? We may be ready for a 4 hour sit on a train at that point! :)
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