Southern Italy Itinerary - HELP!
 

Well it's back to Italy again and back to this forum for more friendly advice.

My wife and I are planning 13-14 days in Southern Italy leaving NYC on May 12th, 2005.

We want to start out seeing the usual sites in Campania (Naples, Sorrento, Amalfi Coast, Pompei, Salerno,etc.) but we are also interested in seeing Puglia, Basilicata and Calabria.

We are looking for advice on an intinerary that makes sense. For starters should we base ourselves at the outset in Naples, Sorrento or Salerno?

Can we see southern Italy without renting a car? We'd rather take trains and buses where possible.

Lastly, where else should we plan to stay overnight?

Thanks in advance for any and all responses.

Roger & Joan (Your responses last time made our honeymoon in Venice, Florence and Tuscany heaveny!)

I think you will need a lot more that 13-14 days to see much of Campania, Basilicata, Puglia, and Calabria. That's a lot of territory.

I also do not rent cars when I travel, but Basilicata is a region that would be very difficult or impossible to see well without a car. Potenza would be the major public transportation hub of Basilicata (more so than Matera), but it would not be practical to try to get around strictly by train and bus, even if you stayed in Potenza. It would probably be difficult or impossible to get to a place like Aliano, for example, without a car. However, it might be possible to hire local drivers to take you on day trips for much lower fees than you'd find in the mnore touristy areas.

If you'll be in Basilicata around May 15, you should go to Accettura, a little town in the "Lucanian Dolomites" (not too far from Aliano--not very very near, but fairly close). There's a fasincating festival that's a combinations of an ancient pagan tree cult celebration and a traditional patron saint holiday. The most fun part to observe might be Sunday, May 15 (if I'm calculating the weeks correctly for this year--7 wks after Easter) when 50 pairs of oxen, all dressed up with flowers and pom poms and feathers, and cheered on by folk musicians and people picnicking along the road from the forest, drag an oak tree into town. For two days, men of the town work on the oak tree and on a holly tree that has been carried to town by men, and join them together. Then on Tuesday, May 17, the two trees will be "married" and at the moment when the San Giuliano (patron st.) procession reaches the square, the two trees, now joined as one, are raised up by pulleyes. then there are all sorts of games and contests centered on this towering combination of two joined trees.

If you are fluent in Italian, you might be able to go on tours geared for Italians that go to some of the more remote tourist attractions, but I don't think it will be easy to find day tours in English, except possibly in Matera and Maratea, where there's more tourism.

ttt...

Tropea in Calabria is absolutely beautiful. Perhaps that could be tour last stop & you could fly out of Lamezia Terme. Gerace & Stilo are cute hill towns, which would be nice day trips if you were in the area.

Lots of people will give you recommendations on where to go. I'll just add that personally, I would never visit southern Italy without a rental car. There's just so much you will miss if you can't be free to go wherever and whenever you want. Good luck.

The Calabrian coast is easy to visit by train, and most of the towns in the interior worth visiting have bus service. We did this end of Sept, beginning of Oct. If you use public transportation do not make Sunday your travel day. And I second AP's suggestions.

Hi again - what if we just limited ourselves this trip to Campania and Puglia? Could we base in Sorrento for ? nights, then pick up a car in Salerno and do the Cilento Coast, main Puglia towns and the Gargano in 13-14 days?

Yes you can--been there, done that--with minor alterations. Try to find my trip report on slowtrav.com from spring 2000 named ' NAVIGATING WITH BOB & ED". It will help !

But, you can get the car right in Sorrento--or Salerno.

topping

Thanks Bob! Read your trip report on slow travel and Puglia sounds perfect.