barksducks

Hi all!

We're a family of four, with two adventurous boys aged 7 and 10, who are experienced travellers. We're Canadians living in the south of France for two years (lucky us) and Europe is our oyster right now.

We have eight days at the end of April, and my wife and I have never been south of Rome. We want to take the boys to Rome for three days, and then spend four or five days somewhere south of Rome, within three hours by train, and set up in another town or city that will give us an interesting variety of things to see and do. We're considering Salerno in order to see Pompeii and Positano, but I know this is a highly touristed area and maybe we want to avoid that. Is there an absolute slam-dunk of a spot to set up as HQ and from which we can see a lot of interesting things, urban, rural, cultural and historical? Pompeii is a must for us, but if it takes an hour to get there by car from where we're situated, that's fine.

Fire away!

Michael

Steve_James

Hi Michael - The Amalfi Coast is not too busy late April - so I don't think you need to worry about that.

Not many people choose to base in Salerno - but it's certainly convenient for Pompeii, Paestum, the Amalfi Coast and Naples.

More popular choices are usually Positano, Sorrento, Amalfi, Praiano ... They all have their fans here.

Places to visit? You're spoilt for choice really:

- Positano, Ravello, Amalfi, Capri, Pompeii, Ercolano, Vesuvius, Sorrento, Paestum, Naples, Ischia, Montepertuso/ Nocelle ('Path of the Gods' hike), Solfatara, Caserta, Cassino ... to name a few

Hope this helps ...

Steve

Vttraveler

If you really spend four or five days out of your eight days south of Rome, I recommend including a visit to Paestum on your trip. It will give your kids exposure to some spectacular Greek ruins

However, you might want to re-think spending only 3 days in Rome. That is a short time for that amazing city. If you stay there longer you can probably rent an apartment and have a more relaxing time exploring Rome.

barksducks

My wife and I have been to Rome a couple of times, so we're thinking of doing a kids' Rome and then heading somewhere <i>none</i> of us have been ... but maybe we'll do four days ...

kybourbon

I think Sorrento would be an easier base than Salerno. If the boys have seen the early Star Wars movies, they might enjoy Caserta since scenes were filmed there.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caserta_Palace

CasaDelCipresso

If you're looking for an area with no tourists, you could head inland to hills of Camapnia (Avellino and Benevento Provinces) or even areas of Basilicata - very off-the-beaten path...but still close enough to daytrip to all the famous sights. (have to put in my vote though - I really like Salerno as a choice on the coast - I like it just as much as Sorrento - for totally different reasons...Salerno has a very authentic feel as opposed to Sorrento's beachy kitch)

I just got back yesterday from a week on the Campania/Basilicata/Puglia border (we have a home there) and I'm happy to give specifics if you like...it's a different ball game though than the touristy coast ;-) We've made tons of daytrips...Paestum, Pompeii, Ercolano, Naples, Bari, the Norman castles (I have a 7yr old boy) of Melfi, Lagopesole, Venosa, Castle del Monte, San Lorenzo monestary at Padula, Matera, Amalfi, etc. We don't mind driving though and most of our trips have been about an hour and a half drive away.

If your main focus is easy access by train , pick Salerno I think - other spots are difficult to reach in Southern Italy by train and you will need to go by bus or rent a car.