I am playing around with a few ideas for a holiday this fall. One of my ideas is to combine Gaeta/Sperlonga with an additional destination within a 2.5-hour drive of the Rome airport.

On another thread I asked about the Sabine Hills,without realizing that this area is about 3 hours drive from Gaeta.

My newest idea is to choose one interesting town in Abruzzi, which might have easy access to Rome FCO. (We will be driving).

There is so little here on Sulmona and around, but the little that has been written seems to be very positive. Can anyone recommend either Sulmona or another town, or even a destination hotel in the countryside, that might fit our needs? Looking for great food and good scenery.

I've read about great hotel/restaurants near here that are popular getaways for Romans..(La Bandiera is too far). Has anyone experience with any of these?

I might then visit the Gaeta area for a few days and drive to Abruzzo, and then to the airport in Rome..does this make sense at all? We have a total of 7 days/7nights; not negotiable. September 2009.

Do you want to live a unique experience in Abruzzo, enjoying its mountains, its magical views, an unforgettable atmosphere far from the rythm of this century ?
Well, then you should not miss to stay at Rocca Calascio, the highest town of Abruzzo, a very small town whose origin is 17 centuries ago.
The D&B is IL RIFUGIO DELLA ROCCA www.rifugiodellarocca.it
You can reserve an apartment for you and enjoy their gorgeous and cheap dinners.
It is faboulous and, believe me, you will thank me for this suggestion.
Anyway, close to Rocca Calascio there is a very pretty small town: Santo Stefano di Sessanio.
There is a good enough D&B: OSTELLO DEL CAVALIERE www.ostellodelcavaliere.it but you must reserve and be sure that they give you the best room with its bathroom.
Otherwise a good suggestion could be also to stay in Alfedena: cute enough but not very ancient and not very charateristic; but its plus is to be a good basis for day trips.
In Alfedena I suggest you the D&B LOCANDA MONTE GRECO www.locandamontegreco.net .
Other suggestion; you can stay in Pescasseroli (two hours to drive from Sperlonga).
Pescasseroli is the heart of the Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo and is very good for day trips.
The D&B which I suggest you is PLISTIA www.ristorantealbergoplistia.it .
To dine there is a very delicious experience.
Close enough to Sulmona there is a very charming small town: SCANNO.
You will enjoy it !
I suggest the D&B COSTANZA E ROBERTO www.lacasadicostanza.com .
Abruzzo is a very interesting region of Italy and it is really appealing to discover it !

Ciao.

Vincenzo

Vicenzo I love your enthusiasm! I spent a few hours reading about Abruzzo yesterday and today I will spend some more, looking up the places you mentioned! The problem here is that we have only one week!

Many thanks, as usual!

...Vicenzo what do you think of Sulmona? Remember that we would only have a couple of days..the whole trip is only 7 days and we would spend a few of those on the coast..

Sulmona is cute and charming enough and a good solution for day trips but not the best to enjoy the best of Abruzzo.
So, rather than Sulmona why don't you evaluate the idea of L'AQUILA ?
L'AQUILA is the most important town of Abruzzo, altough someone could say that Pescara is more important because larger and on the coast.
L'AQUILA is very charming and deserves a not short visit.
And accomodation could be great if you choose the D&B IL DRAPPO: very comfortable Bed part, the Hotel 99 Cannelle and delicious dinner at the restaurant. Look at its website: www.hotel99cannelle.com .
The chef is Christian Granata, very clever.
Then, in the historical center of the town one of the best bar of Italy, nice to spend few happy hours: EVOE'.
Then a good suggestion to dine in a casual way is PERCORSI DI GUSTO www.percorsidigusto.com . Do not miss it for a funky evening.

Have a lovely trip, ciao.

Vincenzo

In Sulmona dont forget to purchase the wonderful confetti, hard almond candies given at weddings and other special occasions. Also the Centerbe, a powerful liquer made from 100 herbs.
and for history buffs, check out the prison camp with graffitti done in the 1940's by "guests" from USA and UK . amazing...

look up ortorna di masi its a small hilltop town in abruzzo with an incredible view and one of the best restaurants we have been to in italy. only one restaurant in town by the way. its a town known for its beauty. make sure you see the place and possibly eat there

Many thanks! it seems as if the area merits more than the 2-3 days we could devote on this trip...I will save this information and hope to plan something in the future!

We liked Sulmona. It was a town with a real local feeling, a large plaza and an ancient aquaduct. There was a great evening passigata (walk) in town. People seemed friendly. We only stayed there one day and then drove through some of Abruzzi, including Scanno, which has a small quiet, older town, seemingly renovated as well as another small town center. There is also a Lake Scanno nearby where people stay in the summer. There is also an organic goat farm up a road not far from there where the cheese was to die for and you could "adopt" a sheep. Not sure what that was about!

Support the recommendations for Sulmona. Nearby is an interesting town, Pacentro (http://pacentro.wordpress.com) the home of Madonna's ancestors. Worth a visit also.