mslincoln

would love some feed back on the following please....am planning to travel from salerno to matera in one day and am trying to deduce the best way to get there. not sure whether to drive (though a car in matera almost seems troublesome given the natue of the town!, train or bus. also any good tips on accomodation around 60-100 euro per night for two? our prefernces lie with small establishments that are more intimate than the larger hostel type environment...love the idea of a local host! look forward to viewing your thoughts.

Steve_James

Hi MS - Depending on your timing, the quickest option from Salerno looks to be via Ferrandina F.S - from where there is an occasional bus service to Matera.

Trenitalia lists an 11.25 BUS departure from Salerno (- arr. Ferrandina FS 14.09).

A connecting bus leaves Ferrandina FS at 14.25, arr. Matera 14.55.
Here's the link:

http://www.sitabus.it/sito-basilicat...atera/S671.pdf

Hope this helps ...

Steve

mslincoln

Steve great thank you.
does anyone know if the connecting buses arrive/depart from the same place?
any thoughts on train to potenza (not sure if the train goes to ferrandina??) versus bus to ferrandina as far as speed and scenary?

Steve_James

The train does go to Ferrandina (- via Potenza).
For timetables see:

http://www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html

The 11.25 departure I gave you is listed as a substitute BUS service on the Trenitalia website.

From the timings - and the connecting bus service to Matera (- on the Sita website above) - that departure seems to have the best connection at Ferrandina.

Hope this helps ...

Steve

P.S. You might find this link useful -

http://fodors.com/forums/pgMessages....rchText=Matera

kja

Hi, mslincoln -

I followed Steve's excellent advice about this journey last May, and it worked out just fine! I took the bus from Salerno to Ferrandina, where I was deposited - a few minutes late - at what appeared to be an abandoned train station. A few minutes later, several other people arrived. Not long after that, a bus arrived that did, indeed, go to Matera. I could pay for that bus on board. Going that route is MUCH shorter than going all the way to Potenza.

Hope that helps!

mslincoln

gee steve you will be getting a reputation as the matera guru!
thank you kja for your confirmation of this route. will take steve's advice.
so any hot tips on where to stay? hoping for small number of rooms, locally run etc pref under 100 euro for two per night!

kja

Hi again, mslincoln -
If you can stay in one of the sassi in Matera, I would recommend it. I had a great experience at the Locando di San Martino, but that is probably above your preferred price range. Good luck!

mslincoln

kja
i looked at the hotel, i rearranged my itenerary to get in and i booked! wow thanks for this lead. it is exaclty what i was looking for. and the price was only just over my budget! so now i am travelling from rome to matera, two nights in san martino then travel to the amalfi coast. back to the timetables again!

kja

I'm glad that hotel worked out for you, mslincoln! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Also, when I was there, a very helpful woman at the the hotel's desk recommended La Zuppa Del Re for dinner - unbelievably delicious! You might want to check it out.