two 17 year olds, trip to Italy
 

We are two 16 year old girls, but will be 17 soon. We'd like to go next summer, mid/late June. We've both traveled before, but this would be our first big trip without parents. We have friends we'd be staying with in Naples, then Bari, and finally Lecce, and we wanted to hear any and all suggestions/comments from anyone who's familiar with those areas? Any places we should make sure to see, places to eat...etc. We'd love to hear anything (: Thanks!

Sounds like a fun trip...we just got back and though we are in our thirties our trip report on Puglia may be of interest http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...t-do-italy.cfm

Try to go earlier or later. August is out, because Italians take their vacations then. Early May? Naples *shudder* is not a good place to vacation. A local Italian told us that she would only go back to Naples to get on a train or a boat. Sorry, but I haven't heard of the other 2 cities.

Jamikens- Thanks, I'm reading it now, so far very enjoyable to read, sounds like you had a great time!

Valagen - we've thought about the time, and this is really the very earliest we can go. I'd much rather go in May, but unfortunately we can't. I agree with you on Naples, the biggest reason we'll be there is to fly in, after that a max of probably 3 days before we're off to Puglia. We just thought it'd be a good chance to drop by our friend's as long as we'll be in the area, but Puglia will be the bulk of our trip.

I suggest that you get a guidebook for Italy.

Oh no, Naples is great! Maybe not the spiffiest place in the world, but the "shudder" reaction is outdated, and you'll find a lot more Naples-lovers than just me on these boards.

I first visited Naples and Pompeii when I was nineteen; it's certainly gotten better with time! The food and the people there are amazing, and if you're at all interested in the ancient Romans, the national archeological museum there is a can't-miss.

To give you a taste - literally but virtually - of the area, check out these two trip reports:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...omment-6749994

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...m-and-rome.cfm

ams_mdb29, what are your interests/priorities on this trip: do you prefer city or countryside, art or history or nature, seaside or mountains, etc. Also, how long overall do you think the trip will be? The more specific you can be with details like these, the better information you'll get in return. :)

We are heading to Naples over Easter 2013...interested to experience this city people tend to love or hate!

Peg - thanks, will do

ggreen - I'm glad you gave us your comment...we've otherwise heard pretty much the same about Naples ("Ohh don't go there, not a great place for trips, pick some place else...) The only really good reviews I've ever heard are from my friends that live there, and I wasn't sure if they were being a little biased or not, so it's good to hear it from someone else. I will read those.
As for our interest and priorities - we're still in the broad planning stage, not all to sure about details. Out of your examples, we'd more go for city, any of art/history/nature, and definitely sea over mountains. Since we are going to be staying with friends though, we really don't have much choice in that way, but if there are day trips that can be taken from these places we'd love to hear about them :) Also, we don't need some place that speaks a lot of English (maybe I should have included this in my first post?), I am almost-fluent (meaning there are a few words here and there I have to ask about sometimes, but I'm not worried at all about that, I still have time to work out kinks). She doesn't speak any however... a little Spanish, but I've found, despite what a lot of people say, they aren't that similar when you're actually speaking them.

jamikins - looking forward to reading about that! After reading the last one we're hooked, your trips are very exciting to read about :)

Hi ams,

Naples is quite a nice place to visit.

In addition to the Archaeological Museum, which has all of the best stuff from Pompeii, there is the Capella Sansevero with the "Veiled Christ", the Fortress, the Waterfront and the Capodimonte Museum.

In addition, I think that Spaccanapoli is a very interesting neighborhood for folks your age.

From Naples, you can visit Herculaneum, Mt Vesuvius, Pompeii Scavi, Capri and Paestum.

From Naples you will be heading somewhat off the beaten track across the boot and down the heel of Italy.

Have you looked up any of your destinations under "Destinations"?

((I))

ams, I'm so glad to hear that! I think you'll enjoy Naples and the area: city and sea, lots of art and history, and the main mountain in the area (Vesuvius) is impressive, both in its scenic addition to the coastline and its powerful history. :)

If you can speak even a little Italian, of course it helps; being fluent is even better! (My first visits to Italy were on vacations during a junior year abroad in Paris. French was even worse than Spanish when it came to communicating - but I could *read* a good amount, figuring out signage and menus and such! Then and now, I rely on a lot of "dove?" and "va bene" LOL.)

Sadly, I don't know anything about the other coast of Italy. But there's a bunch of posts on here about Puglia: if you haven't seen it yet, look for the trip report by ekscrunchy. And I'll add to Peg's comment: I always find it very helpful - and fun! - to go to a bookstore or library and browse lots of guidebooks. Some will have great photos, others lots of useful text - and all will just add to the excitement of your trip!

jamikins, on that first venture of mine to Naples way back when, we were in Naples over Easter. We'd been in Rome and didn't want to stay there on the holiday itself, so took the train to Naples the day before. Early on Easter Sunday when the streets were still very quiet, we passed a church with amazing, dark posters of the crucified Jesus scattered across its front. It's a mental image that's still almost as vivid today as it was 20 years ago! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. :)

Thanks ams! We will be sure to report back in April!

ira - we're kinda new to this site, just found it about a week ago, so we haven't really looked much in there... I think I looked over there maybe once but I wasn't really sure where it was taking me so I'm not sure I was in the right place...again that was probably the first time we'd been on here, but thanks, and we'll have to check out those places you mentioned, thank you :)

ggreen - yes, we've been trying to read up on all we can find on Naples/Puglia, and we've found quite a few threads. We'll have to look at the one by ekscrunchy, not sure if we've already seen it or not.

ggreen - sounds amazing, I hope we do too! Of course we cant wait to try all the awesome food and wine!

Lecce and Bari are perfectly pleasant (see also Brindisi) with the odd wall and castle in each town. You will also find that the towns away from the coast are relatively unspoiled and tend to exist on hill tops (or in Gravina's case on a spit overlooking a ravine). What often looks like a relatively tatty town from the plain (the Murge) will often hide a marble centre, with cathedral, on the very top.

Historically the Greeks owned bits of it before the Romans turned up, then the Normans arrived and you can still find Norman castles (as per the tower of London) hidden away in amongst some of the towns. Thereafter the place has gone down hill for the last 1000 years apart from being the jumping off point for the sack of Constantinople, Crimea, Galipoli etc and the last 60 years has been a bit of a disaster, what with the Allies paying the mafia to help the invasion. This means that if you like ancient monuments you can trip over them, the area also holds the Italian Navy (Taranto) and some forests, ancient roads etc.

Still plenty of Gelato, great balls of buffolo cheese and the odd pasta makes up for a lot. What you will enjoy in this area is the evening walk, between 6 and 8 when the locals go out for a wander to see who is wearing what. Obviously this allows girls to spot boys etc.

There are some good Italian police programs (with sub titles) which may improve the Italian and get an understanding of the locals. Montalbano is a very good series (based on Sicily) but you get to see the sort of landscape and houses etc

bilboburgler - thanks! We're loving all these comments, very helpful... and we were planning on going to Gallipoli definitely. Other than that in the Lecce area...we're looking around at Locorotondo (maybe on the way from Bari to Lecce)and Otranto. Both very excited about the gelato and pasta ;) And thank you for the programs suggestions, I'm sure they'll be good to check out

And do not miss the mozzarella di bufala. (Fresh, rich, creamy buffalo milk mozzarella.). Divine stuff.