Background:

Middle aged couple who enjoy using public transportation in Italy ( especially regional trains to take time gazing out the window), budget atmospheric accom and practising speaking a little Italian!

Will be 4th trip to Italy, previously- Rome, Orvieto Florence, Bologna, Lucca Siena, Volterra, Pisa, Venice, Camogli, Cinque Terre, Pompeii

Travelling October 2011- have chosen Umbria, Le Marche and Puglia to see another side of Italy, maybe more small town Italy- and Puglia in particular, for contrast to anywhere else we've been.

Seeking:

Choosing not to use car . Need a base in each region to explore local areas. Like to visit some coastal towns in Le Marche. Location would need to have good bus / train connections. Budget ideally around $700 per week

Prefer apartment but would consider great B&B in Umbria, Le Marche and Puglia

Like to experience mix of interesting " tourist roads less travelled" , as well as perhaps some "must sees". Towns don't need to have "big ticket items", perhaps an indefinable but appealing ambiance!! Like to eat out locally-

Have had a look at slowtrav tripadvisor for accom and here- but am really undecided on the best places to use as a base in each region.

All suggestions gratefully received- have had such wonderful advice from Fodorites in the past when planning previous trips. Thanks

Look at www.homelidays.co.uk for apartment rentals.

All three regions are quite poorly served by Trenitalia. There are local train lines, at least in Umbria and Puglia, and bus lines, which are, to say the least, quirky in Puglia.

Consider Spello in Umbria; it's small and pretty, on the Trenitalia line and connected by bus through Foligno to Montefalco and Bevagna.

Instead of a coastal town in Le Marche, why not one in Puglia? Perhaps Monopoli, also on the Trenitalia line.

I really can't fathom how you could do justice to these three regions without a car. The beauty of each of them is wandering around discovering the out-of-the-way gems. But as zerlina says, if that's your plan you'd best work really hard to find places that are served by trains. The buses are major-league quirky.

In Umbria I would probably suggest Perugia. It wouldn't be my ideal base, as I prefer smaller towns, but it would have decent transportation options. I agree with the above though. I can only speak for Umbria, but most of our favorite towns did not have a train station so they would have to be reached via bus.

Thanks for such prompt responses and considered information!

I know I can't do "justice" but would like a tasting platter- I know I will return- would prefer quality over quantity in each region, so I'm certainly not imagining I can and see and do "everything"

Happy to take buses on a daily excursion, but probably need a home base that's on a train line- I imagine that travelling with luggage would be easier on train.

tcreath what were your favorite Umbrian towns?

I admit that we didn't actually make it to Perugia. We tried, but my husband gets really flustered when it comes to traffic and so we gave it a pass. I've heard great things about it so I wish we would have made more of an effort. I also think that Assisi would be a great base. Granted it's a bit of a walk from the train station to the center of town, but we fell in ove with it.

Our favorites towns were Spello, Trevi, Montefalco and Bevagna but we also enjoyed Deruta, Todi and a few others in the area. We stayed in a lovely apartment near Bevagna, le Cas Gialle, but a car would be needed so I wouldn't recommend it in your case.

I think you will have a great time despite not having a car. It will make for a bit more effort, but it's hard to go wrong in Umbria!

Tracy

I would argue that it's often easier to take the bus, with luggage, than the train! With trains, you sometimes have to race between tracks, if the track changes at the last minute,and in Italy it's often necessary to use an underpass to connect with different tracks, dragging your luggage all the way. Also, with the bus, you can easily slide your luggage in the hold under the seats rather than lugging it on board and trying to lift it into overhead luggage racks!

Perugia is probably the best base in Umbria for public transport, and a fantastic city in and of itself. Great art, many beautiful churches, culture, much history, many restaurants. You can take bus or train to Assisi, bus to Gubbio (a fantastic city) the private train to Todi, train to Spoleto. Bevagna, Montefalco and Spello much trickier to reach via public transport -- you have to coordinate with local bus lines as the train station can be kilometres away from town. Norcia and the Piano Grande are spectacular.

In Le Marche, don't miss Urbino. Spectacular.

This thread has some bus info.
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...om-perugia.cfm

Thanks again everyone- especially kybourbon for the link- lots of great info.

Having done a bit more research I seem to be drawn either to Spello or Perugia as a base,each for different reasons. Perugia seems to be a better transport hub with obviously more restaurants etc but I am also attracted to what I imagine is a quiet retreat in Spello with good connections to Bevagna etc. Anyone have a particular apartment recommendation?


Because Spello is on a train line I imagined that it would connect with other towns quite easily? Am I wrong?

Have looked at Trenitalia but could not see an overview/map of rail links between regions. Am I looking in the wrong spot?

Would day trips generally be longer from Spello or Perugia?


As we are travelling on to Le Marche afterwards would Perugia or Spello be an easier departure point? I couldn't find out this info on Trenitalia.


Thank you all so much for your advice- it is truly appreciated!

It's not ideal, but you can go to www.viaggiatreno.it and choose either Traffico Nazionale or Traffico Regionale and the region. Click on any route shown in blue, and it will show you the trains that are actually running. Click on a train number, and it will show you all the stops the train makes.

The train station in Spello is at the bottom of the hill but certainly walkable to the center without luggage.

Check out my Puglia trip report:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...18-23-2010.cfm

You should also read ekscrunchy's Puglia trip report:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...m#last-comment

I must say I cannot quite picture visiting Puglia w/o a car, because there are so many byways to explore -- miles of gorgeous empty shoreline scenery. You might be able to view them from a local "Pullman" (inter-city bus) but it wd not be the same....

I don't know if this link was on the other thread.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-schedules.cfm

There's also this local train line that might get you a few places.
http://www.fcu.it/reteferroviaria.php

That local Umbrian train service is very interesting and a complete surprise to me, who actually spent 3 months in Perugia long ago. (My last visit there was Oct. 2010)

Perugia is large but the centre is compact and eminently walkable. Far more walkable than drive-able, in fact, as we who have tried to drive there can attest.

NOTE: Because Perugia is a hill town, the train station is located quite far away from and below the city centre.

Saving this for all the good train and bus info.

Byrd

While the train stations are not in the historic center, there is easy transport to the train stations.
http://www.perugiaonline.com/trenipgus.html

>>>Buses
In the historical centre (within the walls) of Perugia you board and alight in Piazza d'Italia. From here you can board a bus that takes you to the main railway station, about a 15 minute ride. Also, many buses leave from here to local surrounding areas.

The main bus terminal for journeys outside of Perugia, like Assisi and Gubbio is situated at Piazza Dei Partigiani, which you can assess by going down the escalators at Piazza d'Italia (Opposite Hotel Brufani).

You have to buy your ticket before boarding Buses, You can buy tickets at the ticket booths both at Piazza d'Italia & Piazza Dei Partigiani, or at newspaper kiosks and tabacchi. You must validate the ticket using a machine on the bus when you board.

Bus tickets are valid for the length of time . Price is around 1€ for a journey lasting 70 minutes. There is a tourist ticket valid for 24 hours price around 3.60€

Trains
The main state run train station in Perugia is on Piazza Vittorio Veneto at the bottom of the hill. About 2 miles (3km) from the historic centre. This train station is a main hub - trains stop for Rome, Florence & Milan and many towns.

There is also a small local private train station "Stazione Sant Anna" - located via fiume, off Via Marconi (Close to the bus terminal Piazza Dei Partigiani) . From this station you can get trains for Terni, Todi, Umbertide and other small destinations.<<<<

From Lonely Planet:
>>>>>About half of the tourist destinations in Umbria require a ride on the Ferrovia Central Umbra (FCU; 075 57 54 01; www.fcu.it in Italian; Stazione Sant’Anna, Piazzale Bellucci). These adorable graffiti’d ‘Thomas the Tank Engine’ trains also head to Rome (switch in Terni). You must validate your ticket on board, not before boarding as with all other Italian trains.

Take the FCU south to Fratta Todina for Monte Castello di Vibio (€2.05, 40 minutes, 18 daily), Todi (€2.55, 50 minutes, 18 daily) or Terni (€4.40, 1½ hours, 17 daily). The Sansepolcro line heads north to Umbertide (€2.05, 45 minutes, 19 daily) and Città di Castello (€3.05, one hour and 10 minutes, 16 daily).<<<<

It appears these train tickets need to be validated on board, not trackside.

In Perugia, the relatively new mini-metro system is invaluable. It runs from the historic centre down into the modern part of Perugia, past Perugia's train station and on to other stops. Makes it very easy and inexpensive to get from the historic centre to the station. Only 1.5 euros but don't forget (as I did once) that you need your ticket to get out of the mini-metro station as well as in.

The main bus terminal and the private FCU station are in or near the Piazza Partigiana, easily reachable by a series of escalators from the historic centre. The FCU train is very slow but useful for getting to Todi.

WOW!!! Thank you all so much- lots of great info to digest

saving for me