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Visiting Italy-No Car Required!
It was years ago we rented a car in Puglia. All bets were off that we’d still be married by the time we got to our first villa rental. I am not quiet about screaming
“Watch out! Brake, brake! brake! BRAKE! Where did that person get his/ her driving license?! Can that driver follow us any closer? That car just cut you off! Don’t forget that stop signs and red lights in Italy are optional and in Naples they are Christmas decorations! That street sign we just passed means we are going the wrong way on a one way street!” Anyways, the above is the more polite abridged version. So for a couple of years my husband asked to travel to Italy without renting a car. This year we had 6 weeks to travel by train, bus, or transfer. Here’s what we did. |
on for the ride
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We have not rented a car anywhere in Europe for years. Will be interested and enjoy your car-less adventure.
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We boarded a train in RI to Penn Station, then to LIRR to Jamaica Plains. From there we walked to the Airtrain station to go to JFK. We flew Delta on time to Milan. After clearing the airport we walked to the Malpensa Express train station to go to Milano Centrale. We took a train again and were in Salerno by early evening. Salerno is a great location for ferry transfers to the Amalfi Coast. We stayed here in an apartment in the historic center for 4 nights to recover from jet lag and to be close to our next destination.
One of the restaurants we tried in Salerno was recommended by our host. It is the Al Dente-Spaghetteria on Via Santi Martiri Salernitani, 58. Spaghetti you say? Well so did we! I can make spaghetti! But the choices of spaghetti that were freshly made right in the open kitchen tasted great! Another benefit of this spaghetteria is that it was open from 11am till 1am every day of the week. It is a great alternative to have an early dinner if you are tired and hungry rather than waiting till 7:30 pm for restaurants to open. |
LOL, tcinct, my DH and I often traffic watched as well as people watched in Italy. I'm looking forward to your trip!
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Following! We did a mostly public transport 5-week trip around Italy a number of years ago (though, admittedly, we did rent a car for 3 days in Umbria), and I see more public transportation trips in the future. It’s very satisfying to travel that way and not having to deal with driving in and out of cities and parking - especially in the ZTL zones, those designated no-parking areas that you only discover you’ve parked 6 in months after the fact when you get a bill in the mail!
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When we first arrived in Salerno we had talked of taking a day trip to walk the Path of the Lemons from Maiori to Minori. There are many steps along the path leaving one town and entering the other and we decided we weren’t energetic enough yet to try it. Our apartment had steep steps to enter and then more steep steps to get upstairs. I decided to put some lemons on the steps of the apartment and call it a deal!
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While in Salerno we bought train tickets to visit the village of ceramics, Vietri Sul Mare. You can get to Vietri by ferry but the train is under a 10 minute ride for under 2 euros and has more frequent connections than the ferry. It is a short down hill walk from the train station that took us to an elevator (asensori publico) that had ceramic fish on the walls. We walked around the streets and checked out the shops for a couple of hours. We wandered down a small side street to Justin’s Bar by the laundromat for some Aperol and Lemon Spritzs that came with enough snacks to call it lunch!
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Vietri sul Mare
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Ceramics decorate the streets, even pipes on the walls. |
Our next stop was Minori, a less crowded Amalfi Coast town we hadn’t visited before. We took an hour long scenic ferry ride (travelmar.it) from Salerno Concordia to Minori staying at an apartment recco’d by another Fodorite. Two nights is all that was available and we were happy to get that. It had an elevator to a flight and a half of steps to reach the entry door. Up another flight of steps led to an incredible 360 degree view terrace. We would have probably never come down from the terrace except Sal de Riso’s bakery was across the street where we had to try the lemon delight ( delizie al limone) of Stanley Tucci fame. After that I wanted to live in the bakery!
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I like your Path of the Lemons compromise “I decided to put some lemons on the steps of the apartment and call it a deal!”
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How much luggage did you have and what size? So far we usually do rent cars but I expect at some point my husband won't want to drive. I know it's stressful. We did use trains in Andalucia 6 years ago, and we were able to manage our luggage. But as we age, I think we will have to downsize if we plan on using public transportation. I know I pack too much!
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Hi Karen,
I enjoy your posts about what you’ve been reading! I have cut way back on what I pack. We travel with a carry on each and my husband has a small backpack. The only way our luggage would get lost is if we forgot it! We never have to wait for our luggage to show up at the carousels at the airports. We mostly stay in apartments and use washing machines. Dryers aren’t as common in Italy so our clothes are bought for traveling with fast drying fabric in mind. |
We do the same, we even take some worn out clothing to put into local recycling systems along the way to reduce weight and to allow us to buy the odd thing along the way. Washing machines were first invented back in the 1920s and are seen as the most significant economic change to the western world of the centuary freeing up half the population from drudgery. It is only reasonable we should also use them on holiday. Still, others like to take their dirty clothing home.
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I may not lose my luggage but I sure can lose the photos I try to post!
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Yums just Yums, tcinct!
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Originally Posted by tcinct
(Post 17499420)
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...084c2126c.jpeg
The pastry shop! Worth a stop! |
Originally Posted by geetika
(Post 17499428)
We loved Minori, and gorged on delice at Sal de Riso, we bought some to take back to our apartment in Atrani to savor over the next couple of days. Did a limoncello tasting too, also had a delicious limoncello tiramisu at a small restaurant in Atrani, to die for 😋
Right down the street was another fabulous bakery, Gambardella, which also had delizie Al limone! We had to try theirs to compare. There was no clear winner, they were equally delicious! I agree with you, the limoncello was a highlight! The lemon spritz’s there were some of the best I’ve ever had! |
Restaurants are easy to walk to from this apartment.
We enjoyed the food and service so much at Ristorante Giardiniello we ate there twice on the front terrace. (Giardiniello-Corso Vittorio Emanuele, 17 12 PM- 3 PM, 6:30 PM-11 PM) Though we didn’t try these restaurants here are a few of the host’s suggestions. Ristorante a Ricetta, Hostaria del Corso, Taberna 33 Bistro, and Tippico terre di nocciole |
Travelmar’s web site has a brief description of the Amalfi Islands they go to here-
https://www.travelmar.it/en/visit-amalfi-coast They also offer itineraries including one day trip by ferry to see 2 or 3 of the islands. https://www.travelmar.it/en/tours-on...st-and-pompeii |
Molise is known as the region that doesn’t exist. But exist it does and it is well worth a visit. We first visited Molise last year and came back this year to explore some more.
The day we left Minori we took the ferry back to Salerno and then 3 trains to head east to Molise. We are usually a one train a day family. We left Salerno to go to Casserta. Casserta is worth a stop for the palace and gardens alone but we had visited on a previous trip. Next stop was from Casserta to Foggia in Puglia. From Foggia we arrived in Termoli in Molise a half hour later. From Minori to Termoli was about 9 hours. |
Termoli
Walking from the Termoli train station on a Saturday afternoon to our apartment we went down a tree lined street to a square filled with parents watching their young children playing soccer. There was a wide pedestrianized street, Via Corso Nationale, next to the square filled with shops and restaurants. In the distance is the water of the Adriatic, water that is blue to green to the beautiful color of the Caribbean waters in all the colorful turquoise shades. We saw more restaurants walking here than we have ever seen even off season. We heard very few English speakers. Menus are for the most part in Italian. My dh said there were more gelateria shops than churches! Termolisi love their gelato!
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Termoli
Walking from the Termoli train station on a Saturday afternoon to our apartment we went down a tree lined street to a square filled with parents watching their young children playing soccer. There was a wide pedestrianized street, Via Corso Nationale, next to the square filled with shops and restaurants. In the distance is the water of the Adriatic, water that is blue to green to the beautiful color of the Caribbean waters in all the colorful turquoise shades. The sand is like light brown sugar in color and texture. We saw more restaurants walking here than we have ever seen even off season. We heard very few English speakers. Menus are for the most part in Italian. My dh said there were more gelateria shops than churches! Termolisi love their gelato!
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Termoli Train Station
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Piazza VIttorio Vieneto (on a Monday so the children are still in school.)
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Corso Nazionale- no cars!
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During the weekday, much busier on the weekends! The road leads to the Adriatic you see in the distance. |
The Marina
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The marina where you can take a ferry to the Tremiti Islands. |
You had me at more gelaterie than churches! Nice shots.
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Termoli
Originally Posted by TDudette
(Post 17500449)
You had me at more gelaterie than churches! Nice shots.
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Termoli
There were weekdays while we were here you could practically have the beach to yourself! The water is clear, the depth is gradual and waves are like ripples. Light brown sugar describes the color and texture of the sand. The beach has both a green flag designation for children, and a blue flag for water quality.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...019ddc3ab.jpeg Seas are calm https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4a26e37f8.jpeg Looking down at the beach next to the castle of the ancient city https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...9e76bc6d4.jpeg A view down the coast https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...67d249c26.jpeg Another quiet October day at the beach. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...cc3af826d.jpeg A trabucco below the Sveva castle. No boat required, just fishing nets. |
Ciao!!
I am LOVING this report! You were so lucky with the weather in Termoli! It looked a lot different, still lovely but different, in the rain and gloom a few days later!! I will be hanging on every word, and photo!! |
Termoli
CIAO, EKScrunchy!
Thank you for your very kind words! You have been an inspiration for so many of our Italy trips! Heartfelt appreciation is sent your way!
Originally Posted by ekscrunchy
(Post 17500690)
Ciao!!
I am LOVING this report! You were so lucky with the weather in Termoli! It looked a lot different, still lovely but different, in the rain and gloom a few days later!! I will be hanging on every word, and photo!! |
I was born in Europe. Come to America 44 years ago. I spent 33 Over there drove a car or a motorbike. I visit every year since,
but I will never attempt to drive anything again over there. We here are civilized as far as driving. Not much beyond that, BTW. It is true driving in Italy scares the hell out of me. firs they are so many, the streets are so narrow and not much of rules are respected. |
Driving in Italy
Originally Posted by bucurilie3603
(Post 17500881)
I was born in Europe. Come to America 44 years ago. I spent 33 Over there drove a car or a motorbike. I visit every year since,
but I will never attempt to drive anything again over there. We here are civilized as far as driving. Not much beyond that, BTW. It is true driving in Italy scares the hell out of me. firs they are so many, the streets are so narrow and not much of rules are respected. Parking and hoping you have a car when you return adds to the fun! When we visited a town in Puglia my DH swore that they came out at night and switched the signs for the one way roads so you could never enter the town the same way twice. |
Last year while browsing holiday rentals I selected indoor pools as a filter and to my surprise I had a hit! The villa was in Oratino and I decided somebody had to stay there! That was our first introduction to Molise. The villa was being newly offered as a B&B. We took a train from Naples to Isernia and arranged a private transfer to the villa. We were the only guests the whole time we were there. The villa now has its own web site in addition to being on other vacation rental sites.
https://villapanoramaoratino.com/ Though a car is preferred to sightsee we managed by walking everywhere! |
TC: Was there a town near the villa that you could walk to?
The indoor pool..can you swim laps? Loving this report!! So glad to read about Molise!! |
Oratino
Hi ekscrunchy!
Thank you for following along! We just got back from a walking food tour in Parma, wow! More info to follow! The pool is about 14 feet wide by about 28 feet long. It is about 4 and 1/2 feet deep across the whole flat surface of the pool.
Originally Posted by ekscrunchy
(Post 17501047)
TC: Was there a town near the villa that you could walk to?
The indoor pool..can you swim laps? Loving this report!! So glad to read about Molise!! |
Oratino is of one of the most beautiful villages in Italy, as designated by the Borghi più Belli d’Italia association.
https://borghipiubelliditalia.it/en/borgo/oratino/ https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...bd44ad1d0.jpeg Oratino’s medieval village seen in the distance from the villa. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a231f063d.jpeg Here’s an incline at the entry to the village. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d3e249508.jpeg Some steps to help burn off some calories! https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0111c5214.jpeg Stone masons built homes and walls and roads here. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...9b9acfd7c.jpeg The town center. |
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