I asked about this on another post (Sperlonga/Gaeta/Ischia) but thought I should begin a fresh one. I am thinking about combining a coastal destination with a couple of days near Rome, so that we can have easy access to the airport in Rome. We will have a car. I've not seen any mention of Sabina here but am interested in learning if anyone has visited this area or any other interesting area of inland Lazio. Any great destination hotels?

Should be convenient (less than 2 hours drive) to both the Gaeta area and FCO.

(Thank you to Vicenzo for the recommended hotels on the other thread!)

Thanks!

the Castelli Romani area, in Lazio, to the south of Rome, is a wonderful locale --

the Pope's summer retreat at Castel Gandolfo, the village of Marino where there is a festival each October in honor of Marc Antonio Colonna, the great admiral at the Battle of Lepanto, Lago di Nemi a holy place to the Ancient Romans,and famous for its strawberries,yes strawberrieds, the museum housing the remains from a Roman pleasure barge from the time of Nero [regretably destroyed by the Nazis ], Frascati where the wine comes and the Villa of Hadrian. You will loe the Castelli Romani.

Judge for yourself on our Castelli Romani Channel of our website

The Castelli Romani are an easy drive to the airport

While I appreciate your response, even if its seems a bit canned (are you cutting and pasting from a script someplace?) I resent having my post used as a vehicle for advertising your website. But thanks just the same.

Here is one place I found that looks nice and Vicenzo has mentioned others on the related thread:


http://www.villavallerosa.it/

..interesting article about rural accommodation in inland Lazio:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/de...-to-Italy.html

When we talk about Sabina we are talking about the area North East of Rome, most of it in the province of Rieti.
When we talk about Castelli Romani, we are talking apples and oranges with Sabina, because Castelli Romani in at the South of Rome, still in its province.
The truth is also that the whole Lazio is a wonderful region and, so to speak, its weakness is that Rome is so great, so lovely, so unique in the world that the rest of the region seems nothing and a nowhere.
As I know Sabina well enough, I enjoy that smart tourists want to explore this area and discover its small hidden treasures.

Have a lovely trip, ciao.

Vincenzo

Thanks,Vicenzo! I am still deciding whether or not to do the combination of Gaeta/Sperlonga and another destination in Lazio, or perhaps to visit Ischia for the first time. This would be in September of this year and we would have only 7 days/7nights.

I thought of adding the second Lazio destination because I was not sure if Gaeta would keep us occupied for a week. (We do not want to spend all day at the beach since we are traveling so far!)

So I was trying to find a place near Gaeta but also not far from the Rome airport. Pretty scenery, great food and good walks are enough for a couple of days so it sounds as if Sabina would fit the bill. Except that it takes 3 hours to drive from Gaeta to Rieti. I also thought of Bracciano--there is so little here on any of these destinations! And not much in the English-language guidebooks!

If we decide that 3 hours is too far to drive to the Sabina area, can you recommend another place (perhaps in Abruzzo, that might be a bit closer?
I do remember reading about some lovely agriturismi/hotels with great food in the L'Aquila area...



You are so very helpful here and I thank you again.

Hi Eks - Have you considered the Colli Albani hilltowns south of Rome? A relatively short drive from Gaeta/Sperlonga - and not too far from the airport ...

Castel Gandolfo - overlooking Lake Albano - is very attractive IMO. Lovely walk around the lake -
http://tinyurl.com/9y56r8

Steve

Thanks, Steve! I seem to be all over the places with ideas. I will do some further reading about these towns; I am afraid I rather brushed off the person who suggested them in the first response above..


And we still have not discounted Ischia from the running!

Hi eks ! We quite enjoyed Frascati for one night, but I thought you were looking for somewhere on the coast ?

I didn't find Bracciano a particularly interesting destination.

Tarquinia is terrific. And were I headed in the direction of Rieti, I would stop by Amatrice just to eat.

Most of the time I've spent in Lazio has been around the Montefiascone region, which is all terrific and undertouristed, but I'm not sure you want to drive that far just to poke around.

By the way, eks, if you still have Piemonte in your other plans, I spent some time the other day with the Cadogan guide to the Italian Riviera and Piemonte, and I think the detailed descriptions of the towns in there make it a very valuable book to have for visitors to that region.

Do you have any feeling at all for spending part of your possible Sperlonga/Gaeta trip doing things in Roma that you've never done? Maybe a trip to the Pontine Islands instead of Ischia? (I've never been to either, but the Grand Hotel Chiaia di Luna has some appeal.

http://www.icastelli.net/hotels-1-7-lazio.html

When it comes to destination hotels, you have to be careful not get into the wedding hotels, I think.

well, all travel writers should probably be shot, but here you go anyway:

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/...et-409042.html

Good luck making up your mind! (It doesn't get any easier when you actually live here.)

"well, all travel writers should probably be shot, ..."

zeppole, an interesting, even daring, thing to say on a travel writer's site!

Thanks to you both.

Caroline:

I am kind of all over the place here. I was thinking that a whole week might be too much in Gaeta/Sperlonga, and so I thought of adding another easy destination. But I still have not given up on Ischia, so I have to choose between Lazio and the island. I think I know which one of these you would choose! If only Ischia were not so invconvenient for us!
I will read some more about Frascati and the immediate area..

Zeppole: I used that book for our recent trip and agree that it is excellent. I have many of their guides and am currently reading their Central Italy book which covers Lazio, Abruzzo, Molise, etc.

We are planning to visit Piemonte in April; we will spend 3-4 nights near Alba and then proceed to Turin..I will be looking into flights this week.

Did you go to Campania?

I have Roman friends who love Ponza, Eks. Might be a nice option for a few days.

Here's a slideshow -
http://tinyurl.com/8a5v9p

Steve

Steve, thanks. I looked at Ponza but if you take a look at hotels there, most of them get rather poor reviews...maybe I did I not do enough of a search. (Highly possible since I seem to be bouncing in one day from the mountains of Abruzzo to the sands of Gaeta and on to the Roman wine towns!)

Ponza certainly sounds appealing..I wonder if anyone else here can comment?

Ok..back to the wine towns for a moment. (I apologize for jumping all over the place). I took at look at Frascati and Grottaferrata; both have a couple of lovely looking hotels in the high-moderate range. Both towns are about the same size in population. Any reason for choosing one over the other? (We would probably be there on a weekend, so keep that in mind; isn't Frascati the most popular daytrip from Rome?)

Or, as Steve suggested, would Castelgandolfo be a better base? (I am sure these are all lovely; it is difficult for some of us to narrow things down!) I see that the scenery is glorious, but is it also lively with great eating?

We are most interested in walking around, looking at people, eating local foods..

Also, does any of these towns have an advantage over the others as far as access to the FCO airport? Do they each have easy train connections to Rome, just in case?

..Sorry but I just have to share this Frascati hotel review from TA:



“typical of the area”
Villa Tuscolana. Frascati

4 of 5 stars
mrRadiant
Horsham, west sussex UK
Sep 4, 2008

I stayed here with a girlfriend a couple of years ago. I was looking to impress so apart from the first room we were given being completely unacceptable I did the Italian thing and kicked up a fuss and we were moved to a much better room.
The food was great and the menu extensive, the gardens lovely and there were loads of towns nearby that were worth a visit too. We didn't bother with Rome as I find big cities rather dull and the bedroom held more appealing entertainment. Unfortunately she is no longer part of my life but the hotel always will be.

* This TripAdvisor Member:
o Liked — the overall experience and the restaurant
o Disliked — having to fight for what I paid for

eks

no, we didn't go to Campania. Weather along the Mediterranean was frequently tumultuous until just a few weeks ago, and there never seemed to be a weather forecast that included enough dry weather for Campania, especially since the motive was to revisit Pompeii and see Paestum, and possibly some of the islands. I even wanted to spend most of my time in Napoli walking outdoors.

April should be a better time for Piemonte than earlier. I want to go to Dogliani and Cortemilia. I want to go at the optimum hazlenut moment, and I don't know when that is!

Z:

End of August in the Langhe?? (see link)

http://www.saporidilanga.com/prodott...la/indexen.htm