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1 month in Italy

Posted by on

Hi,

I'm planning a trip to Italy, with my family (wife and 3 toddler aged kids), for a month, next year Mid-July to Mid-August (partly during Ferragosto). My wife is of Italian descent and is fluent is Italian. I'm conversational. Our kids all understand Italian. We have been to Italy countless times at this point but we have stuck to Rome, her home town in Molise to visit family, Florence and the Positano coast (Ravello, Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi, Praiano). For this trip, i'm looking for a quaint town with a local feel where we can become immersed in the local culture with a medium population (think not Rome or Florence and def not a ghost town).

Considering we have kids, I only want to split my 1 month in 2 locations at best. We aren't married to a specific type of vacation but mountain terrain, beach or water views...etc. would be nice. We were thinking Sardinia, Sicily, Lago di Como, San Gimignano...etc. but cant seem to figure out a solid location. I'm thinking a local feel, town square where we can hang with locals on the daily, enough to do that we wont get bored.

As far as our likes/dislikes go, we loved Ravello after the tourists left. The town square, the people that actually live there come out to play, the views were fantastic, the more local restaurants had great food. We could hike down to the Praiano and go to the beach at will...etc. So definitely a wonderful location. We did not like the touristy parts of Rome (think Spanish steps) but absolutely loved the older feel and less touristy areas of Rome.

Please let me know if I have missed anything but would really appreciate everyones insight. Thanks!

JG

Posted by
7307 posts

I stayed in 11 cities - mostly non-touristy in June, and the one that immediately comes to mind is Mantova. The old center peninsula juts out into three small lakes, and the nicer Lake Garda with the beautiful mountains is an hour from there. The Mantova piazzas in the evening had the authentic enjoyment of locals, and the porticos were full of tables of families and couples Sunday having their lunches from the local shops. It’s a popular biking area if your family likes to bike. There’s also several nice towns to explore nearby. These are less than an hour by train: Cremona, Modena, Verona.

Posted by
2945 posts

I like the idea of any of Padua, Bologna, Ferrara etc for the north.

I'd look at Lecce in the south, very friendly people, and loads of hot women (or men if you're into that).

Posted by
340 posts

last year i was in sicily for a month and this year i spent 14 days, mainly in puglia but also calabria and basilicata. you can tell i love southern italy! sicily is incredible. history, art, architecture & food. less touristy and the friendliest people i have encountered on my travels. while i can't comment on beaches but being an island in the mediterranean that shouldn't be a problem! you can fly into palermo or catania to start your trip. you could also take a train that crosses the straits of messina on a ferry. as base i suggest palermo and syracusa. plenty to see and do at these places plus good access via public transportation for some great day trips. if you rent a car then the point is moot. besides sicily puglia is my 2nd favorite. plenty of places to visit and beaches all around. i based myself in bari and lecce for easy access by public transportation to the various site i wanted to visit. in basilicata matera is not to be missed. in central italy, spello, siena, san gimignano and urbino are my favorites. hope this helps and safe travels.

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