Any suggestions on a 2 week itinerary to southern Italy in April? Fly into Palermo and out of Rome. Have been to Paestum, Pompeii, Sorrento and Rome before and would prefer to see new things/places. We plan on traveling exclusively by train. We have been to Italy numerous times and have never gotten south of Paestum. We are from Honolulu so beaches are not our main priority. We love history and enjoy ruins. We also just enjoy "losing ourselves" wandering around towns taking pictures. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks and Aloha.
Posted by
OP
Manassas, Virginia, USA
5 posts
Ha Ha. Just noticed it says that I am from Manassas. Living there now but originally from Honolulu.
Posted by
Chicago
2876 posts
If you love history & ruins, you'll love Sicily. The great ruins are at Segesta, Selinunte, Agrigento, Piazza Armerina, Siracusa, and Taormina. IMO the most beautiful and spectacular are at Segesta and Agrigento. If you have the time, the amazing medieval clifftop town of Erice is also well worth a visit. I'm not sure all of these places are reachable by train; we did it by car.
Posted by
OP
Manassas, Virginia, USA
5 posts
Thanks Tom. I appreciate the ideas. I'll have to Google some you mentioned and see if we can get to them. P.S. Noticed you were from Chicago. Sorry about the Bears.
Posted by
Cesena, Italy
791 posts
To see Sicily I would recommend renting a car. The autostrada in Sicily is mainly good road and either free or cheap as distances are pretty short. Some of the things you may want to see might not be doable by train/bus. Palermo is a great place to wander and lose yourself. A couple of little hilltowns close to Palermo are Montelepre and Corleone. Also great places to wander through IMO. You would definitly want to see Segesta and Agrigento for the ruins. Be sure to check out the theatre in Segesta also. For some reason RS doesn't even mention it in the Sicily vid. Siracusa is also a good spot for history/ruins and just wandering. I was going to visit the Roman Villa in Piazza Armerina a few weeks back but according to their website it's closed until spring for renovation with no definite re-open date. If you visit Taormina be sure to check out the little town of Castelmola which sits above.
Tropea in Calabria is a cool little town to wander. Apuglia is a bit out of the way going to Rome but we liked Locorotondo and Alberobello also.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32212 posts
Lori, A couple of other locations you could add to your list...... > Alberobello (Trulli houses) > Matera (the location where the movie The Passion of the Christ was filmed - if you stay in Hotel Sassi, your room will be in a Cave - it's a VERY unique location with an interesting history, sometimes termed "The Shame of Italy" - have a look at This Website) for a brief description. > Vieste (Gargano Peninsula - another very interesting location - have a look at the Video for this Hotel - makes me want to return!). I'm also a Photographer, and there are lots of photo op's in those locations. Cheers!