Hi all,
My fiance and I are trying to plan our honeymoon for next May/early June. We have family who came from Basilicata (me) and Puglia (him), and want to visit the land of our ancestors. He still has some family in a town called Molfetta that we hope to visit. Our plan is to try to see the south first, Basilicata, Puglia, Sorrento/Naples, then head up to Rome and parts north. Where should we fly in, Naples? Bari? Rome? We are ending the trip (about 3 weeks) in Venezia, so we need an open jaw ticket. Any recommendations? How much time should we plan on before heading to Rome?
We're also looking for winery stops in Tuscany and beyond, as we both work in the Santa Ynez Valley wine industry.
Thanks for your help!
Laura
P.S. We've both been before. I've spent two weeks just in the north, a couple of the days in a rental car. I also speak a bit of Italian. Our starting point is Los Angeles. Thank you for the advice craven and Mike.
Posted by
Boston
1814 posts
Your questions are too broad for one answer. First, have you been to Italy before? Would you travel by car or public transport? If it's your first trip, I'd say start with a few days in Rome so you can shake off jet lag, get somewhat used to Italy where English is common and then start the tour.
Posted by
Washington DC
28452 posts
I'd make my flight decision on the basis of cost and travel time. From many origins, Rome is one of the cheapest Italian destinations to fly to, and it may also be one of the fastest. Yes, Bari and Naples may be closer to your targets in Puglia and Basilicata. but are you going to care if the price difference turns out to be $500 each? (I'm just making that figure up.)
What is your origin airport?
Go to Google Flights--or another airfare website of your choice--and choose multi-city. For your dates, what does it cost to fly into Rome and out of Venice? Into Naples and out of Venice? Into Bari and out of Venice? How do the travel times compare?
While you're at it, take a look at the departure times from Venice. Given your rough itinerary and your dates, I agree with starting in the south and ending in Venice, but you may find that you're looking at an extremely early departure time. If so, you may need to budget for very early-AM private transportation to the airport if you don't opt to spend your last night out near the airport--something that no one would otherwise recommend that you do in Venice.
How much time to spend in Puglia and Basilicata is really up to you. Molfetta is quite near Bari, which may simplify reaching that town. What are the places you want to visit in Puglia for heritage reasons? What other places do you want to see? Get a comprehensive guidebook and read about your options. There's quite a variety in Puglia, so you'll need to choose. Visually, Alberobello is one of the most distinctive towns. I wouldn't go to Basilicata and skip Matera.
It will helpful if you rent a car for your time in Puglia and Basilicata, but you may be able to manage with just trains and buses, depending of the specific places you choose to go.
Posted by
5282 posts
Congrats!
Since you have experience traveling in the country, including driving, plus you speak some Italian, I don't think it matters where you start/end. I would want to do the family visit in the middle (allowing for romance/no obligations before and after), but that is just me.
I would base it all on airfare because flying from the west coast is time consuming and I imagine expensive. So, I would start by searching open-jaw flights into Venice and out of Rome, Naples, Bari, and Brindisi--or vice versa of course (I have managed to get good priced flights to Bari, but I am flying from east coast and have good Lufthansa options--it will depend on your options of course).
With three weeks, I think you will be hard pressed to include Tuscany as well--I would look at wines in the south. Either that or eliminate something else.
This is all going to depend on the flights, but I would want at least 10 days for Puglia and Basilicata (and could easily add more), plus just under a week for Naples and the AC, and that does not leave enough time for Rome and Venice. Decisions, decisions!
I visited Puglia and Basilicata two years in a row for 10 days each, so feel free to inquire more.