Hello, my husband and I are traveling to Italy the last week of March. We are flying in and out of FCO. We were there last year with our 5 children for 2 weeks and did Rome, Venice, Florence, and back to Rome. This time we are going without the kids and are staying for 8 days and are cannot decide on where we want to go. We love Rome and do want to at least spend 2 days there. I'm looking for suggestions on Amalfi Coast is it worth it that time of the year? Or should we just do Tuscany? What about the Adriatic Coast? I would love to do both Amalfi Coast and Tuscany but also want to be able to relax some too and we only have 8 days, unless it is possible.
Posted by
4836 posts
While you could luck out and get great weather, I'd stick to cities at that time of year. You can also play it by ear--I don't think you would be unable to find accommodations on the fly.
Upon arrival, take a train to Naples or Salerno--if you get great weather, head on to the coast or an island. You can easily fill 6 days and return to Rome for the last two.
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15773 posts
I was in Salerno in February for 5 nights and enjoyed it very much. I spent 2 days exploring the AC (the best of the AC is the scenery, the villages are not nearly as charming as most others in Italy. I spent a day in Paestum and one in Salerno itself. A lot of the shops and hotels/B&Bs and some restaurants were closed for the season, Salerno was pleasantly bustling mostly with locals and lots of restaurant choices. Ferries may not be running yet. The two bus lines along the coast are SITA buses. One goes from Salerno to Amalfi, the other from Amalfi to Sorrento. From Salerno you can also visit the Greek temples in Paestum on a day trip by train or bus. Since the weather may not be great every day, Salerno is a better base than an AC town.
With only 8 days and 2 of them in Rome, you will spend too much time in transit if you try to go in two directions from Rome.
Posted by
Saint Paul, Minnesota
1538 posts
For sure, fly into Rome and then immediately fly or take the train to your other destination, then spend the last two nights in Rome before your departure.
Late March last year, we spent 2 weeks in Puglia, renting a car and driving around to explore several towns from our base. Weather was perfect and we got to see lots of the eastern coast. You'd need a car but the driving was easy. You could also, from a base in Puglia, drive over to see Matera in Basilicata.
When Rick Steves talks about southern Italy being all wild and crazy he is NOT talking about Puglia, which is one of the most peaceful and tourist-free parts of the country.
Look at Google Images of some of the historic centers of these towns and see what you think: Ostuni, Bari, Alberobello, Noci, Cisternino, Lecce, Monopoli, Giovinazzo, Polignano a Mare, Trani.
There isn't the incredible art or "top ten sites" that you see in Tuscany, but the towns themselves and many of the churches are wonderful. The food is possibly my favorite in Italy.
Posted by
Chicago
2062 posts
Yum, Nancy.
Haven't been to Puglia but last time in Rome, some local friends turned us on to a little joint in north Rome that specializes in Pugliese cuisine. I had orecchiette (ear pasta) with greens & clams. Mild, and totally wonderful!
Posted by
Saint Paul, Minnesota
1538 posts
Yes, their orecchiette pasta and also their mashed fava beans with cooked chicory! We have also eaten odd but delicious Pugliese things like pizza with preserved sprigs of the caper bush, fava bean shoots, wild hyacinth bulbs (both pickled and deep fried), cooked greens that turned out to be wild poppy leaves, and cheese with marmalade made from celery.