My husband and I are planning our 1 st trip for next April/May, probably 15 days. We were thinking flying into Palermo, then over to Bari then finish up in Sorrento. 5 days at each. We will not be renting a car so public transportation, taxi and maybe a private driver for a day or two. We like walking around towns, eating, historical sites, beaches. Does this seem like a solid plan? I am open to any recommendations or guidance.
Posted by
6079 posts
Exciting--first trip to Italy! It won't be the last, so I would consider seeing one of those areas in more depth. Have you looked at the transport time involved in your base changes?
This is not a crazy plan by any means, so this is just a personal preference. I would always rather see more of Sicily for example, or Puglia, rather than see a little bit and lose time moving from place to place. I just think if you chose two of the three, you would have a more satisfying trip. Ideal to me would be two weeks in one region, but I know that is not for everyone--I know some want the overview and are okay with long train rides.
Early May is not ideal for swimming (seas don't warm until very end of May), though coastal hiking is nice at this time.
Posted by
131 posts
Hello Cheriemoss,
Is there a specific reason you chose these 3 locations? They aren't terribly close to each other. For a rough time frame,
Palermo to Sorrento is 9+ hours on ferry, Bari to Sorrento is 5.5 hrs on train, Sorrento to Bari is around 6 hrs roughly.
Suggestions: spend the entire between Sorrento area and Bari (Puglia) area. That would be a more relaxing way to see the area, without the stress of travel from Sicily. Do Sicily another time.
Or:
If Palermo is your priority, spend your two weeks traveling around Sicily. Consult websites like Rome2Rio.com for rough estimates of distances and times to determine how much time you want to spend in transit.
I haven't been to Sicily or Bari, but did spend a full week in Sorrento, and found plenty to do in the area....Capri, Pompeii, Naples, swimming in the Med. You could also visit Ischia and/or Procida islands.
Enjoy
Posted by
Idaho, USA
8777 posts
Hi Cherie,
Welcome to the forum!
I’ve been to the places you are considering. I would also recommend selecting two of your three locations for a first trip. And since the Amalfi Coast will be easier to pair with other locations in Italy for a later trip, I would go to Palermo & the Puglia region. I like that those two would be more of a contrast, also.
I just travel by train & an occasional bus. That’s not an issue for your itinerary. I’ll add a couple of trip reports - May 2024 & May 2025 that cover those two locations. You could easily spend ten days in the Puglia region! And a definite “yes” to going to Matera while you’re in Puglia, and stay in a cave. : )
Posted by
OP
2 posts
My husband specifically wants to see Sicily so that is a must do. I just was just concerned about being in one place without a car and not enough to do. Hmm maybe we should stick to 2 places only.
Posted by
Idaho, USA
8777 posts
Hi Cherie,
Check out the Rick Steves Sicily tour. It’s 12 days, and I would recommend arriving a few days early because there’s a lot to enjoy in Palermo. This would certainly take care of your transportation concern, plus the tours are a lot of fun.
Posted by
Chicago
2215 posts
I think if you're going to focus on Sicily, you need to see the east coast, west coast and Palermo/Cefalu. We've only done the east coast from Messina, through Taormina then down to Catania--we were there this April--and to see all of it is going to take a week at least. Then you're probably better off seeing the Adriatic Coast and fly out of Bari. Over to Sorrento as well would in my opinion be too much running for less payoff.
OR...as we did the other way...you could take the train from Palermo or Messina, then the car goes onto the ferry at Messina--we did Salerno to Taormina--to Villa San Giovanni, and then up through Calabria into Campania to Salerno, then Sorrento, then you'd fly out of Naples. But then you'd probably have to forego Bari.
Gosh--that's quite an interesting choice for your first time to Italy. Enjoy your planning!
Posted by
6079 posts
I would strongly consider "doing" Sicily--especially if you can fly into Catania and out of Palermo or vice versa. Two weeks is a nice chunk of time and it is really not that much harder without a car there than Puglia is. Grab a guide book and see what you could do without one. My understanding (have not been there yet but to Italy many times) is that there is sufficient transport to fill your time, certainly for day trips from Palermo and south of Catania.
You can also reconsider the car for rural areas and villages--we can talk you through any apprehension about that.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
587 posts
Cheriemoss,
First trip
To Italy? To Europe? I am assuming this is your first trip to Europe.
You have identified places that present different travel challenges. Sicily is 200 miles from east to west and an average of 100 miles from north to south. Popular sights to visit are all over the map of Sicily. Others have already written about the time to travel from each of your three basic locations to another.
And, I think you may now understand how little five days will be to see any one of the three. Last year, we took 30 days to see the three regions you’re considering. We took the RS tour in Sicily, a “self-guided” cycling tour in Puglia (plus a few more days in Lecce and Bari) and 6 days in Campania on our own that included 3 days with a car and 3 days with public transport. The Campania travel included Naples and more, but left out the Amalfi Coast, Sorrento and Capri. Instead, we included Ischia and the Cilento.
I will join Jean in suggesting you take the RS tour, especially since Sicily is tops on your husband’s wish list. Add a couple of days (3 nights) at the front end and see a bit of Palermo not included in the RS itinerary, as well as a day trip (or day and night?) to Cefalu. And, see if you can book your added Palermo nights into the same hotel RS uses in Palermo, likely the Hotel Ambasciatori, for the sake of convenience.
Jean’s Trip Reports are great. Here is our own, which talks about the difeferent ways that we travelled these three general regions last year. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/southern-italy-30-days-three-ways-to-travel
We typically don’t do tours, but we quite enjoyed the RS Sicily tour.