Just finished this 2 week Self Adventure. Amalfi Coast -> Sardinia -> Sicily

Photos from my trip

That is one fast-paced whirlwind trip (lots of big/moderate interesting places and only a day devoted to each)! Woa. Your photos are gorgeous...seems like a fantastic trip. The food looks insanely delicious! I recognize some of the places from my own past trips.

Would you mind sharing any info on how much transport costs were (only for car rental and scooter, not bus/train)? I know buses and trains are very cheap, but I'm wondering how much a car rental (and gas) would be for the number of days you used them.

Thanks. It was that bad actually. Scooter rental was $35 euro for the day. My friend Fabrizio at Europcar in Sorrento can arrange for you. In Sardinia, a car is a must IMO, i think it was 100 euros roughly and maybe 70 euros in gas (We drove A LOT). But, i wouldnt dream of trying to do Sardinia any other way, its so vast, unpopulated and beautiful. Really easy to drive!

Sicily was about 100 plus 60 in gas. We only used the car for a few days, just in between Palermo and Catania I dropped it off. But Sicily again, i think you should have a car to appreciate all the small towns. I avoid having a car in big cities, so I always schedule my trips to be my pickup and drop off at the ends. A car allows you to cover more ground and visit more off the beaten path places. We had 4 people and it made it easier for carrying luggage as well (And wine!).

Did you drop the car off at every big city (meaning Taormina, Catania, etc.) or keep it overnight some nights before heading further? Or you literally dumped it and then re-rented again when it was time to move on (so there were some "empty" days in between that were spent only on foot?) I'm roughly estimating the rental was about 30 Euros a day or so.

Wonderful pics! I'm glad you got to see Savoca and Bar Vitelli in Sicily. This was 6 years ago, but we used Sicily Life for that day tour to Savoca, Forza D'Agro and Castelmola, all shoot locations for the Godfather movies. If you went inside Bar Vitelli, there's an old granita (kind of an Italian ice) machine that Francis Ford Coppola wanted very much to buy from the owners, because he ate them all the time when shooting in the heat. We also visited some catacombs in the area which were creepy indeed.

Sardinia is a bucket list destination of mine. It will be a couple more trips before I am comfortable driving over there. How many times have you been to Italy?

1. In most places I rented a AirBNB, so i was able to get some parking for free, or theres an app that finds parking garages. I'm not sure i can list it here, but you can park over night for cheap. Catania is pretty easy to park. Only 8-1 and 16-20 do you have to pay on the street, and its like 2 Euro. Lonely Planet or internet resources can find you the answer. Just make sure you pay attention to "Zona Traffic Limitato" zones. As you need a pass or someone to validate your License plate (A hotel in the area will ask for your plate). Driving is fun in Europe, reminds me of the Italian job.

I've been a few times. I actually went 5 months ago and did Switzerland, France, CQ, LAke Como..etc. That was my honeymoon so was a bonus vacation. I usually steal the Tours itinerary for my own trips but modify them based on my own timing. Ive found that most major attractions have a special cheap ticket or booking you can do to avoid lines, I almost never wait in a line anymore. I also research all my restaurants and "Star" them on my Google maps. If you looked at my map App its full of stars. I also download offline areas incase I lose Signal.

I use Tmobile, I get free data in Italy. I never lost any signal at all in Siciliy or Sardinia in the remotest of places. They must hide cell towers in the mountains. I bought a Phone mount that clicks into the Vent on the rental car. I used it as my media center for tunes and GPS. I never had any issues. I think western Europe is pretty modern as far as connectivity these days. I actually have a cell phoen that has two sim slots (Sony z5 Dual). So i could of bought a local SIM if I needed, but whats the point. I have Skype on my phone and I actually used that and Facebook messenger to make calls for free over my free data. Lol.

Looks fabulous (photos too). Think I'll save your itinerary for a next trip. We just returned from a 16 day car trip in northern Italy: southern Tuscany (hill towns), Florence, Siena, Airbnb in Lunigiana (highlight of our trip...awesome hosts!), CT, Porto Venere, and Lago Maggiore with an impulse drive four hours north (and overnight) to the Lauterbrunnen Valley in Switzerland. Hiked to Gimmelwald. INCREDIBLE! Can't wait to go back...

Chris

Thanks. I actually designed the trip so I can go back to both islands and stay on the other parts!