Hello RS Forum wealth-of-knowledge travelers!
Hubby and I are doing the RS Sicily tour this September. As I will then be retired, our time is flexible. Naturally, we will be in Palermo a couple of days before meeting the group. I plan on visiting Cefalù and checking out Palermo. The tour ends in Catania, and our idea is to then self-drive explore in Calabria (Reggio Calabria, Scilla, Tropea, ?Gerace?, perhaps other towns) before heading to Matera, Alberobello, then depart from Bari, overall an additional 7-10 days. We haven't driven in Italy before, but had no trouble in France, Germany or Ireland. I understand that there will be some regional and perhaps mountainous roadways. I'm looking for suggestions on sites/towns/cities to experience, any hotel recommendations, and feasibility of this plan. We have not booked flights yet from Jacksonville, FL. Would it be better to fly into Naples, train to Tropea, spend a couple days in that area before going to Palermo? Or go to Palermo first then do such a road trip after our RS tour?
We are 64-74 y.o., interested in art, history, food and culture. Any suggestions are appreciated. Much respect from this crowd!
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
17634 posts
It’s already too much real estate for 7 extra days. Just driving from the ferry in Villa San Giovanni (Calabria) to Bari is more than 5 hrs, without even stopping at a restroom.
Assuming you want to spend sometime to see something you need to limit your choices.
You could limit your visit to Calabria, in particular the beaches:
Reggio and Scilla (both are near) for 3 nights
Tropea and Capo Vaticano for 2 or 3 nights
Maybe Soverato for another 2 nights.
That is already a week.
If you want to head to Puglia, that alone could keep you busy for another 10+ days.
Maybe, if you have more than a week, from Soverato you can go to Matera for 2 nites, then the Alberobello/Locorotondo area for a few more nights. Monopoli, Polignano, Ostuni are also nearby. Further south there is Lecce and Otranto, but then you need a longer vacation.
Finally you can return the car in Bari and leave.
Tropea is far from Naples, I wouldn’t do that. A closer airport would be Lamezia Terme-Santa Eufemia (SUF)
Posted by
Seattle, WA
807 posts
After our RS Sicily tour in 2024, we flew from Catania to Bari (via Rome). That took about 7 hours, from our 9 am check-out from the hotel in Catania to the 4 pm check-in at the hotel in Bari. Each flight was under an hour and the layover in Rome (FCO) was an hour. Then we had a mostly relaxed “12 days” / 11 nights in Puglia and Matera.
The funny part about the Rome layover is that the plane was remote from the gate, so we bused into the terminal, ran through the terminal, went through the line at the gate for the bus to the Bari-bound flight. We flew out on the ver same plane we came in on
Let me know if you’d like our trip report. (We did not visit Calabria; we did finish our 30 days in the Cilento and Naples and I see you’re wondering about traveling south from Naples to Tropea, which would take you through the Cilento)