Questions for a 'scattered' trip in the South of Italy

Question 5, yes too much time in Matera.

”Questions: (1) Stay at Hotel Plaza for convenience to train stations and ferries (in Salerno).”

Personally, I wouldn’t stay there. I had considered it when I was looking for places in 2022 and was so glad I didn’t pick it. There’s not much atmosphere around the train station. Much better to stay in the old portion of Salerno. We walked from our B&B in the old center over to the train station to go see Paestum, and it’s a nice stroll. We stayed at the Casa Santangelo B&B which is a former palazzo.

I’m not sure I should comment on your “scattered” question because I am intentionally going to Puglia, Sicily (just Palermo), Abruzzo and Umbria regions for a month. : ). But, if you’re doing it specifically to stay in a certain lodging, think about whether it’s a location perk where you are planning to spend a significant time at the lodging vs. out sightseeing.

I think you need to simplify and eliminate backtracking.

To start, yes 5 nights is too much for Matera. Two nights would be plenty.

If you want to see Trani, use the other 3 nights you’d allotted to Matera & actually stay in Trani. It’s a great little scenic port with wonderful food.

Then drive south to the Valle d’Itria for 6 nights. A masseria is a good choice for this area.

Then drive south to Lecce. Spend 4-5 nights. We’ve stayed at Roof Barocco & it’s fine but I wouldn’t do any backtracking to make it possible.

Now drive over to Salerno. Maybe stop somewhere on the way, since you have time. See Paestum & Amalfi Coast. Spend 5-6 days.

Go to Rome for a day or two and fly home.

May 25-June 1 > Lecce, lodging Roof Barocco B&B
Visit Lecce, Otranto, Gallipoli, Castro, Torre Sant' Andrea, Grotta della poesia, Baia dei Turchi, etc.

This may be a bit ambitious. We stayed in Lecce last fall and enjoyed it, although we only went to Otranto and Gallipoli from your list. In Puglia stores tend to close from 1-5pm or later, same with churches, restaurants may be open until 2pm for lunch and then close until dinner (may be as early as 7pm, but more often 8pm). So afternoons can be a bit empty in terms of sightseeing opportunities.

Another vote for staying in Trani as suggested by Charlene, delightful town and be sure to do the early evening passeggiata.

June 1-3 > ??? > Could stay in Bari, Vieste, or Rome (been to Rome 3 times)

We only visited Bari and Vieste on daytrips from Trani a few years ago but my vote would be Vieste. Beautiful coastline, a whitewashed city that reminds me of Greece a bit, an offshore island you can visit for a daytrip. Bari has a nice historical center and a lovely walk along the water but it is a larger town, a busy port, and has the reputation for being a bit rough in some areas of town. There are direct trains from Bari to Rome so depending on their schedule you might be able to drive from Vieste to Bari, drop off the car, then train to Rome. It will probably take much of the day, though.

I have a recommendation for a B&B at a top rated place in the Salerno old town with excellent hosts:

https://www.salernocentro.it/en/

I don't think five nights in Matera is too much if you are recovering from jet lag and interested in day tripping from there (Altamura, Craco, Pietrapertosa and Castemezzano, Bernalda, Metaponto, etc., etc.). There's plenty to see in the area and some of it will be a bit more off the beaten path.

I would also vote against Hotel Plaza for ambience's sake and also against Vietri, as buses are.....not as consistent as I would like when I have visited. My friend and I probably waited an hour (yes it was a Sunday) along via Roma for a bus to get there.....and then I know my parents waited at least 30 min to get back one time.....it's like you see all the buses when you don't need them and then when you do, NOTHING.....I mean, I had to scrap a weekend trip to Pisa with my friends when I left my Centro Storico apartment in Salerno 45 min before the train would leave and NOTHING came for 35 minutes!

I would pick something (like the Salerno Centro which is just before the Centro Storico) somewhere NW of the station along the Corso or Via Mercanti-ish (just in that direction, it can be off of those streets) so you could walk (or catch a bus along Via Roma/Lungomare) to catch the train.

Get rental car at airport and drive to Matera.

You might want to reconsider driving as soon as you arrive after a long, overnight flight. You will be tired, sleepy, jet lagged, and driving on unfamilar roads. You might be the exception, but most of us shouldn't be allowed around sharp objects after an overnight flight -- much less drive a car. Just food for thought.

I agree on not driving a long distance after an overnight flight, but Bari to Matera is 45 minutes. If you think it will be a problem for you in the slightest, stay overnight in Bari--it's a great old town.
I could easily fill five days in the Matera region.

Salerno v Vietri--also look at Cetara, Minori, Maoiri

This sounds a great trip. To go back and forth to is illogical but it's your holiday. Absolutely not half way since it's near Lecce but Porto Cesareo should still be pleasant and quiet that time of year.
https://slowtravelitalyspain.blogspot.com/2023/11/puglia-in-september-2023-porto-cesareo_26.html
Lots of places to visit within a short drive of Matera to justify a longer stay: Altamura, Gravina di Puglia, Metaponto, Miglionico....

mcalico, when you get back I would love to hear how your trip went! I'm planning a similar trip to Puglia, Matera, and the Salerno/Amalfi Coast area. Also - I saw in one of your other posts that you loved Agriturismo Marciano, so did I! I've been trying to find somewhere similar with the communal farm to table dinners.

@travelk - I’ll be happy to post a trip report in early June after we return from southern Italy. My husband and I have been in Puglia/Basilicata/Salento for the past two weeks and it has been wonderful! We are thoroughly enjoying every part of our visit here. More details later but I wanted to encourage you to keep planning for this region of Italy. 😊

Ciao, Maria,

Last month, we spent a couple of nights in Pisciotta, on the Cilento coast, just north of Palinuro. Sea view, quiet, nice restaurant (Osteria del Borgo) quite near by. Hotel Marulivo is where we stayed. Anyway, see our trip report at Parts 2 and 3. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/southern-italy-30-days-three-ways-to-travel which might be helpful for you. On your way to the Cilento from Salerno, you can spend a few hours at Paestum, as well as Tenuta Vannulo, just about 4 miles from there. I recommend those two stops, but you need to time Tenuta Vannulo for the morning, before 11 am, if you want to tour the dairy and watch them make buffalo mozzarella.

We made a different mistake than one you may be making, we were only in Matera for lunch plus a few hours. Should we have spent a couple of nights there? Quite possibly. But, the drive from Matera to Pisciotta was 4 or 4-1/2 hours and we also drove from Lecce to Matera that same morning.

A couple of other quick comments. You are going to see more of Puglia than we did. Congratulations. We did find e-cycling to be a great way to spend a good part of our time in Puglia and that allowed us to take in lots of towns, as my TR describes. That includes four days (five nights) in the Valle d'Itria area that you mention, and no, that is certainly not overkill. We were in Bari just 24 hours ... more might have been nice. If you can include Bari, that would be worthwhile.

I see you may not be including Naples, and perhaps not Pompeii or any of the islands in the Gulf of Naples area; perhaps some of those are on your list and just not mentioned. We all make choices. We chose Naples, Pompeii and Ischia as my TR describes ... but we skipped over Salerno, Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast, where you plan 10 days or so. You can never do everything and perhaps you are going to brave the crowds at Pompeii from Sorrento. We found Pompeii, preceded a day earlier with the Archaeological Museum in Naples, were highlights.

Planning was partially on the RS forum, and some we suggestions we received are ones you might find useful are available at https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/amalfi-vs-cilento-coast-re-dux and https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/naples-and-environs-suggestions-per-favore The suggestions were far more extensive than we had time to take in, but they are there should you choose to look.

I’m really looking forward to your trip report on southern Italy! It will be fun to see the places I didn’t cover during this trip and of course, your experiences in the ones I just finished seeing. I’m in Palermo now and had a wonderful two weeks in the Puglia region!

@fred - Thanks for being in touch and we appreciate your suggestions. Several places ended up on our list and we’ll share in a trip report.

@jean - We’re in Castelmezzano now on our way to Maratea. Glad you enjoyed Puglia and I’m sure you’re having a wonderful time in Sicily! I’ll post a trip report after we return home when I have a laptop, rather than a phone, to type on. 🙃

What a lovely tip this must have been! We were in Puglia in 2022 and it was one of the best Italy trips and we’ve done a lot. I drove from Bari to Matera right after arriving and even though I wasn’t an overnight flight (we flew from Bergamo as we always visit with family in Lombardia first) even if it had been an overnight flight I’ve always rented a car on vacation, with the exception being Guatemala but that’s another story. Personally I don’t get the apprehension since I’ve never suffered from jet lag going and only suffer from it on the return flight, which is fine since I always take a bus home from the airport (and then a ferry, but that’s another story HAHA). Looking forward to your trip report.