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Rome/Puglia Itinerary Feedback

Posted by (PacNW) on

Hi all,

Here for some feedback on our May 2024 family Italian adventure. It will be my husband and I and our two 20-something adult 'kids'. Last Spring my husband I visited Milan and then did 7 days of walking around/near Lakes Orta and Maggiore. We had such an amazing time we're splurging on one last family vacation before the 'kids' own lives take over and they can't do this with us any more :). We're all science-y people, my husband and kids grew up on Oahu so we all know incredibly little European [art & geopolitical] history, but we love design/engineering and hiking/camping/walking/eating.

We're flying into FCO from the West Coast US arriving around noon. No afternoon plans other than walk-and-gawk (I'll probably pop into churches as we're walking because they are amazing). Last year we arrived in Milan in the afternoon and visited the Duomo in the evening and had no problems with jet lag, etc (because we were excited!).

Nights 1-3: Rome. Staying at The Beehive near Roma Termini.
We have 2 full days in Rome. Day 1 we have made arrangements for a private tour of hopefully the Colosseum/Forum (if we can get tickets) or else Pantheon/Jewish Quarter the day after our arrival. Nothing planned for the first afternoon though the Pantheon is a definite maybe. Day 2. I want to visit St. Peter's Cathedral and visit the Borghese Gallery. The others may do other things -- we'll figure out in time to get tickets for those who need them.

Day 3 - Train from Rome to Lecce (6 hours). Walk around Lecce in the afternoon/evening.

Day 4 - 10 -- self-guided supported inn-to-inn walking arranged by InnTravel. Ends with 2 nights in Ontranto.

Day 11 - Train from Lecce back to Rome. Staying at a B&B near Termini Station. Arrive in Rome at about 6pm -- thoughts on what we should/could do our last night? Or something we should get up early for the last morning? (It will be a Thurs/Fri)

Day 12 - Depart from FCO at 1pm.

I'm really looking forward to sharing this whole experience with my whole family. Seeing new things, hanging out at cafe tables in piazzas, laughing at each other using Spanish instead of Italian, etc. We know we don't have 'enough' time in Rome, so we're being really deliberate about choosing what we REALLY want to see. And it's also why we've arranged for a private guide (Sonia Tavoletta) because we like to learn things.

Thanks!
Carrie

Posted by
1253 posts

We were in Lecce and did day trips by train & bus to surrounding towns. There aren't that many detailed guide books for the region but we got a lot of info by searching on the name of a town and finding blogs written by people who had stayed in them. These often mention restaurants, museums, and activities you can do. One example is https://www.neverendingvoyage.com/lecce-italy-travel-guide/ Your walking tour sounds like a lot of fun!

Posted by
28247 posts

I don't know the precise timing of you trip. You could run into some quite hot weather in Puglia in late May. May 2022 was the hottest in the last five years; with luck, it will be a lot more pleasant for you.

Lecce weather May 2022

If you want to check out other years, use the pull-down box at the right, just above the graph. To check other cities, use the Search box at the upper right.

I'd suggest thinking about what you'll want to have with you if you have May 2022-type temperatures to deal with when you're hiking--maybe cooling towels and/or Kool Ties?

Posted by
81 posts

Thanks for the weather link acraven. We're very used to very hot hiking, for better or worse. We will be there in mid-May -- we would have preferred early May however the youngest 'kid' is still in college and we need to work with the school schedule.

Posted by
4105 posts

Rather than wasting basically 2 whole days utilizing the trains, consider flying from Rome to either Brindisi or Bari.

Several flights daily on Ryanair or ITA.
Flight times are 1:05-1:15 minutes.
Cost is reasonable $30-79

Posted by
81 posts

Hi Geri,

We thought about flying. And first off, we don't consider time spent on a train as 'wasted'. It's relaxing and a good way to see the landscape and is part of our vacation. Secondly, while the train is 6 hours and the flight time is an hour, by the time we got from Rome to FCO, security, and then from Bari or Brindisi to Lecce and/or from Ontranto to Bari/Brindisi we're looking at about the same travel time -- with way more stress in my opintion. And finally the carbon impact of flying vs taking the train is significant and that's really important to us. But thank you for the suggestion.

Posted by
2191 posts

You don’t say what time in the afternoon you arrive in Lecce, but if it’s after about 2 pm, be aware that all restaurants and other food establishments close around 2 pm and do not reopen until 8 pm. Seriously. You can’t get a sandwich or gelato or pizza or anything. Don’t arrive hungry, as we did.

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