My niece and I will be in Rome in April for a few nights in April. Is it feasible to do a day trip to Assisi & Frasassi Cave or should I plan on a night's stay? We are somewhat limited on time. If a stay is in order, would it be better in Assisi or Ancona? Thanks.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
I can't speak about Ancona, but Assisi is beautiful. We really enjoyed our stay there in May 2008 and regretted spending only two nights. If you do stay there, stay in the historic center. Fwiw, the train station is in the lower town, called "Santa Maria Degli Angeli" and you have to bus or taxi up into the town of Assisi proper. Be forewarned, the taxis are insanely expensive. Here are some of our photos of Assisi from May 2008, if you're interested. Happy travels.
Posted by
Portland
3646 posts
A day trip from Rome and including both Assisi and the cave is not a good idea. Viamichelin shows the drive from Assisi to the cave as taking 1 hr 22 min. Figure that as closer to 2 hours. I would give Assisi its due and stay the night. We found Ancona to be not very interesting; and you'll add miles, since it's some distance beyond the cave. You might want to see if you can find out the times for the cave tours in English. My recollection is that they aren't available in all time slots.
One more piece of unsolicited advice: The food choices at the cave are dismal. We had a very nice meal, after our cave tour, in the nearby village of Serra San Quirico, at Le Copertelle. Very authentic, not touristy.
Posted by
OP
Orlando, Florida, USA
51 posts
Unsolicited, good advice is always appreciated, Rosalyn. Thanks. Thanks for the pics, Michael. You are right, it looks steeper than Seattle. (I'm originally from WA.) Makes me rethink my walking shoes. Think we'll be spending the night in Assisi.