I will be in Sicily this Summer and I'm thinking about going over to Calabria or Puglia however, I will not have a car. Is it easy to get around either without a car? I'm thinking maybe Tropea and I'm also interested in a town called Ostuni.
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
11852 posts
A few questions to help with an answer:
- how long is your trip?
- how much time in Sicily and how much time do you have allotted for the other location(s)?
- where in Sicily will you be and from where in Sicily will you depart for Puglia or Calabria?
I don't think you can "do" either Calabria or Puglia without a car. At least it will be very in efficient, unless you are heading straight to one place where you will stay until you leave the area.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
You can get to most places by train and/or bus, but it can be time-consuming. Tropea (Calabria) is beautiful, but I think Puglia (where Ostuni is located) may have more choices of places to see that are more easily connected. The major obstacle is coordinating public transportation between regions (Calabria to Puglia). If you need to rely on public transportation, I would suggest staying in one region, depending on how much time you have.
Or spend the entire time in Sicily and visit some of the islands.
Posted by
Spokane, WA, USA
191 posts
No, it is nearly impossible to get around without a car. There is an travel expert named Cherrye who has a website www.mybellavita.com. She is an expat Texan who married an Italian man and lives in Calabria. She plans trips for people, and her number one advice is rent a car! She says the surest way to ruin your vacation is to try to rely on public transportation to get around in southern Italy. We took her advice year before last, and were so glad we did. We stayed in a little town called Zambrone, and were able to drive easily to Pizzo and Tropea, both beautiful and worth seeing. Without a car we would have been totally stuck. We are going back to Sicily this year, and saw enough of that last time to realize that a car is essential for us there. We have only one day planned in Calabria this time.
Just my 2¢ worth! Look up Cherry's website and I think she is on Facebook too.
Jan B
Posted by
OP
Oak Park, IL, United States
56 posts
Thank you for your replies. And yes, the more I research, the more I find it is essential to have a car in order to get around Calabria and Puglia. I've decided to spend my entire 3 weeks in Sicily and if I really feel like getting over to Calabria, there is a ferry from Messia to Reggio Calabria and I can do a day trip.