Southern Italy

Congrats on making your reservation! When are you going and for how long? Have you narrowed down which Southern regions you're interested in exploring?

My family & I are going to Italy in July and will be spending most of our time in Puglia, a region we've never been to (I lived in Rome for a few years & mostly explored central & NE Italy).

After a week in Rome, we'll pick up a rental car & head to Calabria for a few days to visit my husband's family in Cosenza. Then we'll have 2 weeks in Puglia, divided between Nardo' on the Ionian coast, the Valle d'Itria (home to the Trulli) and 2 days on the Gargano peninsula. While in Puglia, we'll take a day trip to Matera, which is technically in Basilicata, and take day trips to other towns on the coast & inland.

Hope that helps!

That helps SO much. Ok I will start to look into those towns because honestly I haven't totally decided the route yet. Can I ask where you rented a car? This is my first time renting a car in Italy as I always have train, bus it before. I am going end of August for possibly 3 weeks? Thanks for the response :)

We rented through Carrentals.co.uk, which is basically an aggregator like Kayak. The actual rental agency is called Leasys, and we're picking up from the location on Via Aurelia, northwest of the Vatican. Reserve as soon as you can, because prices continue to spike. You can always cancel/modify later, but you'll have locked in your price.

You'll need to get an International Drivers' Permit before you pick up the car (you don't need it prior to reserving online). You can get the IDP through your local AAA office - it's basically just a translation of your US license.

Cindi, my SIL and I rented a from AutoEurope, picking the car up and returning it at Hertz Naples Airport. We paid for the comprehensive no-fault insurance for peace of mind. We drove to Mongrassano Calabria for an overnight. https://www.autoeurope.com/car-rental-italy/. Be sure the rental agency is open when you want to return the car; some close on Sundays and early on Saturdays.

I thought driving in Italy would be terrifying but it wasn’t. Beforehand, Tomasso our tour guide on the South of Italy tour patiently answered my questions as I saw signs and toll booths. Here’s a couple websites I found helpful: https://italybeyondtheobvious.com/9-road-signs-and-one-strategy-you-need-to-know-about-before-attempting-to-drive-in-italy/
And
http://www.reidsitaly.com/planning/get_around/car_driving_tips.html

Hints I can give you: have a bag of change handy for toll booths, the cash toll booth is on the right. Don’t drive in cities, watch out for ZTLs. Have GPS or a good map app, we used WAZE. You will get lost, enjoy the scenery. Every drive takes longer than you expect; plan accordingly. The roads are better than Arizona’s. Don’t speed, you will get ticketed by the cameras (we drove maybe too slow but no tickets.) Don’t pass up a bathroom. If you get frustrated, pull over and take a deep breath, it’ll be OK and is worth the drive/experience.

Enjoy your trip!
Kathy

I want to thank you all for responding. It helps a lot for me traveling solo in a new area, just makes me excited and not nervous. Thank you so much.