I plan to start driving in the evening from Bari towards Salerno, stopover for an overnight stay in between then continue driving the next morning.
Need recommendation for the stopover in between. It'd take approx. 4 hours from Bari to Salerno so it's good if we could have a rest after approx 2 hours driving. Is it safe driving in this route? We had been robbed for 2 hours parking in a village in France so we'd be more cautious now when driving around.
Though it’ll take a bit longer, consider an overnight in Paestum. The Archaeological ruins and museum are well worth a visit. I stayed at the B&B La Chora de Paestum for a quiet night and beautiful room. Great meals at the Bistrot 73. Paestum is a small town in an agricultural area. Be careful. There’s a dreaded ZTL on the main road that runs through town alongside the ruins. Well marked with flashing lights and signs.
Hi Phillip, Thank You kindly for the input.
I was suggested another recommendation too at Castelmezzano. It's perched high up at the Dolomites and also halfway to Salerno. The thing is I'd start the journey from Sassi di Matera and I think it's not the best option to leave my suitcases in the car trunk in Italy. Otherwise i'd stopover at Sassi for sightseeing then driving to Castelmezzano for overnight stay. So I plan to stay in Sassi di Matera though it'd still take 3 hours almost direct driving still to Salerno from Sassi.
In regards to Sassi di Matera, are the accommodations have parking there? or we need to park in public parking and walk to the accommodations?
While I have not been to either Castelmezzano or Pietrapertosa would make a good 1 night stop in my opinion.
I have a trip planned (not booked) traveling similarly from Matera to Amalfi Coast and in my plans is a stop for a night at one of the 2 towns. Have not figured out which, would decide based on lodging options when I do book. A really insane zip line connects the 2 towns ; which was part of the draw for me plus they both look really cool.
http://www.volodellangelo.com/index_eng.asp
The zip line does not run all year and driving between the 2 towns though close is quite far due to no straight road between.
mryenolds
I would choose Castelmezzano in a heartbeat. The landscape though both perched in the dolomites, Castlemezzano landscape is more mesmerizing to me.
Yes, I see the zipline too! I think staying overnight would miss the beauty of this area so hopefully I could come back and definitely spend a whole day or two here.
We were in Matera for 2 nights last October after visiting Puglia and stayed at Hotel IL Belvedere which is perched on the edge of Sasso Caveoso. The sassi in Matera are divided into 2 sections--Sasso Barisano and the Sasso Caveoso. This hotel was GREAT with jaw dropping views of the sassi from their terrace which you can use anytime. We had our breakfast out here too. With google maps we drove here easily from Lecce and had street parking right outside the front door and didn't move our car during our stay here. The front desk is very helpful and gave us a great map at check in with all the sights.. We stayed in cave/sassi room #43 which was a superior double and it was huge and very nice with a nice bathroom. Had a little terrace with a table and chairs too. Not all the rooms are cave rooms but if you can, stay in a cave rm. They had a great breakfast buffet that was included with with meats, cheeses, fruit, yogurt, foccaccia, pastries and no kidding.....drunk cake--"Torta Ubrica con vino aglianico" a traditional cake here made with local wine. It was chocolate and sooo delish! Celebrated my bday here so, of course, had to eat it both mornings! We ate one evening at the recommended Soul Kitchen restaurant just down the street from IL Belvedere. Upon leaving Matera they gave us directions on how to get to the Parco della Murgia Materana with great views of the sassi. From Matera we drove to Paestum for one night enroute to Sorrento. If you are staying in Paestum, I can highly recommend IL Granaio dei Casabella which is within walking distance of the Paestum ruins and a wonderful breakfast buffet. Re. our drive from Matera to Paestum, I wanted to stop in either Castelmezzano or Pietrapertosa as I had seen pics and it looked amazing but my husband said it would take too long to drive there as they are in the mtns. So we skipped them as we still wanted to hit Paestum ruins that afternoon. Buon Viaggio!!
Hi Janet,
thanks so much for sharing your experience. I really appreciate it. it gets me more excited in visiting the Sassi. Do you have to request for the cave room? or they are mentioned in the bookings (with perhaps higher price than usual room)?
How is the hike to Parco della Murgia Materana? Is it difficult? Do they have clear path for it? I read reviews that there're many shattered glasses and better to wear something long to protect the skin. The view is gorgeous though. I hope it wouldn't be too hot if we take a stroll there later in the afternoon perhaps at 4-5pm in early June.
Jen you can check out IL Belvedere's website and they have the cave rooms and classic (not cave rooms) shown. https://www.hotelbelvedere.matera.it/en/hotel-in-matera/ The prices on the cave rooms may be more than the classic non-cave rooms but I am not sure. We were in Matera 2 nights, just last Oct 16 & 17 and paid a TOTAL of 258.40 Euro, that included the VAT and tourist tax of 1 Euro/per person/night. Also included a great breakfast, wifi, and free parking. I booked through Booking.com and had free cancellation until Oct. 10. I chose this place because I thought with a car it would be a better choice since it is not located deep in the sassi. You might also check out this place
https://www.donnaeleonora.net/ This was recommended on the R.S. helpline when I was looking last fall. It looks like a lovely place, great prices, very close to sassi entrance and a good location for drivers.
Re. visiting the Parco della Murgia Materana--yes, you can hike there from the sassi but we did not do this. We drove there the day we left Matera and the front desk at the hotel gave us a sheet with directions to get there. It is quite rigorous to hike there from the Sassi and takes roughly 2 hrs. At the bottom of the gorge you have to ford a river and then climb up to the belvedere on the other side. http://www.parcomurgia.it/ The back of the Matera map the hotel gave us (or ou can get one at the T.I. too) has info on this park and the cave churches in the park. We saw plenty of cave churches right in the Matera sassi. Hope this helps.
Hi Janet
thank You so much for the recommendation and insight. I've checked Il Belvedere and they are wonderful indeed especially the parking right in front of the hotel and outside the ZTL zone. I will drive from Bari and it would not cross the ZTL path too on the way to the hotel. I'm still looking for one closer to the Sassi though (lazy walker :D) but most likely I'll book with Il Belvedere. I read their reviews about the service and the English speaking staffs. That would be really helpful with my staying. And of course the drunk cake that intrigues me as well uhmm ;)
As for the Parco della Murgia, we plan to hire a guide but don't want to hike from the bottom so perhaps we need to sort this out first with the tour guide office. Do you happen to see any guide wondering around in front of the cave churces? I read that some of them are locked and only the guide has the lock. The suspension bridge is also recently damaged and I think it might not repaired yet until my visit. So the only way at the moment is by driving. How long does it take you to drive there? I see gmaps showing 30minutes but read someone review it took only 5 minutes?
How is the construction going on by the time of your visit? I read they are preparing for 2019. Glad could visit it before that time (won't be the same with now) but quite worried with the construction going on.
Hi Janet,
sorry to disturb you again. wonder if the hotel is a real cave houses (rooms excavated out of the cave). I find an accommodation just few buildings next to it and a former guest said it's not a real cave just a newly renovated arched houses that adheres to the hill behind it.
Also do you remember do you remember which side gets shadowed by the sun in the morning? We plan to go to the Parco della Murgia Materana in the morning but i just read that for the sunrise it's good to be in Piazza Pascoli or Vittorio Veneto side which means if we see the Sassi from the Muria Timone or the Parco, it would get shadowed?
