My spouse and I have a villa near Sienna booked for three weeks. We plan to lease a car. We are looking at travel options after our stay in Sienna. My wife has never been to Pompeii so we plan to drive from Sienna to Pompeii and spend two nights there so she can visit the site. After that we thought about going to Sicily which has been a dream of mine. We plan on staying in Syracuse. Why question is that because from Pompeii to Syracuse it is a seven hour drive not counting ferry wait. Therefore we would like to break up the trip. Where would you suggest we stop on the mainland side of the ferry to break up the trip. Reggio Calabria is across the strait but knowing most ferry towns probably not the safest or most accommodating. Is there a town going south before the ferry someone would recommend for an overnight both there and back? Thanks much.
Posted by
🏝️ Hobe Sound, FL⛱️
3205 posts
Instead of taking a day to travel, I would return the rental car in Naples, fly to Catania and then if you need one, rent another. I’ve made the drive from Catania to Sorrento and though there’s some nice scenery, it is long and boring. If you do drive all the way, plan on stopping in Paestum to visit the Greek and Roman ruins.
Posted by
seattle
2063 posts
How about overnight in Tropea? Looks like it’s only about 26 km west of the main route south. Be sure your car rental company allows you to cross over to Sicily. Many don’t.
Posted by
872 posts
Read this about driving in Italy and restrictions involved [ZTLs]; avoid leaving anything of value in a car when parked:
http://driventoit.blogspot.com/
Be sure to get the IDP. Plan driving routes on www.viamichelin.com, where there are various options, the + sign for multiple stops.
A normal option would be return the car in Chiusi and take the train to Naples; one change in Rome at 10:54AM, direct at 11:50. Hertz is closest to the station [closed Sunday]. There is baggage storage at Napoli Centrale, trains to Pompeii Scavi downstairs at Garibaldi:
https://www.sorrentoinsider.com/en/naples-to-sorrento-train-schedule
https://www.sorrentoinsider.com/en/campania-express-train-schedule [less uncomfortable, mid-March to mid-Oct]
Naples you can fly to Catania or Palermo; however if going Taormina it's better to take the train.
Posted by
Saint Paul, Minnesota
1451 posts
On my first trip to Italy as an adult 20 years ago, we drove from Venice to Enna in Sicily, staying for a night or two in Brisighella, Orvieto, a motel right outside the gates of Pompeii, and Reggio Calabria. So, even though I would never do this now, I understand the impulse to do it. It was not terrible, but the part from Pompeii to Sicily was pretty dreary.
Now, I might drive to Pompeii from Siena (only because I just looked at how long it takes to go any other way), drive back to the Naples airport and return the rental car, and then either spend a couple nights in Naples so you can visit the museum where so much of the art and artifacts from Pompeii are, OR fly to Sicily and rent another car.
I hope you like driving in Italy as much as my husband does --- he doesn't play video games, but he treats driving in Rome, Naples, Palermo, etc. like it's a video game.
Posted by
Italy
3812 posts
Sorry, but why a city with a ferry port should be more or less safe than a city without one? The problem is that, Naples aside, those cities are usually quite small and the ugly ferry area is also the biggest area of the city
There are ferries to Sicily from Naples and Salerno, but get there by train.