Hello, My husband and I plan to travel to his ancestral village of Corfinio this summer. Has anyone been there without a car? We would prefer to take public transportation and don't mind paying for a taxi or private driver for 10-15 miles. I'm having trouble finding how to get to this small town without renting a car for a week. We are avid walkers (up to 20 miles a day on vacation!) so we really don't mind the time on our feet between towns.
Posted by
4473 posts
Where are you planning on staying? I can pretty much guarantee your trip would be easier with a car, but with money anything is usually possible. Assuming you are staying in Sulmona, it is a 15 minute drive, so a tourist office should be able to help with a driver.
You can get to Sulmona by train and rent a car there.
Posted by
Southeast of Seattle
701 posts
We stayed in Sulmona for a week last fall. Very nice, but we did have a car to travel about the countryside. But if Sulmona is the closest to Corfinio don’t hesitate to stay there.
Posted by
Southeast of Seattle
701 posts
Does look like taxi is best-30-40$ one way. Walking is 2:33 and probably not the easiest to accomplish as it may mean main roads!
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8173 posts
Corfino appears to be off to its self--not close to other cities or town. Almost looks like there are some mountains in the area.
You'll really need a car to see the region. Italian roads are well marked and well paved. They're crooked but not necessarily difficult to drive on. I don't think you'll find the roads around Corfino to be very congested.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15269 posts
Sulmona is nearby (10km or 6 miles from Corfinio) and a popular tourist destination which can be reached easily from Rome in 2.5 hours by train.
There are also plenty of hotels in Sulmona.
To visit Corfinio, you just need to either rent a car or hire a 'noleggio con conducente' (car hire with driver), based a limo service.
The limo service Orso (www.orsosnc.com) provides that option. I don't think there is much to see or do in Corfinio, so you could hire them to take you there and pick you up to take you back to Sulmona a bit later when you are done visiting. Of course you can also walk, but 10km (6 miles) is easily over 2 hours each way (at least it's a flat valley).
Abruzzo has a lot more to offer however, besides Sulmona there are plenty of other quaint towns, and especially a lot in terms of nature since it hosts the highest peaks of the Apeninnes mountains and also some of Italy largest National Parks. So if you like hiking that is the place. Unfortunately to fully enjoy those, a rental car is definitely the way to go.
https://www.abruzzoturismo.it/en
Posted by
Italy
3812 posts
There are 3 direct trains a day from Rome to Sulmona, many more from l'Aquila.
TUA, the local bus company, runs one direct bus from l'Aquila to Corfinio departing on school days at 14:05. At other times you must change one time or more.
There are more TUA direct buses to Corfinio that depart from Sulmona; one leaves at 9:19, another after 14:00. Check where the stops are in Corfinio: the village center may be only 300 or 600 meters away, but Abruzzo is not known for being flat.