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Two-day drive from Salerno to Messina, Sicily - suggestions?

We’re returning to Southern Italy for an extended stay next March & April. We’ll be starting with a week+ in the Bay of Naples area first, then up to Rome for a couple of days - to pick up our car (a buy-back Peugeot SUV.)

On the weekday morning that we pick up the car in Fiumicino, we’ll be heading along the highway directly to the Paestum Archeoplogical site, for a short visit. We’ll probably be on the road by 10-10:30, and have a quick lunch at one of the rest stops along the way - unless you can recommend an agriturismo not far a detour off the highway, but worth seeking out ;)

We’ll then take the coastal route all the way to Villa San Giovanni, to take the ferry to Messina. We’re looking at allocating 2-3 days to slowly explore this coast. Sticking pretty much to minor roads, like the SS267, SS18 & SS522, and close to the shore.

We would appreciate any suggestions of possible places to spend the night - the first night maybe a 1-3 hour slow drive from Paestum. The second night could be 1-3 hours closer to the ferry.

Any other stops, villages, sites, that we could include in our route?
Maratea, Tropea and Scilla are on my radar, and we can easily add a night and a day to the latter two.
Thank you in advance for your thoughts and suggestions!

Posted by
7312 posts

For the first night, I would suggest somewhere in the Cilento region (S. Maria Di Castellabate, Acciaroli), a beautiful stretch of coast. It might me a bit dead in March, though - not sure.
Cannot speak for the second night - maybe Tropea ?

Posted by
1446 posts

Thank you! I had indeed looked at the Cilento region for the first night. “A bit dead in March” is kinda what I’m expecting… and should help within not needing to over-plan every night’s stay (as I usually do, lol.).
My only concern is heading up in elevation for places to stay, as I expect the nights to still be chilly.
Santa Maria Di Castellabate looks like a very good option!

Posted by
28247 posts

Can't help with overnight stays south of the Naples/Salerno area but want to suggest you check out the Campania ArteCard if you plan to do substantial sightseeing in that region. It could save you money. In my experience it's best to buy the card from within the app and record your confirmation/card number in a couple of different places in case the app doesn't work properly at every sight--which happened to me. I had no problem getting my free entries by just supplying my confirmation/card number.

Posted by
2144 posts

We drove from Paestum to Sapri in about 90 minutes. We stayed at the Hotel Pisacane in Sapri. Further south if you take the non coastal road from Paestm you could stay just sounth of Scalea. I suggest The Hotel Ducal in Cirello which is beautiful with windows that overlook the sea. We also really liked the Hotel Colomb D’Oroin Tropea. We were in Calabria just a week ago and loved it. We drove from around Salerno to Tropea,

Posted by
1446 posts

acraven: Thank you for that valuable tip regarding the Artecard in Naples - yes, we are definitely planning on buying the 7-day card!

Posted by
1174 posts

We just returned from a southern drive through Italy and I would HIGHLY recommend a stop in Matera and Tropea. They were highlights for us!

Posted by
1446 posts

Becky - thank you so much for these suggestions!
I was just about to post a similar question, but regarding a transit route through Calabria - from Sicily to Puglia, traveling through the coastal areas of Calabria and Basilicata.

I would love to hear what were your faves - so look out for it, as I’ll post it in a few minutes.

Carla - thank you so much for adding your recommendation for Tropea. We’re definitely planning a return visit to Matera from what will be our home base in Puglia in April.