Arriving in Rome after Christmas and heading South with my wife and two boys 21. Spending 3 weeks during school break. Plan to visit Naples for 4 nights and New Years and then headed to Bari and Puglia area of the boot. Nice information in post above concerning Puglia area. Will end up in Rome for 3 nights ( have been there several times). What about the temperatures, can I assume it will be 50 degrees or better in the south? Will an Italian rail pass work or should be just take each trip separately by train or bus or should we consider a car? If by car, I only drive automatic, any good rental companies you want to refer me to?
Will most likely hit Bari and Lecce for two nights, should it be three? What other towns should we visit whiile down there, read about Gallipoli and Olranto. Any help is appreciated.
Posted by
Cartersville, GA, USA
101 posts
I didn't read any other post yet on Puglia region, but I would say that you have to see Alberobello and the trulli houses/villages. Regarding the weather.....I am sure you understand....it is the weather and entirely unpredictable despite average temperatures and rainfall amounts. Suffice it to say that I know a family who traveled throughout most of for the entire month between Thanksgiving and Christmas this past year (not even the coldest of the winter months--heck, not even OFFICIALLY winter yet) and the weather THE ENTIRE TIME (according to them) was unseasonably COLD and WET. Not just cool, like 50 degrees, but cold like 30's and 40's with drizzle or actual rain pretty much every day. My friend told me that if I saw that the weather report said it was 50-ish in Rome/Florence, it was at least 10 degrees off. It snowed on them in the Puglia region the week before Christmas when they were in and around Alberobello which is what?? about 4 hours SOUTH of Rome? Only "decent" weather they had was actually in Sorrento. With weather, all bets are off so go prepared for absolutely anything. They came with coats, but not gloves or scarves and bought extra everything when they were there
Posted by
Cartersville, GA, USA
101 posts
By the wayNaples for 4 nights? Serious overkill and Naples isn't even that charming. IMHO. Naples isn't "warm, fuzzy" Italy, it is gritty, raw, graffitti-ed, inner-city Italy. Yes, it has it's good sights, but I just can't imagine staying there for 4 nights when 1 would be sufficient or you could pop in from elsewhere in the vicinity. Haven't been to Puglia yet (only vicariously), but I do know this region is better seen by car if you can do it. No need for the car in Naples or Rome, but work it out for pick-up when you are leaving Naples or something like that and return as you arrive back in Rome. Also, for car rentals, I always look to AutoEurope first. But you might want to "learn", if you can, to drive a manual transmission.....an automatic transmission rental might cost nearly double what a standard does. Also, you definitely need to pre-reserve the automatic transmission vehicle because this isn't a "walk-up" upgrade you can just request at the rental office when you show up.
Posted by
Catadupa Alamere, CA
515 posts
Unless someone who lives there responds, the best evidence of the average climate for a place are the stats on the numerous web sites that present the information in easy to understand graphs. Even then it's only a ballpark estimate of the future, but at least it something. Lecce's elevation is about 200'. When you cross the Apennines the road conditions may not be the same as when you departed Lecce. Maybe it is like leaving York on a cold rainy day in January, and then up into the Appalachians, to Pittsburgh
Posted by
La Crescenta, California, USA
361 posts
If your car rental days equal twenty-one you might want to also check out www.autofrance.net. We use them a lot and they are superb. Checkout their website for this trip or later.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
See the FAQs on this site for info on weather by location based on the past 10 years of data, as opposed to individual anecdotes. Happy travels.
Posted by
Cesena, Italy
791 posts
As Loretta said, it's hard to predict what will be what BUT I did spend a couple of days in Puglia last Jan and the weather was great. A long sleeve shirt was the most I needed. Def. rent a trullo. It adds alot to the experience. I would highly suggest a car for the region also. Things are spread out and as I understand it the public transit can be spotty at best. We were in Martina Franca/Locorotondo and Alberobello. Nice areas. Have'nt been but have heard Lecce and Bari are nice locations as well as Mateo. Have heard to avoid Brindisi tho. Happy travels!! Ciao,
Ron