ZBremner

Hi all,

I'm planning a trip to S Italy from mid August to around beginning Sept, about 3 weeks.
I've never been to Italy before but have a fancy for the South. Rome, followed by Naples then Amalfi coast and maybe Sicily sound good, but too much? And will Rome and Naples be nightmarish in the summer (I don't mind the heat, just thinking of too many people/closed shops etc. )?
I (young, female) will be on my own for some of this trip. Have travelled alone before but not for a while - any tips??

Anyone know of any good pensions/hostels in this area?? And how expensive is it??

So many questions

Thanks,

Z (UK)

newstartnz

3 weeks sounds not too rushed if you spend say, 2-3 days in Rome, a day in Naples and travel around the rest of your time a day here, a day there. Rome will be a bit dead in mid August, maybe you would consider doing the trip in reverse order? Should still be very warm in Rome by early Sept. And this might mean you spend ALL your time in Sicily and the deep south when you fall in love with it! Do Rome another time! We spent 2 weeks in Sicily a year ago, driving round but public transport is OK too. A single girl would be able to hitchhike with no trouble except the macho male. On that subject, don't be put off, Italians may be macho but they're better mannered than Brits in general, you will probably be put off more by the smarminess than threatened by their chat up lines. Not very expensive if you like pizzas, making a sandwich for yourself now and then (most grocers will make a fresh sandwich for you, you buy the bread rolls and pay for cheese, meat etc by weight), and when restauranting check the prices first, there are plenty of good value places, especially in Sicily. Accomodation varies a lot in price/ quality, best to carry around the Lonely Planet. Amalfi coast will be nightmareish in August - expensive and crowded.

Judith

"ZBremner" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Hi all,
    >
    > I'm planning a trip to S Italy from mid August to around beginning Sept, about 3
    > weeks. I've never been to Italy before but have a fancy for the South. Rome,
    > followed by Naples then Amalfi coast and maybe Sicily sound good, but too much?
    > And will Rome and Naples be nightmarish in the summer (I don't mind the heat,
    > just thinking of too many people/closed shops etc. )? I (young, female) will be
    > on my own for some of this trip. Have travelled alone before but not for a while
    > - any tips??
    >
    > Anyone know of any good pensions/hostels in this area?? And how expensive is it??
    >
    > So many questions
    >
    > Thanks,
    >
    > Z (UK)

The sea will be very busy during that time because Italians will be holidaying and
they love the sea. Do NOT hitchhike as suggested. You might run into some travelers
while touring, in cafes, etc., who are driving and will offer you a ride, but
standing on the road with your thumb out is asking for trouble. You should be able to
Google up some lists by searching on budget travel (insert name of place.) That will
give you an idea of prices. In high high season there won't be a lot of bargains, but
there's a max they can charge you.

Ken Blake

ZBremner <[email protected]> wrote:

    > Hi all,
    >
    > I'm planning a trip to S Italy from mid August to around
beginning
    > Sept, about 3 weeks. I've never been to Italy before but have a
fancy
    > for the South. Rome, followed by Naples then Amalfi coast and
maybe
    > Sicily sound good, but too much?

I think three weeks is fine--you could, for example spend a week in Rome, a week in
Naples/Amalfi Coast, and a week in Sicily.

    > And will Rome and Naples be nightmarish in the summer (I don't mind the heat, just
    > thinking
of
    > too many people/closed shops etc. )?

August is the worst time, and there will be places closed. I'll leave to others to be
more specific.

--
Ken Blake Please reply to the newsgroup

Abso

ZBremner wrote:
    > Hi all,
    >
    > I'm planning a trip to S Italy from mid August to around beginning Sept, about 3
    > weeks. I've never been to Italy before but have a fancy for the South. Rome,
    > followed by Naples then Amalfi coast and maybe Sicily sound good, but too much?
    > And will Rome and Naples be nightmarish in the summer (I don't mind the heat,
    > just thinking of too many people/closed shops etc. )? I (young, female) will be
    > on my own for some of this trip. Have travelled alone before but not for a while
    > - any tips??

I holidayed in Calabria a couple of years ago and had a great time, although I
considered at the time that going during August was a slight tactical error (in
August Italy virtually shuts down and everyone heads to the beach).

Many Italians holiday in Calabria, which is testament to the beauty of the
countryside there and the quality of the beaches. It also means that whilst there is
plenty of infrastructure there to support tourism, there generally aren't the rip off
prices associated with areas which draw mostly foreign tourists.

I recommend it if you like remote beauty spots and gorgeous hilltop villages.

--
Abso CBR900RR-Y BOTAFOT#108 WG*#3 DFV#9 "Do, or do not. There is no try." Yoda.

ZBremner

Thanks everyone.
No, I won't be hitching, not on my own.
it's very difficult to decide where exactly to go but I like making it up as I go along to a certain extent.
However, question:
How easy would it be to get from Naples to Sicily? (Flights to Palermo are a lot)
And flights to Rome are so much cheaper. How easy is it to travel to Naples from there?
I think spending more time in Rome on the way back would be better.
I know August is not the best but sometimes there is no choice.

newstartnz

Naples to Sicily is very easy and cheap by train or coach. Just as easy from Rome but a long hot haul in August.

In Sicily I'd definitely recommend Taormina, Siracusa even more so and the Greek temples - best preserved in the world, many say.

Alan Thomas Har

Since Italy is one of those countries where everybody seems to go on holiday at the
same time, you may well find smaller shops in major cities shut, as also some cafes
and restaurants.

A plus side of this, in Naples at least, is that it is much easier to get about. It's
even possible to cross the road outside the Archaeological Museum!

The downside may be big traffic jams on routes to major coastal resorts. Last year,
it took me longer to get by coach from Naples airport to Sorrento than it had taken
to fly from Gatwick to Naples!

Alan Harrison

Ken Blake

ZBremner <[email protected]> wrote:

    > Thanks everyone. No, I won't be hitching, not on my own. it's
very
    > difficult to decide where exactly to go but I like making it up
as I
    > go along to a certain extent. However, question: How easy would
it be
    > to get from Naples to Sicily?

A good way to do this is by overnight ferry to Palermo or Catania. The cost of the
ferry with a private room is about the same as a hotel for the night, so the net cost
is near zero.

And because you're mostly traveling when you'd be sleeping anyway, the cost in time
is near zero too.

However, you probably need advance reservations.

--
Ken Blake Please reply to the newsgroup

Judith

"ZBremner" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Thanks everyone. No, I won't be hitching, not on my own. it's very difficult to
    > decide where exactly to go but I like making it up as I go along to a certain
    > extent. However, question: How easy would it be to get from Naples to Sicily?
    > (Flights to Palermo are a lot) And flights to Rome are so much cheaper. How easy
    > is it to travel to Naples from there? I think spending more time in Rome on the
    > way back would be better. I know August is not the best but sometimes there is
    > no choice.

Take the ferry. I will be driving to Sicily after tourist season dies down, you
guessed it, on the ferry. From Palermo, the major destination,. you can choose where
to go. Palermo itself has a long and very interesting history. By the way, they've
recently published crimes rates here, and Agrigento came in lowest among cities along
with a very northern city. Agrigento is on the south coast, pretty far. Siracusa, a
passion of mine, came in among the highest. Not that it should make a lot of
difference, because violent crime is simply not a huge problem here, although petty
theft can be. Just act savvy and keep your hands on your stuff. Google up ferry sites
by searching on traghetti.

Philippe Noth

Hi all,

Message from Ken Blake:

    > A good way to do this is by overnight ferry to Palermo or Catania. The cost of the
    > ferry with a private room is about the same as a hotel for the night, so the net
    > cost is near zero.

I agree that the ferry is a good way to go from Napoli to Sicily. However, I would
recommend a stop - even a stay - in the Eolian Islands, as it is on the way. Sicily
is a great place, but I have noticed that what my American girlfriend liked the most
in Sicily were the Eolians. Other people I "took" to Sicily too - because I like this
part of Italy so much - were thinking the same. Ok, Lipari should be pretty busy in
August, but Salina and Stromboli are not very touristy.

Here are the boat companies homepages: http://www.siremar.it http://www.snavali.com/

--
Philippe Noth, Clarens/Montreux, Switzerland http://www.noth.ch/

Giovanni Di Gua

Nell'articolo <[email protected]>, "ZBremner" <[email protected]>
ha scritto:

    > Thanks everyone. No, I won't be hitching, not on my own. it's very difficult to
    > decide where exactly to go but I like making it up as I go along to a certain
    > extent. However, question: How easy would it be to get from Naples to Sicily?
    > (Flights to Palermo are a lot) And flights to Rome are so much cheaper. How easy
    > is it to travel to Naples from there? I think spending more time in Rome on the
    > way back would be better. I know August is not the best but sometimes there is
    > no choice.
    >
    >
    > --

Hi, I'm a citizen of Catania in Sicily. Obviously I know my city very well and a
suggest it because here there's a lot of "life" during the day on the beach and for
the night there are a lot of splendid disco's, pub, restaurant or simply square's
were peoples goes for a walk. And it is under the Etna and near Taormina, the most
beautiful places in sicily. Catania is a small metropolis, so here you can find all
you need. For me Catania is definitively better than Palermo

ZBremner

This is brilliant!! Thanks.
I had been wondering about the ferry from Naples to Palermo and think it sounds like a good idea. Like the idea of stopping off a one of the islands en route as well if possible.
In terms of booking ahead any idea how far in advance??
Well, I've booked the flight to Rome and will also definitely be going to Naples. I imagine the Amalfi coast will be pretty packed in high summer but I may have a look. But I will definitely try to make it to Sicily.

Giovanni Di Gua

For information and/or booking ferry tickets you can visit the web site of tirrenia,
www.tirrenia.it. If you need information for trains go to www.trenitalia.com