11993 Advice needed for where to stay/visit enroute to Basilicata

We're looking for advice on where to stay and what to visit while enroute from Rome (Fiumicino) to Basilicata. We're coming from the USA via Madrid, so it will be a long day. We land at 12:30 pm in mid-July and will pick up a rental car and head south with our 15 year old son. We had been to Ravello, Paestum and Pompeii some years ago and would like to revisit them before continuing our journey. We never made it to Herculaneum as they were on strike while we were there. We thought we'd spend 2 nights at a hotel or agriturismo. Being jet-lagged, we expect we won't be able to do much after we get to our lodging on the first night. We plan on spending the next day in Pompeii, return to our hotel and then leave the following morning for either Herculaneum or Paestum and spend half the day there before going to Basillicata. We were also not sure of distances from Rome, but anticipate it taking about 3 hours. Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

Category
Campania

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 03/24/2009 - 17:40

Thanks very much for the recommendation JC. The hotel does look nice and may be a good solution. As we have never been to Herculaneum, would you recommend it over Pompeii? I would like our son to see whichever would be more impressive. It's been some time since my husband and I saw Pompeii and it was in February. I'm not sure how the crowds will be in July and know it will be sweltering. We would also like to get to Paestum the next morning for a few hours. I do have a concern, though, about leaving our luggage and a musical instrument in our car in a parking lot near Paestum and wondered how safe an area it was?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 03/24/2009 - 18:46

Thanks JC for the advice about Herculaneum which confirms what I had been thinking after reading various posts on the pros and cons of each. I trust your advice much more than random internet sites, so really appreciate the feedback. So many places, so little time!

As far as the luggage, yes, we usually do leave it in the car when we have no choice. Normally we don't have to as we get to our next destination and check in before going out to explore. I'm more concerned about our son's violin so will look into finding a secure spot.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 03/25/2009 - 02:36

I would agree with Herculaneum over Pompei. We went over 25 years ago and Herculaneum still stands vivid in my memory although we spent far less time there. As far as Pompei went, by the time we got there I was so hot and it was so crowded that I couldn't have cared what I was looking at - I just wanted to get in the cool - and I was a lot younger and fitter then! I had been really hooked on looking at Pompei as well, remembering my Pliny from school, but the heat put paid to any interest. I'm sure Pompei is wonderful, but not in high summer - I will get back there one day - in the winter.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 03/25/2009 - 05:48

I agree with Herculaneum as a choice but where are you going to stay for two nights around the area? It is not very nice and it may be better to make a day trip from Naples. There are a few threads where we discussed accommodation in Naples. I advise you to do a search.
And, as you said, you are going to need a couple of nights to get over the jetlag.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 03/25/2009 - 07:48

Thanks Flying PIgs and Gala for the feedback about Herculaneum. I'm definitely going to heed that advice. As far as where to stay, the hotel JC suggested could be an option. We are also interested in revisiting Paestum and have found some small hotels that sound wonderful in that area. I'm just not sure if it would be too long to drive that far, and then we'd have to back track for the day to Herculaneum before heading to Basilicata. We have driven for 4 hours or so after leaving the ailrport and although it's not fun, I really don't relish staying near the airport once we land and don't want to waste precious time.

We also need to decide where in Basilicata we want to be based as we're thinking about visiting Maratea before heading inland to my husband's ancsetral home. This could influence where we decide to stay on the way south. We plan on spending a week in Basilicata before heading to the southern Marche.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 03/25/2009 - 09:40

[quote=Gala Placidia;114539]Maratea is an excellent choice.[/quote]

Do you think it would be a madhouse in mid-July? As I mentioned, we want to spend about a week exploring Basilicata and also seeing if it might be an area that we would consider retiring to. My husband, in particular, thinks that the climate would be more inviting than Le Marche, but I'm a hard sell!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 03/25/2009 - 12:22

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Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 03/25/2009 - 19:55

[quote=juliancoll;114549]Why not do it the other way around Lisa? Visit Herculaneum first and then drive down to Paestum. You can pick up the autostrada A3 Napoli - Salerno from just outside Ercolano and it takes you over the hills and down through Vietri sul Mare (see the Costiera Amalfitana thread) where you could have a quick look around and then pick up the coast road SP175 through Salerno and down the coast to Paestum. If you didn't want to stop in Vietri (or any of the other places along the way) the drive shouldn't take more than an hour and a half in total. It's a very scenic drive anyway.[/quote]

Thanks for the suggestions JC. I'm going to look at the map and see what my husband thinks. Do you think it would be bedlam in mid-July driving along the coast? We did drive it some years ago as we stayed in Ravello for a few nights but it was in February.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 03/26/2009 - 10:22

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