OK, we're making it back to Italy this year. I just reserved an apartment in Rome for the nights of June 1-10. Now comes the hard part - figuring out what to do around that!

This is our third trip, and this time around cost is much more of an issue than previously. The only thing outside Rome on our "must see" list is Assisi. We are more interested in ancient than Renaissance. I would like to see Paestum, and I'm married to someone who thinks all vacations should include the beach. Last time (2003) we spent a week in Rome and a week in Meta di Sorrento, which we thoroughly enjoyed, but this time would need to pay less in rent.

So here are some specific questions:

Is Assisi doable - and worth doing - as a day trip from Rome, or should we be planning to spend a few days in the Assisi area after Rome?

If we decide on the beach afterwards instead of Assisi, has anyone stayed in the area around Cilento Park? What will it be like mid-June - mobbed? I've been looking at both http://www.initaly.com/hisres/agropoli/agropoli.htm
and http://www.summerinitaly.com/eng/rent/property0238!italy_.htm and I'm interested in comments. I've never driven in Italy, and both of these would require renting a car. This would I guess involve renting a car in Rome and either driving back to Rome or returning the car in Naples and flying back from there.

Thanks!

It's possible to make Assisi a day trip from Rome and you don't need a car. There are direct trains as well as connections. The direct trains take two and a quarter hours. You could leave Rome at 7:00 in the morning, arrive in Assisi at 9:15, spend the day and get back to Rome early in the evening. It's a lot of time on the train but if Assisi is important to you, it may be worth it.

As for how much time to allow for Assisi, I'm probably not a good source. I looked forward to seeing Assisi for years (I graduated from a Franciscan University) and I was surprised/disappointed once I finally got there. However, the basilica is worth the trip. One day there was plenty for me.

Several years ago I spend a one week-holiday in the Cilento park. At the time I stayed at La Francesca, which is a holiday village of small huts (that van sleep up to 4 people, but are perfect for 2 people), all with a kichenette and a tiny bathroom (shower, WC and washbasin). I went in mid-september and the village was half empty, but considering the way it was laid out it wouldn't have felt too crowded even if it was full. The huts are in the middle of the wood, on a slope, and you can see but the 3-4 nearest to yours.
The village has two small rocky beaches and a swimming pool. The beach nearest the village itself is not very nice, the other requires waling for a few hundred meters, but it was much nicer, under an impressive rock wall and with small underwater caves that had very nice colors. Nicer and larger beaches can be found around the place, obviously.
Prices in mid-June are decent (from 400 to 600 euro, more or less) and include everything except meals at the restaurant, coffee from the bar and food bought from the supermarket and the daytrips by boat you may decide to join. In July and August you are required to have at least 3 meals at the restaurant per week, but you are not in June and September.
It's not the kind of place where you are pushed around by entertainers, with loud speakers announcing the hor's event. There's an area where children can play with professional babysitters and nimators, but this area is quite far from the area where the huts are set, so that the place is calm; The other activities provided by the village are the daytrips (by boat).
If you are worried about driving, you may check if in your desired period there are boat trips, and just get to La Francesca by train: the village it's 15 kilometers from Sapri, which is served by frequent trains from Rome (it's a 4/5 hours trip, depending wether you can take a diret train or have to swap trains in Naples). From Sapri, you can take a taxi to La Francesca, that's a ten-fifteen minutes ride. So, if you like the daytrips schedule offered by the village, you can skip renting the car.
Last, but not least, La Francesca is environmentally-friendly since the 1950's.

Bill: I agree with ellen that one day in Assisi is enough. I too went to a four-year Franciscan school and had St. Francis drummed into my head. This trip, we went to Assisi. The basilica is very worthwhile and beautiful - study up on the frescoes beforehand. We also saw the church of St. Clare which was lovely and simple. As far as the rest of town - didn't care for it much.

We were staying in July in Pienza and it was a quick trip to Assisi - maybe an hour? In that area, you can also see Cortona, Montepulciano, Montalcino. It would be worth your time to be closer to Assisi if you would also care to do some other towns.

Sandra

Ah, Assisi, Assisi....
Assisi is a beautiful little town, but as most famous places there are many ways to see it and enjoy it (or not).
I always advice my guests not to go to the Basilica of San Francis as soon as they have arrived. To have a feeling of the town, its peaceful atmosphere, the incredible pink stone it is built with, one has to take advantage of the light, on how it falls on the stones at certain times of the day. One needs at least a sunset to experience Assisi at its best.
For a day visit, it's best to park at Porta Nuova, walk to Santa Chiara to have a first view of the valley in the often misty mornings. Have a coffe at Caffe' Minerva in the main Piazza. It's not a pretty cafe', but the people is nice and they do not rip off the tourists. Take your time as the bus groups visit the Church during mid-morning. Walk by via Metastasio to San Francis, it's quiet as the major flow goes by Via Portica.
By then it is almost lunch time, the groups have left and you can enjoy the splendor of the Giotto frescoes. After lunch, leave the city, drive (or Taxi) 4 km on the mountain Subasio to se the "eremo delle Carceri" a convent in the woods where San Francis went to meditate. It is another generally quiet place. You can even walk down to go back to the town if you have the time.
And then, at the end of the day, finally make your choice for sunset. Either go back to the pinkness of the terrace overlooking the Basilica or the greeness of the valleys surrounding the Fort "Rocca Maggiore". Both spots are spectacular and make for an ideal conclusion of your day here.

I stayed at the Savoy Beach hotel in Paestum in November and reviewed it for Slow Trav here
While I would not call this is budget hotel, in June you can get half-board for 99 euro per person - an absolutely incredible bargain for a stay in the lap of luxury. Besides visting the ruins at Paestum, there is a very worthwhile small museum where one could spend a very pleasant morning; and the ruins at Velia (30 - 45 minutes drive from Paestum) and the beautiful Cilento park. Plus, this hotel has a private beach although it's a short walk from the hotel. Whoever designed the Savoy Park's website ought to be shot, as it is just awful and in no way conveys the fabulous ambience of the place. Trust me, a similar hotel on the Amalfi Coast, which is not that far away, would undoubtedly cost 300-400 euro a night on B/B basis.
- Marie

Thanks, Italian Connection, I did see your review and checked the Savoy Beach but Venere thinks they have no rooms available during the time I'm looking.

Letizia -- how beautiful your post and how wise your recommendations!

Hi-

We had looked at the following hotel for our upcoming trip, but they are not open in Feb
Hotel Castello Close to the coast and Paestum, very affordable and got some nice reviews on trip advisor....

Hope you have a great trip!

Let me add that Assisi at night is great.

Bill, You could try e-mailing the hotel directly at info@hotelsavoybeach.it to check availability.
- Marie

I think Assisi is a one day stop. It didn't leave me with the best impression, in large part due to the fact it felt very touristy to me. I'd head out to Montepulciano or Cortona and explore them instead of camping out in the Assisi area. Also, Orvieto is only about one hour North from Rome, and it is one of my absolute favorite places in Italy. It has all of that old world charm, yet somehow feels like a bigger city in a small space to me.
Try and head to the Amalfi Coast for beaches. The water is fantastic and the food is as well.

Letizia,
I too loved your description of Assisi and feel that I saw it in just that way when we visited in 2003. We visited twice, once on the Feast of St. Francis and although it was very crowded, there was something about being in St. Francis on the Feast of St. Francis. I even like saying it! We were on one of Anne Robichaud's tours and had an amazing time. After taking part in the procession to the Basilica we escaped the crowds and toured the back streets.

Since we couldn't get into the Basilica that day we came back a few days later and stayed until sunset. I could have spent hours in both the upper and lower Basilica. It was great fun exploring and shopping. My favorite shop was Zubboli's near the Minerva temple, where they sold handbound journals.

And, I agree that the Porta Nuova is a great place to park. Easy to get too and there were lots of spaces both times we parked there. Just remember to pay before you exit!

Bill
To follow up on Marie's above post. I have found that emailing the hotel directly is often a favorable solution. I have researched many hotels on Venere (which I think is a great website) but have found that availability is often present when Venere shows that it isn't

I'm guessing, some establishments release only a limited number of rooms, which can be sold through an outside source.

I would definitely email the hotel directly if it interests you.

Good Luck

In 2002 I spent a week in Pisciotta at Casa Pixos. Pisciotta is a medieval hill town in the Cilento Park near the Bay of Palinuro. You could take the train from Rome to Salerno, I think, and pick up a rental car in Salerno. When I was there in October there was hardly any traffic at all once I got past Salerno(between the Amalfi Drive and Salerno was an excruciatingly different story), and I suspect driving in June might be similar. Paestum is on the way - I saw it at dawn on the way back - and the drive is plentifully supplied with wonderful sources of fresh Mozzarella di Bufala.

I originally saw a description of Casa Pixos in a guide to Italian b&b's. It sounded perfect - located in a small untouristy town with an interesting history, reasonably priced, owned by a sculptor and his wife (my husband is a sculptor, so I suppose I expected to learn something about the artist's life there), with beautiful gardens and - what was important to me at the time - a balcony and sea view. Since I was alone I rented the smallest apartment, Il Topazio. Because I got lost trying to take a shortcut after the Amalfi Coast traffic, I arrived much too late and was greeted kindly but without elaboration. At first I was taken aback, because I did not see any gardens and the sea view was from a bedroom window on the opposite side from the balcony, which was really only for hanging out wet clothes. But the place was furnished with extraordinary care and imagination, the bed was probably the most luxurious I have ever slept in, and the view out the ocean window was a continuing wonder, so I really grew to love the place.

My landlords lived some streets away, and in fact I had a hard time finding them when I wanted to pay the balance of my rent. When I finally located them, they showed me the other two apartments, which were indeed lovely, with beautiful terraces, kitchens looking out on terraced gardens and sea, and a totally irresistible scent of fish stew wafting from the landlady's pot next door. The pictures on the website don't even begin to do any of the apartments justice.

There is a winding road of a few kilometers through olive groves and vineyards from Pisciotta down to the Marina, which is a small fishing port with a pleasant beach, breakwater, a couple of hotels a few shops and beautiful clear water. With a car you can go on interesting excursions to several nearby coastal towns, including Velia (Elea, where the philosopler Zeno was born), Palinuro and Ascea, and also make somewhat longer trips to destinations in the interior such as those described in Carlo Levi's Christ Stopped at Eboli(which I never reached).

If you would prefer to be right on the ocean, there is a wonderful looking and reasonably priced agriturismo I stopped to look at, San Carlo, where I have promised myself to someday spend a week.

Sorry this is so long - I guess I should have done a vacation rental review. I have uploaded some pictures here, and will add a few more when I find them.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Dorothyk,

I lived half a year in Ostia de Lido. Beach there was fantastic. Ostia Antica is also right next door.

Many thanks to all for your recommendations. I continue to be amazed how much of their experience people are willing to share on this board!

After lengthy discussion, we've decided to forego the trip south and in fact driving in Italy. We'll fly into Rome on May 29, take the train to Assisi, spend 2 nights there, then head back to Rome for 12 nights. I've been researching day trips from Rome and we will probably do at least one or two.

Bill Thayer, have I mentioned that you're our hero? Reading about different locations on your Web site just makes us want to visit them all and spend time looking at them!

I'll save the suggestions about more southern destinations for next time.