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wattapain

Hi everyone, we're planning a trip to S Italy - Puglia and around - sailing 19th March & returning 21st May - can't wait now Very Happy

Going the 'long way down', ie slowly meandering through France, to Provence - staying at camping monplaisir near st Remy for Easter.
Any reviews?
THen going along the cote d'Azur into Liguria, then looking at a campsite near Albenga - camping bellavista - ACSI no 1205.
then possibly drive across the top of Italy, down the Eastern side to Puglia.
all quite loosely 'planned' but was wondering if anyone had done anything similar or had any ideas/suggestions of things to see, places to stay etc.
Also a little concerned re the weather as manyof the campsites don't seem to open till April /May.
any thoughts all you seasoned travellers?

Terri

Rapide561

Hi

For French sites, try here

www.campingqualite.com

Many Italian campsites are still closed, some opening about the 12th March ready for Easter, some opening mid April. You will find somewhere.

R

eddied

Buon giorno Terri, sounds like an interesting trip you are planning.
In Italy April and May are already warming up nicely, altho the further North you stay, the more the likelehood of the odd short spell of unsettled weather.
You will find quite a lot of campsites already open by then, even if a few are still closed. There are also a number of 'soste' i.e. motorhome stopping/overnighting places available throughout the country, some basic and probably free, some with more services available, privately run, and therefore a charge which can vary between 5 and 15 Euro per night.
To find campsites :
www.camping.it
To find 'soste'
www.eurocampingcar.com
www.guidacamper.com - this is also available in book form I believe Vicarious books.
www.turismoitinerante.it
and many others which a search on here will reveal.
As for things to see, well if you are starting off with Liguria, then make your way down to the Cinque Terre, Lucca, the Garfagnana, and Pisa. Then go across country to Florence, and from Florence across the Appenines to the Adriatic to start your journey down the Eastern coast to Puglia.
Don't miss the Republic of San Marino, and have a look at Italy in miniature at Rimini. Behind/beyond San Marino, the hilltop medieval town of San Leo.
Further down the coast Loreto, and the hilltop villages of the Marche.
Further down still you will come to the Gargano peninsular, with the towns of Vieste and Mattinata, the Foresta Umbra; and San Giovanni Rotondo where from April 14th. Padre Pio's remains will be on show.
From here go south to Castel del Monte, a wonderful castle to explore.
Further south still will take you to Bari, which has an interesting old city centre, but is mainly industrial and port, so a point of reference for maps/road junctions rather than a place to spend any time in. But from Bari you must go to Alberobello and the trulli (conical houses) villages , and further inland to Matera, on the borders of Puglia and Bailicata, with its' world heritage troglodyte houses, churches, and shops of the 'Sassi'.
You will also find south of Alberobello the Grotte di Castellana, and the port for Greece - Brindisi.
Further south still will take you to the Salento and the beatifully baroque city of Lecce, and also to Otranto and Gallipoli and good beaches.
Phew! - you've got enough there to last a month or two, because then you have to get back.
buon viaggio e saluti,
eddied

wattapain

thanks to both of you for the replies. Sorry to take so long to respond but I've been working ( thoght I'd retired - but just adding to the 'travelling fund')
Eddie, yours was especially welcome- esp the links which I will most certainly look up.
Also, many thanks for the suggestions re things to see & do.
Some of them I had begun to touch on as I've just got a book - Travellers Puglia, and have been looking up places from there in a large map
1/400 000 scale map of the 'foot' of Italy.
The more I find out about the area, the more I think the time we have won't be enough and so we'll have to return.
We have a family wedding 3 days after we come back, otherwise I might have considered extending it even longer.
Still that won't be too much of a hardship methinks!!

Terri

wattapain

Well Eddie, we are on the return leg of our trip now and are currently staying at a good (if rather busy) site called La Prairies de mer in Port Grimaud.
I (sort of ) enjoyed Italy, - shame about (most) Italians!!
I have never seen such awful, driving, they are rude, arrogant, with no awareness or regard for anyone who is not part of their immediate family/circle.
they will walk/drive into yo as good as look at you - saw sooo many accidents/incidents of appalling driving attitudes.
I am really disappointed as I really was so looking forward to this trip.
even here, in the cote D'Azur - we are still surrounded by them - the site, as said is extremely busy(BH weekend) and we have an Italian group next to us - they have all their stuff all over our pitch - pushchairs etc actually over our electric cable and banging against our washing!!
they are so rude and I am so upset.
Sorry eddie but I am really surprised by this.

Terri

Superk

Don't be put off. We spent 6 winter months in Italy touring down the west coast then a couple of months touring Sicily before meandering round the toe and heel and up the east coast. The people are marvellously helpful particularly if you make an attempt to converse in Italian. Many a time we would stop looking at a town plan when someone would walk up and try and help. We often styed in orchards or lemon groves and were told to help ourselves to fruit - grapefruit, blood oranges, bananas. On another two sites 'Oh don't use you van we can take you in the car - let us know when you want to come back and we'll collect you.' We wild camped often without problems and Italians took us to the best places. There will be no trouble finding Sostas, Agriturismo's or Masserias where you can park for the night even when not open it's worth asking - many times we did this and parked without charge. Many City Centre car parks will let motorhomes stay overnight and often have electric, dumps and even an odd toilet and shower.
As to the driving - well it's different - and the first encounter can be initially daunting but we can't expect every country to be like we are otherwise where's the excitement? Guide books say don't drive in Catania or Palermo well we did without incident. Don't stop for pedestrian crossings - you're not expected to and will cause an accident if you do - for the same reason don't drive in a gentleman-like fashion letting people in from access roads. OK a car will stop in front because the driver hasn't seen his friend for at least half a day and he will get out for a chat leaving his car in the road - stay cool - you're on holiday! Controlled aggression tinged with a degree of 'it doesn't really matter will get you through.'
In Trani we parked up by the pretty harbour for a Saturday night - all was quiet until around midnight when everyone descended for their Saturday nights entertainment. Cars and people jamming the streets. I decided to move. - Help arrived from everywhere - 'I speak English let me help you out' and he did.
Puglia is like the Cotswolds with trullis and a magnificent coastline. In Alborabello there is a Sosta in the centre of town and almost adjacent to the touristy street of trullis.
Eddied has given some good routes. Here are the ones we stopped at:
Francavilla al Mare (nr Pescara site - coastal)
Peschici (Aire - coastal)
Monte S Angelo (Car Park)
Trani (WC harbour) via Gravina in Puglia & Castel dell Monte
Alborabello (Aire -city)
Martina Franca (country - Maceria)
Lecce - Fuori Le Mura (Aire - inland)
Otranto (Sosta - coastal)
Porto Cesareo (WC coastal)
Metapunto (Sosta - Coastal) & visit Matera.
Masseria Serra Marina (nr Metapunto) Agriturismo
Sybaris (site -coastal) after tour to Santa Severina
Capo Rizzuto (WC coastal) after tour to Stilo and Roccaleta
Roccella Janica (WC -coastal) after tour to Gerace
Roccella Janica (Wild camp coast tours to Pendatillo & Bova)
Bocale/Lazzaro (Villagio Magna Greca - site - coastal tour to Gambarie)
Hope that helps
Keith

eddied

Buona sera Wattapain and Keith.
So sorry to hear that you didn't enjoy your trip Wattapain. But Ken's post proves that Italy can be enjoyed.
I realise that not everybody can cope with the culture shock, or the adventurous driving.
Just goes to show how we all have different perceptions of the same thing.
saluti,
eddied

aultymer

I am sorry to hear of Wattapains problems in Italy. Although we have not yet taken the van down there we have driven a car for a few weeks and hired a boat for a couple of weeks in the Venetian lagoon. At no time have we encountered anything but helpfulness. Although neither of us speak Italian we always 'give it a go' and this alone has led to some hilarious meeting with locals and lots of free drinks!!
The driving is different, but no worse than Glasgow. Even with a right hand drive car we found little problem so long as we did not dawdle and hold up locals who have work to do ( just like the roads in the North of Scotland).
You have certainly been unlucky this time Wattapain but don't give up on Italy.
In all our time in Italy we have never even seen the aftermath of an accident (ie cars strewn around, police on scene etc ) never mind the actual incident.

We have however sat in a cafe in Sorrento and in 1 hour only 6 cars passed by (out of 100s) without some body damage so obviously they get it wrong sometimes.

Rapide561

Morning

Many folks have asked me if I am Italian - so maybe that mean's my driving is appalling!

Seriously, I have found Italian drivers no better of worse than others. The only "difficult" area for driving for me was Napoli/Naples. I still think to this day though, that at the wrong time of day, the motorways around Lille in France are worse than any Italian city.

R