SELF DRIVING TOURS:  A SOUTHERN VISIT - CAMPANIA & PUGLIA DISCOVERY

TOUISDSVCPD 8 days / 7 nights

Departure Dates: ANY DAY 
from January to December

Campania, the region of Naples, and one of the most heterogeneous of Italy, was settled by so many different cultures: here came the Greeks, Romans, Normans, Swabians, Angevins, Aragonese and the Bourbons, all of whom have left some of their style behind. A must visit is the world renowned Amalfi Coast, so incredibly beautiful that even Sorrento was named after the myth of the mermaids whose singing allured the seamen and got them to loose their way. Ulysses and his comrades, according to the legend,  escaped them plugging their ears with wax and the mermaids were turned by the gods into rocks (called today Li Galli and sited in front of Positano). There is so much history, there are so many things to see: take a day-trip to the isle of Capri, the island of Tiberius, visit the Greek temples of Paestum, tour the Royal Palace at Caserta, which rivals the one at Versailles, discover Roman life at Herculaneum and Pompeii or simply enjoy this spectacular coastline which embraces the charming resort towns of Sorrento, Positano, Praiano, Amalfi and Ravello, where the narrow road laces its way around precipices defying gravity providing us with one of the most beautiful scenic drives in the world.

Puglia is Italy's boot heel and the ancient gateway to the East, a region overlooking the southernmost part of the Adriatic Sea, conquered by legions of foreign rulers, which normally never stopped here. The recorded notable exception was Frederick II, the last Emperor of the Hohenstaufen, who built many of the castles still gracing the land. In the southern part of Puglia is the magical land of the trulli, ancient nuragic conical structures of stone with no mortar and topped with gray stone roofs. Alberobello is the capital of the trulli and here you will find many of these original ancient dwellings, mixed in with new ones built in the same style and turned into shops and restaurants. In the north you will find the Peninsula of the Gargano, suspended between sky and sea, with the Umbra (shade) forest and the imposing sanctuary of St. Giovanni Rotondo, where the remains of Padre Pio lie.    

SELF DRIVE PROGRAMS - Probably, the best way to independently travel in Italy is by self-drive car as it allows you to be mobile at all times, to stop whenever you want, to visit to your heart's content!  A limitless number of itineraries is possible, as you can combine any of the Italian regions and cities to create "your own" program. All self drive example itineraries include car Cat C and hotel accommodation at selected hotels as mentioned (depending on availability at time of request) and have been prepared with a base of 2/3 passengers (other rates are available on request as different type of cars will be needed). Take them as they are, lengthen, shorten, combine them as you desires or just use them for ideas in creating "your itinerary" to discover Italy "as you want"! If you like the tour but decide to further customize it, request the customized itinerary by clicking on the "Customized Request" button. We will confirm it and provide you with all the needed

Car Rental Information   -   Italy Driving Information    -    Regional Information

Your Itinerary 

Day 1: Sorrento or Amalfi Coast
Pick-up the rental car at the Hertz desk in either Naples or Rome (locations are available both at the airport and downtown). Drive out of town to the "Autostrada" in the direction of Pompei. This ancient city at the foot of Vesuvius was quite prosperous in Roman times. It was destroyed in 79 A.C., following the famous volcanic eruption which covered it with a layer of pumice and ash. Pompeii is one of the most important archaeological sites in the world, because it provides a complete picture of the topography and life of a Roman town. You can walk through ancient streets to visit the Villa of the Mysteries, the House of the Faun and of the Vettii brothers or discover baths, basilicas, temples, theatres, private homes, the amphitheater, even the palestra where gladiators trained for the arena. After visiting you will start driving along the Sorrentinian Peninsula towards Sorrento and the Amalfi drive. You will reach your hotel for overnight either directly or after having stopped at various important locations. (Your itinerary will be customized depending on rental location and if just arrived in Italy after an overnight flight or not). Hotel PANORAMA PALACE

Day 2: Sorrento or Amalfi Coast
A full day to discover the area. The Sorrento and Amalfi coastline, with some of most charming resort towns in Italy, Sorrento, Positano, Praiano, Amalfi and Ravello, is a world of magnificent views and spectacular locations laced around the narrow road winding around precipices defying gravity providing us with one of the most beautiful scenic drives in the world, the Amalfi drive. Sorrento perched splendidly on a terrace rising steeply above the sea, sheltered by the surrounding hills and basking in its mild climate which has attracted visitors since ancient times (Agrippa, Augustus and Antonius had villas here), enjoys one of the most beautiful locations in the Gulf of Naples. Picturesque bays with beach and harbor, down below, are reached by steps and narrow alleys offering incredible panoramic views of the coast, the surrounding hills covered in olive-groves and citrus trees, and the crystal-clear deep blue sea. After Sorrento, the road climbs to the Colli di San Pietro, then descends into Positano, the once sleepy fishing village which has become the hideaway of painters and writers, one of the most picturesque towns on the coast with its white and pink Moorish-style houses set in luxurious gardens descending in steep steps down the mountain side to the bay. And from here the show continues with one beautiful village after another, all colorfully perched along the coast, till you reach Amalfi. Amalfi was from the 9 to 11 C a seafaring Republic, rivaling Genoa, Venice and Pisa, today it still is a place of light, beauty and everlasting spring where history and legend are interweaved and will make you believe the legend of Hercules falling in love with a nymph called Amalfi, and after she died burying her in the most beautiful place of the world, giving it her name. An there is Capri, an island whose dolomite cliffs fall right to the sea in many spots, dotted with countless caves and surrounded by reefs whose shapes suggest fantastic creations. Inhabited since the Paleolithic age, the island later became Greek hence the name (Kapros = wild boar), and then Roman. Augustus was so taken with its beauty that he bought it from the city of Naples and Tiberius, his successor, built twelve villas dedicated to the twelve gods of Olympus. From the most magnificent of these, "Villa Jovis", he ruled the Roman Empire. The Blue Grotto "Blue Cave", discovered in the mid-1800's started the flow of visitors attracted by the beauty and climate of the island along with the hospitality of the people. Artists and rich eccentrics alike chose the island as their residence, building villas and contributing to the creation of the multi-facetted, multi-lingual, cosmopolitan colony that made the name Capri famous and established the island's myth. Overnight. Hotel PANORAMA PALACE

Day 3: Alberobello
Depart the Sorrento and Amalfi coast area to cross the boot of Italy first to Basilicata an archaic region full of the relics and stones of civilizations long since disappeared. Potenza dominates the Basento Valley while Matera is hewn out of the rock with its picturesque "sassi", an agglomeration of almost completely abandoned dwellings, hewn from the soft rock of the Gravina torrent, consisting of tiny houses packed together, steep narrow streets, and small squares, dating back to the 8th century, when some monks persecuted by Emperor Leo II settled here, later followed by the surrounding rural populations. The town also has over 100 rupestrian churches, some beautifully decorated in frescoes. Arrive in Alberobello in the late afternoon. Overnight. Hotel LANZILOTTA

Day 4 : Alberobello.
A day dedicated to the discovery of the town and its area. Alberobello, is famous for its "trulli", limestone houses of drywall (mortarless) construction, a prehistoric building technique still in use in this region. These structures, dating from as early as the mid 14th century, were constructed using roughly worked limestone boulders and feature pyramidal, domed, or conical roofs built up of corbeled limestone slabs. Although rural trulli can be found throughout the area, their highest concentration is here with over 1500 structures in the quarters of Monti and Aja Piccola. This monumental Zone is wholly composed of groups of "trulli" lined up along winding lanes climbing the hill. Climbing the narrow streets you can peek from the always open doors to the inside structure of these unusual houses, generally presenting a central principal recession, intercommunicating with the kitchen and the other rooms. Overnight. Hotel LANZILOTTA

Day 5 : San Giovanni Rotondo
Depart Alberobello and travel along the coastal resorts towards the little known towns of Barletta, Bisceglie, Trani and Bitonto. To see the pinnacle of Apulian romanesque architecture, stop to visit Bitonto's cathedral, then to Trani to admire the incredible off-white Cathedral literally perched at the edge of the water and containing three churches layered atop each other. The proximity of the sea with its special reflected light and the austerity and luminosity of the stone make the building one of the most unique churches of Italy. Another gem of the Romanesque architecture of Puglia is the Church of All Saints—le Chiesa di Ognissanti—dating from the 12th century, and built by the Knights Templar who decided to settle in Trani, a resting place for pilgrims and crusaders going or coming from the Holy Land. Then on to Barletta and its most famous monument, a 16-foot tall Colossus statue cast in Constantinople in the 4th century. Stolen by the Venetians (with the famous four bronze horses of St. Mark's Basilica), this statue was shipwrecked and washed ashore here in the 14th century. Continue north to Manfredonia, entering the Gargano peninsula and San Giovanni Rotondo. Overnight. Hotel NICOTEL

Day 6 : San Giovanni Rotondo
A day dedicated to this beautiful peninsula. The Gargano peninsula stretching out into the Adriatic sea, suspended between sky and sea, is still an uncontaminated area, full of natural beauties and a land of faith and spirituality. Picturesque small villages spread along the coast and in the interior, in an uncomparable landscape of luxuriant woods and orchards. Vieste, probably the best known of these on the extreme tip of the Gargano, boasts a necropolis and megalithic walls ruin rising on a sheer cliff towering over the sea. The Umbra forest, the lakes of Lesina und Varano, the imposing sanctuaries of S. Michele in Monte S. Angelo and that of San Giovanni Rotondo, where the remains of Padre Pio lie, are the other main attractions of this area. Overnight. Hotel NICOTEL

Day 7: Montesilvano
Depart San Giovanni Rotondo continuing along the Adriatic coastline entering Abruzzo, known for its harsh mountains and long coastlines and as a region rich in folklore, with so many traditions and the remnants of ancient rites. Continue north towards Vasto and Pescara. Overnight on the Adriatic Coast. Hotel PROMENADE

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