we know italy – we thought. city trips to rome, florence and perugia, family vacations in jesolo, bibione and tuscany, youth trips to venice and bolzano. but on this road trip around italy we got to know the country in a completely different way.
INFO: we always planned our route through italy in such a way that we had to drive on as few toll roads as possible. The further south we went, the easier it became, because there just aren’t that many there anymore. In the interior of the country you often get faster on the highway. If you want to save money, you should at least consider a detour on the main road. From a purely scenic point of view we always enjoyed it very much and especially on a roadtrip it is all about the beautiful way. If you have time and you are traveling on the west coast, you should definitely take the shore road. Especially along the amalfi coast this route is incredibly beautiful and every 20 meters we wanted to stop for the next photo. Slow-travel is the motto here!
Bibione, veneto
in bibione, especially in the district of pineda, we noticed the tourist influence very strongly. Not to say: not being addressed in german by a waitress is considered a faux pas by some vacationers. Accordingly, the entire infrastructure. But it’s the Italy that gerhard polt so aptly takes to task in his film "man spricht deutsch": it’s best to be like at home – just a little more Italian.
Nevertheless, we felt very comfortable here for one day – maybe it was the nostalgia – or the short duration of stay. But especially for family vacations bibione is a great place: eight kilometers of sandy beach speak for themselves. A day trip to venice would certainly also be top here.
Bella verona – italy for romantics
To avoid a thunderstorm we made a detour into the interior of the country. To verona. With the enchanting little streets and balconies, the side street cafes and the mighty arena, the city is a real must – no matter from where to where you are going. The old walls whisper the sayings of romeo and julia and somehow you get into a romantic mood all by yourself. Verona is also considered the most romantic of all the cities in italy.
Who has the chance, should not miss a visit to the arena di verona. Even for non-opera fans, this is a truly spectacular experience. Not far from the arena is the famous restaurant il cenacolo. If you want to eat traditional italian food, this is definitely the place to be. Culinary a dream, unfortunately not quite cheap.
Of emperors and party queens – the vacation resort of rimini
Further it went for us to the in former times so famous teutonic grill: to rimini. But we didn’t see much of the mass tourism and party mile.
In the high season, thousands of domestic and foreign tourists loll in the sun on the long sandy beaches here. the party scene and the amusement parks around rimini have now reached cult status. Not to forget of course the markets and shopping malls for the shopping desire. We have seen the ancient city on a detailed walk through the city. The historic center with the arch of augustus and the tiberius bridge is really great and especially in the evening very atmospheric.
San marino – the state within the state
Where is actually san marino? Somewhere in italy or? Yep! And for us it was perfectly situated on the route from rimini along the coast downwards. The country is not very big – more like a medium sized town. But still really beautiful to look at. We have spent here unfortunately a rather cloudy morning. Nevertheless we liked the small town on the mountain very much.
The view around is really great and also the one or other sights are worth the trip here. for example, you should visit the three-part castle with the adventurous connecting paths – there we could climb super around. The cathedral is also worth a visit. After a hot chocolate we went on towards the south.
the spur of the boot – the gargano
After rimini began for us unknown terrain. It’s a rare place to come for a simple family vacation. Along the coast we went to the gargano, the northernmost tip of apulia. The gargano is a peninsula that juts out 65 kilometers into the sea like the spur of the boot. The landscape here is indescribably beautiful, from steep rocky coasts to the wooded interior. No wonder that more than half of the area belongs to the Gargano National Park.
There are not many towns and villages here. But the ones that exist are enchanting. For example peschici – the small town with just under 4500 inhabitants seems to have grown out of the rugged coastal cliffs. The narrow streets with the narrow staircases and the nested old town with the whitewashed houses give the city an unreal, mediterranean flair.
The coastal town of peschici (credit: by guido radig * see below)
Monte sant’ angelo, gargano
The place of pilgrimage monte sant’angelo finally blew us away completely. Situated on top of the mountain above the gargano, with fantastic views in all directions. Already the drive up the serpentine road is a real highlight. At the highest point lies the castello, a Norman castle. from here you have the best panoramic view of the surrounding area and the sea. tourist hotspot: the sanctuary with the grotto santuario di san michele . Here should be in the 5. In the nineteenth century the archangel michael appeared several times.
From the spur to the heel – lecce and otranto
from gargano we took the autostrada past bari to the southernmost point of the east coast. The cities of lecce and otranto were on our list. Located in deepest apulia we discovered an italy that we had never experienced before. And in every respect: culinary, geographical, but also human.
We certainly didn’t have the best start: shortly after the end of the main road and on the way to otranto (after 8 hours of driving) we had our first and only accident on this adventure trip. On wet-sandy ground we slid out of the curve and into the crash barrier. In this mess the south italian mentality came to the surface. A police patrol stopped, several cars behind us as well. All extremely curious, but at least as helpful. No one speaks english. A policeman had french in school – our salvation. solved a flat tire in french in the most southern italy – priceless!
Otranto – apulia
The small coastal town has become for us the epitome of relaxation, vacation and italian flair. Everything feels a bit slower here, more leisurely. hustle and bustle: missing. The old castel and the basilica you should definitely visit once, as well as the lighthouse punta palascia. And to go with it: indescribably beautiful landscapes and turquoise water that we have never seen before in italy.
We stayed at the campsite mulino D’acqua. the best: we had our own private bay. From here it was a short 10 minute bike ride to town. But also the area around was beautiful to explore by bike. an impressive spot in the landscape is also the cave di bauxite – a petrol shimmering lake in the middle of the red sand landscape.
Lecce – apulia
The town of lecce is – at least perceived – the capital of italian baroque. Between ancient theaters and triumphal arches, the city center – which is closed or restricted to traffic – bristles with baroque buildings, fountains and statues. We felt the full charm of the city in the evening when we strolled through the streets and alleys. The streets are lined with stalls of local artists and craftsmen selling handmade jewelry, wooden utensils and other homemade items.
around lecce there are beautiful coastal places – like sant’ andrea or roca vecchia. Here you can admire the wildness of the mediterranean sea and how the water shapes the rocks.
After the nightly stroll through lecce we left the city and drove one hour towards the west. we spent the night at the mare picolo near taranto. This is at the northern end of the boot heel – before it goes south again towards calabria.
INFO: black camping is generally forbidden in italy. there are fines of 100-400 euro (depending on whether tent, bus or caravan). But of course the principle always applies here: where there is no plaintiff, there is no judge. We always tried – where we could – to find a place to sleep outside of the main tourist centers. For example at a sports field at the gargano or a harbor area in taranto.
dreamlike calabria – sunny paradise with corners and edges
Calabria was our longest stop on the road trip. We parked our bus on a campground directly at the sea and lay down on the beautiful beach and explored the surroundings with our bikes. A trip to the capo vaticano is worthwhile in any case. The beach is absolutely fantastic and there are many possibilities to enjoy the turquoise water. We first rented a kayak and went for a ride. Then we practiced snorkeling (andrea is great at it, bene less so). He got a kiss from a jellyfish). A dreamlike excursion from our campsite in any case. It took us about an hour to get there.
Culinary there are two highlights here: seafood and fish of course – but also the red onion. And these are available in all variations: jam, pesto, syrup, etc… whoever brings home one or the other specialty, will definitely reap glory. The stuff is pig-tasty&
Despite all the beautiful scenery, it must be said that Calabria, in contrast to the quiet Puglia, is rather touristy, especially in the summer. Easy to reach by plane (la mezzia therme or reggio calabria) and full of club-hotels and resorts there is a lot going on here, especially in summer. Especially in tropea, a sweet harbor town, we have fought in the evening through tourist streams. Nevertheless, it is beautiful there.
Amalfi coast – pure postcard idyll
The amalfi coast was at the top of our list for our road trip. And in spite of the preparation this spot of italy has completely flashed us. The narrow coastal road winds along the steep rock face, below always the crystal clear blue water. And after the next bend suddenly appears again a magical place. Be it amalfi itself, ravello or maiori. Here you should really take your zetit. Ride into the different villages. For example to ravello. This is a bit above – but the detour is worth it! The view from the garden of villa ruffolo seems unreal – it is so beautiful there.
The beaches invite you to swim, even if it is often quite crowded here. We spent the night here in the port parking of positano. A wonderful place!
Ancient pompeii – city under the ashes
At pompeii we were convinced by the ADAC-tourset. And the stopover was definitely worth it: the ancient roman city was completely buried by ash and lava during the eruption of vesuvius. This is how the city was preserved over the centuries before it was rebuilt in the 18th century.Century was excavated again. We have spent here well 2-3 hours. But even after a whole day you still would not have seen everything.
volcano walk in italy
if you plan to visit vesuvius, you also have several options: go up with a bus and a guided group, or on your own. Don’t get confused here: we were told that if we wanted to drive up there ourselves, we would have to walk a long way and would have high parking costs – not really true. There are approx. 500 meters more and parking costs are not really there either. A tip for thrifty travellers.
We actually benefited from the guided tour above, as much is explained about the volcano, its interior and the volcano research and eruption prevention around vesuvius. An exciting excursion.
Viterbo and bagnoregio, perugia or rome
We were unfortunately the time then quite scarce. Otherwise we might have stopped in between in rome or perugia, in viterbo or groseto – all very worthwhile destinations, for which there will be articles soon here. A secret tip should be mentioned: the small town of bagnoregio. In short: hardly any tourists, great city, wonderful atmosphere and idyllic location on the mountain.
Pisa, la spezia and porto venere
After the long stage (pompeji-pisa) we arrived in pisa in the evening. We already knew pisa, so it was ok – if you come to the city for the first time, you should take a little more time. Pisa is THE student city in italy, so there is a lot going on in the streets and a big bar and pub scene especially in the evening. On a classic tourist day trip you probably won’t have time for this, but on the second or third time then&
The classic sights you should not miss: the tower of pisa, the basilica and piazza miracoli with baptistery – as well as the chapel of St. Peter. Maria della spina. After pisa we drove about another hour. We spent the night above the military port at la spezia.
The next morning we strolled through la spezia – a nice town with a huge harbor. Nice for a morning stroll – but also great for dinner. We visited there an eche local legend. The pizza and foccaia bakery. " la pia centenaria". The atmosphere in the little place is more like in a train station bistro but the pizzas and foccacias were just divine.
Porto venere
Also the nearby porto venere is definitely worth a visit. The colorful houses welcome the tourists arriving by boat, but also create a dreamlike atmosphere in the place we did not want to leave.
We strolled through this beautiful town and often did not know whether we should marvel or photograph – often just both& tip: visit the small chapel at the port in any case! Here are great pictures and an amazing view.
Cinque terre and home
the next day we went to the grande finale: cinque terre. This day was indeed the crowning finale with fireworks for our road trip. The five picturesque towns that are part of cinque terre are all worth a visit. But here pictures say more than words. We found it mega! Ciao bella italia!