Top Seven Tips For Getting Around In Italy’s Countryside
From Mama Margaret’s Italy Travel & Food E-newsletter, February 29, 2012
Dreaming of exploring magnificent Italian countryside, strolling in medieval hill towns, browsing small town markets, staying in an agriturismo/farm inn run by a local family? Some people have asked us for a cooking school tour in the countryside with accommodation within walking distance of a bus or train line. A bit rare!
If you’re touring hill towns in a country region like Piedmont’s Barolo wine hills, a car is a must. Buy an international driver’s license at your local automobile association. If you don’t and the Italian police stop you, you’ll pay a fine. Cars with automatic transmission cost about double over gear shift cars. Some Italian cars are smaller than ours, so may have trunks (boots in the UK) may not be big enough for all your luggage. Travel light. Ask about renting a car in one city and dropping it off at another major town.
Public buses in the countryside can be few and far between. They may run only until a certain hour (invariably before you want to return) and give you poor connections between towns. Sometimes they don’t show up at all.
In Tuscany many years ago, from Montepulciano to Montalcino, I took three different buses with three different bus companies (who didn’t have each other’s schedules available). For over an hour I waited in a coffee bar at a bland, main road intersection for my 3rd bus going to Montalcino. Some public buses between country towns double as school buses so you experience fun, boisterous teenage life in small town Italy.
Ask your hotel or us to arrange a private driver to drive you door to door . With a private driver, you don’t worry about getting lost or who is the designated driver and just sit back and soak in the beauty around you. Easy! Relaxing! Fast! No schlepping luggage around. No thinking “How do we get from A to B?” No crowds to cope with.
In popular seasons like September in heavily touristed areas like the Amalfi Coast, public buses and boats get jammed with people. On some Amalfi Coast buses I’ve felt like a sardine in a can. Get started earl y in the day armed with patience, no definite schedule and a sense of humour. Pick a seat by the bus window on the ocean side of the Amalfi Coast buses to get the best views. The public boats along the Amalfi Coast may be crowded but at least you can breathe fresh sea air. Same advice for trains and boats that get very crowded in the Cinque Terre.
Thank you to Alice Lawless of Vancouver for her ideas that inspired this article.