Member Since: 06 Mar 2013
Location: Independent Republic of Kentishshire.
Posts: 4197
Road trip to Italy (Amalfi) what are the must dos?
Looking for help.... this week we are off to Italy on a quick European road trip for two weeks...
Not anywhere near as exciting as DSL”s expeditions but hopefully a bit more glamorous!
It’s our 20th wedding anniversary and as such SWMBO booked a fabulous hotel near Positano for a few days...rather than fly there and back and have a quick break we’ve decided to drive there and visit a few places en route....
The route starts Calais to Lake Como on day one which will know will be a monstrous drive...
hence day two will chill there and the surrounds...
Day Three Florence
Day Four Orvieto
Day Five Rome stopping at Gaeta
Day Six outskirts of Sorrento
Day Seven outskirts of Positano
Eight and Nine San Pietro Hotel Positano
Day Ten Perugia
Day Eleven Garda and Torbole
Day Twelve Bormio and the Stelvio
Day Thirteen Epernay
Fourteen Calais....
Been there years ago but just looking for advice on the best places to visit en route and those to avoid..
I see it as the last petrol powered swan song for my vehicle ownership before we are all taxed off the road and forced to drive electric! Hence I am going to add to global warming whilst I can!
With so little time in each stop it's difficult to recommend anything, you really need 3-5 days in Florence & Rome, there will be queues for most of the "sights".
I suggest in Florence you walk around the city centre, meander over Ponte Vecchio, if there's time visit Galleria dell'Accademia and see Michelangelo’s “David” sculpture, enjoy a drink in a few of the squares & avoid tatty tourist souvenir shops.
I suggest you drive from Rome to Gaeta via Via Appia Antica, sticking to the original route. More information here:-
I will, if you wish add much more detail, but can't do so immediately.
NJSSAm I Gammon or Woke ? - I neither know nor care.
2016 Discovery 4 Landmark
2011 Mercedes Benz SL350 (R230)
1973 MG B GT V8 - 3.9L John Eales engine, 5 speed R380 gearbox, since 1975.
1959 MGA roadster - 1.9L Peter Burgess Engine - 5 speed gearbox
Past LRs - Multiple FFRs, Discos & a Series I - some petrol, some diesel,
none Electric or H2 fuel cell - yet.
There are 10 types of people in this world: Those who understand binary, and those who don’t.
13th Oct 2019 7:51 am
Farmer Chalk
Member Since: 06 Mar 2013
Location: Independent Republic of Kentishshire.
Posts: 4197
Yes you’re right with the flying tour! More of a road trip than a full on visit... our priority is to spend more time on the Amalfi coast but to see the Lakes and the Alps...I.e Stelvio en route..
Many thanks for the suggestions.. will do some research forthwith!
13th Oct 2019 8:18 am
Stephen
Member Since: 26 Mar 2007
Location: London SW
Posts: 117
The Stelvio, with its 49 hairpins, may well be closed by the time you get there. There are Italian regulations about having snow chains in certain areas, after some time in October I think.Land Rover 80" station wagon (1949)
4 Range -Rovers
2 Disco 3's
2 Disco 4's
(not all at once!)
13th Oct 2019 8:47 am
Farmer Chalk
Member Since: 06 Mar 2013
Location: Independent Republic of Kentishshire.
Posts: 4197
Yes I fear as much... I”m hoping it hasn’t snowed by then! It will still be amazing getting as high as I can...
Did it years ago in a previous life in a manual 928 S4 GT... did a set of tyres in the two weeks I was away! We were with friends in a Cobra.... great trip!
Slumming it this time....
13th Oct 2019 8:59 am
Gareth Site Moderator
Member Since: 07 Dec 2004
Location: Bramhall
Posts: 26779
Love a road trip! It’s all about the driving, and the very real feeling of having made a great journey when you get to the end. Stepping off a plane is no comparison.
Stelvio- it’s a long way out of your way! We did a road trip a few years ago in our F Type, and the drive from Trafoi on the northern side of the Stelvio to Como is a long one, with a lot of traffic. It’s great fun, I hope you don’t mind being overtaken by cyclists on your way down, they are nuts!
We did Como back to Zebrugge but we stopped in Brussels for a night. We could have done it one hit, but again it would be a long day.
I drove to Naples in a Discovery 200tdi back in the olden days! Took us 5 days and I swore I’d never drive in Italy ever again! Crazy driving is normal in Naples!
13th Oct 2019 8:59 am
Farmer Chalk
Member Since: 06 Mar 2013
Location: Independent Republic of Kentishshire.
Posts: 4197
Think that’s my only fear really... drove at high speed across Germany and Switzerland without issue..as soon as we crossed the border into Italy it was total carnage!
Tried to pick hotels slightly off the beaten track so we are going to meet them!
Hostaria Antica Roma which is on Via Appia about 0.7 miles from Catacombe di San Callis is a really excellent restaurant. I haven't been in recent years, but was a regular visiting 2 or 3 times a year in the past. You should also visit the catacombs.
"Hostaria Antica was by far our best meal and experience as we travelled through Italy, France, and Spain!! Amazing views & food."
"The ambiance is beautiful ...the food was incredible"
I (NJSS) need to go back again - soon! The the question is in the D4 or the V8 MG which has been there many times.
NJSSAm I Gammon or Woke ? - I neither know nor care.
2016 Discovery 4 Landmark
2011 Mercedes Benz SL350 (R230)
1973 MG B GT V8 - 3.9L John Eales engine, 5 speed R380 gearbox, since 1975.
1959 MGA roadster - 1.9L Peter Burgess Engine - 5 speed gearbox
Past LRs - Multiple FFRs, Discos & a Series I - some petrol, some diesel,
none Electric or H2 fuel cell - yet.
There are 10 types of people in this world: Those who understand binary, and those who don’t.
13th Oct 2019 9:12 am
Farmer Chalk
Member Since: 06 Mar 2013
Location: Independent Republic of Kentishshire.
Posts: 4197
Well we are back!
3000 miles and what a trip!
The road trip was awesome... thanks to NJSS for some great tips! We met every road condition going from snow on the Stelvio to 30 degrees on Amalfi drive... words cannot express what a great country Italy is...
Thanks also has to go to JLR ... the RRS was a sublime way to travel... it ate the miles across France when we needed to push on yet wrapped us in luxury travelling down the lanes...incredible car!
Couple of photos to contrast with DSL’s.....
The first set are from the return leg.... The Stelvio is a must for those petrol heads who enjoy a challenge...the pass goes over the top of the Alps close to the border with Switzerland.. 48 hairpin bends on the way up....
Although the road is great the one on the Swiss side is terrifying...no run off, no barriers, fog, single track and sheer drops of thousands of feet to an instant death... don’t think i’ve ever paid so much concentration on a road before...
13th Nov 2019 8:39 am
ianm27
Member Since: 02 Jun 2016
Location: Hertfordshire
Posts: 2154
Very nice pics
Definitely a road trip worth doing Uncle Ray's spare wheel protector
Limo Tint
Blackvue front & rear dashcam
Cruise control switch pack
Bodsy's remote for FBH
13th Nov 2019 11:19 am
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73121
Looks a great trip.
Re pics, wot no food shots?
13th Nov 2019 11:25 am
Farmer Chalk
Member Since: 06 Mar 2013
Location: Independent Republic of Kentishshire.
Posts: 4197
Didn’t want to upset you... but since you asked....
13th Nov 2019 1:35 pm
Oswiperus D3 Decade
Member Since: 02 Apr 2010
Location: Chelmsford, Essex
Posts: 1600
What does it say about me when I studied the food pics closer than the scenery pics! Stu
2016 D4 Landmark current
2022 Defender D300 SE Gone
D4 2014 XS Commercial - Gone
D4 2016 hse lux montalcino red - Gone
D3 2005 se java black - current
D3 2005 base manual - gone
D2 1999 TD5 E white - current
13th Nov 2019 1:45 pm
Pelyma
Member Since: 06 Jan 2005
Location: Patching, Sussex
Posts: 15496
Don't encourage him Ian or there will be more creepy crawlies on a stick 🤮DS3 TDV6 HSE - Silver with Alpaca (old one) Gone
DS3 TDV6 HSE- Silver with Alpaca (new one) Gone
D4 HSE Lux - Montalcino Red Gone
Porsche Cayenne V8 Diesel S
13th Nov 2019 1:58 pm
Farmer Chalk
Member Since: 06 Mar 2013
Location: Independent Republic of Kentishshire.
Posts: 4197
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
