Intransit Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 Hi everybody. Been reading you for the last 2 years and have now taken the plunge and joined. Now we have time on our hands after retiring we are planning a months trip to Italy in February taking in the 6 nations rugby in Rome and then touring the south. Don't seem to be many sites open in winter. Any advice on sites, sostas, routes or places to visit in Italy at this time of year would be much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 I had thought that Don had posted on this but can't find it, only thing I came across is this. http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=14824&posts=6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brit_Stops Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 For a chance of real interaction with the locals, try Fattore Amico for free farm and vineyard stopovers a la France Passion. www.fattoreamico.it Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syd Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 Tolls are very cheap so stick to the motorways because most of their other roads are absolute crap Lower than Rome it is almost like entering a third world country. If you go as far as Pompei don't stay at Camping Spartacus. Get your petrol/diesel before lunch time, don't forget this. Be a little forceful with your driving Other than this it is a beautiful Country with very nice people Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armstrongpiper Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 Syd - what is your problem with Camping Spartacus? Been there and it was OK (in May), and very handy for the Ruins. Neil B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intransit Posted November 18, 2011 Author Share Posted November 18, 2011 Thanks for the info everyone. . I'm also intrigued about Spartacus Syd. Does any one have any campsite recommendations open all year round south of Rome.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bojitoes Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 We stayed at Camping Spartacus last year- not a mistake to be repeated again!!! Hot water to only 1 washing up sink, chalets let by the hour, campsite open to anyone who wanders in off the street, chemical disposal - raise a manhole and empty into the sewer. Worst campsite we found in Italy Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 First thing, what route will you take to Italy? Unless you have winter tyres (at minimum M+S marked) fitted, you will be wise to avoid Germany, as they are now a legal requirement during the winter months. If your van is over 3.5 tonnes you'll need a GoBox for Austrian autobahnen and "express-ways": if 3.5 tonnes or under a vignette (maut), minimum duration, I think, 7 days, both obtainable at the border. Beware the express-ways, a number of non-autobahn standard roads are so classified. If going through Switzerland (non-Euro, non-EU), if your van is over 3.5 tonnes you'll need a short-term HGV vignette for the autobahnen (and you will be banned from many non-autobahn roads), of if 3.5 tonnes or under a vignette, valid from December to the following January only, both obtainable at the frontier, or from the Swiss National Tourist office in London. If towing a trailer, you need another vignette for that. The HGV version is cheaper, and has a number of travel days permitted, which you have to sign off as used. Fine for non-compliance. However, in February, I think best route would be via the South of France and Ventimiglia. If you decide to go over the Alps, be prepared for a big freeze up en-route as it is liable to be much colder than UK, especially at night, and I'd suggest planning on getting across without stopping overnight if you van has an underslung water tank, or an unheated waste tank. Beware the Apennines! They are serious mountains and, when we wandered into them, in late April, a little south of Rome (in the Abruzzo) we were only a just below the snow line. Warm, it was not! You will probably find plenty of sites, aires, and sostas in the Alps, if you go that way, catering for winter sports. As you go south into Italy you will find most campsites don't open until April or later, whatever they say! They also tend to be quite expensive, and of very variable quality, the best being of very high standard and the worst extremely rudimentary. I suggest the Caravan Club "Caravan Europe" vol 2 if researching sites. You will find some coastal sites stay open all year for over-winterers, usually Dutch and German, as you get further south. I don't understand Syd's comment re Spartacus either, we were there in 2006, so possibly changed, but the antics in the hire chalets (reasonably discreet! :-)), and those of the feral dogs, were a great source of entertainment! However, you won't want to eat out of doors (blink and your dinner is liable to be in a dog!), and you do have to look where you're walking. Nevertheless, it was generally reasonably quiet, quite clean, and the facilities were quite good. It is also opposite the ruins, and close to the railway station from which you can reach Herculaneum (modern Ercolano), Sorrento, and Naples (to get the full picture of Pompeii or Herculaneum the archaeological museum in Naples is essential, because it is where all the good stuff was taken to prevent it being nicked!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bojitoes Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 Also re Pompeii and Camp Spartacus it really is worth spending a morning in the town of Pompeii itself and having a look at the Church & belltower- as with most Italian churches the artwork inside is fantastic, it is only 10 minutes walk from the ruins. I definitely agree with Brian re using the train to visit Herculaneum & Sorrento in particular. The town is famous for making laminated wood pictures which are really very nice and fair value for money. If you can get into the Franciscan Monastery there is an exhibition upstairs and they open the doors onto the roof so you get a brilliant view of vesuvius and the Bay of Naples. We drove down the west coast of Italy and stopped at an excellent site, open all year round, at san Remo on our way to Rome and Pompeii.Another interesting places was Assisi where there is a good campsite. Happy Camping outside Rome is excellent if it is open in February. The drivers are definitely manic but the only thing I had trouble getting used to was that the autostrada and most main roads are what I call, Trestle & Tunnel. Long, very high elevated sections with big drops either side followed by tunnels 2-3 kms long. I also followed Brian's advice and went down the Rhone Valley all the way, Lyon, Avignon, then Cagnes sur Mer, Nice, - roads were fine but stay on the coast road if you go that way, inland road is a bit hair raising! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 On driving, I think the best advice is to watch and learn, but never imitate! Northern (Tyrolean) Italy is a fair introduction because it is more disciplined. The further south you go, the more "Italian" it gets. Mostly the approach is just different, rather than totally daft. Autostrada driving is broadly the same as on any mainland motorways, though overtaking may be on the right if that is where the gap is! If there is a hold up, a large contingent will take to the hard shoulder, but most won't. Some of the motorway lanes are a bit tight, and some of the exits/accesses a bit abrupt, but otherwise it is fine. Off the motorway things change. Any Italian who catches you up will overtake, possibly round a bend, possibly over a hill: don't fuss, they all do it, all the time, and it is not reserved for Brits! However badly judged the manoeuvre it is expected that you will ease up and pull over to let them pass with minimal risk: to do otherwise is considered at least bad form, and at worst attempted murder. Just let them go! Speed limits are generally treated as advisory. However, Italians always seem to know where the fuzz will be, so just stick to the limits! There is generally minimal advance planning: things are done on the spur of the moment, but always with style. Just stay alert! Generally, Italians are very tolerant drivers, as they plan nothing, they expect nothing from others. If you stop awkwardly/stall, they will just go around you if at all possible, rather than sit behind with their elbow on their horn. Italians never park, they abandon cars at the roadside at whatever angle gets them closest to their objective. However, it is wisest for visitors to park, because they generally lack the necessary negotiating skills to pacify those their antics irritate. So, just sit back and watch, don't get fussed, and you'll laugh until your eyes water. It's driving Henry, just not as we do it! However, generally, it works for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myshell Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 Hi Intransit I was in Italy for 2 weeks over Easter this year and I have to agree with the others on this forum, stick to the motorways as much as possible due to the very poor condition of the minor roads, ( a case of remove dentures and securely fasten bra straps) tolls were very reasonable especially compared to France, don't know which route you are planning to take but I crossed from France into Italy via the Frejus tunnel this cost 48:70 euros one way, you can get a return ticket a lot cheaper but it is only valid for 7 days and as I was staying for 14 days this was no good to me. Motorway tolls from the Frejus down to Pompei cost approx. 75:00 euro which was a pleasant surprise considering the millage involved, I also stayed at Camping Spartacus and have to agree with other posters that this site left a hell of a lot to be desired I therefore checked out the other 2 sites, Camping Zeus is right next door to Spartacus and to be honest I couldn't make my mind up if they were just building it or just demolishing it, Camping Pompei is on Porta Marina which is the road leading to the entrance to the Pompei ruins, not sure which was the more modern looking, Camping Pompei or the ruins !! so in the end decided to stay where I was on Spartacus. The local railway station (Circumvensuvia) is only 5 mins walk from the camp site, opposite side of the road to the ruins entrance, ticket to Sorrento 2:50 single, do not sell return tickets for Mon. to Fri. return ticket on Sat & Sun 3:50. remember to get ticket validated in machine on station wall. PM me if you need any info Regards Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syd Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 Camping Spartacus This is a VERY VERY old site, probably built by the romans after a big big booze up The site facilities left a hell of a lot to be desired when we were there in October, toilets dirty and covered in ants, we had to have a site directly behind the reception as our caravan was too big for anywhere else. Bit of a s**t hole Over the road from us were the chalets that were in pretty heavy use by prostitutes, in the morning there was a dead rat on the site next to us that was left there for most of the morning. Had planned to stay there for a few days but left on our second day. Very disapointing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 According to some of you guys then, Feral dogs, maniac drivers, diabolical roads, lousy sites, prostitutes, mmmmm, must put Italy on my "must visit" list then. :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan k Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 We spent September and October in Italy, started out in Pisa and went more or less anticlockwise around the coast around the coast with a nip inland here and there (Tivoli, Volterra, Cassino, Matera, Lecce, Alberabello, Sulmona, Perugia, San Marino etc ) and had a wonderful time. Yes parts of Italy are very poor and decrepid and now lots of stuff half built, but there's so much interesting old stuff to look at, Greek, Etruscan, Roman, super beaches, stuff from the renaissance churches paintings, marvellous hill towns, thermal springs, unusual old houses in the south, marvellous Palladium villas and probably our favourite, Venice (away from the crowds, we spent a happy afternoon in a palazzo which had just reopened after a 25 year refurbishment and the decoration in the rooms was fantastic). Yes in places there are feral dogs but thet kept their distance, some seaside "resorts" can look absolute dumps outside of the season, they can here as well, there is lots of rubbish around in some places, yes there are prostitutes visible on some roads,(" ladies" sitting by the side of the road in plastic chairs, spot one and there'll be 3 or 4 in the next few miles). Road surfaces are very variable, some good some bad, even on dual carriageways but the modern roads are just amazing viaducts across valleys, tunnels through hills etec etc and occasionally 12 tarmac patches per square metre. WE stayed at Zeus in September for Pompeii, by which time half the campsite was used as a carpark for the ruins but there was planty of space and we visited Vesuvious and Ercolanum and Pompeii and stayed 4 nights. At the end of the day despite all its faults, we love Italy and the warm friendly people and that includes the drivers! We saw more nutty driving back in the UK driving from Dover to Yorkshire, with more cutting in, changing lane and emergency braking, although Italians do overtake anywhere and everywhere and simply seem to ignore speed limits unless they know there are cameras around which are often hidden. In October we did find campsites and camper parks occasionally shut when the books said they would be open, but always found somewhere within reason and we used ASCI, Camper Guida, Camperstop and Caravan Club book2, Enjoy alan & sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intransit Posted November 19, 2011 Author Share Posted November 19, 2011 Thanks for all the info Brian and Phil. We have just got our winter tyres fitted and have heated waste and inboard water, and have been down to -8C and were as warm as toast, so hopefully that wouldn't be too much of an issue. We are also 3500kg so wouldn't need go- box in Austria. We have driven in Italy before but with car not MH, so absolutely know what you are talking about . Will certainly look into your suggestion of South of France to Italy. As for all the comments on Spartacus, we nearly feel we should go just to see how 'exciting' it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 Syd - 2011-11-18 11:39 PM Camping Spartacus This is a VERY VERY old site, probably built by the romans after a big big booze up The site facilities left a hell of a lot to be desired when we were there in October, toilets dirty and covered in ants, we had to have a site directly behind the reception as our caravan was too big for anywhere else. Bit of a s**t hole Over the road from us were the chalets that were in pretty heavy use by prostitutes, in the morning there was a dead rat on the site next to us that was left there for most of the morning. Had planned to stay there for a few days but left on our second day. Very disapointing Seems it must have gone off over the past six years. Caravan Europe rated it best of the three in 2009: stated family owned and run - so maybe it has changed hands since. Shame. Maybe better to try down towards Sorrento, though I don't think many will be open. You could still get to Pompei, Ercolano, and Naples on the Circumvesuviana railway, as it runs down to Sorrento. There is/was a sosta in Pompei, Via Antonio Segni: GPS N40.75472 E14.49694, familigia Ametrano. Indicated by a parking sign above a gate, with a camper sign just beneath. Not the posh end of town, but the area out back is larger than you'd guess, and vans are visible on Google Earth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BGD Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 1footinthegrave - 2011-11-19 4:25 AM According to some of you guys then, Feral dogs, maniac drivers, diabolical roads, lousy sites, prostitutes, mmmmm, must put Italy on my "must visit" list then. :-S Aah................so it was mention of prostitutes that swung it for ya.......... ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 Not been to Pompei for a long time:D..........Do they still sell those naughty key rings at the entrance(lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 BGD - 2011-11-19 6:30 PM 1footinthegrave - 2011-11-19 4:25 AM According to some of you guys then, Feral dogs, maniac drivers, diabolical roads, lousy sites, prostitutes, mmmmm, must put Italy on my "must visit" list then. :-S Aah................so it was mention of prostitutes that swung it for ya.......... ;-) Absolutely, don't get much at home ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 1footinthegrave - 2011-11-19 8:23 PM BGD - 2011-11-19 6:30 PM 1footinthegrave - 2011-11-19 4:25 AM According to some of you guys then, Feral dogs, maniac drivers, diabolical roads, lousy sites, prostitutes, mmmmm, must put Italy on my "must visit" list then. :-S Aah................so it was mention of prostitutes that swung it for ya.......... ;-) Absolutely, don't get much at home ;-) ....but just think of the extravagance of paying for the chalet by the hour. :$ :$ ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Robinhood - 2011-11-19 9:00 PM 1footinthegrave - 2011-11-19 8:23 PM BGD - 2011-11-19 6:30 PM 1footinthegrave - 2011-11-19 4:25 AM According to some of you guys then, Feral dogs, maniac drivers, diabolical roads, lousy sites, prostitutes, mmmmm, must put Italy on my "must visit" list then. :-S Aah................so it was mention of prostitutes that swung it for ya.......... ;-) Absolutely, don't get much at home ;-) ....but just think of the extravagance of paying for the chalet by the hour. :$ :$ ;-) Is that how they charge? :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Brian Kirby - 2011-11-20 11:27 AM Robinhood - 2011-11-19 9:00 PM 1footinthegrave - 2011-11-19 8:23 PM BGD - 2011-11-19 6:30 PM 1footinthegrave - 2011-11-19 4:25 AM According to some of you guys then, Feral dogs, maniac drivers, diabolical roads, lousy sites, prostitutes, mmmmm, must put Italy on my "must visit" list then. :-S Aah................so it was mention of prostitutes that swung it for ya.......... ;-) Absolutely, don't get much at home ;-) ....but just think of the extravagance of paying for the chalet by the hour. :$ :$ ;-) Is that how they charge? :-D ....best ask Bob (Bojitoes)......he seems to know. :-| ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caddies104 Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Brian Kirby - 2011-11-20 11:27 AM Robinhood - 2011-11-19 9:00 PM 1footinthegrave - 2011-11-19 8:23 PM BGD - 2011-11-19 6:30 PM 1footinthegrave - 2011-11-19 4:25 AM According to some of you guys then, Feral dogs, maniac drivers, diabolical roads, lousy sites, prostitutes, mmmmm, must put Italy on my "must visit" list then. :-S Aah................so it was mention of prostitutes that swung it for ya.......... ;-) Absolutely, don't get much at home ;-) ....but just think of the extravagance of paying for the chalet by the hour. :$ :$ ;-) Is that how they charge? :-D WAS waiting for the next comment, ....................Hoping it was by the " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Caddies104 - 2011-11-20 12:01 PM Brian Kirby - 2011-11-20 11:27 AM Robinhood - 2011-11-19 9:00 PM 1footinthegrave - 2011-11-19 8:23 PM BGD - 2011-11-19 6:30 PM 1footinthegrave - 2011-11-19 4:25 AM According to some of you guys then, Feral dogs, maniac drivers, diabolical roads, lousy sites, prostitutes, mmmmm, must put Italy on my "must visit" list then. :-S Aah................so it was mention of prostitutes that swung it for ya.......... ;-) Absolutely, don't get much at home ;-) ....but just think of the extravagance of paying for the chalet by the hour. :$ :$ ;-) Is that how they charge? :-D WAS waiting for the next comment, ....................Hoping it was by the " .....which was why I was pointing out that by the hour would be an extravagance! 8-) :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Robinhood - 2011-11-20 12:05 PM Caddies104 - 2011-11-20 12:01 PM Brian Kirby - 2011-11-20 11:27 AM Robinhood - 2011-11-19 9:00 PM 1footinthegrave - 2011-11-19 8:23 PM BGD - 2011-11-19 6:30 PM 1footinthegrave - 2011-11-19 4:25 AM According to some of you guys then, Feral dogs, maniac drivers, diabolical roads, lousy sites, prostitutes, mmmmm, must put Italy on my "must visit" list then. :-S Aah................so it was mention of prostitutes that swung it for ya.......... ;-) Absolutely, don't get much at home ;-) ....but just think of the extravagance of paying for the chalet by the hour. :$ :$ ;-) Is that how they charge? :-D WAS waiting for the next comment, ....................Hoping it was by the " .....which was why I was pointing out that by the hour would be an extravagance! 8-) :-( What delicious ambiguity! :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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