This was my first time in Italy. There is a lot to see and traveling in the winter worked out well. Tourists and crowds were few in this tourist magnet. I travel intensively and with a vehicle, I see a lot and spend relatively little money.
Jan 13-31. I initially travelled by bus and stopped in Genoa and Sienna on my way to Rome where I spent a week in a BnB. Then I spent 5 days in Florence in another BnB.
I then flew to Germany, picked up my factory order Volkswagen California and drove it to Sicily only seeing Bolzano and Paestum on the way.
February 17-March 4. Sicily was easily the most enjoyable part of Italy. Spending 2 weeks in a hotel in Palermo was a real taste of luxury for me. Palermo was the centre of the Arab-Norman world in the mid-1300s. The eleven sites part of the Unesco World Heritage site were a real highlight. The Byzantine mosaics in several churches were astounding.
With the camper, I made 3 trips outside of Palermo: over three days, I saw the west end and most of the Mediterranean coast. Villa Romana was the highlight of this portion of my adventure. On my last day, I visited Cephalu and the Aeolian Islands climbing Vulcano, a wonderful easy day hike.
March 4 – 16. From Sicily, I drove from the toe of the boot, across the instep and spent a few days in the heel. Then I drove up the east coast as far north as Verona. Ravenna had more Byzantine mosaics in 6 churches. One never gets tired of these.
Then I went across Emilia Romagna, the Lakes and made Turin my last stop.
Having a camper van had many advantages. Accommodation cost me nothing as I sleuth camped most often in McDonald’s lots. They were the only source of wifi for the entire driving part of this time. Having access to a bathroom and a coffee in the morning was welcome. Besides coffee, I rarely ate there but had many 1€ milkshakes.
My major difficulty was obtaining showers. Most campgrounds and many hostels were closed and the only easy place for a shower was in truck stops, but few had showers.
I ate breakfast and lunch in the van every day but usually had dinner in a restaurant.
Italian drivers are impatient, drive too fast and have some awful driving habits. Using phones and tailgating were the two I found most irritating. Travelling on the large autostradas was intimidating with the speeders in the left lane. One always has to keep your eye on your rearview mirror.
I found Italian food not as good as expected. I have had better pizza in many other parts of the world. Most other restaurant food is relatively expensive. I am not a foodie and it plays little role in my travel other than simple sustenance. Finding good, inexpensive restaurants was difficult. If I had a € for every pastry shop and bar, I would be a billionaire. Italians love sweets but I find them too sweet to my taste. I missed large coffees, as basically, all that is available here is one-shot espressos.
Food purchased from stores was quite cheap (except bananas).
I am actively involved in using Nomad Mania to guide what I see. It’s lists don’t miss much. But it has many museums and I have become museumed-out. They also were a major cost. It is unbelievable how many Madonna and Bambino pictures I have seen, conservatively in the thousands. I didn’t miss any Unesco World Heritage sites on the route I took.
A major disadvantage of staying in a hotel, travelling alone and sleeping in a camper, is that I have almost no interactions with other travellers like you do when staying in hostels. I miss that aspect of travel.
The weather was no problem. I am well equipped for winter temperatures. Initially, it was close to below zero most mornings. I drove through a major thunder and lightning storm in Sicily which was quite the experience. The hail was so thick, that snow tires would have been useful. A major blizzard in late February affected everywhere north of Naples but Sicily was very tolerable.
