The island of Santorini is a popular destination on any itinerary to Greece.
Santorini’s dramatic cliffs, spectacular caldera, and charming towns of Fira and Oia make it one of the most beautiful islands in Greece. The sunsets are legendary.
This is a fantastic itinerary for a two-month, self-drive trip – primarily through Spain and Portugal – plus a quick visit to some very beautiful regions in southern France, Germany and Switzerland.
While we travelled fairly quickly, the itinerary can be tailored to be longer or shorter, depending upon the time available.
Itinerary:
Munich – Geneva – Lyon – Dordogne region – Bayonne – Bordeaux – San Sebastian – Bilbao – Leon – Salamanca – Duoro Valley – Porto – Coimbra – Obidos – Lisbon – Sintra – Evora – Vila Nova de Milfontes & West Coast Portugal – Algarve – Seville – Ronda – Granada – Cordoba – Madrid – Toledo – Segovia – Montpellier – Aix en Provence – Sainte Maxime – Saint Tropez – St Paul de Vence – Lake Maggiore – Interlaken – Neuschwanstein Castle – the Romantic Road (Fussen to Wurzburg) – Rhine River (Wurzburg to Koblenz) – Strasbourg – Alsace Wine Route – Colmar – Geneva
Villa Antica Macina B&B is located in Nocelle, a UNESCO World Heritage listed village high above Positano, on the Amalfi Coast of Italy.
We found it a hair-raising bus ride up the steep, winding road to Nocelle – where you feel as though you are on top of the world and the views are spectacular. It’s worth the drive.
On arrival at Eliser B&B we had a warm welcome from Elisabetta who gave us a map plus recommendations on what to see and do. Her B&B is very well located in beautiful Anacapri – close to shops, restaurants, sights and with easy access to buses and taxis.
The entrance to the B&B is through a gate off Via Caprile, a short walk from Piazza Vittoria the main square in Anacapri. There is a flight of steps up to the B&B (no lift).
Aretusa Vacanze has an excellent location in Ortygia, the beautiful old town of Syracuse.
Finding some of our accommodation in Sicily has proved to be quite a challenge, however we have very clear instructions from Aretusa Vacanze B&B as to what to enter into our GPS, where to park and who to phone on arrival to help with the luggage. All goes to clockwork and when we phone, Michael meets us to help us take the luggage to the accommodation – about 100 metres away in a small pedestrian street.
Bella Giulia is located in Ragusa Superiore – the newer part of town and, for a change, it is easy to find our accommodation. We are able to park in the tiny street right outside, knock on the door and our host is there.
Our accommodation is in a small building opposite our host’s home. We have a first floor apartment – it is perfect for our needs. We are a group of five and have three modern apartments between us – each apartment is very similar but with different style kitchens and on a different level.
The town of Agrigento is a popular place to stay for travellers visiting the Valley of the Temples. We chose to stay at La Terrazza di Carolina – a lovely small hotel located in Cortile Modica I, just Via Atenea.
Many of the small streets in the old section of Sicilian towns are for pedestrians only however the day we arrived we could park on the street just opposite the B&B. Carolina helped us carry our luggage up the small flight of stairs into the B&B and into the spacious reception area.
On a trip around Sicily, the charming town of Sciacca was an overnight stop on our travels – it is well placed between Selinunte and Agrigento. Arriving in Sciacca around 6.30pm on a Saturday night, there was a lot of traffic in Piazza Saverio Friscia and we could not access the street where B&B Porta Bagni was located as it was closed to vehicle traffic at that time.
We phoned our host, Guiseppe, who kindly came to meet us.
La Nicchia is a small bed and breakfast located on Via Mondello, a short walk to Via Savoia, the main street of San Vito lo Capo, and about 5 minutes walk from the beach.
On arrival we phoned the number given on the door and a charming lady called Paolo was there to greet us in moments. Paolo did not speak English however we used Google translate to communicate! Paolo gave us a map and recommended a few restaurants nearby.
What a wonderful find La Finestra sul Massimo was!
The location was ideal – on Piazza Verdi – literally behind the Teatro Massimo – Palermo’s Opera House.
From Piazza Verdi you can walk to many places of interest in Palermo – between the new and the old town.
