How to find holiday accommodation accessible by public transport?

May 7, 2007 9:40 AM

Can you recommend any sites which list (or allow easy searches for) villas/cottages/apartments in Europe that are accessible without a car? I've found a couple for Italy here and here - any other suggestions?
posted by janecr to Travel & Transportation around Italy (3 answers total)

I think you might just need to decide where you want to go, and then hone in on that area and see which apartment etc is most convenient to public transport. Need for a car can vary widely. We've stayed at a B&B on Ponza, which is easily accessible from Naples (suburban train then cheap ferry) and the whole island is tiny and walkable, plus there's a bus on the only road. I think Ischia, which is nearby, would be similar. Same with the Amalfi Coast - it has a regular bus going on the only road there - and the Cinque Terra area north of Genoa (which looks amazing but unfortunately I haven't been there) doesn't have roads at all - I think there's some sort of train that takes you t o the various villages. If you Google for any of these areas you'll find tons of listings for what you're looking for, but I doubt any will specify how pedestrian-friendly they are...I mean, with time and will power you can get anywhere without a car, but walking and waiting for buses could seriously cut into your holiday so you could just do a bit of research into locations (Google Maps will also be helpful).
posted by Flashman at 12:29 PM on May 7, 2007

I should add to that 'vary widely' clause that my girlfriend and her sister rent out 2 houses in Maratea (through some local agency), on the coast south of Naples, that are way up a hill from the village, and the sea is even further, so a place like that you'd be pretty limited without a car...however, such places tend to be cheaper and with the savings you could rent a car and would end up being ahead. all around.
Plus of course, if you're looking to rent within a European city then a car would be entirely unnecessary.
posted by Flashman at 12:37 PM on May 7, 2007

Response by poster: Thanks, but this wasn't isn't really what I'm after - I want to choose where to go on basis of what's accessible by public transport rather than the other way round, so am looking for examples along the lines of the ones I've posted. It needs to be somewhere accessible by public transport, because I don't drive, so renting a car is not an option. Cities are easy, of course, so the challenge is somewhere that is out of the way but does have some sort of reasonably frequent way of getting about. Another examples from England - this site lets you search for places near to a train station.
posted by janecr at 2:45 PM on May 7, 2007