Some people worry about cost if using B&Bs. The people I met in lodgings were welcoming and enthusiastic.īoth of those routes I mention have been developed just in the past few years. I had no real contact with the organisers on this second leg, but this was really because it was November and very much off season. But again the organisation have linked up with local accommodation and restaurants to offer discounts, notably at the Terminus Hotel in Santa Maria. It was very much off season when I walked and many places were closed. It diverts a little from the 'official' VF del Sud, and there are different options. This was a smaller enterprise but lots of information from the organisers. I continued from Brindisi to Santa Maria di Leuca and at Lecce I connected with the Cammino del Salento which is just from Lecce to finibus terrae. It is a rather different model from the traditional Camino/Via Francigena, but very complementary I thought. It is nice to see people with a passion for their local environment. Most of the stopovers have a local contact person/responsabile who will be happy to be contacted for advice or often to meet for a coffee. If you book with 'a well known online site' it will cost significantly more. But the organisation has negotiated very generous discounts with the B&Bs on listed in their information (all online) if you book directly - a Whatsapp call usually suffices - and you can pay when you get there. On my stretch there were just three ostello-type accommodation options and the remainder was B&B. Last year I walked from Matera to Brindisi on the Cammino Materano developed and promoted by very enthusiastic local volunteers. It seems to be a trend in Italy perhaps - to develop smaller local 'pilgrim-style' walking routes? I haven't had time to read the website in detail yet, as I am travelling. Click to expand.This looks very interesting.

Il camino