We arrived at Pescara on Ryanair and hired a car for the week. We used Hertz but there seemed no shortage of local deals. It's a 3 hour drive to Vieste. The A 14 toll road is good (7.20Euros) but the last 40 minutes is on twisty roads with hairpin bends which is not good for those without a head for heights!

Vieste is very much an Italian resort for Italians which suited us just fine. The only other nationals seemed to be German. We heard only 3 other English voices during our week long visit . English is not commonly spoken but the use of a phrase book works wonders. It's busy in July and more so in August.

We stayed at Hotel Mediterraneo which is central for the beach (5 minute walk) and 10 minutes stroll to the old town. We stayed a week and found the staff friendly and helpful (Pierre Paulo runs the restaurant and speaks pretty good English) the rooms are clean and the food excellent (with a small family we stayed half board).

They have a couple of pools (one for tots) and a variety of saunas which we only discovered on the last day. The hotel also has its own car park which we found useful. They have a deal with a private beach so their clients can use umbrellas / loungers free of charge.

The only minor downsides to the hotel is the proximity of a trampoline facility for kids which stays open all night and can be quite noisy. In common with many other hotels, they make an extra charge for air con. Why they can't include it in their room rate is beyond me!

The English (and Americans) don't seemed to have discovered this part of Italy yet. It's in the Gargano (spur of Italy) National Park and the northern end of Puglia.

Highlights of the visit included strolling around the old town, the food (there's no shortage of places to eat) a boat tour of the caves, and visits to nearby towns including San Giovanni Rotondo (where Padre Pio was based) and Monte Saint Angelo where St Michael once appeared and where there's an underground church. Once again, if you don't like twisty roads with, apparently , only inches between you and oblivion this may not be for you! Also, check out the fruit and veg market across the road from the hotel where they sell a million and one jars of food preserved in olive oil.