How to Get Around Molise

Molise has the thinnest transport network of any Italian region. A car is not optional.

Arriving

There is no airport. The practical entry points are Naples (about two hours to Campobasso), Rome (around three), Pescara or Bari. The Adriatic main line stops at Termoli, which is the easiest arrival by train and has connections north to Bologna and south to Puglia.

Trains

Inland rail is minimal. A slow line connects Termoli to Campobasso and on toward Isernia and Naples, and the Isernia-Sulmona line through the mountains is scenic but infrequent — it is partly operated as a heritage service, the Transiberiana d'Italia, which is worth taking as an excursion rather than as transport.

Buses

Regional coaches link the main towns and some villages, but services are built around school and work timetables, thin out severely at weekends, and often do not run at all in August.

Driving

• A car is required for essentially everything: Saepinum, Pietrabbondante, Agnone, the tratturi and the Alto Molise villages.
• Roads are generally quiet and in reasonable condition, but they wind — distances take far longer than the map suggests, and a 60 km drive can take ninety minutes.
• Mountain roads close in snow, and winter tyres or chains are required from November.
• Fuel stations are sparse inland and many close on Sundays; fill up in the towns.
• Satellite navigation is unreliable in the valleys — carry offline maps.

How easily, and at what cost, can you combine the region’s main destinations?

Cost compares the options for each route rather than quoting a fare: inexpensive means the price is not a factor in planning, moderate cost means a real line in the budget, and the expensive option is one worth weighing against the alternative. Fares change from year to year; the ranking between them does not.