Italy remains the top choice for European holidays, with Rome topping many dream holiday lists. However, the Italian countryside can be more beautiful than the big cities, and what better way to get out and about than on a classic Italian road trip?
With summer just around the corner, we found a recent study of Instagram hashtags that we used to identify the 16 most Instagrammable road trips in Italy. After all, if you're on your dream vacation and taking dreamy photos, it won't count unless you post them on social media… haha!
16- Molise road trip for three days
Molise is the second smallest region in Italy, with stunning ancient towns and beautiful beaches on the Adriatic Sea. Despite all this beauty, the route only has an average of 226,672 posts per stop, which is just under 30 times fewer than the most popular ride. The terrain in Molise is rugged, with small, winding roads. Maybe people are too busy paying attention to the road to take pictures.
15 – Five days from Ancona to Ascoli Piceno
The five-day trip from Ancona to Ascoli Piceno takes you via Le Marche along the Adriatic coast. The color palette of green and yellow will remind you of its neighbor Tuscany. That's why people call Le Marche the undiscovered Tuscany. Its relative isolation is why there are only 234,631 posts on average per stop.
14 – Four days from Ortisei to Cortina d'Ampezzo
Our next excursion takes you deep into the heart of the Dolomites. It's a large area that could take weeks to explore, but you can see its highlights in just four days. You'll discover many Instaworthy mountain peaks and high mountain lakes, but none more beautiful than Tre Cime di Lavaredo or Lago di Braies. Despite all the rugged beauty, this area averages just 237,944 entries per stop.
13- Turin loop for seven days
This delicious route takes you from Turin, the center of Italian chocolate production, to the heights of the Italian Alps and the beautiful Aosta Valley. You'll want to snap a photo of the cool fortress rising high above the aqua-blue Dora Baltea River and the historic city of Turin. Perhaps it is the famous views of Mount Blanc and Matterhorn that inspired Instagram users to post 656,489 photos along this route, more than twice the number of Dolomites.
12- Ten days in eastern Sicily
If Italy is a precursor, it is pushing Sicily into the Mediterranean. It is a land of sunny beauty and ancient history. Instagram is blowing up with photos of Sicilian Caltagirone's stairs and the ancient seaside city of Taormina. On the topic of eruption, Mount Etna is still an active volcano, having seen several eruptions over the past 20 years. You'll often see it on fire in the background of photos. No wonder the average number of posts in this region is 904,975 posts.
11- Ten days in western Sicily
This may be a coincidence, but the following entry is also in Sicily. In honor of Corleone, I'll make you an offer he can't refuse. Come and visit Western Sicily. During the summer, the sunny beaches of San Vito lo Capo and San Leone are packed with visitors. If you want pure medieval experience, you should visit the village of Eres. It's our first region to top with over a million posts, 1,299,660 to be exact.
10- Three-day tour in Bologna Apennine
Maybe I'm complicating my writing, but Apennine hashtags are not Poland. They bring home the bacon with the architectural appeal of Rocchetta Mattei, Vignola Castle and the 13th-century village of Borgo La Scola. After all, 1,461,644 posts couldn't be wrong.
9- Naples and southern Italy in 15 days
This trip includes four regions: Campania, Basilicata, Puglia and Calabria, beloved for their natural beauty and culinary excellence. The Amalfi Coast could be the highlight of the entire trip, with the towns of Positano, Amalfi, Atrani and Ravello clinging precariously to the mountain. The whole journey is amazing, with over 1,538,231 on the 'gram.
8- Polya ring for a week
In Puglia, you'll explore the “heel of the Italian boot” and see beautiful coastal towns along the way. Capital Bari is a lively port and university town full of photographic opportunities. Lecce is known as the “Florence of the South” for its Baroque architecture, but without all the crowding. Alberobello and the Itria Valley are famous for their “trulli” stone huts with distinctive conical roofs. Hundreds of kilometers of the Mediterranean coast average 1,626,603 jobs.
7- Sardinia in a week
Sardinia, the second largest island in the Mediterranean, is an ideal place for a road trip. In every direction you go, you will find beautiful beaches and coves. Beaches, beaches and stunning sunsets account for a total of 1,765,556 entries in the area.
6 – Tuscany tour
Known as the birthplace of the Renaissance, Tuscany is home to many famous sites, such as the Leaning Tower of Pisa, San Gimignano, and central Florence. You'll want to spend a day or two exploring Florence's history (and food), but there's too much to see to stay in the city. Your road trip will take you through stunning countryside and charming villages. 2,982,932 entries were registered for this region, almost double the previous number for Sardinia.
5 – Lake Road Trip in Northern Italy
This region barely beats Tuscany, with 2,991,062 entries, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Lake Garda is the largest in the country, with many famous photo ops and more hidden sights. The beautiful colors of Lake Tenno make it a must-see for nature lovers, and the luxury lakefront villas at Lake Como make every scene look like a postcard.
4 – Northwestern Italy: Lombardy, Liguria, Piedmont
This track is our first entry into the 3 million post club, with 3,068,671 entries. This area is known for its Cinque Terre villages, but since it is primarily a walking route, you are better off exploring Milan, Genoa, Turin and the outlying towns by car. You'll see beautiful sites like Visconti Castle, San Lorenzo Cathedral, and the Sanctuary of Europe and take enough photos to make all your friends jealous.
3 – 10 days from Naples to Palermo
In many ways, this is the 'best' of 'Sardinia in a week' and 'Naples and Southern Italy'. Since you're only hitting the highlights, this makes for a data-rich target for the 'Gram. In fact, it has 3,252,421 entries, which is almost exactly the number of the other two flights combined. This makes me wonder if we've found a hole in the matrix, but who am I to question the data?
2 – Northern Italy: Veneto and Trentino regions
Star-crossed road trip lovers can start this loop in Verona, but there's so much to explore that they can't stay there long. This episode has 5,230,054 posts due to the diversity of scenery and locations in Veneto and Trentino. You will see the natural beauty of the Dolomites, Lake Garda and the architectural masterpiece of Florence.
1 – Rome to Florence (5 days)
All roads, and therefore road trips, lead to Rome. This ancient city dating back to the Roman Empire is full of wonders worth pinning. But one has to wonder if the 6,787,677 entries are because this trip combined two of Italy's most popular destinations into one trip.
Anyway, if you would like a link to the data, you can find it at: Amalfi Coast Tours – the most popular Italian road trips on Instagram – data.xlsx
In addition, we would like to thank amalfi-coast-tours.com for compiling this data and allowing us to take a photo tour of Italy.
Hello! We are Jane and Ed Coleman also known as Coleman Concierge. In short, we are a 10th generation couple from Huntsville sharing our stories of amazing adventures through transformative and experiential activity-based travel.
