Logistics of visiting Castelfidardo

It is relatively easy to get to Castelfidardo by plane: you fly into Ancona airport and take a bus from the airport right into the center of Castelfidardo. If you want to "get around town", especially going from the center to the industrial area where the larger factories are (and the major accordion parts store Carini) and if you want to visit more things in the area then a (rental) car is a better idea than taking the bus from the airport (and essentially being stuck in the town until you go back home, or traveling around by bus).
I have no experience with this way of travel. I just drove from home to Castelfidardo by car. For me it's "only" 1.500km each way...
In Castelfidardo there is one hotel: Hotel Parco, which is where the Crucianelli factory used to be until it burned down in the early seventies. There are several B&B's in or near the center, and more hotels and B&B's around as well.

Just don't use Italian taxis....crazy prices ...

About a month ago @saundersbp and I went

We flew to Ancona airport and got a ride to Loreto from our booking.com host. This is where we stayed, reasonably priced when you split the cost between two people and is a short walk away from the basilica and shops. For €50 the host waited for us at the airport, gave us a tour of the area and dropped us off at our accommodation with a couple of recommendations on where to eat. You could self cater if you like, the apartment had everything you'd need.

As for getting around the area, the buses are unreliable - or rather the information about them is. We had a printout of bus times from the tourist information centre, google maps, and the digital timetable at the bus stop. All 3 said different things, and when a bus turned up at what seemed to be the right time (according to the digital bus stop) the driver said no no, the one you want is in a few minutes - which wasn't on any of the info we had. But sure enough in a few minutes our bus arrived.

You have to buy the bus tickets in advance from local newsagents/bars, not a big problem but just something to be aware of.

Most of the factories are not in Castelfidardo. There are a handful of showrooms in the town centre, but most are in the general area between Loreto and Castelfidardo. We tried walking to the Bugari factory from the closest bus stop but it was too dangerous of a road. High speed traffic with no pavement to walk on, which seemed to be the norm once you got out of any of the town centres! Luckily for me the factories were rolling the red carpet out for Ben and collected us in their car, but I don't think they would've normally done that.

If I were to go again without the benefit of of the exceptional hospitality from the factories and accommodation hosts I would definitely just rent a car and save some headache. The issue then becomes finding places to park.

I would highly recommend staying in Loreto rather than Castelfidardo. It's bigger, has more shops, places to eat, things to see, etc.

P.S. the food is fantastic!

oh we learned quickly, about parkng not just in Italy but
western Europe in general

if you see a parking spot
TAKE IT
and just tourist whatever is nearby

then drive until you see another parking spot and
TAKE IT
doesn't matter really where it is, everywhere over there is fun

I should also add that if you are wanting to visit a particular factory to arrange it well in advance. We'd arranged to visit 2 factories beforehand and got to see them both. When we tried visiting a third factory on a whim it didn't work out. They're all very busy so I wouldn't expect to be able to visit unless they've agreed in advance and are expecting you!

petch said:

I would highly recommend staying in Loreto rather than Castelfidardo. It's bigger, has more shops, places to eat, things to see, etc.

P.S. the food is fantastic!

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@petch completely agreed, we had an amazing time away and staying in Loreto rather than Castelfidardo is a must unless you like ghost towns. We only got away with public transport occasionally because the factories were so kind driving us around, feeding us amazingly and also looking after our accordions. If I was going just for a look around or looking to buy an accordion for myself I'd drive and also don't assume you can visit without prior arrangement. The factories are places of work rather than entertainment!

I haven't been to Castelfi (although I'd like to). I've been to Italy several times though, and definetly agree with renting a car for your journey.

saundersbp said:

completely agreed, we had an amazing time away and staying in Loreto rather than Castelfidardo is a must unless you like ghost towns. We only got away with public transport occasionally because the factories were so kind driving us around, feeding us amazingly and also looking after our accordions. If I was going just for a look around or looking to buy an accordion for myself I'd drive and also don't assume you can visit without prior arrangement. The factories are places of work rather than entertainment!

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You know that I am taking notes! 2024 is the year of Castelfidardo for me, at least that is the decision I made.

Ed also shared something important with me this morning during a talk... were you aware that international drivers licenses are mandatory for all non-Italians if you wish to drive there and not receive a nasty fine? I'll be sure to make the proper applications and toss the proper amounts of money at the right people to avoid that, since I would definitely be renting a car (a very SMALL one!).

So @saundersbp, you reached out to the individual factories and announced that you would be there during specific dates? Did you email the companies or how was that arrangement made?

JerryPH said:

...

Ed also shared something important with me this morning during a talk... were you aware that international drivers licenses are mandatory for all non-Italians if you wish to drive there and not receive a nasty fine? ...

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That's only for non-Europeans. When you have an EU license you don't need an international driving license.

in the USA, AAA auto club services will take careof you with
an international liscence (well,they used to.. been awhile)

Siegmund said:

Thanks for replies!

I had not considered flying to Ancona. (From a cost perspective it looks several hundred dollars cheaper to fly to Rome or Milan and then switch to car or train -- and if I am going to go to Italy I really ought to see some of the rest of the country too.) Part of why I was inquiring about the city buses was in anticipation of parking being very difficult -- I wouldn't mind a lot of walking, but no paths is certainly a minus.

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Ancona is mostly served by low-cost airlines. When flying from far away (like USA) you should then look for airports to fly to that then connect to Ancona. Think of London Gatwick or Stansted, or Munich.
Here is the destination map of Ancona.
But when you rent a car anyway then flying to another Italian airport and starting the journey by car from there is of course also an option.

I'm just back from Turin and must say was very impressed buying a 10euro 72hr public transport pass excellent... just used Google maps (public transport icon) and it walked me to bus stop, told me how long the bus would be and when to get on and told you stop before destination when to get off.... really surprised how seamlessly it worked...

depends on how many weeks you can spend in Italy of course,
but flying into Roma and hanging out for a few days is immense

local train from the airport into town.. relatively inexpensive Hotels
near the Trevi Fountain.. train back to the Airport.. pick up your rental car..

the Highway across the middle of Italy is a great drive.. fast and direct..
halfway across look to the hills for amazing local quisine not found
anywhere else.. when you get to the Adriatic you will head up the coast
for a bit.. it is all lovely and worth seeing

Hotel Parco has parking space for you, and so when you need to drive you can,
and when they come to pick you up for a factory visit, you leave it parked

for example, Luciano's place is easy to find (Serenellini) with parking space for you,
then continue up the hill to Loreto and see the sights

it helps if you have an accordion around and play it a lot, because they
make accordions there, but not nearly enough musicians who can play the
hell out of one, so play your butt off every chance you get and doors will open..

whenever they hung an accordion on me in a Factory showroom, i always strolled
around the room then OUT THE DOOR onto the Factory floor and let me tell
you the workers love it when you treat THEM special for a minute..

Music is the universal language, after all

buy a nice leather Money Belt and fill it with crisp $100 bills so you are
ready to snatch that perfect accordion if you find it