Italy, Calabria or Tuscany, advice, suggestions, recommendations

[JesusMaryAndJosephAndTheWeeDon]

We love Italy, and have visited various areas before, including most of the big cities. Two adults, looking for some sightseeing and scenery in the sunshine. A beach is a bonus but not essential.

We are currently a bit torn about where to go and whether to book a package or put something together ourselves. Planning to go before the end of July so a bit short notice.

We have been to parts of Tuscany before and loved it, so one option is to go back and do the bits we didn't get to. So that would mainly be south of Siena. The alternative we are considering is Calabria, where we have never been. We loved Puglia and it makes sense to explore Calbria too.

Wherever we go we will hire a car and explore the area. We are open to staying in multiple locations but in recent years have found packages cheaper.

Any good travel companies or websites for Italy? Particularly ones good for something a bit non-standard, like a two centre?

Any nice towns/villages to stay in Calabria? Should we make sure we are in a hotel with a decent restaurant and bar or will we find it easy to find bars and restaurants locally? (not overly fussy, but our Italian is limited).

Any really lovely agritourismo? We stayed in a couple of good ones on a previous trip and would consider again.

Any places not to miss?

What is the beach situation? Are they largely private?

Other recommendations or suggestions?

How has the cost of living affected prices in Italy? Is it going to be even more expensive than this time last year?

Tropea and Scilla are the places to go in Calabria. The beach at Tropea was one of our favourites in the whole of Italy. It's free to access and spotlessly clean. The water was clear and the temperature was perfect for swimming in September when we visited. From Tropea we also visited Capo Vaticano which was heavenly and so unspoilt.

Thanks, I have certainly seen some package holidays to capo vaticano so I will have another look at those.

I'll look at Tropea too.

How did you find travel to the rest of the region from Tropea with it being out on a bit of a peninsula?

What type of place did you stay?

How did you find eating out? Nearly every package holiday is half/full board so I am wondering whether there is a reason.

We stayed at Hotel Rocca Della Sena which was less than a 10 minute walk from the main city centre where there were loads of nice little eateries.
The nearest airport to Tropea is Lamezia Terme, which is around a 50 minute drive away. Unlike the drive from Naples to Positano where you drive mainly along the stunning coastline, the drive to Tropea from Lamezia is pretty dull. I was beginning to have doubts about how pretty Tropea would be but once we turned off the main road and descended into the town, I needn’t have worried! The main street was filled with little independent shops, cafes and restaurants and the buildings are old and historic.
Like I said, we drive out to Capo Vaticano (around a 15 minute drive) and also Ricardi where we discovered a wonderful little restaurant right on the beach.

Thank you, I think we are going to go for Calabria. It looks as though it will probably be worth booking half board as there are no packages that are B&B and the flights are limited so a package works out better.

Next questions will all be about itinerary and places to go.

Looks as though you could have a lazy week around the Tropea area but we'll have some trips further out.

What about Le Marche? I’m cosidering going next year, maybe September. It’s in central-eastern Italy with a coastline on the Adriatic. The main city is Ancona. Inland there are marvellous hill towns, and cities like Urbino. A few days exploring inland, then a few days by the sea, eg at the Conero Riveira. By all accounts it’s as lovely, as but not as busy, as Tuscany and Umbria. It seems very doable independently, and agritourismos seem like a good way to go. Of course it will be hot, but not as hot perhaps as Calabria or Puglia. And the coast will be vey busy.

Not what you requested but worth considering - there's an ex Mark Warner beach club being ran as a TUI Magic Life all inclusive in Calabria not far from Lamezia Terme. There's an adults only part of it with kid free pool and restaurant set a reasonable distance from the rest. The accommodation is nice, it's on a huge sweeping beach with access through a forest, and the food was pretty good for a European AI.
I did loads of exploring and day trips including to Tropea by train and you can hop over to Sicily too. Can't remember the name of the nearest town but it was really pretty with a castle and views over a distant Etna. Really enjoyed it and would potentially return.

We've done a bit of the southern end of Le Marche and would like to explore a bit more. One for the future.

We stayed over the border in Norcia and visited Monte Sibillini, Castelluccio and Ascoli Piceno. It was gorgeous and we plan to return and explore more.

tropea sounds great . we had a wonderful holiday in the Cilento region a few years ago.
re Tropea i'd like to go but fir a long weekend. are ryanair the only airline who fly there?
looks like they only fly twice a week?

Ryan air or TUI, very limited flights unfortunately

We have looked at that, and it is on our shortlist but the reviews are less than stellar and I think it might be a bit too much of a traditional AI kind of place for us. We don't really want to be on a massive hotel complex with activities and stuff.

Ideally we would just do B&B but most places seem to be half board.

Couple of other options worth considering if you haven’t already done so (although options might be limited this late as you’ll have more options at better price points the earlier you book!) are Amalfi Coast or Cinqueterre. Would recommend staying in Atrani on AmalfI Coast as is less busy but still well located for travel. Can hire car for travel (if you’re not too nervous a driver) but also great public transport via bus or boat in summer. Cinqueterre is easy transport via boat or train via the five towns. Both options have gorgeous scenery, amazing restaurants, access to beaches. Both can be done on a super luxurious scale or a cheaper budget (but again to get cheaper options might need to start looking earlier than now).
If beach is not essential, Umbria might be an option - v similar to Tuscany but cheaper options.

We did Cinqueterre last year while staying in Tuscany. Very beautiful but so so very crowded that it would put me off going back. Otherwise I might have considered exploring the area more.

We've also done part of the Amalfi coast but it is on the list to visit again and see more as we were staying in Sorrento.

Umbria is a good shout, we did part of the southern end a few years ago, Spoleto and Norcia and would visit again and see more of the area. Or possibly we would combine the northern bit of Umbria with the southern part of Tuscany.

I think we could carry on exploring Italy forever! We should probably focus on smaller areas and do them more thoroughly since we seem to go back so often!🤣

Out of interest when do you reckon is cheapest? We normally wait until late for savings, and have had some absolute bargains in the past but I accept the sweet spot may have changed.