Calabria Travel Forum

Hi

I'm having diffculty finding direct flights from UK to Lamezia in April and most of the properties I have found only open in May. It seems to me that the Calabria "season" starts in May, is this true? (sounds odd/unlikely to me, especically given other places in Italy are booking; Tuscany, Umbria etc)

I'm thinking of flying to Rome and driving down to Calabria, providing I can find a property that will let me book in April! Am I wasting my time? will the towns / restuarants etc be (mostly) shutdown waiting for May?

thanks
Robert

most beautiful place in italy. better getb there fast.

If you can't get a flight to Lamezia Terme, probably the second best option is to fly to Naples. Plenty of flights from the UK in every period of the time.
From Naples you can either go to Calabria by train or (it depends on where exactly are you headed to) by car, but please be aware that there are major works in progress along almost the whole track between Salerno and Reggio di Calabria, so that your drive will be quite stressful.
Regards
gmg

Thanks for your quick replies. I am wondering why the Calabria season does not start until May? Would it be too cold to go in the pool in April?

Definiteli it won't be too cold! Honestli I don't know why you can't find open structures; usually the season starts at Easter.
Where exactly would you like to go?
gmg

The season normally starts at Easter, and if you can't fly to Lamezia Terme try Reggio (Svincolo), or, rather than Rome, Naples: you would be a lot closer and if you haven't already been there you could stop at Paestum on the way down.
I don't know what sort of "properties" you are talking about that won't let you book for April, perhaps it is different for self-catering accommodation (which may rely on someone moving out for the tourist season, so it would make sense to only do so when things really warm up) but I just looked up one of my favourite places, La Casa di Gianna in Gerace, and although it still has last year's price list up (http://www.lacasadigianna.it/ing/paginahotel.htm) it seems to be open all year round. As for this Agriturismo near Catanzaro, it has special offers for Easter 2008 so it should certainly still be open in April: http://www.agriturismosantarosa.it/it/offerte_speciali_last_minute.php
Calabria has nothing like the numbers of tourists that go to Tuscany and Umbria so you can't compare with the season there. The towns don't depend on tourism although you could find that some attractions at beach resorts aren't open until the Italians think it's warm, which is a long time after we Northern Europeans do!

Flights from UK to Naples also only seem to start in May. Having never been to the area before I cant say where my ideal location would be but most propects seem to be around Tropea/Capo Vaticano. I'm looking for self catering with pool and I have found a place that is open in April but it costs extra for the pool maintenance, it sounds like they are not expecting anyone!
Allowing for the road reconstruction work, any guesses on how long to drive from Rome to Tropea?

thanks

Capo Vaticano is a nice location and Tropea a pretty town. If you want to drive there from Rome, allow 6 to 7 hours, depending on traffic.
Regards
gmg

You might try the following web sites: (1) www.ahotelinitaly.com, and (2) www.knowital.com. Gary

You don't have to guess that sort of thing, go to www.viamichelin.com, fill in - in the last box under departure and destination respectively - Rome and Tropea (then select the first option offered for each) and you will get a routemap, detailed driving directions, and a time of 08h16 including 07h06 on motorways.

We are flying to La Mezia from Stanstead on 16th April with Ryanair (single flight £25 inclusive of taxes). We live in Leeds but since we thought the flight quite cheap thought it was worth travelling to Stanstead by National Express. Hope this helps. Cheers Karen

I have a question re the road works from Salerno to Reggio which gmg mentions. Which road are they on, the E45 or A3? We will be driving from La Mezia to Tramutola, Basilicata on 16th April and I am wondering which would be the best route? Karen

To Karentids:

The works are along A£

Cheers

gmg

Sorry I meant A3