Holiday in Calabria

About Calabria

Calabria is the toe of the Italian boot and one of the last great secrets of the Mediterranean. While tourists crowd the Amalfi Coast and Sicily, Calabria offers endless beaches, authentic villages, and a cuisine that is among the spiciest and most honest in Italy – largely free from mass tourism. The region is surrounded by two seas: the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west and the Ionian Sea to the east, boasting over 800 kilometers of coastline. The absolute gem is Tropea – a picture-perfect town perched on a cliff above a white sandy beach. The Church of Santa Maria dell'Isola on its rock in the turquoise sea is one of the most photographed sights in Southern Italy. Capo Vaticano, a few kilometers to the south, delights with dramatic granite cliffs, hidden coves, and water that takes on a Caribbean blue. Along the Ionian coast stretches the kilometer-long sandy beach of Soverato, a paradise for families. In the interior, the Aspromonte National Park rises with its wild gorges, waterfalls, and mountain villages where time seems to stand still. The Sila plateau offers cool forests in summer and even ski areas in winter. Cosenza, the secret cultural capital, surprises with a vibrant old town and the spectacular open-air museum MAB. German travelers can reach Calabria via the airports of Lamezia Terme or Reggio Calabria, which are directly served from several German cities. The flight time is about two and a half hours. A rental car is almost indispensable in Calabria, as the most beautiful places are off the main roads. Prices are sensationally cheap by Italian standards – a dinner with fresh seafood, wine, and a sea view often costs under €25 per person.