Frequently asked questions
For a round trip, I recommend the low season. In spring, from March to the end of June, you can experience a sea of colour in Calabria, go hiking in the 3 national parks, snow hikes are also possible and of course long walks on the beach. Autumn from September to November is also a wonderful time to visit. I particularly like the large selection of local culinary specialities – did you know that Calabria also has truffles? In September and October the light is beautiful and the sea is still warm.
But even in the high season in summer, you can go on a round trip if you know where the best places are and how to find the most beautiful spots away from the crowds. Because: Don’t worry, even in August there are beaches in Calabria that are not overcrowded! I know where!
You can also have a wonderful holiday in Calabria in the off-season, from November to March. The main focus here is on socialising with the locals. The Calabrians are incredibly hospitable. The landscape is marvellous and there are also warm days when you can enjoy a quick dip in the sea. The restaurants that are now open are the real locals’ restaurants! Lots of festivals around Christmas, New Year and Carnival! You can go snow hiking in the national parks and even skiing in Calabria! Or simply enjoy a break in the peace and quiet!
Your round trip should have as many stops as you wish. Of course, the more different locations you choose, the more of Calabria you will see. But even with just one change of location, you can see and experience a lot! Under no circumstances should you travel to a different location every day, it’s too exhausting and also a shame because you won’t see enough in each place!
If you are unsure about this, then my recommendation is that we find out together in our personal consultation how many stops your individual round trip should have. I have many years of experience in this area and of course I also regularly travel through Calabria myself.
I create your individual trip according to your wishes and advise you personally. There are no prefabricated round trips, but after our discussion I will select the right ones for you from my portfolio of hand-picked accommodation, which has grown over many years. This is how your tailor-made round trip is created. I will take into account and advise you on where it is most beautiful at the time of year you are travelling, where you can do what is important to you on your holiday in Calabria, how many stops you would like to make and how far apart they are. In addition to your personalised itinerary, you will also receive a detailed pdf for each location with insider tips for excursions, restaurants, hikes and much more. Of course, I am also your contact person at any time during your trip and if something unexpectedly doesn’t work out so well, you will get support from me!
You can book individual round trips, group tours and individual accommodation in Calabria. Do you have a special enquiry? An event, a wedding or a trip for a specific target group? I create individual offers for (almost) every enquiry!
The cancellation conditions for booking individual holiday accommodations may vary. As a general rule, approximately 20% to 30% of the total price of the accommodation will be paid to me in the case of a cancellation. You will receive an invoice from me for this. The amount of my invoice cannot be cancelled. This corresponds to the work I have already done in advising you, selecting the available accommodation and arranging it.
I will inform you of the booking modalities (deposit) and cancellation modalities of the respective accommodation before the booking and these are also noted again on the invoice.
Yes! I don’t have any ready-made holidays in the drawer! Your trip will be customised according to your wishes and interests. The better I understand what you want, the more I can realise this in your trip.
The price of a individual round trip depends on a number of factors and can therefore vary.
The price is determined by the standard of accommodation you require, the period or season in which you are travelling (high season vs. low season) and also how many stops and activities you would like.
Individual round trips start from approx. 180.00 euros in a double room with breakfast per night.
The following services are included in this price:
- Detailed telephone consultation: Understanding your wishes for your individual round trip, options for accommodation and holiday experiences in Calabria
- Creation of your personalised round trip
- Stylish accommodation personally selected and tested by me. Clean, small, family-run b&b, agriturismi, boutique hotels or similar. On request also selected 4* star hotels (if small and approved by me, then of course a surcharge)
- Your trip created as a pdf with texts, photos and exact price.
- If desired: further telephone call to discuss the trip
- I will organise the trip for you. All accommodation is booked and paid through me.
- After booking: PDFs with tips for each location of your trip, PDF with all addresses and contact details
- Availability by phone before and during your trip
There is sometimes a more favourable price for stays of one month or longer. However, energy prices in Italy have risen so much in recent years that it is no longer necessarily cheaper, especially in winter.
I couldn’t do my job as a travel agent without my local partners. I only work with local guides, have tested many of them myself and know them personally. Calabria has changed significantly in the last 10 years. There is a young, incredibly committed and highly professional generation that has set itself the goal of offering authentic, sustainable tourism in Calabria. They work with heart, passion and great hospitality! Make your trip unforgettable and see Calabria alongside local guides! You will experience a whole new view of Calabria!
I am happy to be your contact person before and during your booked trip. Of course also in case of emergencies or unexpected problems. The best way to reach me is via whatsapp on my Italian number. If it really is an emergency, please call me by phone because my whatsapp is on silent.
I have an extensive network of great local partners in Calabria who are also there for you if there is a problem. You can also contact me in the case of unexpected illness, car breakdowns or similar.
I can also support you spontaneously if you are travelling. You will receive a lot of information from me when you book with tips for excursions, restaurants etc, but if you contact me from your holiday, I will be happy to hear from you. Sometimes I spontaneously come up with an addition! Every trip I plan for you in Calabria is always a bit like driving through my favourite region myself!
Calabria is a large region with around 15 km² and almost 800 km of coastline. In recent years, the Tyrrhenian coast near Tropea, Pizzo, Capo Vaticano, Scilla and in the north Diamante, has developed considerably in terms of tourism.
On the Ionian coast, tourism still takes place almost exclusively in the two summer months of July and August. So there are still many regions, both on the coast and in the country itself, which are considered insider tips.
Calabria has for example 3 exciting and very different national parks, which I definitely recommend visiting. There are also numerous small mountain villages, often just an 15 minute drive from the sea, where you can immerse yourself in authentic Calabria.
I travel through Calabria for several weeks every year and always discover new insider tips. I look forward to recommending them to you for your trip!
Once you have contacted me, I will get back to you as soon as possible. Usually within 24 hours. We will then make an appointment for a telephone call. I would like to have a telephone conversation with you because this gives me a better feel for who is travelling and what your wishes are. During this phone call, I will also explain my approach, the general conditions (e.g. approximate price structure, type and selection of accommodation, payment method and cancellation conditions) and the accommodation and activity options I can offer you.
If the general conditions are right for you, I will create a customised round trip for you, which I will send to you without obligation. You will receive a pdf with a description of the itinerary, your accommodation and information on the respective areas, as well as the price of your trip.
If you like the tour, then book it. If you have any minor requests for changes, I can also implement them. For the binding booking you will receive an invoice from me for the total tour price. A deposit of 30% of the total tour price is required. This deposit cannot be cancelled. It corresponds to the work I have already done, as well as down payments to the accommodation. The balance is due one month before the start of the trip. The cancellation modalities are noted in my offer, as they may vary depending on the accommodation and the season.
Once I have received your deposit, I will send you all the contact details for the individual accommodations. You will also receive a pdf for each location with tips for excursions, restaurants and places of interest.
You pay for the accommodation and partners for activities so that you have nothing to do with this during the trip. You contact the accommodation a few days before you arrive and let them know your approximate arrival time. During your trip, I will be your contact person if you have any questions or requests or if anything goes wrong.
There are many ways to integrate activities into a round trip. According to your wishes, whether you do them on your own or with a guide in a small group or on a private tour. Hikes, tours of small towns such as Tropea, for example, wine tastings in wineries or at small natural wine producers, cookery courses and much more!
Just contact me and I will inform you about the possibilities! I have partners for activities all over Calabria who are passionate about what they do!
I talk to my guests on the phone before I plan a round trip. A phone call is the best way for me to understand your wishes and needs and then take them into account when planning. I was able to plan my first round trip through Italy and Calabria in 2023 for a very nice couple whose wife was disabled. She was dependent on walking support in the form of a wheelchair or small tricycle. I naturally took this into account when choosing the accommodation. I also chose places where I knew that there was a beautiful lungomare, for example, which was flat so that it was particularly easy to go for a walk. Or accommodation with a pool with a flat, wide staircase instead of a ladder. The round trip was a great success!
I listen carefully to what you tell me and then I realise your needs for your individual trip to Calabria!
Of course, this also applies to accommodation only. At the beginning of this year, for example, I received an enquiry for accommodation close to the beach on a beach where the sand is fine because the family is travelling with a physically disabled child. You have to have a lot of local knowledge for this and I was able to draw from my portfolio of accommodation that I know but don’t present on my website. The family is travelling to Calabria this summer!
Yes, some holiday accommodations have a minimum length of stay. This mainly applies to holiday flats and houses in the high season (July/August). Even small b&b or agriturismi sometimes have a minimum stay of at least 3 nights. But don’t worry, I will be happy to inform you about this!
I travel to Calabria several times a year and regularly check the accommodation I organise. I also get a lot of feedback from my travellers and am always in lively contact with my hosts in Calabria. I almost exclusively arrange accommodation that I have seen myself and I have already stayed in many of them. I describe and show my accommodation as it really is. My guiding principle is: better no guest than an unhappy one!
Calabria is one of the poorest regions in Italy, but it has also improved and developed a lot in recent years! Nevertheless, I would like to remind you that you are travelling through southern Italy and not Tuscany or northern Italy! That’s what makes Calabria so beautiful and so interesting! If you open your eyes and your heart, you will find what you are looking for here!
When you book holiday accommodation, I will provide you with the contact details of the owners and directions on how to get there. It is a good idea to contact the owners yourself a few days before your arrival. The Calabrians prefer to communicate via whatsapp. This way you will almost always be expected when you arrive. Delays are important and nice to communicate, because most of the accommodations do not have a permanent reception and so no one is waiting for you unnecessarily.
If you are travelling on a round trip, I will give you all the contact details for the individual stops in advance. You should then contact the respective accommodation a few days before arrival by whatsapp or email and let them know an approximate time of arrival.
If something does not work out, you get lost or communication is difficult, then I am always your contact person.
A round trip cannot be changed during the trip itself. Changes at short notice before the start of the trip are also not possible, as all accommodation and excursions have already been confirmed.
Nevertheless, I am always open to your wishes. If something is not to your satisfaction, it is important that you contact me promptly so that we can find a solution together. I can provide good support from a distance, talk to hosts and am always your contact person!
Calabria is very varied in culinary terms. The best-known culinary specialities are certainly the ‘nduja, a spicy pork spread made with peperoncini and the red, almost sweet onions from Tropea, which are also used to make a wonderful jam. But there is so much more. Above all the bergamot, which grows in the harsh climate of Aspromonte and whose essential oils are used in Earl Grey tea and also in cosmetics. As is il Cedro – the citron, which in turn only grows on the coast near Diamante at the foothills of the Pollino.
Liquorice made from liquorice root, which grows particularly well on the eastern coast of Calabria near Rossano. There used to be around 80 liquorice companies in Calabria. Today there are just a handful. But one of them is world-famous: Amarelli‘s delicacies are considered by connoisseurs to be the epitome of liquorice confectionery. While other confectionery manufacturers nowadays buy in the extract for their liquorice products, Amarelli still obtains it itself from regional liquorice roots. The Amarelli family has been in the liquorice business for as long as 1731. Their ancestral home, an aristocratic manor house dating back to the 15th century, is located below Rossano on the coastal road, crammed in between unsightly commercial buildings. The building now houses a liquorice museum. Production takes place on the other side of the road, in a small factory with a tall chimney.
Of course, the swordfish from Scilla, which is still fished in the traditional way and the tuna from Pizzo must also be mentioned.
The traditional family business Callipo has been known for its carefully produced tuna specialities since 1913. Quality has been the benchmark of the company’s philosophy from the very beginning. No wonder that shortly after its foundation, Callipo’s tuna products were recognised as the “official tuna supplier to the court” of the then Italian royal family. The royal family no longer exists – but Callipo’s delicious, high-quality tinned tuna products still do!
There are many other culinary specialities and above all traditional dishes that vary slightly from family to family, from place to place, from region to region.
It is also interesting to note that there are now a handful of restaurants in Calabria that hold a Michelin star! Caterina Ceraudo certainly deserves a special mention here, as she is the only woman to not only hold a Michelin star with her restaurant Dattilo in Strongoli, but has also been awarded a green star for sustainability!
In Calabria, every town and village has its own festival. These are usually linked to saints and their name day. On each feast day, the town is decorated, there are food stalls and often fireworks.
Then there are the so-called Sagre, which sometimes last several days. These are also often religiously inspired or a culinary product is celebrated. In the area around Tropea, for example, white beans are celebrated in the small village of Caria, red onions in Tropea itself, the spicy sausage ‘Nduja in Spilinga and wine in Brattirò. Of course there are these festivals all over Calabria!
There are too many to list here.
In Tropea, I particularly like the folk festival I tri da Cruci, which takes place at the beginning of May and the bank holidays on 15 August throughout Italy – Ferragosto. Many coastal towns in Calabria organise a procession of boats on the sea with the statue of the Virgin Mary. The Catholic faith celebrates her Assumption into heaven – we know this as the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.
The Varia procession in Palmi is particularly noteworthy. In 2013, the Varia di Palmi was included by UNESCO in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, including culture, art, religion, food and wine. The hair relic of Mary is kept in a shrine in the Co-Cathedral of St Nicholas.
The Varia di Palmi is not only a religious, but also a cultural and artistic event that fills the entire city. The festivities begin on the last Sunday in August and attract numerous believers and onlookers from the region and beyond. The streets of Palmi are decorated and illuminated and the atmosphere is full of anticipation and excitement.
The centrepiece of the Varia di Palmi is undoubtedly the impressive float, which is the main attraction of the parade. This float, called “Varia”, is a true masterpiece of craftsmanship. It consists of a portable construction carried by the “mbuttaturi”, the strong men of the town. The cart is decorated with elaborate ornaments, flowers and symbols of the Virgin Mary. The “Animella”, a young girl who symbolises the Virgin Mary, is enthroned at the highest point of the float. She is surrounded by a cloud and looks out over the crowd.
Calabria is a paradise for active travelling.
You can combine everything here. Water sports such as surfing, sailing, snorkelling, diving, stand-up paddling, kitesurfing or hiking, skiing, ski touring, rafting and climbing. The Pollino National Park and the Sila are also ideal for mountain biking and road bike training. There is now a cycle route that runs through all 3 national parks. There is also a hiking route that takes you from the Ionian coast to the Tyrrhenian coast.
The coasts of Calabria are very different and there are several spots that are particularly suitable for kitesurfers, just as snorkelling or diving is particularly beautiful in the crystal-clear sea of the Tyrrhenian coast.
In winter there are two ski areas, the Sila and the Aspromonte. In Aspromonte you can ski with a view of the sea!
I will be happy to help you at any time with your requests for an active holiday. I have many good contacts throughout Calabria!
Calabria’s train connections along the Tyrrhenian coast have been improving in recent years. So if you want to do without a hire car, you can still see and experience a lot here. This is more difficult if you also want to get to know the back country or travel to the Ionian coast. It is also possible by train and bus, but it takes a lot of time, local knowledge and you should also speak Italian.
I therefore recommend booking a hire car for a round trip. The easiest and cheapest way is to hire a car in Lamezia Terme. Either at the airport or directly at the railway station if you are travelling by train!
I consider Calabria to be safe and have not had any bad experiences in more than 20 years of traveling here myself, either alone as a woman, with my daughters or as a family. I have also never had any guests who have had their cars broken into, been robbed or had anything similar happen to them that could affect their vacation.
It is certainly a good idea, as in all other European countries, not to leave any valuables in your car when you park it. I would also avoid parking my car in very isolated places where there is still a lot of tourism in the area. What does that mean? That the likelihood of a car being broken into in the beautiful, lonely landscape of Calabria is much lower than if I park somewhere very lonely in touristy places.
People keep asking me about the ‘Ndrangheta – the Calabrian mafia. This is an international problem – by that I mean that it doesn’t stop at Italy’s borders – but is of course also a problem in Germany and worldwide. It poses no danger to you during your vacation!
I cannot guarantee this, but in the many years that I have lived and traveled in Calabria, I have not experienced any unpleasant or dangerous situations.
In Calabria, many young people speak English, but unfortunately the older generation can mainly speak Italian only. But as the Calabrians are incredibly hospitable, this is never an obstacle to communicating. Of course, it’s great if you know a little Italian, because it opens doors and hearts in a completely different way. But for a trip through Calabria or a vacation stay, this is not necessary. However, if there are any communication problems or you need support, I am easily reachable via whatsapp and can also support you from a distance!