Tropea Travel Guide
Hi hi!
What follows is a travel guide to Tropea, a city in the southern region of Calabria, Italy. My husband and I visited for three days in August 2017, and it was a dream come true (all except for our return home). Check out more photos and read some of my thoughts about that trip, or continue reading to find out why going back to Rome caused such trouble!
transportation
It is very easy to get to Tropea by train, but expect that at least one train change will be necessary. The easiest route from Rome to Tropea is as follows: Roma Termini to Lamezia Terme Centrale; Lamezia Terme Centrale to Tropea; but if you search for trains from Roma to Tropea, you can book both rides simultaneously. Click here for the Trenitalia website, which has an English translation. This trip costs around 40€ each way at time of this article, and takes approximately 5 hours on the train.
If you are going to travel during the high season, I highly recommend booking everything well in advance.
We made the mistake of waiting until we arrived in Italy to book our train tickets (about 4 days in advance of our trip) instead of booking at the same time as our AirBnb (about 2 months in advance). There was no trouble finding trains down to Tropea...the problem was the absolute lack of trains going back up to Rome. This wouldn't have been too much of a problem except that we both needed to be in Rome for work commitments. And so began our unforgettable travel experience to return to Rome: Tropea to Lamezia; Lamezia to Paola; Paola to Napoli to arrive at 23:15. Both the first and second trains were packed like sardine cans with people squished up against one another. Additionally, unbeknownst to us our first train was late so we almost missed our first connection. Thanks to Ben's quick thinking and our sprint through the Lamezia train station, we made it on board. The train to Napoli gave us a great opportunity to rest after all of this chaos. So we arrived at Napoli. Let me explain why we were there in the first place. Remember how there weren't any trains to Rome? Well the only train we could find back to our new city that got us where we needed to be when we needed to be there, left Napoli at 4:04 in the morning.
We needed to overnight in Napoli.
Thinking we could spent the next five hours or so sleeping in the train station, Ben and I quickly resigned ourselves to looking for an appropriately secure spot. That lasted all of thirty minutes because at midnight, some nice security guards go around the entire station and kick everyone out onto the streets. I'm literally not even kidding in the slightest. Families with very young children were made to leave the station and stay outside for the three hours Napoli Centrale is closed. We legitimately couldn't believe it. Turns out our overnight in Napoli was going to be a mini experience in homelessness! We tried to stay awake the whole night - you would be surprised the number of people who actually come to the train station to hang out in the middle of the night - but we ended up sleeping on the ground and our bags, using some of our beach blankets to keep it as sanitary as possible. Needless to say, we were unbelievably happy when the station opened up and our train came into the track.
Sometimes unexpected adventures create the most amazing memories. This one did not.
We had an amazing time in Tropea though, and I personally can't wait to return. Check out all our tips and tricks for visiting this city in the rest of the post below!
accommodations
For this trip, we chose to stay in an AirBnb as opposed to staying in a hotel to keep to a smaller budget. Our AirBnb experience was amazing, and I would've highly recommended our place if you're looking to visit on a budget, but unfortunately the host removed this particular listing. Feel free to click here to check out the AirBnb website to book your own choice! One tip, always ask your host if you can leave your belongings in the apartment on your last day, if your transportation home isn't until much later. Almost always, the host says yes and you avoid lugging your bags around with you.
how to get to the beaches
To get to the beach from the city center, walk straight until you hit the edge of the cliff. Find and take any staircase down (there are multiple), then walk straight to the sea. The first night in Tropea, thanks to our ride with Daniele, Ben & I started at Blanca Beach and spent the evening walking along the shore to the Mare Grande. Along the beach there are various places to rent umbrellas for the day, but the beach labeled as "Shore of Tropea" on Google Maps offers open beach, first come first serve. The second and third days we spent at this Shore of Tropea because not only did it offer more (free) protection from the sun for Ben, there seemed to be a great sense of trust among the (majority Italian) beachgoers here. We felt safe leaving our things on the rocks to swim in the water for hours at a time, and didn't witness any thefts in this area. To get to this beach, follow the directions down to sea level, then make your way through the rocks to the alcove. This beach is directly under / behind the Santuario di Santa Maria dell'Isola, a church located on a cropping of rock amidst the beaches.
places to eat / drink
We came to this restaurant for breakfast one morning. Typical Italian choices of pastries and various kinds of coffees. Make sure to tell them you'd like to stand at the bar, otherwise they will assume you'd like to sit outside and people watch during your breakfast. This comes with exorbitant prices; Ben and I paid 8€ for two cappuccini and two cornetti. Rated 4.2 stars on Google. In short, the breakfast was great, albeit expensive.
This is not the exact panini shop we frequented, but ours was not listed on the map! If you click the link, this is another great example of a grocery store you can enter and have fresh sandwiches made. Most of the people in Tropea spoke at least a small amount of English, so there's no need to be nervous about ordering without a menu! If you need a suggestion, a delicious simple panino consists of prosciutto crudo (cured ham), mozzarella (soft white cheese), e rucola (similar to arugula). Another alternative is prosciutto cotto (ham), mozzarella, pesto (sauce made from basil, pine nuts, and garlic), e pomodori (tomatoes). Other snack items and drink options are sold in these stores as well.
Spaghetti alle vongole (pasta with clams) is highly recommended. If you sit outside, there are incredible views out onto the sea and the countryside. Be aware that this place serves pizza, but only at dinner time! The staff was incredibly friendly, and this lunch served us perfectly as a way to pass the time before our train back to Rome.
This place was literally one minute from our AirBnb, and came recommended from the host. Great calamari (fried squid), great spaghetti alle vongole, great great wine. Thoroughly enjoyed the meal, although it did seem as if we should've made a reservation.
Amazing again. Ben order the grilled squid, which had a blackened taste to it - too much for my liking, but apparently that's how it's supposed to taste... I unsurprisingly recommend the spaghetti alle vongole!!
I cannot recommend this place enough. We came here for an aperitivo before going to dinner and wanted to go back every night. The drinks were phenomenal - definitely worth the money, and the finger foods they served were interesting and delicious. If you visit this location, order the Tropean Spritz, a unique take on the traditional Venetian drink (typically made with prosecco, Aperol, and soda water). The atmosphere is very cool, and it provided the most relaxing way to start the night after a long day in the sun.
other fun things
Snorkeling / Swimming - Obviously the main attraction of Tropea is the beach and the water! Goggles, snorkels, and anything else you could possibly need are available at many shops in the main town. There are snorkeling tours where a guide takes visitors further out into the water by boat, but buying our own goggles saved a lot of money (5€/person as opposed to 35€/person) and ended up being a perfect way to enjoy the water at our own pace. Make sure to bring lots of sunscreen, even if you naturally tan. It's better to be over prepared, than unprepared. Sunscreen in Italy can be found in the pharmacies (farmacia), but it's quite expensive compared to the States. If you have space, I'd recommend bringing from home.
Markets - Every night an expansive market opened with booths selling all sorts of Italian souvenirs. The tiny nature of the town makes it hard to miss this market when walking around at night.
Nightlife - In the proper town of Tropea, nightlife exists, but it's more low-key hang out, less raging parties. Despite this, there are quite a few bars around the city to buy drinks at and enjoy under the open sky, and I'm sure there are more lively towns nearby.
activities we didn't do, but totally will this coming summer
We didn't do much planning for our visit to Tropea, primarily because we were visiting for the views and the breathable air (since Rome suffered horrible drought in 2017). Here are a couple of landmarks or activities we'd like to do on our next visit.
Santuario di Santa Maria dell'Isola
This church sits atop a rock outcropping that divides the more tourist beaches from the ones Italians frequent. Underneath this rock formation is the beach where Ben and I spent most of our time. The current church facade dates to 1905, but there has been a church monastery on the location since medieval times. A 12th century icon of the Virgin Mary is housed within the church, and sometime in the 17th century the Virgin spoke to the bishop of Tropea, warning him of an earthquake. On March 27 of that year, he evacuated everyone from the town moments before an earthquake shook the city. Thanks to this Marian apparition, no one was hurt. In order to get to the church, multiple flights of stairs must be climbed which is honestly why we didn't venture up there during our short stay.
Boat Tours
Various companies offer boat tours around the sea and between the different towns. The most popular take passengers from Tropea to the Aeolian Islands, which are volcanic islands in the Mediterranean, or from Tropea to Sicily. Tickets can easily be bought online or in the city when you arrive.
Alright, that's it! Thank you so much for reading!
Let me know in the comments if you found this helpful, or if it ignited a desire in your heart to add Tropea to your bucket list! If it did, I'd love it if you subscribed to my blog by entering your email address in the sidebar.
ciao ciao,
Courtney