Luxury hotel holidays to Calabria

Luxury holidays to Calabria: luxury hotel holidays, touring holidays and special interest holidays

An Expressions tailor-made holiday to Calabria offers a traditional, magical glimpse of Italy that few visitors get to see. Historically one of Italy's poorest regions, Calabria - the toe of Italy - is a startlingly dramatic place, peppered with stunning hilltop towns that seem to grow right out of the rugged, craggy mountaintops. Formerly the site of rich and powerful Greek settlements, Calabria today is scattered with impressive ruins, and even shelters the odd Greek-speaking village and Albanian communities dating back over 500 years. But historically fascinating as the regions is, its great ancient cities such as Magna Graecia have all but disappeared, vanquished by centuries of fighting and conquest, malaria and earthquakes. Today, it is the region's nearly 500-mile coastline that attracts most visitors, with wonderful, wide beaches and secluded coves lapped by the Tyrrhenian and Ionian Seas. Inland, Calabria offers superb scenery for walkers and explorers, particularly around La Sila, a breathtakingly dramatic, high-level plain with lakes, snow-capped summits and ancient woodland. Here you'll be able to admire the giganti della Sila, trees which are over 500 years old, six feet across and 130 feet tall, or ride the unforgettably panoramic narrow-gauge railway between Cosenza and San Giovanni in Fiore. A remote land, Calabria is full of unexpected beauty, and wherever you stay here, a drive down the south coast to Capo Colonna is a must. Here, formerly the site of a temple to Hera known throughout the ancient land, a single column sitting at the very edge of the Ionian Sea stands as a devastatingly haunting, wildly romantic metaphor for the entire region.

Our bespoke, luxury hotel holidays can be

● Single centre or multi-centre
● Long or short stays
● Combine a number of different hotels in different regions
● Utilise a variety of transport arrangements to Italy and within Italy, combining flights, hire-car, rail, ferries and private transfers

Our special interest holidays to Calabria

● Food and wine holidays
● Art, history and heritage holidays
● Family holidays

Included in all our holidays

● Concierge service
● Handcrafted helpful hints and local information provided with all our holidays
● Personal service by your sales consultant who looks after all aspects of your holiday

Call us on 01392 441245

Highlights of Calabria

Cosenza, the largest town in Calabria, with a magnificent 12th century Norman hilltop castle and cathedral, and a beautiful, cobbled Old Town centred round picturesque Piazza XV Marzo; the serene cloisters of San Domenic chapel in Cosenza, and the 13th century San Francesco d'Assisi church; Camigliatello, a classic alpine village, and best base for exploring La Sila, especially the 130ft high, 500-year old pines in Bosco di Fallistro; the village of Taverna, where the church of San Domenico houses seven paintings by Calabria's most famous artist, Mattia Preti; the dramatic, superbly scenic narrow-gauge railway between Cosenza and San Giovanni in Fiore; the hill town of Caccuri, built around a restored castle; the museum at Reggio Calabria, housing a superb collection of Greek and Roman sculptures and artefacts; the seaside resort of Tropea, famous for its delicious red onions, and a 20-mile beach stretches all the way from Pizzo up to Capo Vaticano; the beaches of Scilla; the passeggiatta at Amantea, a lovely seaside town with lively nightlife; Pizzo, whose intimate central piazza, hemmed in by ancient houses, is a superb spot to sit and enjoy the local delicacy of black truffle ice cream.

Calabria Travel Arrangements

By air

Calabria has two airports, one at Reggio Calabria(called Svincolo) and the other at Lamezia Terme. Alternatively, you can fly to Naples with daily flights with British Airways from London Gatwick, or charter airlines from UK regional airports. EasyJet also flies from Stansted to Naples. Ask us for a fare quote at the time of booking if you are interested in this route. You may collect and return the hire-car from and to different locations at no additional cost, ideal for a two-centre holiday.

Car hire

We include a hire-car with all our holidays in Calabria. Unusually for Italy, Calabria's public transport links are not that extensive, and if you do want to reach its remote interior and explore its quiet coastal villages then a hire-car is essential. Drive inland from Paolo on the coast to the old Calabrian town of Cosenza through vineyards and orchards, forests of oak and chestnut and enjoy the panorama as far at the volcanic Aeolian island of Stromboli.

Our bespoke, luxury hotel holidays can be

● Single centre or multi-centre
● Long or short stays
● Combine a number of different hotels in different regions
● Utilise a variety of transport arrangements to Italy and within Italy, combining flights, hire-car, rail, ferries and private transfers

Our special interest holidays to Calabria

● Food and wine holidays
● Art, history and heritage holidays
● Family holidays

Included in all our holidays

● Concierge service
● Handcrafted helpful hints and local information provided with all our holidays
● Personal service by your sales consultant who looks after all aspects of your holiday

Call us on 01392 441245

Here you will find a map of Calabria showing the locations of the hotels that we offer

Our bespoke, luxury hotel holidays can be

● Single centre or multi-centre
● Long or short stays
● Combine a number of different hotels in different regions
● Utilise a variety of transport arrangements to Italy and within Italy, combining flights, hire-car, rail, ferries and private transfers

Our special interest holidays to Calabria

● Food and wine holidays
● Art, history and heritage holidays
● Family holidays

Included in all our holidays

● Concierge service
● Handcrafted helpful hints and local information provided with all our holidays
● Personal service by your sales consultant who looks after all aspects of your holiday

Call us on 01392 441245