When you think of Italy’s prettiest seaside town, your mind may instantly dream of the Amalfi’s colourful shores and pristine waters or big cruise ship hubs like Sorrento.
However, worlds away from resorts loved by British tourists lies Tropea. The seaside city lies 246 miles away from the Amalfi Coast in Calabria and was my pick for a week abroad this summer.
Having been left horrified at the price of flights to firm favourites like Greece and Majorca, I was keen to branch out to find a hidden gem and stumbled upon pictures of steep cliffs with picture-perfect beaches dotted in between.
Crowned Italy’s much-coveted Borgo dei Borghi (“Village of Villages”) award winner in 2021 and dubbed the ‘Pearl of Calabria’, I almost immediately booked the last remaining seats on a Ryanair flight from Stansted to Lamezia for £150 each.
A quick search on Booking.com led us to one of the last remaining rooms at Palazzo Naso, a charming boutique hotel overlooking the central square.
A few months later we landed at (a very windy) Lamezia and made the short hour-long journey to Tropea. The train there itself was another novelty, with a perfect view of the sea nearly the whole way there.
We were met with winding streets snaking off of bustling squares, which were full of other tourists taking in the midday sun sipping Aperol Spritz.
The town is very proud of their Calabrian heritage and you could barely walk 10 metres without spotting a shop selling jars of nduja and Tropean red onions.
Both of these were also on every restaurant meal – whether that be on steak, fish or in pasta and pizza. Much sweeter than your typical red onion, it was delicious.
There were several arancini shops, including one right next to our hotel which I visited far too much during the seven-day trip.
Before dinner every night we made sure to wander down to the viewpoint overlooking the beaches and marvelled at the spectacular sunsets. While it does get slightly mobbed at this time, we grabbed a couple of beers (for one euro each!) from an ice-cream man style van and found a place to stand.
You can nearly always see a smoking Stromboli too, which made it extra special.
The throng of sandy beaches also meant that you didn’t have to travel far to get a taste of what Italy’s southern coast has to offer.
It seemed that nearly every day we discovered a new secret cove to swim out to or rock edge to jump off of, all in the shadow of the Santa Maria dell’Isola church perched on the cliff edge above.
Tropea also felt incredibly safe and while I wouldn’t recommend this, we left our belongings on the beach to swim without any problems.
A highlight was taking a self-drive boat through local company Sea Sports out to explore the coast further (around £150 plus petrol for four hours).
We did this with no experience and felt like pros at the end, dropping anchor in gorgeous coves and diving into turquoise waters surrounded by fish.
For our last day, we picked one of the four beach clubs that line the shores to enjoy our last remaining rays of sun before heading back to grey England. It was 20 euros for two beds and an umbrella for an entire day and several trips up to the tiny beach shack bar were made for Peronis and paninis.
One thing that stood out nearly as soon as we arrived was just how busy it was. While I’d read many travel blogs and articles on how the town was a hidden gem, even in mid September it was clear that despite it being off the beaten path for British tourists, everyone else had clearly heard of it.
Weaving our way through tour groups was a daily occurrence and finding space on the beach was a challenge once or twice. Voices speaking German, Spanish and of course, Italian rang through the streets and it was clear us Brits were missing a trick with Tropea.
The only warning I’d give that despite this being outside of school holiday time, it was still very busy so I can’t imagine what it would be like in July and August.
Luckily in mid-September we could still meander comfortably through the cobbled streets and get a table at any restaurant. Everyone was friendly and loved sharing their culture with us, which made it feel far from any tourist trap destination. It was also incredibly affordable and you never felt like you were getting overcharged.
Overall, Tropea gave us a taste of quintissential Italy that I’d recommend to anyone looking for their next break.