I announced on my Calabria Travel Facebook page last week that I’d begin answering Reader Questions as part of an on-going series here on My Bella Vita …
and whaddyaknow, people have questions.
Today’s question comes from Michele in Chicago, a lovely young woman with a Calabrese mother-in-law who I’ve corresponded with before (thus, her email has been edited to include only the pertinent questions.)
Question:
Hello Cherrye,
How are you? Hope all is well. We have booked our tickets and will be visiting family in Nusco / Avellino in March, but would like to travel south for a few days. We are thinking about Matera, Maratea, Tropea and Bari. Do you have any thoughts between Maratea and Tropea?
Both look beautiful in pictures. Maratea is conveniently located within a loop of our relations but I’m not sure it is “open for business” during our stay which is the last week of March.
Thank you for any help you can offer. Any thoughts are welcome.
Cherrye’s Thoughts:
Auguri on your upcoming trip, Michele. Matera, Maratea, Tropea and Bari are all beautiful, interesting places to visit. I’m sure you and your family will have a great time there.
To answer your question, there are a ton of places between Maratea and Tropea that would make a good stopping point for your trip. Scalea is south of Maratea and while it isn’t even close to halfway between the two-it is much closer to Maratea than Tropea-it is one of my favorite seaside villages in Calabria.
If you want to head inland, you could consider visiting one of the villages in either the Pollino or Sila National Parks. Civita, with its Albanian influence and natural beauty, is a particularly interesting place.
If you’d like to get farther south before you stop, then Amantea and Falerna both have pretty beaches and of course, Pizzo Calabro is just 30-45 minutes north of Tropea and is a popular resort town with an interesting history-and fabulous gelato!
Thank you so much for your question, Michele and as odd as this sounds … thank you for thanking me for my response. Your courtesy sure was appreciated!
Do you have a southern Italy-related travel question you want answered? If so, let me know and your question could be featured here at My Bella Vita. If you’d like help planning your trip, then consider a custom itinerary or travel consult to ensure you have the trip of your lifetime!
I understand your thanking her for thanking you…so often people ask me for info by email and I never get a thanks back after investing the time and trouble to sent them a thoughtful answer.
I wonder when it became “ok” not to thank someone for helping you. Mah … it really is discouraging, isn’t it?