Archive for 'Southern Italy'

We have now put together two posts that share some of our picks for our favourite beaches in Italy – both famous hotspots and hidden gems alike – but there are many more beaches around the country that deserve a mention. If you are planning on holidaying in Italy and one of your major concerns is pretty coastal scenery, maritime adventures or seaside relaxation, these articles may help you choose a destination as we are rounding up the best of the best from tropical paradises to havens of calm and quiet and perfect destinations for watersports to historic bays.

No matter your budget, who you are, when you're going, who you are bringing with you or how long you're going for, there is a perfect choice for you. Read on and figure out which of our favourite beaches sounds like it might just become your favourite too!

Italy is famous for a great many different things - culture, art, history, architecture, food, wine, cinema, fashion, a slower pace of life – but it is particularly blessed with natural beauty, especially lovely beaches.

You can find beaches taken out of your wildest dreams in abundance, all over the country, from dramatic cliffs to sleepy fishing towns and glamorous celebrity hotspots to almost tropical beauties, you'll find the kind of beach you're looking for whether you want to lie around and relax, have kids to entertain or a craving for adrenaline to cater to.

Discover Italy's perfect beaches and sunbathe, swim, surf, explore, stroll, have adventures, try the freshest seafood and make memories to last a lifetime.

One of the best things about visiting Italy is the difference in the pace of life. Things tend to be a little more relaxed and laid-back than in other parts of the world and, if you're willing to embrace this, it makes for the perfect atmosphere to have a perfectly revitalising holiday where you forget all your worries and enjoy yourself.

Ignore the fact that the grocery store and post office in the town have just closed for three hours at lunch and forget about emails and the office for the duration of your stay in Italy.

Instead, choose one of the beautiful spa towns around the country and soak in natural hot springs, go for a massage and a facial – there is no better way to fully experience the relaxation that can only be found in Italy.

The Phlegraean Fields or Campi Flegrei is an area that encompasses land all along the west of Naples, by the bay. The name means “burning fields” and comes from the fact that the area often smokes and sizzles in a remarkably dramatic and hellish way. This area is volcanic in nature and, while none are technically active, there is plenty of seismic activity in the area and it has been hugely affected by its volcanic history.

Vesuvius may be the only active volcano in continental Europe but the Phlegraean Fields' Solfatara is a good place to see some of the effects of volcanism up close. Here you can actually go inside the crater and see its fumaroles (steam vents), boiling mud and ground that's hot to the touch. Solfatara is, in fact, just one of the extraordinary sights that the Phlegraean Fields has to offer and really has to be seen to believe. If you feel like getting in touch with Dante on your next trip to Italy, just find a holiday rental in Campania and see what the Inferno might just look like.

The town of Solofra near Avellino, in the exceptionally beautiful region of Campania, is the place to go if you have a fondness for leather goods.

This town is Italy's most prominent area for leather tanning and produces the best leather in the country. It is particularly well-known as the best place to pick up high quality Italian leather jackets.

For the leather aficionado, or someone who has been trying to track down the perfect leather jacket for some time now, it is an absolute must. Just find a vacation rental in Campania and spend a day wandering this charming town and stocking up on wardrobe essentials and far above average souvenirs for those back home!