Pizzo Apartment availability around Easter 2018

It's getting warmer ... and you are dreaming of a cool place to go?

Easter is around the corner! And spring is here since March 1 according to the meteorologists, and latest next week on March 21 according to the astronomical calendar. Have you made up your mind yet where to spent your Easter Holidays? Or your own personal little Spring Break?! Come to the sun, come to Southern Italy, come to Calabria, come to Pizzo! Pizzo is the best place to explore Calabria and its spicy food and Ciro wines.

Please contact us directly if you are interested.

You can also find us on airbnb, homeaway (fewo, abritel) and tripadvisor (holidayletting) where you can check also our availability for other holiday periods.

We are looking forward to welcome you in Pizzo,

warm regards, saluti cordiali

Susan & Palazzo Pizzo Team

(photo source: Dolce Gabbana campaign 2011)

Want to read more? Maybe about staying in Pizzo in April including Easter procedures, or all posts about spring in Calabria, direct flights to Lamezia or what to do in Pizzo.

It's Spring!

It's spring and time to update the blog. Our first guest have arrived in Pizzo and the next are on the way. It's almost Easter and tourists are heading South for some sunshine. The weather in Calabria was already very pleasant, then we had was some rain, and now it's sunny again. But surprisingly it is warmer in the North than in the South - and so we had to switch the heating on again.

Dear travellers, always pack a sweater or fleece jacket when going to the sea side. Even in summer there can be a fresh breeze, especially in the evenings in the main piazza of Pizzo. There are easily 10 degrees Celsius difference during the day, and a temperature of 20 C in spring with a fresh breeze from the sea can feel like only 15 C. It's best to check the forecast and be prepared to dress like a (spring)onion in layers. However, while some wear a jacket, others already sunbath at the beach and in a few days time you will observe the first brave swimmers.

Happy Spring Holidays & lots of sunshine!

Pizzo and Vibo Marina on Sunday, 25th March 2017 - Looks lovely, it's Springtime, but Jacket still needed!

For some more spring impressions of earlier years read Summer feelings in April (April 2013) or simply click on the APRIL or SPRING tag (scroll down, click NEXT to see all posts).

Beach goers sunbathing and in the water at Pizzo Marina city beach, April 1st, 2017 (no joke!) 

Photo credit: All photos by Carmela, March 27 and April 1, 2017 - mille grazie for sharing first spring impressions from Pizzo  :-)

Day 7 A Boat Trip and Dolphins

The sun greeted me when opening the window shutters. The sea below was calm. So calm, the surface looked like a sheet of paper. Not a single tiny wave. Like a big deep lake. Amazing.

Like every morning I spent some moments on the balcony to observe the sea. In spring there is a chance to see dolphins. I have seen them before, and today, I felt, they must be near! But nothing yet. 

Time for boating.!, said Carlo. We had just put 'Ella' to water two days earlier and I haven't seen 'her' yet.  

I picked a few jackets, a blanket and a cashmere scarf and hat I found in the corner of my wardrobe. We are going on a short ride, said Carlo when he saw me with my bursting beach bag. 

Well, the trip was even shorter than that! We had just left the port of Vibo Marina and were heading towards Pizzo, when Angelo suddenly remarked: "We have no more gasoline!" He insisted the tank was at least half full last time... Angelo, when was last time? Could it be possible that they empty the tank for safety reason while the boat is stored during winter?, I was just saying ...

We immediately turned around and luckily made it back to the port. Funny, if it's not the 'Guardia di Finanzia' that stops Angelo and fines him for not having all documents on board, it's the gasoline (or lack of it) that stops him.

Boat trip April 2015

How awesome would it have been to have dolphins swimming along the boat? Maybe another time.

For lunch, our son went home with Angelo to eat with 'nonna' while we were driving back to Pizzo. We were invited by a friend at a restaurant at la marina. We were sitting outside in the sunshine and observing the first brave bathers in the sea. The view of the beach in front of us, and a glass of wine made it a perfect spring day.

Later in the afternoon we needed to meet our kitchen planners in Maida. We spent there a couple of hours, and while it seemed endless, we still managed to decide on 2 kitchen designs! One kitchen is a bit more complicated from the layout this time, as it will be built around and above the vaulted ceiling of a lower stairways.  

While we were out, our son stayed at home. When friends came over and they went together on the balcony, he all in a sudden spotted whales! He told us about a huge water fountain and their fins that came out of the water. Oh, wow, I couldn't believe it, but it happened before that whales were seen in the bay. The kids were talking 'balena' (whales) - but when I talked to the mum, she clarified they were seeing two 'delfini' (dolphins). Haha! - I knew it! I knew they were near. Wild life spotting from our balcony!

A day later Dolphins were spotted in Tropea (I saw a photo on FB and shared it, but my son insisted that "his" dolphins were way bigger!). I was told that there will be more dolphins and tuna in the Tyrrhenian Sea this year due to the appearance of black algae (very yummy for them) after recent volcanic activities.

This was our last day in Pizzo. And we are quite happy with what we achieved to decide during that week of a short holiday. 

For our last dinner we invited the grandparents and while sitting outside in the restaurant in the piazza (first time it was not too cold for sitting outside), a couple of friends we haven't seen yet passed by. I called their name and waved them over to our table, and since they had no plans yet, they joined. How lucky we were. Such a lovely and mild evening. If only we would not have to pack yet. 

Day 2 Pizzo - Badolato

Sundays are still Sundays in Italy. Shops are closed, people go to church, families meet for lunch or do a 'passegata' together. So do we.

That Sunday we decided to meet at 11 am at the bar in piazza, Angelo would drive by, we hop in the car and off we go. On my wish list was Badolato - ever since I came across 'bleeding espresso' and Michele's stories about her alternative life in a medieval Calabrian village.

Angelo said, they would know a 'trattoria typica' and - because during their last trip to Badolato not a single table had been available during lunch - he would book a table.

We drove across the Calabrian hinterland and along the coast of Soverato. After about 1 1/2 h drive from Pizzo, we reached Badolato. The medieval village, famous for being abandoned (the village was "on sale" in the 80 ies to attract new residents) is nestled on top of a green hill, out of reach from any conquerors landing on the Ionian Coast.

We drove around a curve, and there it was. A breathtaking sleeping beauty. I think, I had tears in my eyes, so overwhelming is Badolato's appearance and its church Immaculata, a stairways below the village.

We arrived a bit too early for lunch and strolled around the narrow alleys. There have been some significant renovations. Foreigners, sometimes returning younger generations and Italians from other regions have invested here and made this village their home.

We had a nice family lunch at 'Le Botte'. I said to Angelo, it would have not been necessary to book the entire restaurant for us - as we were the only customers on that Sunday after Easter.

It was a beautiful day. And we bought the Badolato guide from Franco, the photographer from Genova who calls Badolato his home for many years. His photos of the 'Settimana Santa' are showing impressive processions in traditional costumes in this medieval setting before and during Easter. This would be definitely a great time of the year to visit this magical village. But when in Calabria, any time is good to stop here for a couple of hours. We learned that Badolato counts 12 churches its own - two more than Pizzo!

On our way back home we had initially thought of stopping in Soverato. But then decided to keep that sea side town for another day.

Fly directly to Calabria from many cities worldwide

Pizzo, old village center in Calabria (photo by S. Crosetto)

Whenever we are suggesting a holiday in Pizzo to our friends I realized how lucky we are in Pizzo (aka Pizzo Calabro or Pizzo di Calabria) being located so close to the international airport of Lamezia Terme (SUF).

Lamezia airport brings thousands of passengers every year to Calabria in Southern Italy from around the world. There are business men among tourist on the daily Alitalia flights from Rome or Milan, but most tourists come with budget airlines which fly directly into Lamezia Terme (SUF) once or twice weekly from allover Europe and even overseas.

I was impressed to find out from how many cities you can fly directly to Calabria, and of course vice versa, to where you can fly directly from Calabria. I am happy to share my list. Check with your airline during which months and which days direct flights are available. (Let me know, if I missed any city or airline).

Direct Flights to Lamezia Terme (SUF) :

Country	City	Airline
Austria	Vienna Salzburg	Austrian Airlines Niki
Belgium	Brussels (CRL)	Ryanair / Jetairfly
Czech Republic	Brno (BRQ) Prague (PRG) Ostrava (OSR)	SmartWing SmartWing / Czech Airlines SmartWing
France	Paris Orly (ORY)	Easyjet
Germany	Berlin Tegel (TXL) Koeln Bonn (CGN) Düsseldorf (DUS) Frankfurt Hahn (HHN) Hanover (HAJ) Leipzig München (MUC) Stuttgart (STR) Weeze (NRN)	Airberlin / Alitalia Eurowings Airberlin / Eurowings Ryanair Eurowings Airberlin Airberlin / Lufthansa Eurowings Ryanair
Italy	Bari Bologna (BLQ) Bergamo (BGY) Milano Malpensa (MXP) Milano Linate (LIN) Torino (TRN) Treviso Pisa (PSA) Roma (FCO) Venice Treviso (TSF) Verona	Ryanair Ryanair Ryanair Easyjet / Neos Alitalia Alitalia Ryanair Ryanair Blu-Express/Ryanair/Vueling/Alitalia Ryanair Neos
Luxembourg	Luxembourg	Luxair
Netherlands	Amsterdam (AMS)	Transavia
Russia	Moscow Kazun Ufa	Nordwind Nordwind Nordwind
Spain	Barcelona (BCN)	Vueling
Sweden	Goeteborg Stockholm	Solresor Solresor
Switzerland	Zürich (ZRH)	Airberlin / SWISS/Edelweiss / Alitalia
United Kingdom	London Stansted (STN)	Ryanair
Canada	Toronto (YYZ)	Airtransat

Pizzo is located just 25 km from Lamezia Terme airport, and can be reached by rented car or taxi in less than 30 minutes drive.

Tropea is located further down the coast, 60 km from the airport and about 1h 15min drive.

The central train station in Lamezia Terme is about 1 km from the International Airport. There is a shuttle bus to the station. Some people with light luggage even walk along the road, but you could also hire a taxi. However, if your destination is Pizzo, we would recommend to take a taxi directly to Pizzo or pre-book a pick-up service (both around 40 Euro one-way to Pizzo). Pizzo is a great place to start to explore la bella Calabria.

At the airport you will find different car rental services. You can pre-book a car online or book one at the airport. If you plan to drive into historic old towns, we recommend to rent a SMALL car as the alleys are very narrow.

Please note, if you plan to just spend a relaxing holiday in centro storico di Pizzo, the old town center, no car is required for your holiday as restaurants, bars, shops, tourist sights and the beach are in walking distance.

Other airports in Southern Italy: Reggio di Calabria, Catania (Sicily) and Naples.

update June 2015:

After daily checking Lamezia airport's website for arrival and departure, I update the list above accordingly. There are surprisingly many more direct flights than initially listed!

update February 2016:

Lufthansa's budget airline Germanwings is rebranding as Eurowings since fall 2015.

update June 2019:

Budget airlines come and go, there is no more Airberlin, and new airlines fly to Lamezia. Maybe wikipedia can cope with the many updates: check out Lamezia airport on wikipedia here.