Lamezia (Italy)

I just wanted to say to those considering visiting the southern Italian region of Calabria, you shall no doubt be stopping off in Lamezia, the airport for most of Southern Italy. I went out there in the summer and spent some days in the city itself. Huge train station, lots of hotels and many many restaurants down one road, but beyond that the rest of the town was hidden so well I could not on foot find them. Noone could direct me to them when I asked (in Italian). It seemed a major mystery to me! The locals had a funny idea of the place. Their idea of a half mile walk to the sea front turned into an hours walk with no water down a dusty track that resembled a desert actaully passing the airport AND having to cross the motorway and attempting to be picked up by many people in cars (do all pale hot craggy foreign women look like hitchhikers to Italians??)
However, the trains were IMMENSELY cheap! Even the most basic train services, the cheapest, were comfortable, airy and followedmost of the Golfo di San Eufemia, which you can see all the way down from the seafront of Lamezia. I travelled the whole San Eufemai Gulf and back on the train for a mere £6! Southern Italy is the most beautiful place in the world. It is where things are cheapest, as life in the North of the country are famously expensive. there are more hill sand much more nature to see. Id recommend it to anyone who wants to walk, cycle and see some fine examples of our beautiful nature! The sea is warm, inviting but hellishly salty. Id recommend bringing or buying flippers (pinas), diving goggles (a mere tenner in Italy for some good quality ones) so that you can SEE the HUUUGE jellyfish and other sea creatures you should avoid, and SWIM AWAY FAST. You can also see that you are amongst fish when you are shin-deep! There are some wonderful walks to be had along coasts. the Italian country, such as the Silan mountains in Cosenza, takes more travelling to reach, and is much MUCH hotter than the seafront, but it is similarly as breathtaking.

If you want happening nightlife then this is not the place to go. From Lamezia and the surrounding towns, there is only great swimming and tanning opportunities, wonderful food, unspoilt nature and of course the wonderful Italian language to enjoy and use :-)