Cefalu or Tropea?
 

My boyfriend and I will be travelling to southern Italy this summer and are deciding between 5 nights in Cefalu or Tropea.

Please help :)

Thank you.

I am sure you can't go wrong with either choice. We haven't been to Tropea...yet. Will be there for a week in the fall. We have mapped out plans while there to see Scilla and Pizzo, which look like great places as well, and, weather permitting, we hope to do a day trip to the Aeolian islands. If you have a beach interest, we believe Tropea might have an edge. We have been to Cefalu, and it IS wonderful. There are some great restaurants. It is also maybe an hour to Palermo, a little longer to the Greek temple at Segesta. And, a longer day trips to Taormina (although it can be quite crowded in the middle of the day) and even Erice, another favorite of ours, are possible.

We have been to both.
Cefalù has a lot more to offer than Tropea. It has a pretty old centre with lots of shops, restaurants, bars. And easy to do daytrips, as suggested by whitehall.
Tropea is much smaller and more oriented to (German) tourists.
Agree that the beach in Tropea is nicer but that's about all Tropea has to offer.

Thanks for the info.

You wouldn't know it by looking at pictures or videos. They both look so romantic and lovely. The beach in Tropea does seem to be so much nicer, but Cefalu seems to have more history.

Hmmmmmmm......

Hi Tobe,
If ever you might want info on a rental apartment in Cefalu, we'd be happy to pass along such. Our rental was right on the square and the flat was pretty good-- BUT ITS VIEWS WERE WORLD-CLASS! The apartment was one of 3 or 4 in the same building rented out by a consortium of friendly young guys and the common upper terrace provided peerless views of the Cathedral and the square. We've had passed along the contact info to other travelers.
Tante belle cose.
I am done. The end.

A great reason to consult a good guidebook or two!

Italy Heaven is a good online guide. You might compare Cefalù: Sicily Tourist Guide | Italy Heaven and Tropea Tourism & Travel Information | Italy Heaven

We, of course, want to think we made a good decision to stay a week there in the coming fall, so here’s one website that extols its virtues: 14 Reasons Why Tropea is Italy's Best Kept Secret Holiday Destination - Vision Times

Google things to do in each town and google day trips from each town for activities and sights. Not a lot in either place.

Also, there are lots of videos online and on youtube of each town. I usually find videos helpful in getting a feel for a place before going.

Myriam found Tropea to be touristy; that was our experience in Cefalu. Fingers crossed that we will find Tropea a more of an authentic throwback Italian seaside village where we can just relax.

Not a lot to do in / from Cefalu? I disagree.

There is a lot to do from Cefalu, as I indicated above, where I said Cefalu IS wonderful. However, I didn’t think there were a lot of sights. When we were there the Cathedral didn’t meet its hype for us, partly because it was partly being used for storage of columns and other architectural salvage, perhaps because of some work that was scheduled. And, the architectural museum was closed.

Natylou, we absolutely will provide a report. We have been just about everywhere in Italy, and will spend six weeks this fall in various spots. The area around Tropea is one the few places we haven't been. We will use our week in Tropea to explore the southern reaches of Calabria. We thoroughly enjoyed the Campania coast from Castellabate to Maratea.

Well, that's what my sister says (she lives there 6 months per year).The last years tourism has increased dramatically.
We haven't experienced many foreign tourists in Cefalù - we went in September of 2014.

In that way Tropea may have changed as well. Let us know what you think about it, after your return.

Calabria will be extremely quiet in the fall. In fact, when we were there in mid June some years ago, everywhere outside of Tropea they had just started to clean the beaches and get them ready for the season. The season starts early July and lasts until the end of August.

Yes, I had that experience in Calabria as well, although the beaches I visited were further north.

To those who will visit this fall: Please please write reports for us. There is so little here about Calabria, and even less about Tropea, with almost nothing about Pizzo and Scala. And the hot pepper capital...Diamante.

From Cefalu, an excellent daytrip could be a visit south to the village 'Petralia Soprano'. Its back-end has a picturesque zig-zag path amid lovely trees (come come Zebec, watch those descriptors!---editor). Good place for lunch and fewer crowds.
I am done. The end.

Agreed! We drove the complete natural park (Parco delle Madonie) on a daytrip. Very much worth spending a day, driving the very narrow and very winding roads. Astonished to see herds of cows with bells, just like in the Alps.

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We find that watching 'youtube' videos about the destinations we would like to visit, especially those narrated by informed travellers, give a better sense of the destination we are considering travelling to. In many ways, they are like visual guidebooks with sights and sounds.

All of your advice has been helpful and we thank you for taking the time to help. and we are now leaning towards Tropea. Like Cefalu, it does have a romantic, medieval center, but its position on the cliffs and its gorgeous beaches are so very enticing.

Anxious to hear your take. We are committed to being there in the fall, but we welcome any suggestions.

We will keep you posted after we get back in July.

Thanks for your help!!!

Make sure you go to Pizzo for tartufo- so delicious. I always go to Bar Ercole. Also stop at the Church of Piedigrotta, it's near Pizzo and is a church built into the rocks- pretty cool in my opinion.

We already have plans to see the church and try tartufo* when you go in the fall. Thanks for the recommendation of Bar Ercole.
(*The traditional tartufo is a ball of homemade hazelnut and chocolate gelato with a solid chocolate core which was dusted with cocoa powder.)