Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Trip Report: Alba Adriatica (Abruzzo)/Verona!

This is my first trip report so I'm really sure where to start! I guess I'll say a little bit about me first and about my expectations of my holiday before I went. I'm 23, female, vegetarian, lived in Verona for 6 months last year, and decided to take a holiday with one of my Veronese friends who is about my age. After a stressful final year at uni, I just fancied a relaxing beach holiday, with a bit of fun thrown in! I'd never heard of Alba Adriatica before, but my friend suggested it. Never been to Abruzzo before, so thought I try something new!

TRAVEL: EasyJet flights from Edinburgh to Gatwick, then Gatwick to Venice Marco Polo. Very cheap tickets but you get what you pay for - domestic flight delayed two hours, 5 hour scheduled stopover in Gatwick, and international flight delayed an hour and a half. Eek! After staying a night in Verona to recuperate, we took the car to Alba (mostly autostrada, cost about E20). Traffic especially heavy around Bologna. Journey took approx 7 hours with 3 AutoGrill stops!!

HOTEL: Hotel Naxos, via Cesare Battisti. We found ourlovely hotel on Venere.com, a website I would highly recommend. Here's a tip: there are a number of hotels listed that are not bookable online (Naxos being one of them), so if you speak a little Italian it's worth giving these a go. Family owned and run by very friendly brothers, we paid 34euro pppn, the max price for the high-season. Perfectly clean, domestic service every day, breakfast included which consisted of coffee, juice, brioches, cheese, bread, fruit, cakes, salami, yogurt....etc! There is a bar where you can buy coffees during the day and aperitivi in the evening very cheaply. One downside was no view - the hotel is in a street just off the Lungomare. But this was no hardship, we were at the beach all day everyday anyway!

BEACH: The hotel had a reciprocal agreement with one of the beach houses, Al Messicano. Entry and an umbrella were free, a deck chair and sunlounger cost 3euro, and two sunloungers cost 5euro per day. The sandy beach was impeccably clean, as was the water. Although always busy (we were there 4-11 August) the beach was never overcrowded. Most of the other tourists there were Italians, although we did meet one German couple! No Brits!!

EATING: Eating out everywhere in Italy is dirt cheap if you are sensible enough to avoid the tourist traps (act like a native!). Three of our favourites were:
* "La Taverna del Priore", via Duca D'Aosta 22, Alba. Off the beaten track, we ate here twice - have the Tagliatelle ai Funghi, simple yet divine! 2 antipasti (you only need one between two though, seriously!), 2 primi, water, half house red, coffee and gratis limoncello cost about 30euro. Primi piatti (pasta) come on large salvers, enough to fill your pasta bowl three times! Be warned, you could over-gorge!
* "Agriturismo Cascio'", Via Palombare 17, Poggio Morello di S.Omero. You'll need a car to get here as it is outside Alba, but it's well worth it. A few other Brits here! Never in my life have I had to book a table at a restaurant in Italy before, but here it's essential, at least in August. The phone number is: 0861 850308. One antipasto between two this time, 2 primi, 2 secondi, water, coffee and cover charge was 32euro. Pasta served as before! Try the formaggio frittato (deep fried cheese) - it's far nicer than it sounds!
* "Cheri", via Lucania 1, Alba. A rather swanky looking place if you're looking to impress! On a street just off the Lungomare, it's famous for its fish dishes but there's plenty of veggie and meat alternatives. 2 primi, 2 dessert, water, coffee, half house red and cover charge was 25euro no joke!

DRINKING: We tended to have our aperitivi either in the hotel bar or in one of the millions of cocktail bars on the Lungomare, take your pick! After dinner our favourite bar was "El Pejito", where Sangria was 2euro a glass, and club was "Fiko D'India" which had a great DJ and dancing on the beach! One of the nights was Alba's annual carneval, with a street parade, dancing, free beer and general merriment!

WEATHER: The first day and last day were rainy and grey, but we weren't complaining, better that way for the journey! The rest of the time was lovely sunshine during the day, sometimes with a bit of a breeze, but very chilly at night. I'm a mosquito magnet but only had the misfortune of being bitten once in a whole week, so they're not actually a problem!

OK, I've just realised how much I've actually written! I still have week 2 to go over, but I think I'll do that another time.... I hope this has been helpful so far, if anyone has any feedback or comments as to how to make my trip report more useful/accessible etc they would be greatly appreciated!

Much love,

xverso xxxxxxxx