Daran

So many choices, yet am undecided! Am looking for a picturesque Italian coastal town for a 2-week stay now in April.

Casual restaurants, local life, maybe some nearby hikes, but most importantly living the local way of life - don't need the hustle and bustle of the big cities, but a nice Italian town...

Where would you go?

Any recommendations?

TDudette

Welcome, Daran. My husband and I loved Pisa. Away from Leaning Tower, it is a great place. With 2 weeks, Pisa is convenient for day trips and has lots to do at the end of the day. We didn't hike or swim so that's not addressed in my trip report:

In Defense of Pisa

Camogli was on our radar but we didn't get there...check it out.

Daran

Appreciate the feedback TDudette sounds like a great area to discover. Pisa, Firenze and many parts of Toscana are actually already ticked off the bucket list

Am looking for a coastal village or town without having to take a train or the car, just staying there and living the local life, with enough to discover by foot or hikes.

Jean

Do your two weeks overlap Easter? Some coastal towns/areas are popular destinations around Easter week, so do you want to be part of the crowds or avoid them?

I think you need to decide what body of water you'd prefer to be near/on. The Med, the Adriatic, the Ionian??? Do the chances of rain matter? Have you booked flights yet?

It doesn't sound like you want to explore much ("without having to take a train or the car, just staying there"), so would you consider an island? A lake?

Daran

Got a car, but could travel by train / plane. Carte blanche, know much of Italy already until Rome, but none of the islands. Important is some coastal sea nearby, but more important is a relaxed authentic non-too-touristic Italian town to get into the local living. Don't need museums and sightseeing. Rather off the beaten track, among locals. Trip would finish righte before Easter.

progol

Atrani on the Amalfi Coast. A charming town next door to the very busy Amalfi, but very much away from the tourist crowds. There’s not a lot to do in the town itself, but it’s a great base for the region.

Portovenere - off the Ligurian Coast. Next door to the very well know Cinque Terre, but is beautifully sited and also accessible to the region.

Polignano a Mare or Monopoli in Puglia. The former is a very popular tourist town in summer but is beautifully sited and is a delightful place to stay. The latter is a bit bigger, a real fishing port and a nice balance of “real life”. They’re very nearby.

mike1728

Agree with Porto Venere. Great coastal town, very quaint, lots of historic sites, great hiking from the town center which can lead all the way to the Cinque Terre (5 hours) (some of the trails can be very tough!) or on the island next to Porto Venere which is accessible by a frequent boat service which takes only 10 minutes to reach. The island has a few beaches, several restaurants and miles of trails to explore. Great restaurants, cafes and lots of shops. In April the town should should be not that crowded and although we only stayed 5 nights I could definitely spend a 2 week relaxing vacation there. Another option would be Levanto (sometimes referred to as the 6th town of the Cinque Terre). Great small town feel with loads of restaurants and cafes, a few small beaches and lots of hiking opportunities. Incredible fresh food markets. Loved it!

Jean

I like the Porto Venere area, too. It will be less crowded before Easter than after.

If hiking is on the agenda, I'd be looking at weather records for different areas and picking a place with less rain, fewer rainy days in April. Maybe Sicily?

whitehall

We loved Rapallo. Had a car but didn't use it and didn't need it. Took trains to Portovenere, Camogli, Genoa, Cinque Terre, LaSpezia and more. Even walked to spectacular Portofino and Santa Margherita Ligure. We have been to every corner of Italy, and, maybe it was the perfect weather and very uncrowded fall, but it was one of the most memorable stays. Nice little shops, restaurants, local market and great rail service. Weather won't be as good as you might find in the south. Sorrento? Or as Jean recommended Sicily. We are spending May in Sicily, partly for weather.

Here is our trip report: Rapallo/Cinque Terre/20 Places/8 Nights Sept/Oct



Rapallo



Portofino


Cinque Terre


Cinque Terre (Vernazza)


Camogli


Portovenere


Lerici

TDudette

Gorgeous, Whitehall!

ekscrunchy

Senegalia is a great town with fabulous eating and a good beach for walking.

Cetara on Amalfi Coast also with great restaurants.

Daran

Wonderful inputs, digging in, keep it coming, thank you all!

Rubicund

If you want a non touristy area, try the coast around Manfredonia. It has a castle and is a small town near the Gargano National Park. Lots of hiking etc. A bit further up the coast is Termoli, with a lovely Cathedral, castle and atmospheric old town.

I've singled these two out as places we've seen, but there are any number of small coastal towns and villages around the area.

mbrevitas

Well, there's lots of options. Since you've been to the northern half of Italy I'll focus on the south.

Off the top of my head, southern Lazio has several picturesque, historic coastal towns with nice beaches: Nettuno (walled medieval city centre, Roman ruins nearby), San Felice Circeo (medieval village on the slopes of a gorgeous promontory), Terracina (modern coastal strip, packed by beachgoers in the summer, backed by older buildings, backed by the upper, medieval and ancient part, with Roman ruins in there and on the nearby hill), Sperlonga (village on a cliff next to gorgeous beaches, popular in the summer and once a common destination for the rich and famous, will be quiet and pleasant in April), Gaeta (ancient town on a nice gulf, close to Campania).

Termoli, in Molise, is picturesque and off the beaten path.

Cefalù is very picturesque, with historic buildings and a gorgeous setting on the beach in a small gulf at the foot of a cliff-faced hill. It's fairly touristy in the summer, but in April it'll be quite pleasant. The food is enough of a reason to go to Sicily in the first place, and this one of the most pleasant towns in Sicily.

Gallipoli, in Puglia, is also a picturesque, historic town that's busy in summer but pleasant in April. You can't hardly go wrong anywhere on the coast of Puglia, really, where the food is also great even by broader Italian standards.

Cagliari, in Sardegna, is quite pleasant, on the coast close to very nice beaches, and it won't be bustling or touristy, but it's definitely more of a city than what you'd call a town.

macdogmom

We’ve stayed in Camolgi twice. Felt like it was a town that Italians came to vacation rather than hordes of Americans. First time at the lovely Villa Rosmarino up in the hill above town and then at the Hotel Cenobio dei Dogi which is located on the sea. There’s a ferry that can take you down to Cinque Terre and a lovely monastery in a cove just south of the town. We’ve also stayed in Ostuni in Puglia and really enjoyed that area. Again felt like a lot less tourists than other parts of Italy or at least other Americans.If you want something in the US I live in a beautiful seaside town, Santa Barbara, that’s a great spot to visit!

nylilly

Ischia? Lovely island off the coast of Naples. I only visited the port area, but the island seems to have a little bit of everything to offer. I was there last month (decidedly off-season) and thought it was a place I’d really want to see more of.

zebec

Daran,
Lots of great advice above, yeah? Here below is an *excerpt from our Puglian TR, the part that references Monopoli and our similar desire to experience a more local approach to Life. *Before that though, I would just add Trani to the list of places to check out. Gallipoli too, as Mbrevitas has already suggested.

*Monopoli--- Our coastal connection here was the local ‘Albergo Diffuso’. The name refers to a novel form of dispersed rentals created by Giancarlo Dall’Ara back in the early ‘80s. The concept was meant to promote converted rentals in the historic centers of small towns that were off the beaten path. The one in Monopoli is run by Anna, Sabrina, Sylvia and Sergio. They were all pros, who went above and beyond to help us live like locals and experience a week stay in a genuine Pugliese community.'
I am done. The end.

mjdh1957

Somebody mentioned Cefalù earlier which I also think would be a good choice. Also in Sicily, Milazzo is interesting and not on the radar for most foreign tourists. There is an interesting citadel area, it's a big enough town to have a wide variety of shops and restaurants and it has a beach. It's also well-placed for trips by train or bus to Cefalù, Messina and Taormina. Plus there are hydrofoils to the Aeolian islands which are pretty spectacular.

mbrevitas

I mentioned Cefalù. Indeed, Milazzo is also nice, with the long cape occupied by a low gill topped by a citadel. In that area, Capo d'Orlando is also a good option; less picturesque, but it has a nice long beach and plenty of restaurants, bars, cafes, hotels etc. while still not being overrun with tourists (even at the height of summer, it doesn't feel overwhelmed). It's also right next to the Nebrodi mountains and not far from nice hikes and hilltop villages. Sadly the day trips from there to the Eolie don’t run outside of the summer, though.

Elsewhere in Sicily, Siracusa is of course a great option, and arguably more deserving of two weeks than any smaller coastal town, though if you don't care about museums and major sights that doesn't matter much. Still, it's historic and gorgeous, with great coast and a scenic valley with lakes nearby. The west coast, with Trapani and Marsala, is not that touristy and also worth looking into, with Erice and the Egadi islands nearby.

annhig

Hi Daran and welcome to Fodors. You've already had some great advice but I'm going to throw another place into the mix - the ancient town of Orbetello on the very southern tip of Tuscany. It's built on a isthmus which creates a lagoon [lovely for swimming even in April] and there are loads of walking and biking possibilities plus boat trips to do too. It's on the rail line from Rome to Genoa and is about 150km north of Rome. Very few foreign tourists, and a truly beautiful relaxing place.