How to Get to Calabria?
To reach Calabria (one of the lesser-known regions in Italy), you can travel by plane or by car.
By Plane
The easiest and quickest way to get to Calabria is by plane.
Calabria has three airports: Lamezia Terme, Reggio Calabria, and Crotone Sant'Anna.
Once you arrive at Reggio Calabria or Lamezia Terme Airport, you can take the train (if you've booked a stay in one of the nearby resorts, such as Tropea - see also the article on how to get to Tropea) or rent a car (if you plan a longer tour to visit other tourist attractions in Calabria).
An alternative option, if flight prices and schedules are more convenient, is to book a ticket to one of the airports in neighboring regions, such as Bari Airport (in Puglia), Naples Airport (in the Campania region), or even Catania (in Sicily). Keep in mind that from there, to reach Calabria, you will need to rent a car (and take the ferry from Messina) or transfer between several trains.
By Car
If, for any reason, you want to avoid traveling by plane, it is also possible to reach Calabria by car. Just keep in mind that, depending where you come from, the journey could be long and the cost of the ferry ticket to cross the Adriatic Sea can be high, often in the hundreds of euros - especially if it includes booking a cabin for an overnight crossing.
Depending on the season, there are ferry lines to Bari or Brindisi from Croatia (Dubrovnik), Montenegro (Bar), Albania (Vlore and Durres), or Greece (Igoumenitsa). The minimum travel time is around 8 hours. Upon arrival in Italy, you'll land in the Puglia region, relatively close to northern Calabria, from where you'll need to continue your journey by car to your destination.
It is also possible to travel entirely overland, avoiding the ferry, but in that case expect an even longer journey, as you will need to drive across Italy from north to south.
