6 Reasons You Should Visit Abruzzo Italy, NOW

I had been to Italy three times before I heard about the Abruzzo region. A friend of mine mentioned an article she had read about it and I immediately looked it up. After seeing the ancient castles, scenic nature views and the history behind the region, I knew I had to go. I was heading back to Italy in just a few months, so when making the itinerary, I made sure that it was our top priority location. 

I’ve seen a lot of Italy after studying abroad there in 2011, but Abruzzo gave me a different outlook on the country. It made me uncomfortable without running away. It made me stop in my tracks daydreaming about how it used to be. I couldn’t help but shake my head in disbelief of the beauty.

This is an area of the country you want to visit now, before it loses its magic touch. And I can only pray that it doesn’t. If you are heading to Italy, and love exploring off the beaten path areas, then look no further. You absolutely need to add Abruzzo to your itinerary, and these are 6 reasons why.

Make sure to check out my 8 day itinerary through Italy which includes a few days in Abruzzo here!

Not many people think to go here

As I mentioned, I just heard about this area of Italy. I’m pretty positive I am not the only one either. Not many people think to go outside of the hot spots of Rome, Almafi Coast or Tuscany. Abruzzo is absolutely a hidden gem. No matter what area you visit while you are there, you will have a unique and local experience. If you are wondering what Italy was like before people felt the need to learn English, or expand it to create tourist traps, then this is the place you need to go.

Get out of your comfort zone

In most major cities around the world, almost everyone knows english. In Abruzzo, it was much more difficult. Speaking with others or trying to gain local tips was a challenge. What also was a struggle was not knowing what to do or where to go. I’m used to being able to do research on blogs on the best places to go and what to see, but there just wasn’t a lot on Abruzzo. Seriously, I could barely find anything at all.

I knew before we went that this would be an adventure. I had to really step out of my comfort zone and practice going with the flow on this trip. It opened my eyes and made me realize that traveling without a plan is actually really nice. We would get in the car and just drive. Or look at the map and find towns nearby and decide to go wander around there. It was pretty cool to just explore without a true plan.

Abruzzo is untouched

The country has definitely put more of their efforts into the major cities, so you will feel like you are back in time when you visit Abruzzo. When we drove up, we were so sad to see there were cranes in almost all the towns. When we finally arrived to our airbnb, we realized why they were there. There are several homes or building that have completely fallen apart. Remember, these towns have been around for centuries, so they were mostly made by rock or natural resources. The workers are there to rebuild these homes, but it does make for an ancient experience for the non local.

Abruzzo is budget friendly

In my Italy itinerary, located here, I like to provide my budgets for how much the trips cost. Throughout the entire trip to Italy, our meals costed $500 ($250 per person). In Abruzzo, you’ll find that everything is less expensive than the cities, which is great budget wise.

The food is still unbelievable, if anything, more incredible! One night, we went to a restaurant with a 12 course meal and unlimited wine and it was only $25! So if you’re on a budget, this is another great reason to visit here.

There is so much nature in Abruzzo

Nature also adds to the budget friendly benefit. I do admit, there aren’t many museums or tourist attractions in Abruzzo. However, there are so many sights to see in the outdoors. One day, we ended up looking at our map and saw a road through the mountains. So we drove all around it and made pit stops to view our surroundings. There are also national parks with hundreds of different hikes you can go on. We unfortunately didn’t realize that before we went, so we didn’t plan for hiking.

It can be difficult to find hikes in the off season, but you can go to local tourist centers and get a map.

There are also history and beaches in Abruzzo

Abruzzo has such an unbelievable variety. It doesn’t just have all the trees and woods, they have centuries worth of historical buildings and ancient towns to wander around and see. Everywhere you go in the region, this is what you will find. There are castles, old churches, and those cute Italian walkways all around you.

There are also gorgeous beaches inside historic towns on the east coast. The Pescara province is somewhere we looked into visiting, but the time constraints prevented us in doing so. 

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