Crotone: where Magna Graecia meets the Ionian Sea

Capo Colonna, Santa Severina & Le Castella: Private History and Seaside Tour

The one tour that strings together the three great sights of the province in a single day, with a private driver doing the hard part. You go from the Greek sanctuary on the cape to the baptistery and castle of Santa Severina, then down to the fortress in the sea at Le Castella. Without a car it is the only practical way to see all three.

• The Doric column of Hera Lacinia at Capo Colonna
• The Byzantine hill town of Santa Severina
• The sea fortress of Le Castella

Crotone Walking Tour: Magna Graecia and Ancient Kroton

A private guide walks you through the old town and explains what you cannot see for yourself: where the Greek city stood, why Pythagoras came here, how the Spanish fortress reshaped the hill. The price is per group — up to 25 people — so it is good value for families and groups, less so for a couple.

• The story of Pythagoras, Milo and ancient Kroton
• The castle of Charles V and the cathedral from outside
• Piazza Pitagora and the waterfront

Museum of Pythagoras: Admission Ticket to the Pythagoras 3D Exhibition

A low-cost ticket to an immersive exhibition on Crotone’s most famous resident, covering his ideas on number, music and harmony. It works well as a first stop with children or on a hot afternoon, before seeing the real finds in the archaeological museum.

• An immersive introduction to Pythagoras
• Number, music and harmony explained
• Wheelchair accessible

Cirò: Winery Tour with Wine Tasting and Local Snacks

The simplest way into Calabria’s best-known wine: a guided cellar visit in Cirò followed by three wines and a board of local salumi, aged cheese and bread. You need your own transport to reach the winery, about 40 minutes north of Crotone.

• Guided visit to a Cirò winery
• Taste three wines of your choice
• Board of local cured meats, cheeses and bread

Cirò Marina: Winery Tour with Wine Tasting and Transportation

The same wine country without the question of who drives home. A minivan takes you to a winery at Cirò Marina for a guided visit and a tasting of Cirò DOC wines with traditional products. Check the pick-up area on the listing when you book.

• Minivan transport included
• Tasting of Cirò DOC wines
• Traditional local products

Sila National Park: Guided Quad Excursion Through Nature

A guided quad ride through the forests and lake country of the Sila plateau, with the option of a Calabrian aperitif afterwards. The price is per quad for up to two people. Meet the guide in the park — you will need a car to get up from the coast.

• Forest tracks, lakes and off-road trails
• Choose a one- or two-hour ride
• Optional Calabrian aperitif

Gulf of Squillace: 3-Hour Tour by Inflatable Boat

The nearest bookable boat trip to Crotone on GetYourGuide: three hours by inflatable along the coves of the Catanzaro coast, with swimming stops. The departure point is roughly an hour’s drive south-west of Crotone along the SS106.

• Coves and clear water of the Ionian coast
• Stops for swimming
• Small inflatable boat

Tropea: Capo Vaticano Boat Tour with Snorkelling & Drink

Calabria’s most-booked boat trip, with close to two thousand reviews: three hours along the Coast of the Gods from Tropea to Capo Vaticano, with stops to swim and snorkel. Tropea is on the opposite, Tyrrhenian coast — about two hours’ drive from Crotone — so treat it as part of a wider Calabria itinerary.

• The coast from Tropea to Capo Vaticano
• Swimming and snorkelling stops
• Drink on board

Capo Colonna

One Doric column above the Ionian Sea

The headland that gave Crotone its emblem: a single standing column of the great temple of Hera Lacinia, once among the most revered sanctuaries of Magna Graecia, set in an archaeological park with a museum, a pilgrimage church and a 16th-century watchtower.

Le Castella

A fortress that rises out of the sea

Calabria’s most photographed castle: an Aragonese fortress on a tiny islet, joined to a fishing village by a thin strip of land. Around it are clear shallows, sandy beaches and the boats of the Capo Rizzuto marine reserve.

National Archaeological Museum

Home of the Treasure of Hera

Crotone’s national museum, a few steps from the castle, tells the story of ancient Kroton from prehistory to Rome. Its star is the Treasure of Hera from Capo Colonna — above all a gold diadem of extraordinary delicacy.

Castle of Charles V

The fortress that guards the old town

A massive polygonal fortress crowning the old acropolis of Kroton. Founded in the early Middle Ages and rebuilt in the 16th century under Emperor Charles V, it still dominates the port with its two great round towers.

Capo Rizzuto Marine Protected Area

Headlands, red sand and Posidonia meadows

One of Italy’s largest marine reserves, stretching along some 40 kilometres of coast south of Crotone. Eight headlands, watchtowers, seagrass meadows and sandy coves make it the best place in the province to snorkel, dive or take a glass-bottom boat.

Santa Severina

The stone ship above the Neto valley

A hill town perched on a tufa crag, listed among Italy’s most beautiful villages. Its square links a Norman castle, a medieval cathedral and one of the oldest Byzantine baptisteries in Calabria.