Did you know there's a place in Italy right on the Mediterranean that has super cute towns, beautiful beaches, amazing food, and almost NO TOURISTS in the middle of July?!?! Let us introduce you to Southern Lazio—more specifically the tiny beachside towns of Sperlonga, Gaeta, and Terracina—our new favorite hidden escape in Italy. It's located just a 2 hour drive from Rome or Naples, making it a super convenient long weekend trip, or add-on to a longer Italian roadtrip (why not add it on to Tuscany or Puglia?!).
We actually had no idea this area even existed and only happened to find it after scouring Google Maps for a nice agriturismo to spend our birthdays. We're still not sure if it was the agriturismo that made the trip so memorable, the unexpected discovery of these adorable towns, the amazing seafood pastas, all the wine we drank, or a combination of it all, but we can't wait for all our friends to go check out this best kept secret in Italy (and for us to tag along with them)!
Duration: 4 nights
Best Time to Go: Late May to late September. We went in mid-July and it was the perfect getaway with almost no tourists. This may be the only place on the Mediterranean that isn't swarmed with people mid-summer!
Table of Contents
Southern Lazio: Itinerary at a Glance
Day | Activities |
Day 1 | Arrive in the morning, pickup your rental car, and drive 2 hours to SarAnd Relais Farmhouse in Fondi. |
Day 2 | Explore Sperlonga's hilltop Old Town, getting lost in the maze of whitewashed alleys and wandering along the beach. |
Day 3 | Explore Gaeta's Old Town, enjoying the historic architecture and stunning viewpoints. |
Day 4 | Explore Terracina's Old Town with it's impressive main piazza and ancient ruins. |
Day 5 | Head off to your next adventure! If you want to extend your trip, we recommend going north to Tuscany, or south to Puglia. |
Just the Facts
Stay: SarAnd Relais Farmhouse
Our stay at SarAnd Relais was one of the best hotel experiences we've ever had! It's a beautiful family-owned farmhouse resort with only 15 rooms situated on the top of a hilltop in Fondi with an incredible view overlooking the countryside and ocean.
We initially chose this hotel because its restaurant was highly recommended, and we can confirm, the restaurant was amazing (good thing, because there's no other dining options around for dinner!). Every afternoon, we looked forward to coming back to SarAnd to enjoy sunset by the pool and then a relaxing multi-course dinner outside on their terrace. It's one of those places that you just want to stay at forever, and the good thing is, our itinerary ensures you'll have plenty of time to enjoy it.
Eat: Best Restaurants in Sperlonga, Gaeta & Terracina
All of your dinners will be at the restaurant at SarAnd Relais, so below are exclusively recommendations for lunches while exploring the various towns.
Ristorante Taverna Ulisse (Sperlonga): Beachside outdoor restaurant with great spaghetti alle vongole.
Ristorante La Salute (Gaeta): Oceanview restaurant with very good seafood pasta dishes and bruschetta.
Hostaria del Vicoletto (Terracina): Probably the best seafood pasta dishes we had the whole trip. Don't let the strange ambiance put you off, this place has very good food and service! They also bring you several free items like bread, olives, pickled anchovies, and cookies (and yes, they're actually free).
Ristoro "Le Lanterne" (San Felice Circeo): Local restaurant with simple home cooked pastas. We ordered the "ragu alla nonna" pasta and the vongole, both were very good!
Osteria da Giorgione (Latina): Convenient spot to stop for lunch on the drive from Rome to Fondi. We wouldn't seek this place out, but the pastas were good and the service was fast.
Southern Lazio Itinerary Map
Detailed Southern Lazio Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival & Drive to SarAnd Relais in Fondi
Arrive in Rome in the mid-morning, pickup your rental car (we rented through Moventur with premium insurance and it worked out perfectly), and drive 2 hours south to SarAnd Relais Farmhouse in Fondi.
Note: While SarAnd is technically in Fondi, it's a very remote location not close to the main town. We don't recommend spending time in the actual town of Fondi.
Note: You can also fly into Naples as the hotel is located 2 hours from both Rome and Naples.
We recommend stopping halfway for lunch in Latina at Osteria da Giorgione. It's a local spot with a great lunch menu offering bruschetta, a pasta, a side dish, and a drink for €12! Be sure to order the carbonara as it's what they're known for.
Today is all about relaxing, so once you get to SarAnd, we recommend staying there the rest of the day. SarAnd is a very secluded hotel located at the top of hill accessed by a narrow switchback road. Don't be put off by this though, the hotel is absolutely incredible and totally worth the slightly scary drive up!
Spend the afternoon relaxing by the pool with an aperol spritz and then enjoy an amazing dinner on their terrace overlooking the countryside and ocean in the distance. The dinners at SarAnd were so memorable and a highlight of the trip for us!
Day 2: Sperlonga
There are three main towns in southern Lazio that we recommend visiting (Sperlonga, Gaeta, and Terracina), and you can really do them in any order you'd like. We recommend spending the morning and early afternoon in a different town each day, and then getting back to SarAnd to relax by the pool for the rest of the day.
It's only about a 20 minute drive down to Sperlonga so after you've enjoyed breakfast on the terrace at SarAnd, jump in your car and head to this parking lot just outside of Sperlonga (€2/hour). Yes, this parking lot is a bit far from town, but Sperlonga's Old Town is in a ZTL zone so we found this to be the safest and most convenient. The parking lot offers a shuttle for €1 per person that we highly recommend taking as they will drop you off at the top of Old Town (this means you don't have to walk up the super steep hill, totally worth it!).
What's a ZTL Zone? ZTL Zones are traffic-restricted zones located in Italian cities with historic town centers. Only local residents and registered vehicles are allowed to use them. Driving in a ZTL without an authorized permit will result in a fine.
There's no point in trying to use a map in Old Town, just simply walk around and get lost in the maze of tiny streets! There's plenty of places to stop for a coffee or to shop for a bit.
Once you've taken about a million photos of the town (it's soooo cute!), walk down the hill and have lunch at Ristorante Taverna Ulisse. This is a nice outdoor restaurant just off the beach with some great seafood pastas (we love spaghetti alle vongole so had it for almost every lunch!).
After lunch, we recommend walking along the beach back to the parking lot—it's only about a 10-15 minutes walk. If you want to spend more time at the beach, there's tons of lidos (beach bars) that will happily rent you a few lounge chairs and an umbrella. We opted instead to head back to the hotel and enjoy a relaxing afternoon by the pool.
Day 3: Gaeta
After another amazing breakfast on the terrace at SarAnd, drive about 40 minutes down the coast to the town of Gaeta. Since the Old Town of Gaeta is in a ZTL zone, we recommend parking in this parking lot outside the ZTL zone (€2/hour).
From the parking lot, it's about a 25 minute walk to Gaeta's Old Town. We recommend stopping first at the Church of Saint Francis of Assisi. No need to go into this church (we don't even know if you can), the main attraction is the view you'll get from here of the church in the foreground with the ocean and mountains in the distance.
If you want a really amazing view of Gaeta's Old Town (the main photo on this itinerary), then you'll need to work for it! There's a small switchback road (Via S. Maria Ausiliatrice) that goes up the hill just after the church. Take this road up about 20 minutes to the Castello view point. Getting here is not for a faint of heart, and the viewpoint itself is more like a little clearing in the woods, but we have to admit, it is stunning!
As you continue to explore Gaeta's Old Town, be sure to walk by Castello Angioino and the Cathedral Basilica of Gaeta.
For lunch, head over to Ristorante La Salute, an oceanview restaurant with very good seafood pasta dishes and bruschetta.
Walk back along the boardwalk towards the parking lot, and then wander into this cute neighborhood with skinny pedestrian streets, cafes, and shops. Once you've finished exploring, head back to SarAnd for a relaxing afternoon at the pool and dinner on the terrace.
Note: There is a large natural park in the middle of Gaeta. We do not think this is worth visiting unless you really enjoy hiking. The viewpoints and monuments in the park are not very impressive in our opinion and not worth the effort of walking up the hill.
Day 4: Terracina
The final town on your tour of southern Lazio if Terracina! Park your car in this (free!) parking lot by the water and walk up to Terracina's Old Town. There's a long, relatively steep, road that leads up to Old Town, so take it slow, and just remember, it will be worth it!
At the top of the hill, you'll emerge into the main piazza with a Duomo and a Roman Theater. There's tons of little streets off the main piazza, so start exploring and enjoy the maze!
For lunch, we recommend going back down the hill to Hostaria del Vicoletto—don't let the strange ambiance put you off, this was probably the best seafood pasta we had the whole trip. They also bring you several free items like bread, olives, pickled anchovies, and cookies (and yes, they're actually free). All around, great lunch spot!
After lunch, you can rent a few lounge chairs and an umbrella at one of the lidos in Terracina, or you can do as we did and head back to the pool at SarAnd for your final afternoon and evening.
Day 5
That's it for Southern Lazio! Drive 2 hours back to Rome or Naples and head off on your next adventure.
If you have a late flight (as we did), then we recommend stopping for lunch at Ristoro Le Lanterne, just outside the town of San Felice Circeo. It's a local restaurant with really good simple home cooked pastas.
If you want to extend your trip, Lazio is perfectly situated to also explore Tuscany or Puglia. Check out our other itineraries:
Tuscany Roadtrip Itinerary (coming soon)
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