longer term european climbing without a car

Hi everyone, I'll have some time off this fall (mid-September to mid November) starting and ending in Northern Italy so don't want to go too far away (kalymnos seems a bit of a pain for instance, but if you tell me it's worth it/easier than I think I'll look into it). I'm looking for places to climb that fit the following criteria:

1. Plenty of climbing (trad, sport, single pitch, multi pitch all works for me) to keep me busy for a couple months
2. Decent weather but preferably not too hot (rather belay in a puffy than get sunburnt every day)
3. Crags and ideally grocery stores accessible by foot or public transport (basically without a car)
4. Reasonably easy to find a partner (sport climbing 5.12s, trad climbing 5.10 multipitch or 5.11 single pitch)
5. Not crazy expensive to stay longer term (not super sure what a reasonable budget is, but happy to camp or share a room in a hostel long term if need be)

Anyone have ideas?
I'm sure Spain has some options, I've heard amazing things about Orco but not sure about the logistics. Let me know!

Alternatively, I've heard of extermely cheap longer term car rentals in spain, greece etc. that could make this whole thing much smoother. Online sites don't offer them but if you've had a good experience with a local card rental place let me know

You might give Finale Ligure a look:

Camping Cucco

I can't think of too many places other than the above that might fit your spec's in Northern Italy.  Kalymnos for sure would (not sure how cheap the lodging options would be).  So would El Chorro in Spain.

Harder to rent a car for cheap if you're under 25 it seems.

Good luck!  Let us know what you figure out!

Arco, Italy

Orpierre, France--only a week of climbing, hiking, etc. but no need for a car there; not sure about finding other climbers easily.

btw I'm happy to take a train elsewhere in Europe, just need to be reasonable from north Italy (spain, France, Austria germany slovenia all seem not too bad)

Not having a car while climbing in Europe eliminates a majority of the best climbing areas. Consider figuring out how to rent a car and your options will explode. I personally would not consider doing a climbing trip to Europe without a car.

With that said, if you absolutely refuse to rent a car, there are a couple areas to consider...

1. Leonidio, Greece- easy to find climbing partners at the climbing cafe and several good sectors you can hike to from town. Getting here by public transport is doable but time consuming.

2. Rodellar, Spain- the perfect place for not having a car and relatively easy to get to. Every single sector is a hike from town and the area is amazing. Should be able to find partners at Kalandraka.

3. Peak District, England- stay in Hathersage and it is a hike to Stanage Plantation which has a lifetime of bouldering and trad climbing. You could find partners at the plantation boulders.

2. Rodellar, Spain- the perfect place for not having a car and relatively easy to get to. Every single sector is a hike from town and the area is amazing. Should be able to find partners at Kalandraka.

I think grocery shopping in rodellar without a car is going to be pretty challenging. The hotel had some staples as does the camping but everything is about 3x what you would pay at a normal grocery store. Not sure if there is a bus to a village with groceries? We would stock up and bring groceries for a couple of weeks before heading there because the closest grocery shopping was annoying to get to even with a car. 

The climbing however, is very easily accessible without a car and it's super easy to find people to climb with.

I have 2 options for you that will fit your criterias (diversity, cheap, no car,, easy to find partners)

Verdon, france. stay at the camping municipal of la palud sur verdon
Finale ligure, Italy. Stay at Camping Del Mulino 

In both cases rent an e-bike, it will make your life 1000% easier. 

what if you had a house on wheels? no personal experience, but the indie campers out of vienna are the least expensive rentals i've found anywhere...

https://indiecampers.com/rent-an-rv/search?from=vienna&to=vienna&start=2024-09-15&end=2024-11-16

I stayed for a couple weeks in Arco a good number of years ago.  I stayed in the campground (showers, swimming pool, etc.) which is across the road from the bouldering area and one of the crags.  I rented a bike, got to know some locals and had a really nice visit.  I’m not sure if the infrastructure has changed since then.