Calamosche Beach
Noto, Sicily, Italy
Calamosche is a sandy cove tucked inside the Vendicari Nature Reserve on Sicily's east coast, Italy, between Noto and Marzamemi, sheltered by two rocky promontories that keep the water calm and clear almost regardless of the wind. It was named Italy's most beautiful beach by Legambiente's Blue Guide, and the roughly one kilometer walk in from the car park has kept it from turning into another built up resort strip.
A genuinely protected, unspoiled cove that's earned national recognition for good reason, though the walk in and lack of facilities mean it takes more effort than beaches with a road straight to the sand.
Wear water shoes if snorkeling is on the agenda. The caves and ravines along the rocky sides of the cove hold a lot of marine life, but the footing near the rocks is uneven.
There's an equipped car park at the reserve entrance, from which a roughly one kilometer path through the wetlands leads to the beach itself.
The one kilometer approach is a dirt and gravel path through the reserve, flat but not paved, manageable on foot but not ideal for strollers.
June through September brings Sicily's warm, dry summer and the calmest water in the sheltered cove, with the reserve's migratory bird populations more active in the shoulder seasons of spring and fall.
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