The Vendicari Nature Reserve (Riserva Naturale di Vendicari) is a breathtaking conservation area in the southeast corner of Sicily. Featuring pristine white sand beaches and over 200 species of birds, including flamingoes, we highly recommend visiting the nature reserve during a trip to Sicily. By doing a coastal walk in the Vendicari Nature Reserve, you can explore the main attractions within the area.
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Vendicari Nature Reserve Coastal Walk Overview
The Vendicari Nature Reserve stretches around 13km along the coastline. Essentially, there are three walking routes that collectively span the entire length of this coastline.
- Blue Route: Eloro Beach – Calamosche Beach
- Orange Route: Calamosche Beach – Tonnara di Vendicari
- Green Route: Tonnara di Vendicari – Cittadella Maccari
It’s possible to combine all three routes to complete a coastal walk of the entire nature reserve. But, unfortunately, there is no public transport connecting the northern and southern ends of the reserve. So, unless you can car shuffle or organise a taxi, you’ll be doing a fairly long out and back walk, totalling around 26km.
That’s exactly why there are three smaller walking routes. Most people will choose to do just one walking route. So, which one?
The highlights of the Blue Route are natural attractions – the white sand beaches. Whereas, the Orange Route is a nice combination of beaches and the main historical attractions – Torre Sveva and Tonnara di Vendicari. In comparison, the Green Route includes more archaeological attractions, and indeed, lesser-known ones.
To enjoy the best beaches and the main historical attractions, Beck and I decided to combine the blue and orange routes.
Our Experience: Blue and Orange Routes
- Type: Out & Back
- Distance: 15km
- Time: 4.5–5.5 hours
- Accumulated elevation gain: 110m
- Difficulty: Moderate
By combining the blue and orange walking routes, you’ll complete a roughly 15km out and back walk. Despite having minimal elevation gain, the relatively long distance of the walk means it’s fairly physically demanding. In addition, there is a river crossing, plenty of sand walking and some rough terrain, so that also adds to the challenge and adventure.
To help plan your hike, we highly recommend using the interactive map below. The map shows all of the main points of interest in the nature reserve, including entrances. Essentially, you could start the walk at various car parks and their associated entrances. If you’re completing the blue and orange routes as we did, you could start at Eloro Beach, Marianelli Beach, Calamosche Beach or Tonnara di Vendicari.
Personally, we don’t recommend using the Marianelli Beach starting point. That’s because the parking situation was quite ambiguous. Also, the Calamosche Beach and Tonnara di Vendicari parking areas are €5 to use. With this in mind, we started the walk from the Eloro Beach entrance, which involves parking here. There was no parking fee, but there are limited roadside spaces (maybe up to 15–20 vehicles) at the Eloro Beach entrance.
If you follow in our footsteps, your Vendicari Nature Reserve coastal walk starts at Eloro Beach.
Eloro Beach
From the parking area, it’s around a 500 metre walk to reach Eloro Beach (Spiaggia di Eloro). Undoubtedly, Eloro Beach is one of the best beaches in the Vendicari Nature Reserve. So, you may be immediately tempted to go for a dip! If you can manage to resist the temptation and continue the walk, your next step involves a river crossing.
During periods of drought, we’ve heard that sometimes you won’t need to do a river crossing at the southern end of Eloro Beach. But, that wasn’t the case for us. Truth be told, the river crossing was fun and an adventurous part of the coastal walk.
After completing the river crossing, you’ll then make your way towards Marianelli Beach. All the while, the coastal views are extraordinary.
Marianelli Beach
Marianelli Beach (Spiaggia naturista di Marianelli) is well-known as a nudist beach in the Vendicari Nature Reserve. So, don’t be surprised to find bare-bodied rigs lining the beach. During our visit, the beach was full of natural debris, including dried trees, logs and branches, which took some patience to navigate around. To the nudists’ delight, these structures are perfect for making natural forts.
After passing the natural debris and constructed forts, you’ll soon reach the southern end of Marianelli Beach. The next section of trail between Marianelli Beach and Calamosche Beach is hands-down one of the best parts of the Vendicari Nature Reserve coastal walk. We encountered a blissfully tranquil coastal path, void of crowds, and surrounded by exquisite purple wildflowers. Eventually, when you reach Calamosche Beach, you can expect to see a few more people.
Calamosche Beach
Calamosche Beach (Spiaggia di Calamosche) is the most popular and well-known beach in the Vendicari Nature Reserve. Out of all of the beaches in the reserve, it’s the beach that draws the most people wanting to spend a day at the beach. But, thankfully, the beach is void of any beach club or any nonsense like that!
Truly, the beach is stunning and features absurd turquoise-coloured water. Yet, the beach isn’t that large. So, before you know it, you’ll be hiking away from the beach, towards other attractions in the nature reserve.
Pantano Piccolo: Spotting Flamingoes
Before arriving at Tonnara di Vendicari, we highly recommend stopping at the lookout for Pantano Piccolo. From a sheltered observation point, you can see flamingoes in the lagoon. Spending some time watching these elegant creatures was definitely a highlight of the walk.
Torre Sveva and Tonnara di Vendicari
After birdwatching, it’s time to head to some of the main historical attractions in the nature reserve. Just south of Pantano Piccolo, you’ll arrive at Torre Sveva (a tower) and Tonnara di Vendicari (an old tuna cannery and fishery). Having previously visited the fascinating Tonnara di Scopello in the north of Sicily, we had high hopes for visiting another old tuna fishery. And, Tonnara di Vendicari didn’t disappoint! Superbly set along the coastline, the tuna fishery ruins were enjoyable to explore.
FYI – Tonnara di Vendicari features a museum, which is worth checking out if you want to learn more about the history of the area.
Vendicari Beach
Just next to Tonnara di Vendicari, you’ll find Vendicari Beach (Spiaggia di Vendicari). Personally, Beck and I enjoyed our packed lunch on the horse shoe shaped beach. After doing so, we retraced our steps back to Eloro Beach to complete the walk.
Cittadella Maccari
If you want to continue the walk to complete the green route, then continue walking south along Vendicari Beach. The main attractions along this route include Cittadella Maccari, Byzantine Necropolis and Trigona. These are all Byzantine ruins, dating back to the 6th Century A.D. Bear in mind, that to get from Vendicari Beach to these attractions, you’ll need to do another river crossing.
Vendicari Nature Reserve Opening Times
Generally speaking, in the summer, the reserve is open from 7am to 7:30pm. Whereas, in the winter, the reserve is open from roughly 9:30am to 4pm. Bear in mind, that these times are only a rough guide and that staff sometimes open and close earlier or later than these times!
Vendicari Nature Reserve Entrance Fees
The entrance fee for the nature reserve is €3.50 per person.
FYI – make sure to also visit Pizzuta Beach, which is the first beach just north of the Vendicari Nature Reserve. This beach is free to visit and is just as beautiful as the beaches in the Vendicari Nature Reserve.
Read more: Pizzuta Beach Is One of Sicily’s Best Hidden Beaches
How to Get to Vendicari Nature Reserve
The easiest and quickest way to get to Vendicari Nature Reserve is to drive there. We hired a car from Catania International Airport and drove to the nature reserve as part of our second trip to Sicily, spending a day exploring the area.
Car Hire
If you don’t have your own car, you should hire one using Discover Cars. Personally, we use Discover Cars and highly recommend them for finding your ideal car hire at an affordable price. Booking online is super easy and the free cancellation policy is great.
To find out more about renting a car with Discover Cars, read our Discover Cars review and Discover Cars Insurance review.
Using Interbus, it may be possible to use public transport to access the nature reserve. The Syracuse (Siracusa) to Pachino route passes the nature reserve. So, you could potentially try and request to be dropped at Roveto, near the entrance for Tonnara di Vendicari. Admittedly, we don’t recommend this option as it seems logistically difficult to organise, given the bus route has limited daily departures and returns, even in summer.
Where to Stay Near Vendicari Nature Reserve
Most people visiting the nature reserve will do so as a day trip from Syracuse. But, if you want to stay even closer to the reserve, we recommend staying in Avola or Noto.
Other Nature Reserves in Sicily
Other than the Vendicari Nature Reserve, there are plenty of other excellent nature reserves and natural parks in Sicily. Learn more about the best nature reserves in Sicily, by reading our guides below.
- Zingaro Nature Reserve
- Cavagrande del Cassibile Nature Reserve
- Capo Gallo Nature Reserve
- Monte Pellegrino Nature Reserve
- Monte Cofano Nature Reserve
- Gole Alcantara Botanical and Geological Park
- Madonie Natural Park
Otherwise, of course, you’ll need to check out Mount Etna – perhaps the best natural attraction in Sicily!
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