Few things say Sicilian summer quite like the moment you first see the sea here. From Casa Bandello in Noto, an astonishing variety of coastline sits within a twenty-five-minute drive: Caribbean-bright coves, wild beaches inside a protected nature reserve, well-organised lidos where everything is laid on for you, and lived-in town beaches where the whole village strolls at sunset.
Rather than list the beaches by distance, we have grouped them by the kind of day you are after. Want a comfortable day with sunbeds, a bar and a shower close by? Start with the full-service beaches. Dreaming of unspoilt nature? Head into the Vendicari reserve. Chasing that postcard turquoise water? We will point you to the two that deliver it. And if you would rather feel like a local than a tourist, the town beaches are for you.
Easy days: full-service beaches with everything on hand
If you want to arrive, rent a sunbed, and have a cold drink and a clean shower within reach, these are the beaches to choose. They are the closest to the house and the simplest to enjoy — especially with children.
Marina di Noto (Lido di Noto)
Just ten minutes from the house, this is Noto’s own beach — you will see it signposted as both “Marina di Noto” and “Lido di Noto”, two names for the same long, sandy seafront. The fine, pale sand runs for more than a kilometre, divided into two stretches by a low rocky promontory, and the seabed shelves so gently that the water stays shallow a long way out — exactly what you want with young children. It is a proper little resort: lidos renting sunbeds and umbrellas sit alongside free public stretches, and the promenade is lined with bars, restaurants and gelato. The beach has long held Legambiente’s prestigious “Five Sails” rating for its clean water and well-kept shore.
Good to know: ~10 min by car · fine sand · shallow, calm, family-safe water · both free beach and paid lidos · bars, restaurants, showers, sunbed and boat rental, sports courts · large free parking plus roadside spaces · even reachable by a direct bus from Noto. Best for: a comfortable, do-nothing day close to home.
Open Marina di Noto in Google Maps →
Pantanello Beach, Avola
A short drive north toward Avola brings you to Pantanello, a sheltered horseshoe bay the locals nickname the Ferro di Cavallo (“horseshoe”). It is mostly soft sand — with a few stony patches right at the water’s edge, so flip-flops help — and the water is the gentlest we know nearby: shallow, warm and calm a long way out, perfect for toddlers paddling. (If you are a strong swimmer heading well offshore, be aware that currents can pick up out there.) There is a free beach alongside a bathing establishment with sunbeds, public showers, toilets and a bar, and the clifftop Waikiki bar looks out over the whole bay.
Good to know: ~14 min by car · mostly sand, some stones at the shoreline · very shallow, warm, calm water · free beach plus a lido with showers, toilets and bar · free clifftop parking with a ramp down to the sand (worth noting if mobility is a concern). Best for: families with small children and a quieter, less showy day.
Open Pantanello Beach in Google Maps →
Wild and unspoilt: the beaches of the Vendicari reserve
South of Noto lies the Riserva Naturale Orientata Oasi Faunistica di Vendicari, a protected stretch of coast, salt pans and Mediterranean scrub that is, for our money, the most beautiful corner of the whole region. There are no resorts here — just dunes, birdsong, ancient ruins and some of the clearest water in Sicily.
A few things to know before you go, because the reserve plays by its own rules. It has five entrances (Cittadella, Vendicari, Calamosche, Marianelli and Eloro), each with its own car park. There is a small day ticket (around €3.50, paid electronically — no cash) that is valid all day at any entrance. The reserve closes at night, and dogs are not allowed anywhere inside it, to protect the wildlife. Crucially, there is almost no natural shade, so bring water, a hat and sunscreen, and avoid arriving in the full heat of midday. Opening hours are longer in summer (roughly 7am until evening) and shorter in winter — worth a quick check before you set off.
Spiaggia di Eloro
The easiest of the wild beaches, and a wonderful introduction to Vendicari. At the reserve’s northern Eloro entrance, a roughly kilometre-long sweep of fine white sand backed by dunes opens up at the mouth of the Tellaro river, where the shore turns pleasantly rocky. The water is clear, turquoise and gently shelving — calm and shallow enough for children near the shore. Unusually for a reserve beach, Eloro has a little bar and showers, so you are not entirely without comforts. Best of all, the short walk from the car park (around 300 metres, partly on a wooden boardwalk) takes you straight past the Greek archaeological site of Eloro (ancient Helorus), with its city walls, a sanctuary to Demeter and Kore, and a rock-cut theatre. The tall limestone column known locally as the Pizzuta stands nearby.
Good to know: ~12 min by car · white sand and dunes, rocky near the river mouth · clear, shallow, family-friendly water · a rare reserve beach with a small bar and showers · short ~300 m boardwalk from a paid car park (around €2.50) · Greek ruins right beside the sand. Best for: an easy wild beach with a dose of ancient history.
Open Spiaggia di Eloro in Google Maps →
Spiaggia di Vendicari (the Tonnara beach)
This is the reserve’s flagship beach, reached from the main Vendicari entrance: a wide, open sweep of sand facing the open sea, with water so clear it almost glows. What makes it unforgettable is the backdrop. Rising directly behind the beach are the romantic ruins of the Tonnara di Vendicari, an ancient tuna fishery that worked these waters until the 1940s, and the Swabian Tower, a 15th-century watchtower built against pirate raids. Walk the path inland toward the pantano (salt pans) and you reach the reserve’s celebrated birdwatching grounds — herons and egrets in summer, and, from autumn through spring, the flamingos that make Vendicari famous. There are no services on the beach itself, so come prepared with water and a picnic.
Good to know: ~20 min by car · wide sandy beach, open sea · clear water, good swimming · no facilities — bring your own supplies · short walk from the entrance · ruined tuna fishery, watchtower and flamingo lagoon all on the doorstep. Best for: combining a swim with history and birdwatching.
Open Spiaggia di Vendicari in Google Maps →
Calamosche
The reserve’s hidden jewel, and the one that rewards a little effort. Calamosche is a small cove, perhaps 200 metres wide, cradled between two rocky headlands — the sheltering arms of rock make it so calm and clear that locals call it a natural swimming pool. The centre is sandy, while the rocky flanks, full of hollows and ledges, make it one of the finest snorkelling spots on this coast. It was once voted the most beautiful beach in Italy, and on a still morning it is easy to see why. The catch: there are no services, and reaching it means a walk of around a kilometre (15–20 minutes) along an unshaded dirt path from the car park. Bring water, and come early.
Good to know: ~15 min by car, then a ~1 km walk · sandy cove with rocky sides · calm, crystal-clear water, superb snorkelling · no facilities at all · paid car park (around €3) · unshaded path, no shade on arrival. Best for: snorkellers and anyone after a true hidden-cove reward.
Open Calamosche in Google Maps →
The turquoise postcards
Two beaches near Noto deliver that impossibly bright, Caribbean-blue water people travel across the world for. Both are popular for good reason — go early in high summer and you will have the colour almost to yourself.
Spiaggia di San Lorenzo
Just north of the fishing village of Marzamemi, on the southern edge of the Vendicari reserve, San Lorenzo is the turquoise beach of everyone’s imagination. The sand is fine and pale, backed by low dunes, and the seabed slopes so gradually and gently that the shallow water glows an extraordinary aquamarine. It is calm, clear and safe for swimmers of every level. You will find generous free stretches alongside well-run lidos — among them Lido San Lorenzo and Agua Beach — offering sunbeds, bars, watersports and children’s play areas. Make a day of it: pair a morning swim with an evening of fresh seafood in nearby Marzamemi, one of the prettiest fishing villages in Sicily. (San Lorenzo is also a favourite spot for the mid-August “night of San Lorenzo” meteor shower.)
Good to know: ~25 min by car · fine sand and dunes · shallow, calm, brilliantly turquoise water · free stretches plus lidos with full services · paid parking from around €4 · busiest on August weekends. Best for: postcard swimming followed by a Marzamemi evening.
Open Spiaggia di San Lorenzo in Google Maps →
Fontane Bianche
A little further afield, between Avola and Siracusa, Fontane Bianche curves for more than a kilometre of bright white sand around a bay of warm, shallow, clear water. The name means “white fountains”, and it is no marketing flourish: real freshwater springs rise up from the seabed here, and you can feel them as cool patches in the otherwise bath-warm sea. The gently shelving bottom makes it one of the easiest beaches anywhere for children. Free stretches sit beside a row of lidos — Sayonara, Fontane Bianche, Nuevo and Kukua among them — with sunbeds, showers, boats and bars. It is genuinely popular, so it can get crowded at the height of summer; arrive early, and don’t be put off if a little harmless posidonia seagrass washes up after a windy spell — it is a sign of a healthy sea.
Good to know: ~25 min by car · white sand · shallow, warm, clear water with natural springs · free stretches plus several full-service lidos · parking around €3–5 · very busy in peak summer. Best for: an easy white-sand day, with Siracusa close by.
Open Fontane Bianche in Google Maps →
Local and lively: the town beaches
Not every beach day has to be a grand expedition. These two are where Sicilians themselves go — one a busy seaside promenade, the other a tiny fishing hamlet — and they offer something the postcard beaches cannot: the everyday rhythm of coastal life.
Lungomare Tremoli, Avola
Avola’s own town beach runs along its seafront promenade, an easy stroll from the cafes and squares. It is a sandy beach with a gentle entry to the water (with a few stony patches here and there), backed by a lively lungomare of bars, kiosks and a children’s playground — the kind of place where the whole town comes out for the evening passeggiata and a gelato. There are free stretches as well as lidos such as Lido Eden and Villa Romana. The name Tremoli comes from the little freshwater springs of the Passammare stream that surface right on the sand — tremuli in Sicilian dialect. Avola itself is worth lingering in: rebuilt on a remarkable hexagonal plan after the 1693 earthquake, it gives its name both to Nero d’Avola wine and to the prized Avola almond.
Good to know: ~12 min by car · sand with some stony patches · gentle, shallow entry · free beach plus lidos · bars, kiosks, playground and a public shower along the promenade · metered parking nearby (bring coins — the meters don’t take cards). Best for: a beach you can walk from town, with an evening stroll and gelato.
Open Lungomare Tremoli in Google Maps →
Spiaggia di Calabernardo
Closest in spirit to the old Sicily, Calabernardo is a tiny fishing hamlet — a frazione of Noto — gathered around a small working harbour and a disused lighthouse. The shore is mostly rock, with small patches of sand tucked between the inlets, and while that makes it less suited to toddlers, it rewards swimmers and snorkellers with crystal-clear, fish-rich water; the little cove known as Malacala is a local favourite for its colourful seabed. Bring water shoes for the slippery rocks. There are no big lidos here — just a handful of village restaurants and a deeply peaceful, authentic atmosphere that stays blissfully uncrowded even in August, when the rest of the coast is full.
Good to know: ~15 min by car · mostly rocky with small sandy patches · clear, calm water, excellent snorkelling · free and wild, minimal facilities · village restaurants nearby · water shoes recommended. Best for: a quiet snorkelling swim and an authentic fishing-village feel.
Open Spiaggia di Calabernardo in Google Maps →
Good to know before you go
A few practical notes that apply right across this coast, gathered from sending guests to the sea all season long:
- Free beach or lido? Most beaches here offer both. A spiaggia libera (free beach) costs nothing but brings nothing — you supply your own umbrella. A lido charges for sunbeds and an umbrella but gives you shade, showers, toilets and somewhere to eat. For a relaxed full day, a lido is usually worth it.
- Season. Lidos, kiosks and bars run roughly from late spring to September. Outside those months the beaches are quiet, beautiful and largely unserviced — lovely for a walk, but bring your own everything.
- The Vendicari reserve. Remember the small day ticket (paid electronically), no dogs, almost no shade, and that it closes at night. Go early in summer to beat both the heat and the crowds.
- Parking. The big beaches near Noto often have free parking; the reserve charges a couple of euros; town parking in Avola is metered and coin-only, so keep change handy.
- Shade and sun. The wild beaches have little or no natural shade. Bring an umbrella, a hat, water and sunscreen.
- Water shoes. Genuinely useful at rocky Calabernardo and on the stony edges of a few of the sandy beaches.
- Seaweed. Banks of dead posidonia seagrass sometimes wash ashore after a windy spell. It is harmless and, in fact, a sign of a clean, living sea.
- Travelling with small children? The shallowest, calmest water is at Pantanello, Marina di Noto, San Lorenzo, Fontane Bianche and Eloro.
- A note on prices and hours. Parking fees, lido prices and reserve hours change with the season — treat the figures here as a guide and confirm locally on the day.
What we provide
- For all our guests we provide a courtesy set of beach umbrellas, beach mats and beach towels that they can take with them when exploring unserviced areas.
Your sea, from our doorstep
What we love most about Casa Bandello’s corner of Sicily is that you never have to choose just one kind of beach. A turquoise morning at San Lorenzo, a wild afternoon snorkelling at Calamosche, a lazy family day at Pantanello, an evening passeggiata along the Avola seafront — all of it is within twenty-five minutes of the front door. Tell us what kind of day you are dreaming of, and we will point you to exactly the right stretch of sand.
Ready to wake up this close to the sea? Check availability at Casa Bandello and start planning your Sicilian summer.