San Vito lo Capo is a small town in North-Western Sicily. Like many of you I’ve never heard of San Vito before, until one day my husband and I decided to expose ourselves to the sun during a cold wet Irish summer. And where else would two foodies go if not to Italy? And where in Italy can you get the greatest food? That’s right, Sicily! And which part of Sicily offers one of the greatest beaches? The research showed it’s San Vito lo Capo. Many claim San Vito beach to be the Caribbean of Sicily. So we went to check 😉
Despite the crowds the beach was great indeed. Not the “crystal clear turquoise water” as you may see in pictures, but the water was clean, you could even see small cute fishes under the water. The sand was soft and golden, the view of the beach just amazing – a mountain on the right always reminding that you’re in a rocky Sicily.
Should I say anything about the food? Oh yes, it’s unbelievable! If you are a type of person who intensively exercises just before a beach vacation, forget that, here you cannot stop eating gelatos and cannolis and all other great stuff including seafood, arancini (stuffed rice balls) or tabacchiere (sweet flat peaches). Couscous is particularly popular in this town, they even have an annual couscous festival!
A Zingaro Nature Reserve makes a great day trip from San Vito by boat. Very nice scenes, crystal blue water, mountains, caves, rocks, and also stories about how Mafia members used those caves to escape from their houses in mountains. They dug a pathway from their home down to a cave, and when the police arrived they just went downstairs, sat their boats and escaped. Clever, isn’t it?
The town itself is very small, about 4000 people living there, very friendly and hospitable, many don’t know any English word because mainly Italians are visiting the town, and so that’s another advantage of it – an experience of a really authentic vacation without crowds of tourists, tourist traps and artificial “must to do”-s designed specifically for tourists. Indeed a nice place to get some sunshine and enjoy the local food.
San Vito lo Capo beach
Zingaro Nature Reserve
Let me take a picture of you =)
Sunset in San Vito
Such a beautiful little town – my bucket list has just become longer 🙂 Thanks for sharing your beautiful photos.
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Thank you 🙂
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Looks like such a beautiful place. I have been to Italy a few times but have never been to Sicily. I think it is due a trip. Thanks for the inspiration.
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Thanks Kathy! 🙂
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Goodness this place looks amazing, and open. The Mafia story is a stuff of legends. Can anyone explore those dug caves?
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Haha, I’d imagine they still live there, so you’ll probably need to contact them to gain access to their caves 😀
I’m kidding, don’t know actually if it’s possible to explore those areas. A good topic for me to google.
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I’ve never heard of this place, but it looks charming! Thanks for sharing 🙂
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It looks beautiful! I was just in Italy, but unfortunately, we didn’t have the chance to visit Sicily while we were there. I love the story of the Mafia cave escapes!
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Thanks Marie. Sicily was so much different from the mainland Italy. Everything there seemed more “Italian” than in “real” Italy. If you have a chance in future, explore this part of Italy too, it’s great!
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stunning pictures! Can you imagine I spent three months in Sicily but never been here!? I definitely need to go back!! 🙂
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Thanks Sabrina. That’s a good excuse to go back to that beautiful island! 😉
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Heard of Sicily but not much about the beachy areas. It’s nice seeing this side, rather than the usual built up areas. Good one!
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Thanks Perri 🙂
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Like you, I never heard of this place but it looks like paradise in Italy! When did you go?
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It’s really a “off the beaten path” for international tourists, so this is a great time to explore it until it becomes too popular, haha 🙂 I visited this summer, just 2 months ago.
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I LOVE THIS! I’ve been wanting to return to Sicily for a while, since the last time I visited, I was only 8 years old. The thing I remember most though, was the clear blue water and stunning scenery of Parco dello Zingaro. San Vito looks like a great base for exploring the area and the beach there looks quite nice as well! (especially the backdrop!)
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So glad you’ve been to this amazing island Erika! It has so many places to explore and some really stunning views.
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Your photography is simply beautiful!!! And I had never heard of this place before reading this post!
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Thank you! 🙂
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