Talking about all the beaches in Salento is not easy, there are so many of them, holidaymakers are always short of time and it takes a lot to see them all! By free beaches in Salento we mean most of the sandy shores, but there is no shortage of beach resorts for those who want a more comfortable holiday.
To be fair, the others have nothing to envy either, since they are all beautiful beaches in Salento anyway, but you have to start somewhere.
The beaches on the Ionian side of Salento are the best known, but to do no one any harm, we only highlight five on the Ionian side and five on the Adriatic side, considered the most beautiful beaches in Salento.
The Most Beautiful Beaches on the Ionian coast of Salento: Top 5
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Maldives of Salento
The Maldives of Salento belong to the municipality of Salve in the marina of Pescoluse, and they are the southernmost ones we are looking at, just eight kilometres from Santa Maria di Leuca on the Ionic Salento side.
The water is transparent and the shallow seabed makes it safe for children to swim. The sand seems to have been sifted by the gods for how fine it is. Set against ten kilometres of other beach clubs and free beaches, walking in the red of the sunset transports us to the tropical enchantment of which it has nothing to envy.
The beach has all the amenities, and entertainment such as jet skis, parachutes and water games.
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Punta Prosciutto
Punta Prosciutto is located in the municipality of Porto Cesareo a few kilometres from Gallipoli and is part of the Palude del Conte and Duna Costiera nature reserve. Recently discovered by the general public, it has a crystal-clear sea and is one of the white beaches of the Salento; the water is unquestionably clean. Behind it, lush Mediterranean scrub is the sign of an unspoilt place.
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Porto Selvaggio
Porto Selvaggio is the marina of Nardò not far from Lecce, the capital, also on the Ionian coast. It is part of the Regional Natural Park, very popular with most people. The water is clean, like all Salento beaches. It is accessed through a thick pine forest, a cool oasis during the hottest hours of the day.
Its name indicates precisely its natural appearance where the hand of man has fortunately not managed to contaminate it, which is why it is appreciated by naturalists.
To reach this corner of paradise, one must walk through the park’s green pine forest, where one can admire nature’s bewitching charm. The more daring ones can venture along a path to the left of the beach that leads to Torre dell’Alto, where you can admire an ancient Aragonese castle that has now become a museum of marine biology.
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Punta Pizzo
Punta Pizzo is a beach just south of Gallipoli and part of the Regional National Park. Here the rocky seabed causes the transparent water to change colour continuously. The low cliffs are surrounded by a dense pine forest mixed with Mediterranean scrub where the essences of myrtle and mastic bring us back to the scents of the Orient.
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Torre Pali
The northernmost offshoot of the Maldives of Salento, Torre Pali beach is guarded by an ancient ruined tower that rises directly from the clear waters, some fifteen metres from the fine white sand.
Do you want to spend your holidays in Salento? Let’s find out in detail which are the 5 most beautiful beaches in Salento on the Adriatic side that are definitely worth a visit.
The most beautiful beaches on the Adriatic coast of Salento: Top 5
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Torre Dell’orso
Torre Dell’orso is the marina of Melendugno on the Adriatic coast. The water is perpetually clean due to the constant currents in the Otranto channel. Its name derives from a coastal watchtower, one of many scattered along the coast, for sighting Turkish ships. One of the hypotheses for its toponym is characterised by a rock placed below the tower in the shape of a bear.
The beach is an inlet bordered by high cliffs that frame it, while to the south you can admire two very similar stacks called the two sisters. According to legend, two beautiful sisters left the countryside to cool off near the sea.
Once there, one of the two believed she saw a beautiful creature in the sea and dived in; the other sister in turn dived in an attempt to save her, but in vain. The two sisters drowned in a deadly embrace, but Neptune took pity and transformed the two young women into two beautiful stacks.
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Roca Vecchia beach: the Grotta della Poesia
According to an ancient legend, a beautiful princess came here to cool off and poets flocked to decant her beauty. Therefore, this beautiful bay 20 km from Otranto, which is actually an ancient cave, is called the la “Poesia” or Grotta della Poesia (Cave of Poetry). It can be reached by swimming or by boat, while the more daring ones can even dive off the rocks.
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Porto Badisco
A visit to Porto Badisco in Otranto is a must during your holiday in Salento. Here history, myth and legend come together. This characteristic fishing village hides natural gems of rare beauty, including caves and inlets of great mysterious charm.
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Cala dell’Acquaviva – Castro Marina
One of the most beautiful bays in Lecce is Acquaviva a Marittima (Cala dell’Acquaviva) where it seems that time has stood still to contemplate the beauty of the surrounding nature.
It is a small inlet that can be reached along the Canale del Bosco; at the end of the path, a spectacle of nature stands out before your eyes with white cliffs covered in vegetation and a turquoise, transparent sea to dive into.
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Tricase Porto
Located about 20 kilometres from the southernmost point of the heel of our peninsula (Leuca), Tricase Porto is a small and characteristic hamlet of only 269 permanent residents, overlooking the Adriatic coast of the Lower Salento.
Sea, sun and tranquillity make this an ideal destination for a romantic or relaxing weekend.
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