Arco Naturale di Palinuro e grotte di Capo Palinuro
Palinuro
KnownFree beaches
The story
An arch of rock mirrors itself in the water of Capo Palinuro, where the sea caves, first among them the Grotta Azzurra, set the sea alight with cobalt reflections.
Access
boat tour
The story
Palinuro, a hamlet of Centola, is one of the most celebrated destinations of the Cilento: a promontory — Capo Palinuro — that bears the name of Aeneas's helmsman in the Aeneid. Its coast is a masterpiece of cliffs, coves and sea grottoes, some emerged and visitable by boat, others submerged, reachable only by diving.
What to see
The cape is a succession of grottoes and rock arches on the sea: the famous Blue Grotto of Palinuro with its turquoise reflections, the Grotta d'Argento, the Grotta delle Ossa. A short distance away, the Natural Arch, an arch of rock carved by the sea, is one of the symbol-images of the Cilento.
How to get there
- Only by sea
Hours and prices
Free entry.
Tips
The grottoes and coves of the cape are reached only by sea, with the boat tours from Palinuro, and only with a favourable sea: with waves the trips are cancelled, so keep an alternative plan and check the conditions. For the submerged grottoes you need diving with a dive centre. Bring rock shoes and sun protection.
Frequently asked questions
How do you visit the grottoes of Palinuro?
Only by sea, with the boat tours from Palinuro and with a favourable sea; the submerged grottoes are reached by diving with a dive centre.
What is the Blue Grotto of Palinuro?
One of the sea grottoes of Capo Palinuro, with turquoise reflections, visitable by boat together with the other cavities of the cape.
Are the boat trips at Palinuro always guaranteed?
No: they depend on the sea conditions and are cancelled with waves; it is best to check beforehand and keep an alternative.
More gems in Palinuro
More gems: Free beaches
Free beachesBaia di Ieranto
Nerano
The bay protected by the FAI that looks across at the Faraglioni of Capri, reachable only on foot among olive trees and scrub, with the clear water of an old quarry.
◆ Free beachesFiordo
Massa Lubrense
A cleft in the rock where the sea slips in, narrow and green, almost always shaded beneath high walls: you don't come here for the sun, but for the silence.
- ◆ Free beaches
Lido delle Monache / spiaggia libera di Posillipo e Riva Fiorita
Posillipo
Tiny coves among the rocks, once the bathing place of the nuns of a convent above the sea: almost secret free beaches, reachable mostly from the water.
- ◆ Free beaches
Baia di Trentaremi
Posillipo
A bay closed in by high cliffs of yellow tufo (volcanic tuff), with caves cut by the Romans: no road reaches it, only the sea and the kayaks slip in among the rocks.
- ◆ Free beaches
Capo Miseno e porticciolo di Acquamorta
Bacoli/Monte di Procida
The headland that closes the gulf and, at its foot, the little harbour of Acquamorta with the boats hauled ashore and the water shallow and clear.
- ◆ Free beaches
Cala di Mitigliano e grotta
Massa Lubrense
A path through olive trees drops down to the rocks, Capri looks an arm's length away, and the cave opens in the water like a hall of shadow and salt.