Punta Licosa
Castellabate
KnownFree beaches
The story
A headland of holm oaks and Mediterranean scrub thrust out over the sea, with the islet and the lighthouse where legend places the siren Leucosia.
Access
on foot/by sea
The story
Punta Licosa is a promontory covered in Mediterranean scrub at the southern tip of the municipality of Castellabate, inside the Santa Maria di Castellabate Marine Protected Area, in the Cilento National Park. The name, which antiquity linked to the siren Leucosia, indicates one of the most beautiful and intact stretches of coast of the Tyrrhenian, with its tower and the small islet offshore.
What to see
A natural park by the sea: a path crosses the wood to the tip, with the watchtower and the islet of Licosa in front, in crystalline waters inside the marine protected area. It is the coast of the Cilento in its pure state, without concrete.
How to get there
- On foot only
Hours and prices
Free entry.
Tips
Punta Licosa is reached only on foot or by bike, along a private road closed to cars: reckon on the walk (from Ogliastro Marina or San Marco) and know that there are no services along the route. You are in a marine protected area: swimming and mooring are regulated by zone, so check what is allowed before navigating or anchoring.
Frequently asked questions
How do you reach Punta Licosa?
Only on foot or by bicycle, along a private road closed to traffic (from Ogliastro Marina or San Marco); there are no services along the route.
Can you anchor or swim at Punta Licosa?
It is inside the Santa Maria di Castellabate Marine Protected Area: swimming and mooring are regulated by zone, so it is best to check what is allowed before navigating.
What makes Punta Licosa special?
A promontory of Mediterranean scrub by the sea, with a tower and an islet, on one of the most intact coasts of the Cilento, protected by the marine area.
More gems in Castellabate
VillagesSanta Maria di Castellabate
Castellabate
A seafaring village of little squares looking onto the water and pebble beaches, made famous by the cinema, where the evening smells of salt and jasmine.
VillagesCastellabate
Castellabate (SA)
Looking down from on high over the Cilento sea, the borgo (old village) that enchanted the film 'Benvenuti al Sud' weaves alleys, the castle of the Abbot and sunsets that descend toward Santa Maria.
- ◆ Views & panoramas
Torre di Punta Licosa
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At the tip of Castellabate, where the sea turns crystalline and the scrub is fragrant with myrtle, a torre di avvistamento (watchtower) gazes at the islet bound to the myth of the siren Leucosia.
- ◆ In the water & diving
AMP Castellabate — snorkeling e diving
Castellabate
In the marine protected area the posidonia meadows shelter groupers and sea bream, a transparent seabed to explore with fins on among rocks and submerged caves.
- Castles
Castello dell'Abate
Castellabate (SA)
Founded in 1123 by the abbot of Cava, the castello dell'Abate crowns a Cilento village overlooking the sea, among alleys and wind-swept terraces.
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.