Porto Badisco

Porto Badisco is a narrow, deep inlet between rocky shores covered in scrub and broom, with a small fishing village. According to legend, it was here that Aeneas, fleeing Troy, first set foot in Italy. In the middle of the bay is a little sandy beach a few dozen metres wide, with a freshwater spring rising on the left-hand side; the rest of the coast, as far as the small cove of Porto Russo, is rock, with no beach clubs.

The seabed slopes gently over the sand, then after a few dozen metres the sea becomes deep and cobalt blue: ideal for swimming with mask and fins and for diving. On the rocks you will need water shoes. A few steps from the coast is the Grotta dei Cervi, discovered in 1970, one of the most important prehistoric sites in Europe, closed to the public to protect its paintings. The area is in the Costa Otranto-Santa Maria di Leuca e Bosco di Tricase regional nature park. It is part of the Costa Otranto - Santa Maria di Leuca Natura 2000 site.

The car parks are a short walk from the bay. The inlet faces south-east: with north (tramontana), north-east (grecale), south-west (libeccio), west (ponente) and north-west (maestrale) winds it offers shelter, while with east (levante), south-east (scirocco) and south (ostro) winds the sea gets rough.