Puglia is one of the most beautiful regions in the world. National Geographic has included Puglia among the 21 best destinations in the world for 2014 .  “Puglia – reads the reasons – boasts the best of southern Italy: the rhythms of life, the traditions, the beauty of the places. Indomitable. ” . Another similar recognition is that which Puglia was awarded, at the end of 2013, by the famous Australian guide Lonely Planet , which included it in second place among the top ten “Best value travel destinations in the world for 2014” .

Where to go kayaking in Puglia?

For those who love to take a kayak tour, you are spoiled for choice. Puglia has a coastal perimeter of 820 km, to which the approximately 50 km of the Tremiti islands must be added. In Salento we have the greatest concentration of beaches and stretches of coast that are nothing short of wonderful. Just mention, on the Adriatic stretch, the Gargano , the Tremiti Islands , the coast of Polignano and Monopoli , Torre dell’Orso , Santa Cesarea Terme , Castro , Santa Maria di Leuca and, on the Ionian stretch, Ugento , Gallipoli , Porto Selvaggio , Porto Cesareo ,Torre Lapillo and San Pietro in Bevagna . There is something for everyone. Wonderful beaches with crystal clear waters and stretches of rocky coast full of ravines and caves, all to be explored. 

In this article we will focus on the northern part of Puglia, therefore excluding the southernmost part, made up of Salento, which we will instead see in a separate article.

By kayak to visit Puglia

The canoe and in aboveall its most performing version, the sea kayak, is the perfect means for this type of exploration. In fact, its small size allows you to reach places and beaches otherwise unreachable by land or by large motor boats. The perspective from the sea then gives indescribable emotions, difficult to tell or express in words. Now we just have to describe the most beautiful places to go on kayak and canoe tours in northern Puglia.

San Domino – Tremiti Islands

the circumnavigation by kayak of the only archipelago in Puglia

The Tremiti Islands represent one of the most unspoiled places in Puglia. They are a protected marine area and are part of the Gargano National Park. The archipelago is made up of five islands. Two are inhabited: San Nicola and San Domino. The others, Capraia, Cretaccio and the distant Pianosa, are uninhabited.

Best kayak tour in Puglia n° 1

DISTANCE: 8.2km
DURATION: 2-3 hours
DIFFICULTY: easy/medium

The most beautiful island to go with a kayak in the archipelago and in Puglia in general is undoubtedly San Domino. It is chock full of beautiful caves, each one different from the other. Unfortunately there is no possibility to rent kayaks or take guided tours, so if you want to visit the archipelago, you are forced to bring your kayak to the ferry from Termoli and use the slide next to the San Domino port for boarding and landing.

In 2018 I made the circumnavigation of all the islands of the archipelago and I filmed the most beautiful moments of navigation during the tour of San Domino in this video.
The most trained kayakers will certainly be able to tour all the islands (except Pianosa) in a single day of navigation. It is better to choose a day of absolutely calm sea, without mistral, and turn San Domino and San Nicola in the 7 hours that elapse between the arrival at the port of the ferry, about 9:30 am, to the departure of the same in the afternoon, about 4:30 pm. It is important to have a trolley to transport the kayak on the ferry and on the quay.

For those who want to stay two or more days, perhaps to pay a visit ashore or to travel fewer miles a day with a kayak, there is the problem of an overnight stay. Unfortunately, there are few beaches suitable for night bivouacs. There is the beach of Cala delle Arene and that of Cala Pagliai , both close to the port of San Domino. The first, being the only equipped beach in the entire archipelago and being quite narrow, is very crowded in summer.

It can be suitable for a bivouac from October until May. The second is a beach with only access from the sea and forbidden due to the danger of falling rocks but it is beautiful!

In summer it is the only alternative. Try not to get noticed, do not light fires (remember that you are always in a park), set up the tent in the dark and take it down early in the morning. If you use these concerns you will have no problems.

East coast of Gargano

paddling with the kayak among the stacks of the largest promontory in Puglia

The Gargano promontory , also known as the “spur of Italy”, is an area rich in natural beauty, on a par with the much more noble Salento, another jewel of Puglia. Along the coast you can find ancient watchtowers or, on the higher ones, the characteristic trabucchi , ingenious fishing machines built entirely of wood, now almost all converted into restaurants.
The Gargano is home to the homonymous National Park since 1991. Its coasts are characterized by the presence of long beaches and high and steep slopes covered with vegetation. Characteristic is the fairly brittle yellowish rock consisting mainly of limestone. It gives the waters a particular green color that distinguishes it from that of the rest of the Apulian coast.
The stretch of coast that goes from Mattinata to Vieste is simply gorgeous! It has a very high and indented coast and is full of caves, some of which are immense!

Best kayak tour in Puglia n° 2

DISTANCE: 16km (to and fro)
DURATION: 5-6 hours
DIFFICULTY: medium

The first route I recommend is about 16km long. It starts from the small beach of Baia della Pergola , easily reachable by car. With the kayaks you will go north to the beach of Baia San Felice . Along the way you can admire a myriad of caves, including the famous Grotte Sfondate , small and large. I highly recommend, once you arrive at the Bay of San Felice, to stretch a little longer and pass under the famous Arco di San Felice . Here you can see a video of a kayaking tour in 2019.

Best kayak tour in Puglia n° 3

DISTANCE: 17km (to and fro)
DURATION: 5-6 hours
DIFFICULTY: medium

The second route I recommend is about 17km long. It always starts from the little beach of Baia della Pergola and goes down to the Vignanotica beach . the path is full of caves and coves but the flagship is the passage to the monumental Baia delle Zagare .

If you can, avoid landing on the beach of Pugnochiuso. It is a private beach and access is allowed only to customers of the tourist village located inside. A real shame, as it is considered one of the most beautiful beaches of the Gargano. On the other hand, there are many others, smaller but no less beautiful. I advise you to identify them in advance so that you can get there without problems in navigation, perhaps with the help of a mobile phone or a GPS.

Polignano a Mare

one of the most famous places in Puglia seen from the unique perspective of the kayak

Polignano is one of the most popular destinations for tourists in Puglia. Thousands, in any month of the year, flock to see the town of Domenico Modugno. A pearl a few kilometers from the regional capital. The view from the sea is a scream, without equal in Puglia! For us canoeists the real wealth of the country consists in its high rocky coast overlooking the sea. Here there are a myriad of caves, one more beautiful than the other. From the sea it is possible to visit the famous Lama Monachile , two sheer rock walls and a small cove in the middle.

The rocky promontory that borders the bay to the south is the Bastione di S. Stefano . Famous for being the 27m high springboard for a stage of the World Diving Championship, Red Bull Cliff Diving , in October. Just below we find a beautiful cave with a double entrance where it is possible to slip in with our canoes. Continuing south we find, worthy of attention, the Grotta dell’Arcivescovado , the cave with the widest entrance in Polignano. It is said that the Polignano prelates who lived in the bishop’s house right above, used it, thanks to a tunnel dug into the rock, as a way out to the sea in case of enemy invasions.

A few hundred meters to the south is the Grotta Palazzese , the largest of all the Polignano caves. It is so called because it belonged to the Leto marquises, feudal lords of Polignano in 1700. The cave can be accessed both from the ground, through a small staircase carved into the rock by the Leto marquises, and from the sea through two openings.
A large terrace overlooks the cave and allows visitors to admire it in all its majestic beauty. Inside it is made up of a very large semicircular room, with a diameter of about 30 meters, communicating with a second smaller room with an outlet to the sea and a small pebble beach on the bottom. For several decades the cave has been home to a restaurant, with an adjoining hotel, known all over the world.

In addition to the famous Grotta Palazzese there are many others, which can be visited in all their meanders only and exclusively by kayak.
The most beautiful and characteristic of all, in my opinion, is the Grotta Sotto Favale . Unique for the transparency and reflections of its waters, it is ideal for a stop with the kayaks inside. A double pebble beach allows you to disembark comfortably. We can swim, shelter from the summer heat and explore the passage in the rock that connects it to the adjacent cave. Once you have left, you can continue to visit the high coast, circumnavigate the Islet of the Hermit and finally land at the pebble beach of Portalga., a small fishing port created in an inlet at the end of which there is a group of white houses with blue window frames that is very reminiscent of those of the Greek islands.

For more information on the caves I suggest you read this article , accompanied by images, where I describe one by one all the caves of Polignano a Mare.

Best kayak tour in Puglia n° 4

DISTANCE: 5km (to and fro)
DURATION: 2-3 hours
DIFFICULTY: easy

The Polignano kayak tour is a new trip that we offer as a guided tour. The path we follow is 3 + 2km long, considering the outward and return journeys without entrance to the caves.

The stretch of coast visited goes from Lama Monachile to the islet of the Hermit , while the points of embarkation and disembarkation useful for the excursion are Portalga (to the south) and Cala Paura (to the north).

In summary, we can say with absolute certainty that those who want to kayak in Puglia are spoiled for choice!