Which beach is closest to Ostuni?

Rosa Marina, Costa Merlata and Torre Pozzelle are all about 8 to 10 km from the old town, a quarter of an hour by car. From our house above Ostuni the drive is similar.

When is the sea warm enough to swim?

From June, when the water reaches about 22 degrees, through to the end of September, when it is still around 24. August is the warmest and the busiest; September has the same sea and half the people.

Are there free beaches?

Yes, most of the coast is free. Torre Pozzelle, the open stretches of Costa Merlata, the far beaches of Torre Guaceto and the open sand at Lido Morelli all cost nothing. Beach clubs rent an umbrella and two beds for a daily fee and are useful for a family with small children.

The valleyGuide

The beaches near Ostuni

The coast below Ostuni is a quarter of an hour from the town: rocky coves with clear water at Rosa Marina and Costa Merlata, a wild sandy bay at Torre Pozzelle, the dunes of Lido Morelli, and, at Torre Guaceto, a nature reserve where four kilometres of shore have never been built on. The sea is warm from June to the end of September.

The coves: Rosa Marina, Costa Merlata, Torre Pozzelle

The shore directly below Ostuni is low rock cut into small bays. Costa Merlata, named for its battlemented outline, is a string of coves with flat rocks to lie on and water clear enough to see the bottom at ten metres; it is free and has a couple of beach clubs. Rosa Marina is a residential resort with a public beach at its centre and calmer water. Torre Pozzelle, a little south, is the wild one: a crescent of sand under a ruined watchtower, reached on foot from a dirt car park, with nothing to buy and nobody to pay. Bring water and an umbrella.

The reserve: Torre Guaceto

South east of Ostuni, in the territory of Carovigno, the Torre Guaceto reserve protects a stretch of coast and the sea in front of it. Cars stop at Punta Penna Grossa, where there is a managed beach; from there a path and a summer shuttle lead along the dunes to beaches that get emptier the further you walk. The water is shallow and full of fish, the marsh behind the dunes is full of birds, and the tower at the far end is where the reserve gets its name. It is the beach we send people to first.

The sand: Lido Morelli and Torre Canne

North of Ostuni the rock gives way to sand. Lido Morelli and Fiume Morelli, in the small reserve of the same name, are long beaches backed by high dunes and juniper, with beach clubs at one end and open sand at the other. Beyond them Torre Canne is a proper seaside village with a lighthouse, a sandy beach that shelves gently for children, and thermal springs. From Cisternino this is the nearest coast, about half an hour.

The other sea

Puglia has two coasts, and the Ionian, on the far side of the heel, has the whitest sand and the shallowest, warmest water: Punta Prosciutto and Torre Lapillo, south of Taranto, look like the Caribbean in the photographs and, on a weekday in June, in person. From Ostuni it is about an hour and a quarter each way, which makes it a day out rather than an afternoon, and worth doing once.

Good to know

Which beach is closest to Ostuni?: Rosa Marina, Costa Merlata and Torre Pozzelle are all about 8 to 10 km from the old town, a quarter of an hour by car. From our house above Ostuni the drive is similar.
When is the sea warm enough to swim?: From June, when the water reaches about 22 degrees, through to the end of September, when it is still around 24. August is the warmest and the busiest; September has the same sea and half the people.
Are there free beaches?: Yes, most of the coast is free. Torre Pozzelle, the open stretches of Costa Merlata, the far beaches of Torre Guaceto and the open sand at Lido Morelli all cost nothing. Beach clubs rent an umbrella and two beds for a daily fee and are useful for a family with small children.

Getting to Valle d’Itria

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