The sea caves of the Gargano by boat from Vieste

three hours by motorboat along the coast south of Vieste, into and in front of the caves carved by the sea in the white limestone, the Architiello di San Felice, a swim at Vignanotica and the sea stacks of the Baia delle Zagare

three hoursDuration

30 euros, 15 for children from 3 to 10Price

in summer, in the morning or the afternoonWhen to go

Take me there

South of Vieste the coast of the Gargano is a cliff of white limestone that drops straight into a green and turquoise sea, riddled with caves: in the Gargano National Park, Wikipedia writes, there are more than a hundred, born as underground caves and opened up by the sea eating away at the rock. From land you see little of them, and the way to look at them is from the sea: from the harbour of Vieste, in the morning and in the afternoon, the motorboats leave that in three hours go down the coast as far as the Baia delle Zagare, in the municipality of Mattinata, and come back. You pass the Sant'Eufemia lighthouse and the Pizzomunno, then the Testa del Gargano with its caves, the Architiello di San Felice, the arch of rock above the cove, the bays of Campi, Portogreco and Pugnochiuso, as far as the white cliff of Vignanotica, where the boat stops for a swim, and the two sea stacks of the Zagare, the Arco di Diomede and the Forbici, which are the postcard of the Gargano. The boat goes into some caves, when the sea allows, with the light of the sea reflected on the walls, and the names, say the people who run the boats, were given by the fishermen: the Campana, the Sfondata, the Contrabbandieri, the Due Occhi, the Pomodori. With the motorhome in Vieste it is the easiest half day of the summer: you walk to the harbour and the boat does the rest.

Getting there

The boats leave from the harbour of Vieste, ten minutes on foot from the old town, and the motorhome stays in the area or the campsite.

On foot or by bus: from the Apeneste you walk to the harbour along the seafront, passing below the town; from Ghironda, Eden Blu and Euro 92, two or three kilometres away, the Comune's S1 bus line is the better choice; from the stopovers on the north coast the N2 bus line arrives at piazzale Europa, next to the harbour. The boats ask you to be there half an hour before departure
The ticket offices are on the seafront: on the lungomare Amerigo Vespucci and on the lungomare Cristoforo Colombo, in front of the south pier, and there is also one on the lungomare Mattei
With the motorhome at the harbour: the car parks around the harbour are pay car parks, and none is marked for motorhomes; the dirt car park on the lungomare Colombo opens only in summer. It is best to leave the motorhome where you sleep

Practical information

You buy the ticket at the ticket office or book by phone; in August it is best to book the day before.

Duration three hours, with a half hour stop for a swim. The departures, in summer 2026, were at 9:00 and at 14:30 for the Vieste in Barca motorboats, at 9:30 and at 15:00 for the Desirèe; the operator warns that with rough seas the route and the times change

Price 30 euros, 15 for children from 3 to 10

When to go in summer, in the morning or the afternoon

Suitable for everyone, children included, and dogs on a lead are allowed. In the low caves you duck your head and keep your arms inside the boat. The Desirèe writes that it helps wheelchair users on board. There is a toilet on board; put your swimsuit on beforehand, for the swim at Vignanotica

Booking not compulsory, but in July and August the boats fill up, the morning departures first

Contacts

viesteinbarca.com

viesteinbarca@gmail.com

368 572426

Where it is

Vieste, costa sud del Gargano · Puglia

41.887080, 16.179420

You set off from

Vieste

1.2 km

2minutes

Notes

The boats: Vieste in Barca brings together four Vieste motorboats, the Valentina Tour, the Paloma, the Francesco I and the Santa Lucia, fifteen or sixteen metres long, with sixty to seventy-five seats, a life jacket for everyone and a toilet on board. The price list online, undated, says 30 euros for adults from 11 and 15 euros for children from 3 to 10; the times, 9:00-12:00 and 14:30-17:30, are given by the marina's website, and on summer evenings there is a tour from 18:00 to 20:30 only for groups of at least twenty-five people. The motorboat Desirèe leaves from the south pier at 9:30 and at 15:00 and comes back at 12:30 and at 18:00, gives the commentary in Italian and in English, sells water and coffee on board and takes dogs; the prices are not on its website, and you ask on 334 137 7729.
The tour, from the harbour southwards, in the order of the coast. The boats do not publish a fixed route, and what follows is the order in which things come along going towards Mattinata. You start with the rock of the Sant'Eufemia lighthouse and the Pizzomunno; then the Testa del Gargano, the easternmost point of the promontory, where the Park places the Grotta Calda, or Viola, the warm or violet cave, named for the shades of its walls, the Grotta Campana piccola, shaped like a bell and forty-seven metres high inside, the Grotta dei Contrabbandieri, the smugglers' cave, with a tunnel that leads to a hidden exit, and the Grotta dei Tre Ingressi, the cave of the three entrances, with a hundred and fifty metres of white galleries. Further on the Architiello di San Felice, the arch of rock over the cove with the sixteenth century tower above, the Grotta Sfondata, with its collapsed vault through which you see the sky, the Baia di Campi, with its two islets, Portogreco with its arch and Pugnochiuso. Then the white pebble beach of Vignanotica, below the cliff, and close by the Grotta Campana grande, which the Comune of Mattinata describes as a very high dome with a small beach inside. At the end the Baia delle Zagare, with the sea stacks, where the boat turns and heads back
The caves the boats name: the Grotta Smeralda, the emerald cave, for the green reflections of the water, and the Grotta dei Due Occhi, the cave of the two eyes, with two openings that let the light in, are named by the boatmen and by those who describe the tour, not by the Park, and they are not on the map. In the Grotta dei Pomodori, the tomato cave, the walls are covered with red sea anemones, the sea tomatoes, which sting a little: the Park writes not to touch them. The Desirèe relates that the names were given by the fishermen. About twenty caves, says Vieste in Barca, can be seen on one tour
Inside the caves: whether and which ones you go into depends on the sea and on the boat, and no operator writes it down. People who did the tour with the Desirèe say that the boat goes into some caves, and that in the low ones you duck your head. Which ones a fifteen metre motorboat goes into, ask at the ticket office
The swimming stop is usually at Vignanotica, half an hour: the seabed drops away at once, the beach is of pebbles, and in August it is crowded. The Park says it lies half in the municipality of Vieste and half in that of Mattinata, with two beach establishments
The Baia delle Zagare is in the municipality of Mattinata, and is also called the Baia dei Mergoli. From land you can reach it only through the hotel, with a lift in the rock, and the beach umbrellas are for its guests: from the sea you see all of it. The two sea stacks, the Park writes, are of Maiolica, the Jurassic limestone, with the folds left by underwater landslides
The inflatable boat without a licence: at the harbour you can hire forty horsepower inflatable boats, which you can drive without a licence. The La Darsena hire service, at the harbour, writes that in the low season prices start at 80 euros for four hours, fuel not included; in summer nobody publishes the prices. We have not found a written rule banning hired inflatables from going into the caves: ask whoever hires it out
Rough seas: with wind the boats change route or do not leave, and the operator does not write how a cancelled trip is refunded. Ask at the ticket office, and in the morning look at the sea
The Tremiti Islands are another outing, by ship from the harbour of Vieste at 8:30: the Vieste page tells about it