TerraMia

TerraMia offers fabulous views of and easy access to Vendicari Nature Reserve, with its fabulous array of beaches, and its unspoilt coastal habitat. The closest entrance to the reserve is about 4km away (please remember that there are no lidos or bars on the beaches of the reserve so you should take your own supplies/facilities with you).

Other gorgeous sandy beaches nearby include those of San Lorenzo and Marzamemi, which are 10 and 15 minutes' drive away respectively. Both have facilities.

The nearest major town, fascinating, gorgeous Noto (15mins drive), is the most easterly of a chain of baroque towns (protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site), that includes Modica, Ragusa and Scicli. All were rebuilt in flamboyant style following a major earthquake in 1693 and are certainly worth a visit.

Just south of Vendicari is the pretty little fishing village of Marzamemi, which is a great spot for an evening stroll and a seafront dinner. Quiet and unassuming for most of the year, it comes to life in the summer months with bars and restaurants spilling out onto the lovely square and narrow streets. A little beyond this is Portopalo di Capo Passero, Sicily's southeasternmost point.

A stay in this part of Sicily, however, wouldn't be complete without a visit to Syracuse, once the mightiest city in Magna Graecia, and one of Italy's most lovely historic centres.

If hiking or horse riding in the hills is your thing, then there is some spectacular scenery in the rushing streams, waterfalls and gorges of Cassibile and Pantalica, a Paleolithic burial site near Syracuse.