Tremiti Islands travel guide
A small archipelago in the Adriatic off the north Gargano coast, a protected marine reserve of pine-clad cliffs, sea caves and startlingly clear water, and Puglia’s only inhabited archipelago, reached by ferry, hydrofoil or helicopter.
The Tremiti Islands in brief
A small archipelago in the Adriatic off the north Gargano coast, in the province of Foggia, part of the Parco Nazionale del Gargano and a marine protected area since 1989. The main islands are San Domino (the largest and greenest, with most of the accommodation and the only real sandy beach), San Nicola (the historic and administrative heart, home to the fortified Abbazia di Santa Maria a Mare) and Capraia (uninhabited and rocky), plus the tiny Cretaccio and, further off, Pianosa. They lie about 20 km off the Gargano and more than 40 km from Termoli, and you reach them by ferry, hydrofoil or helicopter; about 470 people live here (ISTAT, January 2026). From 1 May to 31 October 2026 visitors’ cars and motorbikes are banned on the islands, so plan to arrive and get around on foot and by boat.
The islands
The Tremiti are tiny, and half the pleasure is hopping between them and reading the coast from a boat. Two islands carry the visit, green San Domino and monumental San Nicola, a short shuttle apart, while the wild edges and the best of the water are seen from the sea.
San Domino
The largest and greenest island, pine-covered and laced with walking paths, home to its only sandy beach, Cala delle Arene, and a coastline of coves and sea caves best seen by boat.
San Nicola
The monumental island, the historic and administrative heart, with stone lanes and the medieval fortified Abbazia e Santuario di Santa Maria a Mare looking out over the sea.
The caves & coves by boat
A giro delle isole boat tour takes in the coves and sea caves, including the Grotta del Bue Marino, the largest on San Domino, while divers go down to the statue of Padre Pio on the seabed off Capraia.
Best things to do in the Tremiti Islands
The Tremiti come down to the sea and the boat, but San Nicola adds a thousand years of monks, forts and exiles. Give San Nicola the morning and the sea the rest of the day: the order below starts at the abbey, crosses to San Domino’s beach, coves and pines, and ends out on the water.
1. Cross to San Nicola and climb to Santa Maria a Mare
San Nicola is the island of the monks, a short boat ride from San Domino. Benedictines from Montecassino had a community here by the 9th century, and the church of Santa Maria a Mare was rebuilt and consecrated in 1045; the Cistercians took over in 1237, and after corsairs from Almissa sacked the abbey in 1334, the Lateran canons arrived in 1412. Look down as well as up: part of the 11th-century mosaic floor survives inside, one of the few of that century left in Puglia. The church is still the islands’ parish.
2. Climb through the walls of San Nicola
Charles I of Anjou turned the abbey into a fortress in the 13th century, and the walls did their job: in 1567 they held off the fleet of Suleiman the Magnificent, and in 1809 Murat’s garrison saw off an English squadron, whose cannonballs left holes in the church front. The ramp climbs past the Torrione del Cavaliere del Crocifisso towards the Castello dei Badiali, and from the walls you look straight down on Cretaccio and San Domino.
3. Walk out to the tombs on the plateau
Above the walls, the San Nicola plateau holds a necropolis of fewer than twenty tombs, dug between the 5th and 2nd centuries BC, and a Roman cryptoporticus of the 1st century BC. One chamber tomb with a rock-cut corridor is popularly called the tomb of Diomedes, a name the Gargano National Park itself calls inaccurate. The legend says the hero’s companions were turned into seabirds, and the Scopoli’s shearwaters that nest on San Domino and Capraia, 300 to 400 pairs, still call at night from spring to autumn with a cry like a baby’s.
4. Remember who was sent here
The islands have been a place of exile for two thousand years. Tacitus records that Augustus banished his granddaughter Julia to the island of Trimerus, not far from the Apulian shore, where she died in AD 28 after twenty years. Ferdinand IV made the islands a penal colony in 1792, and from 1926 the Fascist regime used them for political confinement: Sandro Pertini, the future president, was held here, and on the eve of the Second World War 45 gay men from Catania were confined on San Domino. In 1911 hundreds of Libyans deported during the invasion of Libya were landed here, and about a third died of typhus within a year; a mausoleum at Punta del Cimitero, the north-east tip of San Nicola, remembers them.
5. Swim at Cala delle Arene
San Domino’s only sandy beach, Cala delle Arene, is a small curve of sand between rocks and pines close to the landing. It is the one easy beach on the islands, so in July and August come early, before the day boats arrive.
6. Walk down to the coves
Short paths drop from San Domino’s main trail to the rocky coves the Park names one by one: Cala degli Inglesi, Cala Tamariello and Cala Matano, with the Scoglio dell’Elefante offshore. There is no sand, only rock ledges into very clear water, so bring shoes you can swim in.
7. Follow the pine paths round the Colle dell’Eremita
Most of San Domino is a wood of Aleppo pine, already drawn on a map of 1574. Paths of about 3 km in all circle the Colle dell’Eremita, with side paths down to the coves, so walk them in the morning, before the heat; for longer routes on the mainland, see walking in Puglia. At the south-west tip, the lighthouse of Punta Provvidenza marks the edge of the reserve’s zone B.
8. Take the boat round San Domino’s caves
The coast is best read from the water, and boat trips round the islands leave from the landing. The Park lists what you pass: the Grotta delle Viole, the Grotta del Bue Marino, the largest on San Domino and named after the monk seal, the Pagliai stacks, the Scoglio dell’Elefante and the Architiello, a rock arch near Punta Secca that overlooks the Bue Marino.
9. Snorkel and dive in the marine reserve
The reserve was created in 1989 and is run by the Gargano National Park. Most of the water is zone C, where swimming and diving are allowed; in zone B, off parts of Capraia and San Domino, anchoring is banned and boats and divers need a permit, and around Pianosa, zone A, everything is off limits. Spearfishing is banned throughout the reserve. The Park’s guide lists more than 30 dive sites, from the easy Grotta delle Viole, down to 15 metres, to the Grotta and Cala delle Rondinelle, suitable for all levels.
10. Dive down to Padre Pio off Capraia
On the seabed off Capraia, about 14 metres down, stands a statue of Padre Pio some 3 metres tall, by the Foggia sculptor Domenico Norcia, lowered into the sea in 1998. It is a dive, not a snorkel: book it with one of the diving centres on San Domino.
11. Circle Capraia
Capraia, also called Caprara, is uninhabited: 45 hectares of scrub and white rock with a colony of yellow-legged gulls. With San Domino it holds the archipelago’s shearwater colony, and its Cala dei Turchi is a dive site going down to 36 metres. You see it from a boat, with its ruined old lighthouse and the newer light.
12. Look at Pianosa from a distance
Pianosa, 11 hectares of low rock far to the east, is the reserve’s zone A: no swimming, no boats and no landing, only scientific research.
Where to stay in the Tremiti Islands
Almost all the beds are on San Domino, the largest and greenest island: the Regione Puglia register lists 15 hotels, 15 B&Bs, 7 guest houses and 2 holiday villages on the islands, and San Nicola has no hotels, only a couple of B&Bs. Many people come for the day instead, which works, but a night on San Domino gives you the coves early and late. Beds are few and many places open only from spring to autumn, so book well ahead for July and August.
Compare live prices for hotels on the Tremiti Islands on the map.
Our top experiences from the Tremiti Islands
Three bookable ways onto the water: a four-hour tour of the archipelago on a vintage fishing boat, with swim stops, a two-hour guided snorkel from San Domino and, if you are staying on the Gargano, a day-return ferry from Vieste. The tour and the snorkel are guided in English and Italian. Swimming needs no booking; the experiences hub links boat tours along the rest of the Gargano.
See live tours and activities in the Tremiti Islands
Live availability and prices via GetYourGuide, updated in real time.
Getting to the Tremiti Islands
There is no airport on the islands. The nearest airport to Termoli, the year-round port, is Pescara (PSR), about 1 hour 15 by car; from Bari (BRI) it is just over two hours. NLG sails from Termoli all year, about an hour and a quarter on the winter ship, and the fast catamarans take about 50 minutes. In summer boats also leave from Vieste, Peschici, Rodi Garganico and Manfredonia (Navi Tremiti), and Alidaunia flies a daily helicopter from Foggia all year, about 20 minutes. From 1 May to 31 October 2026 visitors’ cars and motorbikes are banned on San Domino and San Nicola, so leave the car on the mainland and travel light.
Getting there smoothly: a fixed-price private transfer from Bari to the Termoli or Gargano ferry port takes the stress out of the connection, and an Italy eSIM keeps you online for live ferry times. · Best towns in Puglia
| From | To the port of | Distance | By car |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pescara airport (PSR) | Termoli | ~110 km | ~1 hr 15 |
| Bari airport (BRI) | Termoli | ~200 km | ~2 hr 10 |
| Bari airport (BRI) | Vieste | ~180 km | ~2 hr 50 |
| Foggia | Termoli | ~90 km | ~1 hr 05 |
| Naples airport (NAP) | Termoli | ~205 km | ~3 hr 05 |
Day trips to the Tremiti Islands
The Tremiti make a fine day trip in summer. From the Gargano coast, seasonal boats run out from Vieste and Peschici; the archipelago also pairs naturally with a wider Gargano trip, and it can be reached as a day trip from Termoli, just over the border in Molise.
Vieste
Gargano base · summer boats · Vieste guide
Peschici
Cliff-top town · summer boats · Peschici guide
The Gargano
Pair it with the wider spur · Destinations
See all things to do
Best time to visit
Late May to September is the window for swimming, when the Gargano boats run and most hotels are open. Ferries from Termoli and the helicopter from Foggia run all year, with fewer crossings in winter. Best time to visit Puglia
How to get there
Fly into Pescara or Bari and drive to Termoli, the year-round port, or take the daily helicopter from Foggia; there is no airport on the islands. Getting to Puglia · Renting a car in Puglia
Related: Vieste guide · Peschici guide · Mattinata guide · Best beaches in Puglia · Destinations
Tremiti Islands: FAQ
Where are the Tremiti Islands?
A small archipelago in the Adriatic about 20 km off the north coast of the Gargano, in the province of Foggia, part of the Gargano National Park and a marine protected area. It is Puglia’s only inhabited archipelago: people live on San Domino and San Nicola, while Capraia, the tiny Cretaccio and, further off, Pianosa are uninhabited.
How do I get there?
By sea from Termoli all year (NLG, about an hour and a quarter; fast catamarans about 50 minutes), and in summer from Vieste, Peschici, Rodi Garganico and Manfredonia. Alidaunia also flies a daily helicopter from Foggia, about 20 minutes. Check the current timetables before you travel.
Can I take a car?
No. From 1 May to 31 October 2026 visitors’ cars and motorbikes are banned on San Domino and San Nicola, under a regional decree. The islands are small and walkable, so leave the car on the mainland.
Which island should I stay on?
San Domino: the hotels are all there, along with the beach and the pine paths. San Nicola, the historic island with the abbey, has only a couple of B&Bs, and a short boat ride links the two.
Is there a sandy beach?
One, Cala delle Arene on San Domino. The rest of the coast is rock, coves and sea caves, with clear water for swimming and snorkelling.
Can you visit the Tremiti as a day trip?
Yes. In summer boats leave the Gargano ports in the morning and return in the afternoon, which leaves time for San Nicola and a swim on San Domino. From Termoli the winter ship arrives mid-morning and leaves again in the afternoon.
Are there rules for swimming and diving?
Around Pianosa (zone A) everything is banned, including swimming and boating. In zone B, off parts of Capraia and San Domino, anchoring is banned and boats and divers need a permit; elsewhere swimming and diving are allowed, and spearfishing is banned throughout the reserve.
Is Diomedes really buried on San Nicola?
It is a legend. On the San Nicola plateau there is a necropolis of the 5th to 2nd century BC, and one chamber tomb is popularly, and wrongly, called the tomb of Diomedes. The legend also gives the shearwaters their name, the diomedee, whose night calls sound like crying.
I grew up in the province of Brindisi and spent 30 years in Puglia; the Adriatic coast and its islands are home water. Everything above is checked on the ground; when a place slips, it gets updated. More about who is behind this guide