The archipelago that holds the Adriatic’s secret
San Domino, San Nicola, Caprara: three islands, a turquoise sea, a freedom earned miles from the coast.
The Tremiti Islands are the Adriatic’s best-kept secret. Three main islands and a few scattered rocks, a handful of square kilometres floating off the Gargano like a small archipelago forgotten by official geography.
And yet, in these few miles of sea, there is such a concentration of beauty, history and legend that boat hire in the Tremiti Islands is one of the most surprising experiences Italy’s seas can offer.
Their ancient name was the Diomedee, after the myth of Diomedes, the Greek hero who according to tradition was buried here and whose companions were turned into seabirds, the shearwaters, which still fill these skies with their night-time cry that sounds like a human lament.
This detail alone, this interweaving of myth and biology, tells you something about the Tremiti. These are not just any islands.
They are islands inhabited by a layered history that you sense as soon as you set foot ashore, and even more so when you look at them from the deck of a boat.
Three islands, three identities
San Domino is the largest of the Tremiti. It is the island of pine forests, of paths through Aleppo pine woods as fragrant as few places in the world, of beaches reachable only from the sea.
Cala delle Arene, the only sandy beach in the Tremiti, is the little paradise that draws boats at swimming time. Cala Matano and Punta del Diamante offer dazzling white cliffs and seabeds of a clarity that recalls the Caribbean.
San Nicola is the austere sister. On this island stands the abbey of Santa Maria a Mare, a fortified complex of Benedictine origin that has lived through ten centuries of history. Seen from the sea, San Nicola looks like an anchored ship, with its compact walls and stern silhouette.
Landing here is like stepping into a history book. The paved streets, the silent piazzettas, the ramparts overlooking the Adriatic tell of monks, pirates and an Italy that left its deepest marks here.
Caprara is the wildest. Uninhabited, steep, crossed by the low flight of shearwaters, it is the place where nature has had the last word.
You can only get there by boat, and only with the marine protected area’s authorisation, because boat hire in the Tremiti Islands takes place in a conservation area that requires respect and knowledge of the rules. But that is exactly what makes it a different experience.
The feeling of being in a sea like an aquarium, where fish come up to your mask without fear, is the gift Caprara gives to those with patience.
Pianosa, the island that is not there
Few people know Pianosa, the fourth island of the archipelago. It is a rocky platform barely above the waterline, some ten miles from the others, reachable only with special permits because of its total environmental protection. Pianosa is the Adriatic’s sanctuary, the place where marine life finds a refuge few Mediterranean seas still offer.
Approaching its waters, even just to admire them from offshore, is a small privilege.
The sea of the Tremiti
What strikes those who choose boat hire in the Tremiti Islands most is the quality of the water. It is a sea with few equals in Italy.
Visibility often exceeds twenty metres; on some days it feels like floating in a void. The seabeds are very rich, home to groupers, dentex and amberjack, and hold one of the most important red gorgonian reefs in the Adriatic.
For snorkellers it is paradise. For divers it is one of the most sought-after destinations in the Italian Mediterranean.
The Bue Marino Grotto, in particular, is one of the most striking attractions. A sea cave opening in the cliffs of San Domino, where the monk seal once lived, which has recently returned to these waters from time to time.
Entering it by tender on a calm day is like stepping into a liquid cathedral.
Style in the Tremiti
Experiencing the Tremiti from the sea calls for a different style from other, more fashionable destinations. Here, luxury is nature.
The best dinner is freshly caught fish, served at a trattoria on San Domino overlooking the harbour.
The best aperitif is at sunset, on deck, facing the white cliffs of San Nicola as they turn pink. The ritual of the day is slow discovery, bay after bay, grotto after grotto.
Boat hire in the Tremiti Islands often favours boats with a good balance of independence and comfort. You leave from Termoli, Vieste or Rodi Garganico, the three gateways to the archipelago, with a crossing of one to three hours depending on the departure point and sea conditions.
Once there, your base becomes San Domino harbour or an anchorage in the surrounding bays.
A typical week
A week of boat hire in the Tremiti Islands is short only in appearance, because the limited number of islands does not mean a lack of experiences. The first days are devoted to San Domino, exploring the coves, anchoring for lunch and enjoying the warmest hours of summer.
Other days are devoted to San Nicola, discovering the abbey, walking the walls and dining at the few historic restaurants.
Caprara and Cretaccio are discovered on dedicated outings, perhaps devoted to sport fishing or nature watching.
Those who want to go further can head for the Gargano coast, reaching Vieste with its sea stacks, Peschici with its white village perched above the sea, and Mattinata, where limestone cliffs plunge into some of the most spectacular bays in the Adriatic.
The Tremiti stay with you
Perhaps the most powerful thing about the Tremiti is their ability to stay with you. They stay in the memory differently from other holidays.
Perhaps because they are far away, perhaps because they are small and so you live them intensely, perhaps because they keep a purity other destinations have lost. Boat hire in the Tremiti Islands is not a choice for everyone.
It is a choice for those looking for the kind of beauty that takes a little effort to reach, and that for that very reason repays every mile with high interest.
Here the Adriatic stops being everyone’s sea and becomes your own, at least for the length of a summer. It is a gift few Italian places can still give.
