Where to go coasteering in Calabria, the most beautiful places

Are you looking for adrenalin-fuelled thrills? Discover places to practice coasteering in Calabria!

The extreme water sport, which allows you to walk along an impressive stretch of cliff and then dive into the deep blue, arrives on the Calabrian coasts in complete safety, organised by expert guides and groups of enthusiasts.

Here are the most beautiful places to go coasteering in Calabria...

Costa dei Gelsomini - Caulonia

Heading north along the Ionian coast of Reggio Calabria, we stop at the stretch of Costa dei Gelsomini that crosses the marina of the municipality of Caulonia.

These places lend themselves to a different mode of hiking, more akin to aquatrekking than actual coasteering.

It is in fact an uphill climb from the coast to the hinterland, crossing the Allaro River, one of Calabria's characteristic rivers (full in winter and dry in summer), until you reach the striking San Nicola Waterfalls, where you can dive in for a final cool-down.

It is called coasteering, the extreme water sport born in Wales in 1980, on the Atlantic coast, where the ideal environment for this discipline can be found. A succession of caves and cliffs overlooking the sea, inlets, hollows and breathtaking promontories to be covered on foot, almost always in groups, and used as "springboards" for spectacular and daring dives.

From Wales, coasteering has spread a bit throughout Europe, and among the few Italian regions, Calabria, with its almost 800 km of coastline, can only be the perfect place. Recently practised, coasteering is an original and adrenalin-pumping way to experience the sea in Calabria. Here, coasteering enthusiasts find the ideal environment in which to combine the various disciplines that make up this sport: cliff trekking, diving and swimming and climbing.

The important thing is to always rely on an experienced local guide, who knows the potential risks and dangers (tides, conformation of the seabed, practicability of the routes, etc.) but also the most beautiful gems of the landscape you want to admire, because coasteering is first and foremost a sport in contact with nature.

The optimal equipment for every context? A water sports helmet; a neoprene suit thick enough to protect the body from the cold and possible scratches against the reef; a pair of equally protective gloves; a life jacket; closed, non-slip footwear that is easy to dry; a diving knife and a waterproof rucksack. All set? Here we go!

The Costa degli Dei, along the Calabrian Tyrrhenian Sea in the province of Vibo Valentia, is one of the perfect places to go coasteering in Calabria. The cliffs to walk along are the breathtaking ones of Capo Vaticano, in the municipality of Ricadi, set between three beautiful bays: Spiaggia del Tono, Praia di Fuoco and Grotticelle. The names fully evoke the Caribbean beauty of these locations, characterised by alternating tongues of fine sand, crystal-clear sea, high cliffs, coves and inlets where you can stop in privacy even with your own boat.

A variant to the route involves exploring the suggestive Skeleton Cave, from the top of which you launch yourself for a quick dive, and continue along the cliff to the Petri i Mulinu (Mill Stones) to reach the enchanting Riaci Bay, where swimming, climbing and diving activities alternate at will.

The final stretch of the Lower Tyrrhenian Sea, in the province of Reggio Calabria, is tinged with the unmistakable hues of the Costa Viola, a coastline that takes on changing colours depending on the time of day, due to the particular seaweed on the seabed. Along this stretch it is possible to practice coasteering in Calabria from Caletta Rovaglioso to Marinella di Palmi (municipality of Palmi), i.e. from the emerald cliffs covered with prickly pears that open onto one of the most beautiful coves in the area, to the Marinella Beach, surrounded by rocks and ravines full of charm.

Heading north along the Ionian coast of Reggio Calabria, we stop at the stretch of Costa dei Gelsomini that crosses the marina of the municipality of Caulonia. These places lend themselves to a different mode of hiking, more akin to aquatrekking than actual coasteering. It is in fact an uphill climb from the coast to the hinterland, crossing the Allaro river, one of Calabria's characteristic rivers (full in winter and dry in summer), until you reach the striking San Nicola Waterfalls, where you can dive in for a final cool-down.