santa maria

 
Buses from Salerno run down the coast as far as the next town of SANTA MARIA DI CASTELLABATE , 8km south, but if you've time and energy it's preferable to walk from Agrópoli, taking the dirt road from behind the Lido di Trentova's tennis courts, which scenically skirts the hillsides past abandoned farmhouses, above rocky bays, eventually becoming a fairly good-quality track a little way before Santa Maria di Castellabate. This is another little resort, with a small harbour and bus connections south, along one of the most isolated stretches of the Cilento coast. There's a long beach of clean, golden sand just north of the town, the so-called "Zona Lago", close to where the path from Agrópoli comes out, with a number of hotels and campsites . Hotel Tonino (tel 0974.965.082, fax 0974.965.082; L60,000-90,000/¬30.99-46.48) is the cheapest place to stay, while the pricier Hotel Sonia (tel 0974.961.172, fax 0974.961.172; L120,000-150,000/¬61.98-77.47) enjoys a fantastic beach-front location. La Duna (tel 0974.965.168) and Trezene (tel 0974.965.027) are the best value of several campsites.

Above Santa Maria lies the ancient hill town of CASTELLABATE , surmounted by a castle that was begun in 1123, currently being restored. The twelfth-century basilica is worth a peek; the interior has been heavily made over in subsequent centuries, but there's a beautiful medieval triptych. You could round things off with a meal in Il Calesse by the castle (open daily), a terrific upmarket restaurant which also serves pizzas cooked in a wood-fired oven; its handsome terrace looks down to Santa Maria's beaches, with Cápri visible to the west on clear days.

SAN MARCO , three kilometres or so further along the coast from Santa Maria, is a picturesque, active fishing village which supplies fish to most of the villages along this part of the coast. Its tiny centre can get very crowded in summer. There are two hotels here, the Antonietta (tel 0974.966.019, fax 0974.966.038; L60,000-90,000/¬30.99-46.48), ten minutes' walk from the harbour, and the grander Hotel Hermitage on Via Catarozza (tel 0974.966.618, fax 0974.966.619, www.hermitage.it ; L120,000-150,000/¬61.98-77.47), a family-orientated option with a pool and tennis courts. A narrow track leads from here down to PUNTA LICOSA , where there's a small harbour fringed by rocks from which you can swim. The offshore reef that's topped by a lighthouse is inhabited by lizards said to be of a unique species. To eat here, try the agreeable, if slightly expensive Ristorante Leucosia , just behind the dirt road five minutes' walk from the jetty (closed winter). From here you can either return to San Marco or follow the track around to OGLIASTRO MARINA , an attractive little village with a hotel and cheap Pensione da Carmine (tel 0974.963.023; up to L60,000/¬30.99) - and some indifferent restaurants, and a long, rather grubby beach that in summer attracts a good number of holiday-makers.