A terrace for breakfast, a garden pool and a good restaurant nearby can be the beginnings of a memorable coastal holiday. These ten small hotels offer different settings, from island villages and seaside towns to vineyard country within reach of the beach.
Italian Seascapes: Ten Boutique Retreats for a Romantic Coastal Escape
Chapter I: Cliff-Top Escapes
Coastal Elegance on Basilicata’s Cliff Edge
Why you’ll fall in love: Perched atop Basilicata’s rugged cliffs, Santavenere marries raw natural splendour with refined comfort. Wake to the symphony of surf below, explore secret coves by day, then toast sunset over your infinity pool.
Why stay: La Giuggiulena is a small villa on Siracusa’s rocky waterfront, outside Ortigia. Sea-facing terraces and a friendly welcome make it a lovely base for combining city discoveries with time beside the water. Bathing access is by steps to the rocks.
Chapter II: Historic Heartlands
Why you’ll fall in love: Once a fortress guarding the Adriatic, this lovingly restored palazzo melds medieval architecture with rooftop terraces that gaze across limestone rooftops to the sea. A timeless blend of city-pulse and ocean breeze.
Why stay: Marulivo brings a small, welcoming hotel to Pisciotta’s historic lanes, with a terrace overlooking the Cilento coast. Classic rooms have partial sea or garden views; choose a Superior room if a full sea view matters to you.
Chapter III: Island Sanctuaries
Why stay: Principe di Salina offers sea views, a pool and sociable terrace dining in Malfa. Spend the day exploring Salina’s villages or vineyards, then return for an evening at the hotel. Beaches and rocky bathing spots are reached separately; the hotel has no private beach.
Why stay: Botania’s Mediterranean gardens, thermal bathing and thoughtful cooking make it an appealing Ischia retreat near San Montano Bay and Negombo. It welcomes guests aged ten and over; paths and steps link the rooms and shared spaces.
Chapter II: Historic Heartlands
Why stay: Relais Blu combines contemporary rooms, a pool and memorable terrace dining with views towards Capri. Its hillside position on the Sorrento Peninsula is best enjoyed with a car or arranged driver for days exploring beyond the hotel.
Why stay: Unìco combines contemporary art with the seaside atmosphere of Mondello, outside central Palermo. Enjoy the garden pool and rooftop terrace, with city visits planned by taxi or local transport.
Why stay: La Foresteria Planeta is a vineyard and food retreat near Menfi, with herb gardens, a pool and inviting terraces. Enjoy Sicilian wines and seasonal cooking, then drive to the nearby coast for a beach day.
Why stay: Borgo La Pietraia looks across the coast from the hills above Paestum. Gardens, a pool and outdoor dining invite leisurely time at the hotel, while a car opens up the Greek temples, beaches and villages of the Cilento.
Ready to begin your coastal romance? Let us know which hideaway calls to you, and we’ll help turn these dreams into the perfect Italian escape.
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Kay Wade27 September 2026We can’t thank ExpertoItaly enough for the wonderful trip to northern Italy organized for us in August. We really appreciated that Antonio took time and effort to get to know the kind of travelers we are so as to create an imaginative, personalized travel plan and detailed guide packed with tips and information about the places we visited. His vast insider knowledge of his country contributed to our smooth and stress-free train journeys and to all that we learned and enjoyed about the cities we visited; about their respective histories, cultures, infrastructures, public spaces, peoples and more. We would recommend ExpertoItaly in a heartbeat!Posted on Google
Catherine Day16 July 2026We’re recently home after a wonderful holiday in Puglia arranged with Antonio. Great pace, a range of always excellent accommodation and an interesting suggested itinerary. We would highly recommend Expert to Italy and look forward to planning our next getaway with Antonio.Posted on Google
Mike Girling (No nickname)16 June 2026Just back from another delightful holiday organised from start to finish by the Italian "Expert" Antonio. After several discussions with him we decided to have an eleven day trip to the Amalfi coast and Ischia and thanks to his intimate knowledge of the area we had a most enjoyable and memorable time. Ischia in particular was absolutely wonderful. Antonios advice on the boutique hotels, guided tours, and places to visit were exemplary as were the drivers he booked to ferry us around. In addition to all the knowledge and advice he provides, this time, we encountered a couple of problems of our own making, but a quick WhatsApp to Antonio and within 24 hours both problems were solved. So if you are looking for an independent holiday in Italy along with great support we have no hesitation in recommending Antonio Mike & DianePosted on Google
Daniel Hockman9 June 2026ExpertoItaly is a brilliant company, and Antonio organised a wonderful holiday for us in Puglia a region we did not know. His suggestions were all fantastic. He listens to what you want to do and works your holiday around that. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend him to anyone contemplating a holiday in Italy. Thank you so much, Antonio!Posted on Google
Elaine Yeoh6 June 2026We engaged Antonio Cresce to plan and manage our 3 week holiday in Italy - covering towns in the regions of Puglia, Basilicata ,Calabria and Campania. Our holiday was seamless and exceeded all our expectations, and I would highly recommend Antonio / Expert to Italy for all your holiday planning and needs. From the point of choosing destinations, Antonio was collaborative and listened to everything on our wishlist . The towns he chose for us were exactly the places that we loved .. off the beaten track, charming and authentic Italy ! He picked our accomodation and again there was a lot of collaboration over our needs and we loved the choices . The tours he organised were exceptional. I wanted to see wildflowers and orchids and he engaged experts to take me around the national parks . I would never have been able to source the contacts and organise the excursions as perfectly as it was done . Some of the best moments of our travels , ever! Transfers were professional and seamless. Antonio remained fully contactable throughout our trip for questions , help and any details we needed. We felt fully secure and confident that we had an agent travelling along with us at every step! It was a huge benefit as well having him in the rough time zones as Italy where he is based in the UK, so that any questions were promptly answered and sorted . This could have been more problematic if we had engaged someone from home in Australia with the big difference in time zones . We appreciated his travel advice and recommendations, his work ethics , his professionalism and how he went over and beyond to make our holiday truly exceptional!Posted on Google
Judith Warren29 April 2026Antonio is super helpful and efficient and he knows Italy. He arranged our three centre Italian holiday, booked all train tickets, taxis and hotels and suggested places we wouldn't have thought of. You can have an independent holiday without problems, even in a less touristy area, because he's organised everyone for you and he's a back up if anything goes wrong. Thanks Antonio, be in touch next time!Posted on Google
Anne Fenton22 September 2025Antonio was a delight to deal with. He was knowledgable, friendly and very patient when we changed our plans several times! His choices of hotels were exceptionally good and he was very responsive when we had a little hiccup with the car rental. Highly recommend his services.Posted on Google
Teresa Oliveira25 August 2025We used ExpertoItaly to help us with our two-week holiday in Sicily. We had a couple of interactions with Antonio, and were very fast to close on our itinerary and hotels. Everyting was very well organized and suitable to our requirements. Antonio chose very good accommodations: small beautiful, full of character and well located. He also booked our bus trips as we did not want to rent a car. That worked really well. It was a great help and gave us great confidence for our trip. We strongly recommend ExpertoItaly if you want customised holidays in Italy. We will use it again for future traveling in Italy!Posted on Google
IzzieD21 August 2025Antonio is an expert on Italy so if you are planning a trip then you should definitely use ExpertoItaly. He helped us plan the perfect family trip and we cannot fault any of his recommendations. From car hire, to the perfect hotels and apartments, he is highly knowledgeable and it doesn't stop with planning. He was on hand to be available if we needed his help while on the trip. His customer service is first class. Thank you so so much and we look forward to planning our next trip with you.Posted on Google
David Wise12 August 2025Antonio was really helpful in planning our trip to Italy. We wanted to visit 3 locations, he provided recommendations on accomodations which were great - really good locations for each booking. He also coordinated taxis and trains and provided a load of suggestions for each location for places to eat and sites to visit. He was readily available to answer any questions we had by email or WhatsApp. His assistance really helped us in planning this trip and saved us a lot of stress in trying to coordinate this ourselves. All in all we had a great holiday
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