Marina di Pescoluse: the Maldives of Salento

The internal road network, considering optimal traffic conditions, allows you to easily reach Marina di Pescoluse from Lecce, the main city in Salento. You have two options:

• from Lecce, go in the direction of Maglie on the SS 16 main road, then take the exit for Santa Maria di Leuca on the SS 275 main road and, once you reach Alessano, just follow the signs for Salve;
• from Lecce, take the ring road towards Gallipoli (SS 101) and once you reach Gallipoli continue along the Gallipoli – Santa Maria di Leuca road and take the Salve exit.

Awards obtained

Titles that Marina di Pescoluse has received over time

Over the years, Marina di Pescoluse has received important awards from the FEE (Foundation for Environmental Education), Legambiente and the Italian Paediatricians.

• Since 2009, the Fee has awarded the prestigious Blue Flag to the Salve Marinas.
• In 2010, Marina di Pescoluse was awarded the 4 Sails by Legambiente.
• Since 2013, the Green Flag for paediatricians, an award for those beaches suitable for children.

Last but not least, the beaches of Pescoluse have also provided hospitality to numerous pregnant female loggerhead turtles.
By clicking on this link you can learn more about this beautiful endangered species.

Marina di Pescoluse beaches

Which are the most important beaches

There are several beaches in the area, and the numerous bathing establishments and equipped beaches offer many services. Below are some of the most famous beaches.

Cinque Vele

A paradise for children, relaxation for adults

The lido Cinque Vele aspires to position itself as a true ‘resort’ of the lidos with its services Restaurant, Mini Club. King size beds facing the sea for adults, ‘floating pearls’ (inflatable outdoor areas for relaxing in the water) and a mini park with full-time baby sitting and a baby garden. Reservations are necessary as the available places are numbered. The restaurant offers local delicacies with a gourmet touch, and the evening events with live music (jazz ‘Dinner Shows’) are interesting.

Lido Maldive del Salento

Fine white sand and unparalleled hospitality

The lido Maldive del Salento is a full service beach establishment offering a complete range of services: free wi-fi, well-stocked newsagent, hairdressing service for men and women, horse riding, beach volleyball, jet skis, fitness centre, restaurant and bar. This beach club also caters for those with disabilities. The giant deckchair positioned at the entrance to the access road leading to the beach club is a special feature: it has become a real tourist attraction for souvenir photos.

Agribeach Eden

Organic restaurant and pets always welcome

The beach club is set in a beautiful, relaxing green environment.
The baby park allows your children to have fun in complete safety. The restaurant uses ingredients from the owner’s farm and also offers vegan and vegetarian dishes on the menu. The bar offers a café service and a wide selection of smoothies. Last but not least, our animal friends are welcome and can swim in the sea in a specially reserved area.

The list provided is not exhaustive: for further information you can read our article ‘Marina di Pescoluse Lidi: what they are and what they offer’. For those who want to experience the sea in its entirety, the Maldives of Salento offer several free beaches, located between one equipped beach establishment and another.

Maldives of Salento and surroundings: Where to eat and sleep

We’ve told you where you can relax and cool off during the hot summer days. Now it’s time to suggest the best places in Pescoluse and the surrounding area to eat Salento cuisine, local recipes and traditional food, whether it’s part of a fish or meat menu. We at Foodismo like to remind you that whatever your plans for the day/evening, romantic or with friends, you can eat well anywhere in our region at a reasonable price. Obviously, in the Salento area there are places to eat for all budgets: from trattorias to holiday farms, as well as the refined and complex cuisine of starred chefs. Having said that, here is a short list, a guide to where to eat in the Maldives of Salento area.

Ikarus

A restaurant and pizzeria with excellent food: eat meat or fish in Marina di Pescolluse without spending a fortune

Ikarus is a restaurant open all year round, just 100 metres from the sea. It’s spacious and has a large number of covers.
It offers two types of menu: fish and meat. The average cost per person, including wine, is around 25/30 €, depending of course on the type of menu you choose (the fish menu is slightly more expensive than the meat menu). Inside the restaurant there is also a pizza corner and a takeaway pizzeria.

Titty Twister

Friggitoria (a takeaway fried food shop) and ready meals

A nice little place, no frills no fuss, offering the typical flavours of Salento: the pucce (fried dough) and fried foodare excellent; everything is very good and the prices are really low. We suggest you stop at Titty Twister at aperitif time, on your way home or back to the hotel directly from the beach, after a busy day relaxing under the hot sun. You’ll certainly quench your thirst with fresh seasonal fruit smoothies and cocktails.

Hotel Picchio

A comfortable 3-star hotel just 5 minutes from the sea

Just five minutes from the sea, this hotel is located on a hill and overlooks the marina of Salve. Surrounded by greenery, from the Hotel Picchio you can enjoy a breathtaking panoramic view. The colours of the sea and the sand of Pescoluse will certainly leave you speechless. This hotel is far from the noise of traffic and nightlife and guarantees a stay of unparalleled relaxation. A small hotel with thirty rooms equipped with all comforts:

• free Wi-Fi
• sea view
• private parking
• restaurant serving typical Salento cuisine for hotel guests
• outdoor swimming pool
• free shuttle service to the beaches
• baby park within the hotel grounds

Gold Hotel & Beach

A little paradise 80 metres from the sea

It’s about 80 metres from the sea, on the Leuca-Gallipoli coastal road. An enchanting place, with comfortable roomsfurnished with style, and equipped with private bathroom, hairdryer, telephone, TV and safe. Different types of rooms: single, double, triple and quadruple. For greater privacy during your holiday, the hotel can provide, on request, apartments and accommodation in the hinterland, some distance from the hotel. The hotel offers its guests a bar, a restaurant serving typical Salento fish dishes and an equipped beach.

Hotel La Conca

Spacious, comfortable, modern

A real paradise just 50 metres from the sea, the hotel La Conca is one of the most comfortable hotels in Pescoluse: air-conditioned interiors, large TV room, free wi-fi. The restaurant is only open to guests: the kitchen is available to guests for lunch and dinner. The menu is rich and substantial: typical dishes and flavours of Salento cuisine based on fish and meat. Excellent agreements with the beaches of the Maldives of Salento.

Stay in a farmhouse or a masseria (traditional farmhouse) to experience the Salento countryside

A holiday in Salento means experiencing the typicality of the places, living in contact with nature, getting to know customs and traditions. If you want this kind of holiday, you absolutely must stay in masserie and agriturismi. In thehinterland of Salve, there are several accommodation facilities that offer this type of service.

Masserie in Salento

Farmhouses in the past, accommodation and catering facilities today

Masseria are rural dwellings typical of Puglia, especially Salento, which in the past were used to store agricultural tools, while today they have become charming places used as accommodation and catering facilities. The name ‘Masseria’ comes from the Salento dialect ‘massaru’ which means farmer/colone, the person in charge of all the labourers who were employed to work the land of the local nobleman.
For more information read our article ‘Masserie in Salento: farmhouses in the past, accommodation and catering facilities today’.

Main farms and holiday farms in and around Pescoluse

The farms around Marina di Pescoluse are real gems.
To find them, just follow the signs at the side of the main roads or follow the ‘tratturi’, the old semi-paved country roads, bordered by splendid dry stone walls.

Tenuta Serre Farm Holiday

Surrounded by greenery, in the typical Salento countryside, olive trees, red earth and dry stone walls, Tenuta Serre offers its pajare to give you a unique experience of staying (we have told you about pajare and lamie in this article). The facility offers breakfast with typical Salento baked goods, aperitifs with typical dishes and extra virgin olive oil tasting, shiatsu massages. The beauty of this place is the total detachment from all things technological: no TV and no Wi-Fi zone.

Ancient Masseria del Fano

A fortified farmhouse from the 1500s

Reopened to tourists in March 2014, the farm is surrounded by 40 hectares of green olive groves. The place is enchanting, it’s like living in a fairy tale. In the past the fortified farm was a refuge for Basilian monks and travellers, today it’s a refuge from the stress and frenzy of modern life. Three exclusive types of accommodation: deluxe, junior suite and suite, and different types of services linked to these three types of room: bathroom in cocciopesto with chromotherapy, free wi-fi, TV, safe, fine linen, courtesy set and sofa beds and additional beds for the junior suites and suites. The two suites have room service and a terrace with a panoramic view of the olive grove.

What to see in Pescoluse besides the beaches

Monuments and places of interest in the Maldives of Salento

If you don’t want to live by the sea alone, you can easily reach the nearby town of Salve, just 4 km from Pescoluse, which offers several sites of historical and cultural interest, such as the Astronomical Park of Salento, the oldest organ in Puglia, the Santu Lasi farm, etc.
For more information, you can visit the official website of the Municipality of Salve.
Alternatively, you can also visit the karst caves and the watchtower of the Borgino farm.

The Maldives of Salento weather (live webcam)

This is real time information about the climate and weather conditions of the municipality of Salve, where the Marina di Pescoluse is located.