Ciriga Base Camp

There’s plenty to do on the coast as well as the hardcore watersports at Spiaggia di Santa Maria del Focallo (10 minutes’ drive), which also has shallow waves for novice and young swimmers. A 40-minute walk east along the Val di Noto coastline (you can also hire paddleboards to get there from the beach) takes you to Punta Ciriga, and rewards with dramatic sea stacks, cute coves for safe snorkelling and sea-carved rock arches. There are more awesome sea views at Portopalo di Capo Passero (25 minutes), from where you can wade across to the minute Isola di Capo Passero when the tide is low. Close by, the Isola delle Correnti (half an hour) sits just off the coast at the point where the wave-tossed Ionian and Mediterranean seas meet. You wouldn’t want to miss the UNESCO-listed town of Ispica (15 minutes), with its ornate baroque basilicas and churches, and art nouveau Palazzo Bruno di Belmonte. If you’ve a yen for more baroque architecture, Noto (half an hour) comes up trumps with elegant pink-stone edifices lining the Corso Vittorio Emanuele. For more local heritage, head to Marzamemi (25 minutes), a seaside village – and once a tuna fishery – renowned for its picture-perfect piazzas, artisan shops and waterfront restaurants.