Salvatore Lubrano
Editor for the sea, beaches and boat experiences

Salvatore Lubrano

Writes about beaches, boats and Vivara. Counts the steps, watches the wind, and says when a beach is wrong for you.

Sea, beaches, boats, Vivara and everything done in the water · 18 pages on this site

Procida beachesIsola di VivaraBoat trip around the islandSnorkelling in ProcidaBoat hire without a licenceMarina Chiaiolella

Salvatore covers the wet half of the island: the six beaches, the trip around the coast, the bridge to Vivara and everything done with your feet in the water. His is the byline on the pages where the real question is not "how beautiful is it" but "how do I get there with two children, a parasol and a cool bag".

That is why his entries almost always start with access. No road reaches the Chiaia and the stairway is long: sources say 182 steps or 186, so he writes "about 180" and warns you that the climb back at three in the afternoon is the part people misremember. At Ciraccio he tells you what time the maestrale gets up. Where beach-club prices are not published — and on this island they almost never are — he says so and sends you to ask on the sand, rather than inventing a figure.

He applies the same rule to boat trips: what the operator claims is reported as the operator's claim, ratings built on a handful of reviews are kept apart from ratings built on hundreds, and a trip with a poor score is described as having one. For Vivara he repeats the thing that infuriates people who turn up unprepared: entry is by pre-booked guided visit only, Mondays are closed, and in flip-flops they will not let you up. He walks the beaches again at the start and end of the season, when the lidos go up and come down, because that is where information ages fastest.

Published work

Recent discover

  • Procida with children

    A practical guide for families: beaches with road access and a shallow bottom, useful bus lines, family rooms and the stops that do not work with children.

Recent best of

  • The best beaches in Procida

    Six beaches, an island of 3.7 km²: the ranking is built on access, shelter, facilities and wind, and it also says who each beach does not work for.

Recent sights

  • Punta Pizzaco

    A rocky headland on the south-eastern coast, above the Chiaia bay: you reach it on foot from Piazza Olmo and it gives the classic view over Corricella and Terra Murata.

  • Vivara Island

    A State Nature Reserve on an uninhabited volcanic islet, linked to Procida by a footbridge: you get in only on a guided visit booked online.

Recent beaches

  • Chiaia Beach

    Dark sand, shallow water, the most sheltered bay on the island. You get there only on foot, down about 180 steps, or on the little boat from the Corricella.

  • Chiaiolella Beach

    Direct road access, the L2 bus from the harbour, beach clubs and restaurants two steps away. The beach to choose when you do not want complications.

  • Ciraccio Beach

    Long, open, windy. Direct road access and far more room than the Chiaiolella, but in the afternoon the mistral makes itself felt.

  • Lingua Beach

    Tiny, pebbly, next to a working harbour. A bottom that drops away at once and a pink light at sunset that pays back the inconvenience.

  • Pozzo Vecchio Beach

    The bay where Troisi recited Neruda: small, horseshoe-shaped, in the middle of open country. A short but steep descent and almost no shade.

Recent experiences

  • Boat hire without a boat licence

    Eight hours with a self-drive six-metre boat, no licence needed. The price is per group, up to four people: with four of you it is the best value on the island.

  • Island boat tour with swim stops

    Two hours around the island with swim stops and a guide on board in three languages. At the start you use the beach club’s changing rooms and showers: a practical detail that is far from trivial.

  • Ischia and Procida boat excursion from Naples

    Seven hours between Ischia and Procida: return hydrofoil, a boat with a skipper, an Italian lunch prepared on board, prosecco and hotel pick-up in Naples.

  • Island boat tour with swim stops and underwater photos

    Two hours around the island with several swim stops, snorkelling gear and an underwater photo and video service included. Small groups, eight people maximum.

  • Day trip to Procida from Naples

    A package from Naples with a return ferry, priority boarding and a three-course lunch. A low rating by GYG standards: it is worth doing the sums.

Recent walks