Bue Marino

Bue Marino is one of the most recognisable stretches of coastline on the northern side of Favignana, east of the town and just beyond the old tuff quarries. It is not a beach in the usual sense: the shoreline is made of wide calcarenite platforms shaped by quarrymen and by the sea, stepping down to the water in natural terraces and short rock drops. That squared-off geometry, together with the pale colour of the stone, is what makes the place so photogenic in the middle of the day.

Access is from the road network east of the town: most visitors arrive by bicycle or scooter and walk the final stretch. The rock surfaces can be uneven and slippery when wet, so closed shoes or reef shoes make getting into the water far safer.

The seabed drops away quickly only a few metres from shore. That makes Bue Marino better suited to confident swimmers than to anyone looking for shallow water: with mask and snorkel you will find rock walls, crevices and passages sloping into the blue, in a stretch of sea that lies within the Egadi Islands Marine Protected Area.

There are no permanent beach facilities here and natural shade is essentially absent, so water, a hat and sun protection are essential, as is taking all your rubbish home. The area is open to northerly winds, which can quickly build a swell and make swimming inadvisable: always check the day''s sea conditions before setting off.