Zingaro nature reserve: paths, coves, entrances and tickets

The Riserva dello Zingaro starts just beyond Scopello, about ten minutes by car from Villa Giulietta. No road runs along this coast, so you go on foot, along paths above a chain of pebble coves. After a fire in July 2025 the reserve was closed. It reopened in two stages in spring 2026, and in October 2026 every path was open again. We checked the details below in October 2026; the sources are listed at the end.

How the reserve came about

The Zingaro is one of the very few stretches of Sicilian coast without a coast road, and that is thanks to a protest. A road was planned, and work on it began in 1976. From 1974 to 1981 nature groups campaigned against the project, and on 18 May 1980 about 3,000 people joined a protest march and symbolically took possession of the land. A regional law of 1981 (no. 98/81) then created the Riserva Naturale Orientata dello Zingaro, Sicily's first nature reserve. Strictly speaking it is a regional reserve, not a national park.

It covers 1,650 hectares from Cala Mazzo di Sciacca in the south to Tonnarella dell'Uzzo in the north, mostly in the municipality of San Vito Lo Capo and partly in Castellammare del Golfo. Limestone cliffs drop steeply into the sea along about 7 km of coast, broken by small coves, all of them pebbly. Vehicles are not allowed. Some properties inside the reserve are private, so please respect their owners' privacy.

After the fire of July 2025

On 25 and 26 July 2025 a fire burnt through the Zingaro and the Monte Cofano reserve and badly damaged plants, wildlife and visitor facilities. The regional government closed the reserve and later put the destroyed protected area at about 1,600 hectares. The south entrance reopened on 14 March 2026, at first with only part of the coastal path. The north entrance at San Vito Lo Capo followed on 9 May 2026, together with the whole coastal path and the mid-slope path. In October 2026 the reserve's website listed all paths as accessible.

Two entrances

The south entrance is on the Scopello side, about 1 km beyond the village. Coming from the SS 187, follow the signs to Scopello and then, at Guidaloca, those to the Tonnara di Scopello; the reserve's car park lies beyond the Tonnara. From there you walk: the path starts at Cala Mazzo di Sciacca and runs through a tunnel cut into the rock. Both entrances have an information point.

The north entrance is on the San Vito Lo Capo side, about 12 km from the town: turn off the SS 187 for San Vito Lo Capo, then from the town head towards Villaggio Calampiso and the Riserva Zingaro. From the villa that is a long way round, so we would start in the south. Unless someone collects you at the other end, the coastal path is an out-and-back walk: two hours each way, plus time for a swim.

Tickets and opening hours

The reserve takes no cash, only cards and other electronic payments, and you must keep your ticket for the whole visit. Opening hours vary with the season: the reserve's map of May 2026 gave 7 am to 7 pm daily, while in October 2026 its website said 8 am to 4 pm. We could not find out when the times change, so check riservazingaro.it before you set off.

The coastal path and its coves

The coastal path (sentiero costiero) links the two entrances. The reserve puts it at about 7 km and two hours one way, and its map rates it easy. It climbs and drops all the way, though without hard ascents, and short side paths lead down to the coves.

The map's sections add up to about 8.3 km, more than the 7 km the reserve quotes, so plan with the longer figure. The names vary as well. The reserve's website gives Cala della Disa a second name, Cala Zingaro, spells Berretta as Beretta and has Cala Torre dell'Uzzo where the map says Cala dell'Uzzo. The website and the coastguard also list a Cala del Varo between Capreria and Disa, which the website says is reached from the sea; the 2026 map does not mark it. We use the names on the map.

Higher paths

Further inland, the 2026 map shows a mid-slope path (sentiero di mezza costa) of 7.5 km, rated medium, and a high path (sentiero alto) of 13 km, rated difficult. The coastal and mid-slope paths can be joined into a loop: in March 2026 the region described one of about 10 km, 3.9 km north along the coast to the path that climbs through Contrada Sughero, then back on the mid-slope path.

Museums, toilets and water

Near the south entrance are the natural history museum, a visitor centre and an environmental education centre. Further north come museums of manna and of weaving and a farm museum that shows the whole cycle of grain, with the prehistoric Grotta dell'Uzzo close by. At Tonnarella dell'Uzzo there is a museum of maritime trades. The map also marks picnic areas and toilets near both entrances.

Rules on land and at sea

• Dogs and other pets are not allowed, not even on a lead.
• No fires and no camping. The bivouac huts can normally be used with a permit from 15 October to 15 May, but that is suspended for now.
• Stay on the marked paths.
• Leave plants, stones, fossils and minerals where they are. Hunting and fishing are banned.
• Rubbish goes in the bins provided.

The reserve's rules do not forbid swimming in the coves. At sea, the coastguard's ordinance no. 20/2018 applies all year: no boat may run its engine within 100 metres of the reserve's coast, and nobody may anchor within 50 metres without a permit. Licensed excursion boats may use their engines more than 50 metres out, away from bathing areas. In the bathing season no boat may enter the seven coves from Cala Capreria to Tonnarella dell'Uzzo, except beach craft without an engine and small sailing boats without an engine, provided they move only under oars.

Seeing the coast from the sea

From the harbour of Castellammare del Golfo, 8 km from the villa, several operators run trips along the reserve's coast. Here are two of them; neither gives a year for its prices.

When to go and what to bring

Spring and early autumn are the best seasons for walking here, according to the travel magazine The Wom, because temperatures are milder; in spring the slopes are full of wild flowers. In summer we would set off early and be out of the sun by midday.

• Walking or trekking shoes; the reserve asks visitors not to wear slip-on sandals, flip-flops in particular.
• More drinking water than you think you need.
• A hat, sun cream and long trousers against thorny bushes and insects.
• A bank card for the ticket.

From the villa

Villa Giulietta is in Contrada Sarmuci, 2 km from Scopello, close enough for a morning in the reserve: leave early, walk to one or two coves and be back at the villa's heated pool for lunch.

More distances, to the beaches and both airports, are on our location page. The villa page shows the house with its heated pool and outdoor kitchen, and our rates page lists what is included and the booking conditions. For the village and day trips, read our article on Scopello; the Tonnara has its own article, and our beach article compares the bays outside the reserve.

Questions and answers

Sources

• Riserva dello Zingaro: home page
• Riserva dello Zingaro: La storia
• Riserva dello Zingaro: Territorio e tradizione
• Regione Siciliana: notice on the fire of July 2025 (PDF)
• Regione Siciliana: the Zingaro reopens on 14 March (11 March 2026)
• Balarm: the north entrance reopens (8 May 2026)
• Riserva dello Zingaro: how to get there
• Riserva dello Zingaro: tickets and information
• Riserva dello Zingaro: map of the reserve, May 2026 (PDF)
• Riserva dello Zingaro: the coastal path
• The Wom: paths in the Zingaro reserve (17 April 2026)
• Riserva dello Zingaro: rules of the reserve (PDF)
• Capitaneria di Porto di Trapani: ordinance no. 20/2018, extract (PDF)
• Marina di Castellammare: boat trips to the Zingaro
• Egadi Navigazione: half-day trip to the Zingaro
• Booking.com: Villa Giulietta, distance to Cala Mazzo di Sciacca

All sources accessed on 23 October 2026.