San Nicola Arcella – a postcard-perfect bay

San Nicola Arcella is exactly the place where you think: "Aha, someone designed this coastline for Pinterest." A small town perched on cliffs, below a bay with turquoise water, surrounded by the rock arch Arco Magno and beaches hidden among the rocks. In photos, it looks almost suspiciously perfect. And everyone wants to see it.

**The old town sprawls along the edge of the cliff and has just the right amount of Italian charm: narrow streets, a small square, bars with plastic chairs (where you can get excellent espresso), and viewpoints that make your knees a bit weak – both from the height and from how it all looks. In the evening, the classic "passeggiata" program takes place: people stroll back and forth, discussing everything from football to the weather, and you just go with the flow, licking gelato and watching the spectacle.

You can walk down to the sea or drive almost to the beach, but be prepared for the fact that in the season, it's lively here and parking can be a bit of a lottery. We were here in October and still worked up quite a sweat tackling the stairs and the access path in general. I even heard Dita utter some stronger words directed at Italian safety and visitor infrastructure in general, summed up in a few telling, untranslatable expressions. I absolutely do not recommend it with small children. The stairs are natural, so they're slippery, and there's not much to hold onto – but at the end, a well-deserved reward awaits you.**

As is often the case in Calabria, you'll encounter people employed in completely nonsensical ways. First, you buy a ticket for €3 per person from one girl (rip-off, considering the path is bone-breaking), another girl sits at the entrance and her job is to tear your ticket. After the dangerous section, which no one supervises, there's a part where there are two guys. One pretends to keep an eye out to make sure no one sneaks in by boat without paying, but in reality, he's just lounging around and checking out the girls in the water, and the other is supposedly a lifeguard, but he was doing the same thing.

I was a bit bothered by the use of drones, so changing into swimsuits behind a rock is quite a risk, as the person will likely record everything. We ended up amusing ourselves with the thought that they really watch it at home. With the Italian temperament, they'll get a beating – and we wholeheartedly wish them this "view" of ladies in their prime. The stay is limited to 30 minutes so that all the photo-hungry visitors get their turn. I don't know what it looks like in the season (no one will get me there then), but even in October, there were a few dozen people who indulged in this trip. Oh, if needed – there are no toilets there. We were saved by a café we discovered on the way back.

Nevertheless, the trip is definitely worth it. Stunning views of the coast, caves, and rocks emerging from the sea, all of which are worth a bit of effort. The easiest way to get here is by car, I didn't find a bus, and the train doesn't go here. But there are certainly enough excursion boats that will take you much closer, and you don't have to trek as much. Given that the schedules are a bit random, it's good to find out in advance where you can catch a boat to the place. I assume most often from the parking lot, then some boats will definitely go from Praia a Mare, but that really depends on the season