Agricamper Oasi Favara

First stop on a cultural day out will be Ispica (five minutes’ drive), a town of exceptional baroque beauty packed with churches and palaces; admire the extravagant ceiling frescoes in Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore and the gracious curves of Loggiato del Sinatra before retiring to a cobbled piazza for something chilled in a pavement café. Inhabited since Bronze Age times, the Parco della Forza (also five minutes) is home to cave churches and the remains of once-mighty palaces; it stands over the dramatic Cava d’Ispica gorge (10 minutes), previously a neolithic burial site with medieval cave dwellings carved into the cliffside. Today you can hike along the bottom of the canyon to the Museo Cavallo d’Ispica with displays on rural Sicilian life. For a change of pace, head for the coast and Porto Ulisse, where sandy coves are backed by sandstone cliffs. Cirica (both 15 minutes) is known for its clear and shallow waters – great for kids learning to swim – and snorkelling in the rock pools and grottos.