Torre Vado

Torre Vado is a village of the Apulia region in Italy. It lays on the shore of the Ionian Sea, just 7 km north of the southernmost tip of the region.

Understand
Torre Vado represents a seaside frazione of the municipality of Morciano di Leuca grew around the namesake watchtower, built in the 16th century as a protection against the Barbary corsairs.

The locality was nothing more than a small hamlet inhabited by fishermen until the mid-20th century, when the very first private houses were built. Since the 1990s the tourism started to grew up and this small Ionian village started to expand, becoming a quite famous place rich of resorts and bed and breakfasts.

Nowadays Torre Vado has less than 90 permanent inhabitants, although it can reach a summer attendance rate of more than 10,000 (Neapolitans and Swiss in particular).


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By plane
The closest airport is the (), 120 km away. From here you can reach Torre Vado by renting a car or through the bus services available.

By car

 * From the airport of Brindisi: take the Strada Statale 16 Italia.svg to bypass the city, merge onto Strada Statale 613 Italia.svg towards Lecce, here take Tangenziale Ovest and Strada Statale 101 Italia.svg to Gallipoli and finally Strada Statale 274 Italia.svg until the exit of Morciano di Leuca/Torre Vado. Here drive along the provincial road 190 for 5 minutes. The whole route will require about 1 ½ hr.
 * From Santa Maria di Leuca: take the freeway Strada Statale 274 Italia.svg and then the provincial road 190 to arrive in Torre Vado in less than 15 min. As an alternative you can drive along the coastal road enjoying the beautiful view.

By car
The main road of this village is Corso Venezia, a busy street that crosses Torre Vado eastward from the beaches of Pescoluse to Santa Maria di Leuca. Via Napoli, instead, runs northward to the freeway entry and towards the inner town of Morciano di Leuca. If you choose to find an accommodation in Torre Vado you will find out that a car is quite useless, apart to discover the nearby localities.

See
Torre Vado doesn't have real attractions or sights, just as no monuments or palaces to visit. The feature of the village is the wide choice of things you can do, that will be described in the following section.

Other activities
Kids and also adults can have fun at the along the promenade, where you will find a Ferris wheel and a swing ride in addiction to various minor attractions.

Buy
The weekly market is held every Friday night during the summer season and it covers the whole length of the promenade. Here it's possible to buy different kinds of products such as clothes, costume jewelry, toys and, of course, a lot of souvenirs.

A smaller market is held on Tuesday nights always along the boardwalk and it's focused in particular on local handicraft.

Sleep


A quite large amount of B&B and vacation rentals are available every year, from sea view apartments in the centre of the marina to actual villas located in the quiet surrounding countryside. An exaustive list of both of them can be found here.

Stay safe
Crime is practically non existent so the only risk is represented by the sea. Be careful if you choose to take a bath along the rocky coast or when you move on the rocks in the area of the tourist port. Consider the idea of buying a pair of sea shoes if you are not accustomed.
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Cope

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Go next

 * Salve - Adjoining picturesque town and kilometers of stunning beaches. (5 min by car)
 * Santa Maria di Leuca – Popular tourist destination with a relevant sanctuary and several sea caves to explore. (10 min by car)
 * Gallipoli – Enchanting old town, miles of beaches and buzzing nightlife. (½ hr)
 * Otranto – Colorful historic centre with its majestic castle, many beaches and coves to take a bath. (1 hr)
 * Lecce – The famous "capital of the Baroque" with its numerous churches and palaces, all of them richly decorated. (1 hr)