Beaches, right? You’ve got some sand, some sun, some sweat, some surf, and some salty water. But if you happen to be on Spiaggia dei Conigli — literally, “Rabbit Beach” in Italian — that salty water is going to be ultra-clear and ultra-blue to the point of radiant. This is a big reason why the Sicilian beach made Tripadvisor’s top five European beaches for 2025, and the number one beach in Italy. This is quite a feat considering that Italy is a country teeming with beautiful beaches, particularly in the south. Also, Spiaggia dei Conigli has uniqely cool, straited cliffs and seasonal sea turtles, to boot.
But even though Spiaggia dei Conigli is Italian, it’s not anywhere near Italy. The beach is located on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, one of the three Pelagie islands south of Sicily, past Malta and directly east of Tunisia. That’s roughly the region of Pantelleria, another Mediterranean island sandwiched between Sicily and Africa. Lampedusa, however, is only 8 square miles in size and has a tiny population of 6,000 people. Given its micro size and hard-to-reach location, it speaks to Spiaggia dei Conigli’s beauty that it’s come to prominence as one of Europe’s most admired beaches.
Much of the enjoyment of Spiaggia dei Conigli comes from doing typical lounging and tanning beach stuff. But in addition to enjoying Spiaggia dei Conigli’s shockingly clear, turquoise waves and fine, white sand, visitors can admire the area’s rugged cliff formations speckled by low, tough vegetation. And if you go towards the end of summer, you’ll have a chance to see baby sea turtles break out of their shells and scuttle to the ocean.
Soaking in the sun, sights, and wildlife
There are loads of pretty beaches across the whole world, and you do the same stuff on all of them. So what makes Spiaggia dei Conigli so special? Visitors to the site cite the same set of features and descriptors again and again: There’s something magical about it. It’s like paradise, the colors are unreal, the water is so clear, it looks more like the Maldives than the Mediterranean (but without the bioluminescent sandbar that makes the beach glow in the dark), you can’t truly capture it in photos, and so on.
But in the end, it might just be Lampedusa’s topography that grants Spiaggia dei Conigli its magic, especially its cliff. The beach itself is a minuscule, crescent-shaped speck that you could walk end-to-end in about two minutes. But even if it’s crowded, it’s away from urban areas. There are cliffs, yes, but they’re not tall. You can see above and past them, lending the impression that you’re standing on the ocean. The blue dome of the sky engulfs the beach, 360 degrees. And because the cliffs look rough, the whole area feels unpolished while also being a highly pristine nexus of painted beauty.
And then there’s the turtles. We’re sorry to say that there are not legions of cute little turtles hanging around everywhere 24/7 and waiting for tourists. But from June to October, you can spot these lucky, lucky creatures who get to spend their entire lives frolicking in the Mediterranean. Spiaggia dei Conigli is the only place in all of Italy where sea turtles lay their eggs. The eggs take 60 days to hatch, and then the little turtles pull themselves into the ocean.
The long, worthwhile trek to Spiaggia dei Conigli
