10 Things to do in Gaeta – Italy’s Coastal Pearl

Gaeta was one of the biggest surprises during our Italy trip. We arrived in the coastal city with zero expectations, and we left the city utterly impressed with how many interesting things you could actually do in Gaeta.

That’s why this little Italian pearl definitely deserves a blog post for itself.

Traveling to Gaeta was a completely random decision from our side. We just needed a stop in-between Pompei and Rome, and our only requirement was that it had to be somewhere by the coast. So after seeing a couple of pictures on Google, we decided that Gaeta looked interesting. And so it was!

There are so many great things to do in Gaeta, and we cannot wait to show you in this blog. On top of that, we’ll share some practical information about when you should visit, how to get there, and where to stay – basically all the things we wish that we knew before our arrival in Gaeta… Now, let’s get started!

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Things to know before your trip to Gaeta

Before we show you all the great things you can do in Gaeta, Glenn and I think it’s best to share some practical information first. Just so you’re a little bit better prepared than we were.

So here is why you should Visit Gaeta, when you should visit, how to get there, and where to stay.

Why visit Gaeta?

There are so many reasons why you should Visit Gaeta on your trip to Italy, and we’re going to list some of them here!

First of all, Gaeta is truly an off-the-beaten-path destination in Italy.

We never heard of the city before, there is no direct train connection here, we had take a public bus to get there, and we didn’t really see many other tourists. I think those points will classify the city as an off-the-beaten path destination. This means that Gaeta is an authentic Italian coast town, which hasn’t been heavily influenced by tourism.

Secondly, there is so much to see in Gaeta!

The city is full of historical buildings that date back to the Middle Ages (including several churches and even a castle), you can also find incredible viewpoints of the city in Parco Urbano, plus there are a couple of natural wonders like Grotta del Turco and Split Mountain, which you can easily discover. But more about that later!

Lastly, Gaeta is located by the coast, which means… beaches!

You can easily visit Serapo Beach in Gaeta during your trip. So, if you’re traveling to Gaeta in the summer months, then go enjoy a swim in the ocean and a cocktail on the beach. What’s not to like about that?!

When should you visit Gaeta?

Glenn and I visited in October, and the weather was just perfect! The temperature was comfortable, so we could go explore everything without dehydrating in the heat or freezing in the cold. It also meant that there were cheaper accommodation options and there were only few tourists in the city.

We can imagine that Gaeta is especially popular with Italians vacationing during the summer months, so you probably have to book ahead during peak season.

My estimate is that any time between April and October will be a nice time to visit Gaeta in Italy. If you visit off peak season (during Spring or Fall), then make sure to book your trip during a weekend. We noticed that most attractions like the cathedral tower, the castle, and the churches are only open for visits in the weekend. Be aware of this before you book your trip.

How to get to Gaeta?

Since Gaeta doesn’t have a train station, you can only get there by either driving yourself or by taking the public bus. We took the bus. So how do you get to Gaeta with public transportation?

First you have to take the train to Formia Station.

From Formia train station, you have to walk 800 meter to the bus station at the harbour. Notice that the bus to Gaeta doesn’t stop at Formia train station anymore, so you have to walk to the harbour to catch it. We didn’t know this, so we waited for half an hour at Formia Station until a nice bus chauffeur took us to the correct bus station at the harbour, and told us to wait there.

At the bus station, you’ll see a little kiosk. This is where you can get your bus ticket to Gaeta – notice that you CAN NOT buy the ticket on the bus. Thinking we could do that made us miss yet another bus… Anyways, the ticket will set you back a little over €1 for one person per trip. Then you just wait for the Cotral Bus towards Gaeta (or ask the buses coming by if they go to Gaeta).

So that’s it! Let’s recap how to get to Gaeta with public transportation:

1. Train to Formia
2. Walk to bus station at the harbor
3. Buy your bus ticket at the little kiosk
4. Take the bus to Gaeta

Where to stay in Gaeta?

All right! Now that you’re all filled in on how to get to Gaeta, it’s time to figure out where to stay during your trip. We stayed in Gaeta for 3 nights, which was the perfect amount of time to see it all, yet still have some time to relax and just read a book on the beach.

During our trip to Gaeta, we booked a super nice apartment called L’Ancorotto Azzurro. Unfortunately, we can see that it’s not available any longer. So instead we found some other great places you can check out in Gaeta.

Hotel options in Gaeta

• Narì Bed&Breakfast: Want something affordable? Check out this B&B which has the perfect location in Gaeta’s city center and is known for its friendly staff.
• Sunrise Guest House: Want to stay in a guest house in the Medieval part of Gaeta? Check out this beautiful place in which some of the rooms offer amazing sea views.
• Hotel Mirasole International: Want something luxurious? Stay in this 4-star hotel, which is located very close to the beach. The rooms include breakfast, and you’ll find a sun terrace with a pool on site.

10 Best things to do in Gaeta

All right, now that you hopefully have all the practical information you need, the time has come for us to dive into the best things to do in Gaeta! So we’ve comprised this list of 10 great attractions and things to see – hopefully, you’ll get inspired to visit some of these places during your trip.

1. Get lost in the medieval center

One of the absolute best things to do in Gaeta, is to just walk around the historical city center. There are so many small medieval alleyways you can get lost in, which makes you feel like you stepped into another time period.

The great thing is that you also have altitude within Gaeta. So sometimes, while you’re getting lost in the city center, you end up finding a small viewpoint over the city. We absolutely love this kind of exploring, and these historical alleys are definitely a part of Gaeta’s charm.

So make sure to walk around the city center and just enjoy every footstep you take.

2. Visit the Cathedral and its Bell Tower

One of the things we never got to do in Gaeta was to visit the Cathedral Tower.

Gaeta is known for its many churches that are located all over the city, but the Cathedral of Gaeta is extra special because of its tall bell tower. It’s located within the Medieval City Center, and you can easily spot the bell tower from many places in the city. So this must mean that the view from up here is spectacular!

However, from what we understand, the bell tower is rarely open. Last time we checked in 2021, it said to be open on Saturdays between 10:30-12:30 during the day… So, if you visit Gaeta during the weekend, then make sure to check out to see if the bell tower is open. Just imagine the view from up here!

3. Viewpoint at Tempio di San Francesco

You’ll find the most popular view of Gaeta in front of the San Francesco Temple – and sure enough, this is definitely one of the better views you’ll see of Italy’s coastal pearl.

From here you can see the whole city center including the medieval castle and the Cathedral’s bell tower. And of course, the beautiful blue ocean next to it all! This viewpoint is really great, so going here is just a thing you must do while in Gaeta.

You can also visit the San Francesco Temple while you’re here. However, you have to pay a small fee/offering if you want to enter. And I only think it’s open during the weekends as well. So, make sure to plan accordingly, if you want to go inside of the San Francesco Temple during your trip to Gaeta.

4. Ocean view at Chiesa di San Domenico

Another interesting thing to do in Gaeta is to visit the San Domenico Church – or as I like to call it, “The Bone Church”. For around €1 you can visit the church which apparently has several bones and skulls inside of it.

We wish we knew more about this church, but we unfortunately never went inside.

However, we do know that it’s a historical, Catholic Church, which you should definitely consider visiting during your exploration of the city. We honestly just came for the great view of the ocean – which in itself is reason enough to go by this place in Gaeta.

5. Visit the Medieval Castle of Gaeta

When we finally arrived at the beautiful Medieval Castle of Gaeta named “Castello Angioino-Aragonese” we had just missed the English tour… We debated whether to join the Italian tour or not, but decided to just move on and explore something else. We’d love to go back to Gaeta and visit the castle some time in the future! But for now, we cannot share our experience of this.

Anyways, the Medieval Castle was built between 1223-1226 by Frederick II Hohenstaufen, which dates the building all the way back to the 13th century! So this castle is full of history, and it’s definitely one of the most majestic things you can see in Gaeta.

Just notice that when we visited in October, it was only open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Ticket prices in 2023 are €10 per person (children up to 14 years old can enter for free). As we just mentioned, we had just missed the English tour, so instead we decided to do something else. Check out the Castle’s Facebook Page for more information.

6. Explore the top of Monte Orlando

One of the most unique things to do in Gaeta is to go explore the small mountain in the city named “Monte Orlando”. While mountain is a big word for this hill, it’s definitely a beautiful and historical place that’s worth discovering.

We followed the small trail from Via San Giovanni Bosco, which granted us some great views of the castle! Those views were some of the best we saw in not just Gaeta, but during our whole Italy trip.

When you’re almost at the top of the trail, just before ascending to the top of Monte Orlando, you’ll find another great view next to a bench and a statue. For the first time you can see the other part of Gaeta (the residential area where our apartment was located – and of course the sea!)

After taking in this view, you can follow the last bit of trail to the top of Monte Orlando where, to our surprise, a mausoleum is located! But not just any mausoleum – a mausoleum built during the Roman Times for a senator named Lucio Munazio Planco. It’s pretty cool to think about how this mausoleum has lasted for so many centuries!

Exploring the top of Monte Orlando was just great! We can only recommend a hike here.

7. Hike in Parco Urbano

Which brings us to the next item on the list of Gaeta’s best things to do – hiking! Monte Orlando is located in Parco Urbano, and the park has in general many great views.

From Monte Orlando, we followed the trail behind the hill to get to these incredible views. All we could see was the clear, blue ocean in front of us, an old hiking trail, the tip of Serapo Beach, and green bushes all around us – which eventually turned into a forrest.

We absolutely loved hiking in Parco Urbano and can only recommend you to do the following trail: Gaeta Medieval city center – Peak of Monte Orlando – Grotta del Turco. What a beautiful hike!

8. Visit Grotta del Turco

The most touristic thing we did in Gaeta was visiting Grotta del Turco, also known as the “Turk’s Cave”.

It’s basically a big beautiful cave, which you can see from the viewing platform above. Listening to the ocean while watching its blue colours connect with the sand colours of the cave was just so mesmerising! There is not much information written about the cave except that it used to be a hiding place for pirates during the Middle Ages.

Unlike the rest of Gaeta, Grotta del Turco is open every day from 9 AM – 5:45 PM, but beware that it may be closed on Mondays. And it doesn’t cost anything to enter, although an offering is greatly appreciated.

9. Walk within Split Mountain

Right next to Grotta del Turco, you’ll find Montagna Spaccata, also known as “Split Mountain”.

The Split Mountain is literally a mountain that’s split in two, which you can walk in-between. You can then climb some stairs to the top of what I think is a lighthouse, and here you have a little ocean view. It’s honestly pretty cool and a must-do if you’re already in the area for the cave.

Split Mountain has the same opening hours and price as the Turk’s Cave. The two attractions have religious value, so make sure to be respectful when you’re at both of these great natural places in Gaeta.

10. Go to the beach

From the Split Mountain and Turk’s Cave, you can follow the road next to the beach and ocean. Oh yes, you didn’t think I had forgotten about the beach did you? Of course not!

One of the best things to do in Gaeta during summer is definitely going to the beach. Serapo Beach is about a kilometre long, so you can always find a spot to relax during the hot summer months.

While we didn’t actually go swimming in October, both Glenn and I decided to go to the beach one afternoon and just read a book. And we weren’t the only ones – we actually saw some people who went swimming. So you can go swimming or relax at the beach out of the peak season. We even recommend it just to soak up a bit of sun!

Our 3 favourite things to do in Gaeta

Looking back at our time in Gaeta, we don’t find it that difficult to decide what we think are the top things to do in this Italian city. So if you only have a limited time in Gaeta, then here are our top recommendations of things to do:

1. Get lost in the Medieval City Center! Strolling in-between the small paths of the city center was just incredible. We really felt like we had stumbled into another time period. It was so unique.
2. Go hiking in Parco Urbano! We absolutely loved the hike from the city center, over the mountain, and onto the beach. The road was just filled with so many interesting things to see and incredible viewpoints of Gaeta.
3. Visit the beach! Spending an afternoon on the beach really got us into the holiday mood – even though it was October. So we can only recommend you to spend a few quality hours at Gaeta’s long beach.

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So, do you feel ready to visit Gaeta on your trip to Italy?

I sincerely hope that we inspired you to visit this little coastal pearl by showing you the best things to do in combination with some of Glenn’s beautiful pictures.

If you have any questions about Gaeta, then don’t hesitate to leave a comment below and we’ll get back to you as quickly as possible. Thank you so much for taking your time to read this blog post. Happy travels!

Want to read some other blog posts from Italy? Then check out:

• 35 things Italy is famous for
• 20+ things to do in Bologna
• Visiting Marmore Falls in Italy
• Climbing St. Peter’s Basilica Dome