Scrajo is at Vico Equense, on the SS145 that comes down from Castellammare towards Sorrento. It is an unusual beach, and what makes it unusual is neither the sand nor the view: it is that the water here smells of sulphur.
The sulphur spring
The Terme di Scrajo have been running since 1895, drawing on a sulphurous spring that flows out of the rock directly onto the sea. The thermal water emerges from the cliff face and mixes with the sea along the shoreline.
The result is that near the spring the sea is warmer, cloudier in colour and carries a distinct, unmistakable sulphur smell. This is not pollution: it is the reason there has been a spa establishment here for a hundred and thirty years.
Sulphur waters have a long tradition of use for the skin and the respiratory tract. The spa complex offers treatments and pools, separate from the open beach.
It has to be said: it is not for everyone
This is the most divisive beach in the area, and we would rather say so upfront.
Some people come back every year for the sulphur water; others cannot stand the smell after ten minutes. This is not a minor detail: if you are sensitive to smells, the odds are you will not enjoy it.
The practical advice is simple: try it briefly before committing the day. If the smell does not bother you, you have found somewhere with few equals. If it does, there are dozens of coves a few minutes away.
What the beach is like
A serviced lido built into the cliff, on platforms and terraces cut into the rock, with ladders down into the sea. It is the typical arrangement along this stretch of coast, where the mountain drops straight into the water and a beach in the conventional sense does not exist.
The view opens across the Bay of Naples with Vesuvius opposite, and that is the real prize here: you sit above the sea looking at the volcano.
Getting there from the B&B
About fifteen minutes by car along the SS145 towards Castellammare. The establishment is right on the main road, with signed access.
Alternatively the Circumvesuviana stops at Vico Equense, from where it is a short bus or taxi ride.
Be warned: the SS145 is busy in high season, and the stretch between Sorrento and Vico Equense can take far longer than the notional fifteen minutes.
When to go
May to October. The spa and the lido open seasonally: out of season the establishment is closed, so check before setting off.
May, June and September are the best months — good water and an uncrowded site.
Our advice
It is the right choice for a day unlike the others, especially if the thermal water genuinely interests you. It is not the right choice for a classic day at the sea: for that, stay on the Massa Lubrense coast.
If you do go, bring a swimsuit you do not mind marking: sulphur stains light fabrics and silver jewellery tarnishes. Take it off before you go in.