Italy occupies a long, boot-shaped peninsula, surrounded on the west by the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian Seas; on the east by the Adriatic Sea; and in the South by the Ionian Sea. Several islands form part of Italy; the largest are Sicily and Sardinia. Few parts of Italy are more than half a day's drive from the sea, making a cruising yacht the perfect way to explore at leisure the country and its numerous historic and cultural attractions. It is also the best way to visit some of the smaller Italian islands along the peninsula's west coast and the remote islands of Lampedusa and Pantelleria between Italy and North Africa.