gogbgo

We are hoping to plan a trip to Italy/Greece with our 3 teenage girls this August. Our focus will be on touring Italy but we do want some time spent relaxing on beautiful beaches. Is it necessary to go to Greece to find such beaches or do they exist in Italy? The girls want Greece as a final stop. I appreciate your insights and information as we have never traveled to Europe. We are planning on a 2.5 to 3 week trip.

kybourbon

You are planning your trip when the rest of Europe will be heading to the beaches. Expect high prices and crowds everywhere during August.

There are beaches in Italy, but not really on the main tourist trek of Venice/Florence/Rome. There is a big beach about an hour north of Venice at Lido de Jesolo.

gogbgo

kybourbon,
Thank you! I will see about switching our plans to July. Do you think going to Greece is unrealistic given our time frame of 2.5 - 3 weeks?

gogbgo

I just read up on the beaches near Venice at Lido as not being 'swimmable'. Any ideas about this please

Motorino

Ferragosto in August does mean big rrowds because all of Italy is on vacation. Not the best time to tour.

July means many other Europeans and and anglos on the beaches - so book hotels now. July also means Rome will be sweltering. Venice muggy. Florence Hot.

Some of our favorite beaches are in Le Marche.

You will also find popular beaches with sand and dunes in lazio around Civitavecchia.

gogbgo

Motorino,
Le Marche seems perfect! Would you recommend a resort that is close to the beach and quieter if possible. THANK YOU.

nytraveler

The beaches at the Lido are not bad - although many are private (owned by the hotels). The public beches tend to be very crowded.

The water - I've seen it twice - was not very clean looking (I'm used to the North Atlantic from Long Island - which is generally pristine)- but I don;t know that it's unsafe in any way.

kybourbon

Venice Lido (on the lagoon) is not Lido di Jesolo (on the Adriatic).
http://www.jesolo.it/content.asp?L=3&IdMen=287

kybourbon

What part of Greece do you plan to visit? If you stay in Le Marche area you might want to take the overnight ferry from either Ancona or Bari to Greece.
http://www.superfast.com/site/splash.html

zeppole

The most beautiful "beaches" in Italy are usually not sand beaches but pebble beaches in rocky coves -- and they are not on the Adriatic sea but on the other side of Italy. (I think the beaches in the Lido are just plain awful, swimmable or no.)

Are you looking for a "resort" with 4-star services? You'd do better to go to Sicily or Capri.

If you would consider a terrifically fun Italian holiday town on the sea, you might look into places like Rimini or Cesinatico. They are crowded, hedonistic, full of old churches and laundry hanging out of windows, children running around, lots of pasta, fried fish and gelato and plenty of oddball over the top modern hotels (see a Fellini movie) but Italy is way too crowded a country and too social a culture to have many exclusive beach resorts.

This link might help:

http://www.le-marche.com/Marche/html/beaches.htm

gogbgo

Thank you all for your helpful advice. NYTraveler, I love Long Island beaches and the beach in South Carolina @ Kiawah Island is gorgeous. KYBourbon, we haven't gotten that far yet with our planning but yours is a good idea to cut down on needless travel. Zeppole, I will definitely research Sicily and Capri - I like the image you portray of a Fellini movie! We are looking for adventure of course, that is why we are hoping to go to Europe this year.

Motorino

Coming from New England we love big sandy beaches too.

Italy is for sure different although you will find typical sandy beaches and dunes in Lazio.

Another very nice area is Forte dei Marmi in Tuscany - very close to Pietrasanta, which is another one of our favorite towns.

I would not swim too far north in the Adriatic. But for a quiet resort with clean water Sirolo and Portonovo fits the bill - especially in late June. Only since you asked, we stayed at Hotel Fortino Napoleonico - here's a little video of it:

http://www.webvisionitaly.com/catego...p;ref_item=176