beaches
 

Where is a great place in Italy to relax on the beach?

How about Sperlonga, on the beach in front of the Hotel Aurora:

http://www.aurorahotel.it/

What tyime of year?

And what do you mean by a great beach? Do you want white sand like the Carib - or are you willing to settle for the pebbles you find in much of Italy?

Are you looking for someplace relatively deserted (hotel with privae beach) or do you not mind mixing in with the mob on public beaches?

I second Sperlonga. There's only so many beaches in Italy with actual sand. Sperlonga has sand and some lovely inland side trips/

I answered in another post of yours, but Sardinia has the best. It's a huge island with every conceivable kind of beach. The 2nd best single beach I have seen is in Tropea, Calabria.

Hi all!
Much to my surprise, I have found that there are two types of beaches here in Italy -- the public beach , and the beach that you have to pay for. The public beaches are normally in horrid locations and are fairly dirty. The private beaches are in better locations with facilities (i.e. beach chairs, etc.) but you have to pay to access them. They are not private in the sense of belonging to a hotel -- they are private in the sense that someone owns them and you have to pay to use them (i.e. anyone can use them if you pay -- they are not restricted to the residents of say a hotel). It is worth it to pay for the private beach, but I must confess that, coming from North America where beaches tend to be all public, it was a bit of a shock.
Also, here, beaches on the Mediterrainean side (west coast) are more expensive but have better sand. Those on the east coast (Adriatic side) are cheaper, more popular with families, but aren't quite as nice as the west coast beaches. On the Adriatic side, the Lido in Venice has a nice beach, and Rimini is a very popular beach destination.
Just some food for thought!

In reply to the last poster, this was why the Aurora was so good. The price of the room (which directly overlooked the beach) included a designated car parking space and 2 sunbeds on their own piece of sandy beach.

Wow! Sounds like a place I need to check out when the weather gets nice! Thanks for the info!!!

I've never been to a great beach in Italy (though I've been to beaches that were nice in their own ways). I've heard from Italians that the best beaches are in Sardinia and Calabria.

Thanks everyone for the info. We are traveling in early May and are looking for white sandy beaches. We would like our hotel on the beach with cocktail service. Is this real? Something similar to a carribean type all inclusive without the all inclusive etc..

You are dreaming !
That does not exist in Italy. You are superimposing the Caribbean over the Med, which is a 1000 miles further north. And, water temps in May will be chilly--I would guess 60 degrees.
I told you about 3 good coastal destinations in your other post. If you want whitesand beaches try Maui or Barbados. If you want Italy then forget the beaches in May and enjoy what Italy has to offer. After 13 trips to Italy, and spending time at most of the beach areas, I know the options. Best wishes.

thanks for the info. guess we are dreaming. As I said, we're traveling in early May and will be in Italy for 14 days. We're planning on Rome, Venice, Florence and Tuscany. Since it's our first trip to Italy and we're not sure the next time we'll be able to go we want to see as much as possible (rome, venice, Florence). But we also want to have some time to relax. We'd like part of this time to be in Tuscany and part on a beach/coast area. We are still in the planning stages and welcome as much info as possible.

Someone who posts as AP6380 has taken a few trips that included some of the best beaches in Italy. Maybe you can find some of her reports on her trips in Calabria and Sardinia.

Here's a link to one of several trip reports by the person who is one of the forum experts on the best Italian beaches. http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34644385

I am a sucker for honeymoons and also love Italy. My advice is to see Italy and include one coastal destination among the 4 destinations you may choose over your 2 weeks. Here are some samples that may help. I love the Bella Italia itinerary for a honeymoon:
BOB the NAVIGATORS’ FIVE FAVORITE ITINERARIES
__________________________________________________ ______________

MAGICAL FAIRYLANDS:
* Arrive and depart Munich--14 nites--May thru Sep.--car travel
* ITINERARY: Salzburg, Dolomites, Venice, Lake Garda, Bavaria
============================================
BELLA ITALIA:
* Arr Milan, dep Venice--15 nites--car & train travel--April thru Oct.
* ITINERARY: Lakes, Ligurian coast, Tuscany, Florence, Venice
============================================
CLASSIC ITALIA:
* Arrive & depart Rome--12 to 14 nites--car & train travel, all year
* ITINERARY: Florence, Tuscan & Umbrian hilltowns, Rome
============================================
LA DOLCE VITA:
* Arr & dep Rome--12 nites--car & train travel--March thru Oct.
* ITINERARY: Amalfi coast, Tuscan hilltowns, Rome
============================================
OF ALPS & LAKES:
* Arrive and depart Zurich--12 nites--train travel--June thru Sep.
* ITINERARY: Berner Oberland, Lugano, Lake Como, Luzern

THE VILLAGE SAMPLER: My personal favorites—north to south.
• Arr Milan & dep Rome---car travel---plan 3 nites per location
• Lake Orta, Castelrotto, Portovenere, Montalcino, Ravello
===================================

I love being called an "Italian Beach Expert!" I do tend to be drawn to places that have both amazing beaches and loads of culture to absorb. In Italy, those destinations are usually only filled with Italians or Germans!

By the way, even though I did not stay at resorts in Sardinia, there seem to be a lot of luxury ones that might, just might, serve you drinks by the pool or beach. There's someone named GAC here who seems to be the expert on the resorts in Sardinia, as well as all kinds of transport in Italy.

Sardinia was paradise!

AP, "beach expert," I'm glad you found your way to this thread, and I hope the original poster sees your post and hasn't been totally discouraged by the other comments about lack of good beaches. I didn't realize GAC was a beach expert, too. I think he is THE forum expert of public transportation in Italy, but SteveJames is excellent at that, too, though he just doesn't post so often.