Best Beach Area to stay in Italy?
 

My fiance and I are going to spend 10 days in Italy after getting married in the UK.
We'd like to start the trip with 3 or 4 days relaxing at a nice beach area, before moving onto Rome/Venice.

Can someone please suggest where we might want to stay? Hotel suggestions are very appreciated! Is Positano the best bet, beach wise, or is there someplace else we should be considering.
Thanks,
Annie

The beach at Positano isn't all that great--small and very rocky. But Positano is certainly a romantic destination for a honeymoon. However, if you have your heart set on a beautiful beach destination, Sardinia has the loveliest beaches in Italy.

Thank you. Sardinia seems very expensive though- for July? I'm having a hard time finding something nice for less than $250 a night.

Hi Anne,

Venice has a beach. The Lido. It actually has sand.

See http://www.venezia-lido.it/en/spiaggia.htm

Ira, thank you!
I'll have a look there for a nice hotel! We are looking forward to all the culture, but I think we'd do well with a couple of days R&R after the wedding!

Annie

Hi Annie,

Glad my suggestion helped.

Please don't think of Venice as a place to sop up culture. There will not be a quiz at the end.

I think that you will find that just wandering the city is the best way to enjoy it. This is how we have done it the last 7 times.

Truman Capote described it as "a box of bon bons".

We loved the beaches south of Rome around Sperlonga and Gaeta - lovely unspoiled hill towns just inland, too.

Just wanted to give you our experience with beaches in Italy.

My husband and I took several kids to Venice a couple of summers ago and we all headed out to Lido for a day at the beach. When we got there, we found that all of the beach areas except one required a membership, and that those were completely full. We went to the public beach area but it was PACKED - not a square foot of sand available. We stuck our feet in the Adriatic Sea, took a picture, and headed back to Venice.

We've also been to the beaches in Liguria and on the Amalfi coast. While both are rocky (I wore water shoes to walk around), we really enjoyed them. In Amalfi (we stayed in Positano), the rocks are full of beautiful seaglass which I gathered while in the sun. Also, there are so many water activities available! I recommend heading south to Amalfi Coast.

We swam at both Sorrento and Amalfi and the water was incredibly beautiful--deep, deep blue yet so clear and refreshing. The shore is not completely sandy like a Florida beach, but pebbly. Think of small, smooth, round rocks in different shades of black and gray. Nothing sharp. The beach glass, as Parker mentions, is pretty (again, worn around the edges, not sharp) and makes for a great souvenir to bring home. Actually, we brought beach beach rocks and glass!

we also stayed at a beache south of rome, just below Gaeta.
We stayed in a hotel called the
Albergo Miramare in Formia, and it was lovely.
I would love to return.

Thank you everyone! I really appreciate the experiences you've had!