We will be traveling to Italy in July and would like to go to the coast after sightseeing in Florence. The kids (ages 20 and 16)would like a nice hotel by the sea so we all could chill out for a few days on a beach before traveling onto Venice. Maybe Cinque Terre? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

The Cinque Terre are on the sea, but there are no beaches at all - the mountains/hills are dropping directly into the sea. It's more than difficult to find a nice beach in Italy... but since you're traveling to Venice afterwards, you might go to the Adriatic coast as well - there are two nice spots (just those two, the rest is silence!): Grado east of Venice, a big family resort, but of a rather likeable kind; and Monte Conero, a small promontory in the Marche region, upscale, elegant, just what Italian beaches never seem to offer; pricey, though.

Monterosso in the Cinque Terre has a small beach and Hotel Porto Roca has a private section on this beach. This lovely hotel is up the hill a bit from the beach and on the hiking path as well.

Thanks for the suggestions. I will check into both.

If memory serves me right, Levanto, just north of Cinque Terre, has a small beach. But if Venice is the subsequent destination, an Adriatic beach is a better idea.

You could stay on the Adriatic coast at Rimini and sneak in a peek at the mosaics in Ravenna.