Italian beaches? Any recommendations?
 

We are looking to travel to Italy in August and in search of a nice beach, good food and some sight seeing. Yes, we know it will be packed. We will likely fly into Rome and spend a few days there first. We are 2 adults and 2 pre teens. Where in Italy are the nicest beaches? Sardinia? Sicily? Neither? Maybe Corsica? Anyplace else in the Italian boot?

We would prefer a hotel over an apartment, where hopefully we can take a quad room. Looking for four stars or so. Some place with a pool, near or in town, and near to some nice beaches. We will rent a car. We have been up north previously, to Santa Margarita, but those northern beaches are likely too rocky for what we are looking for. Any specific, or general, recommendations are greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Sardinia does have beautiful beaches but the four star hotels there can be very pricey and may not have quad rooms. You say you don't want rocky beaches like the ones near Santa Margherita. That leaves out the Amalfi Coast as those beaches are small and rocky. Sicily has some sandy beaches near Taormina and you can find four star hotels in that town. I like the beaches in Puglia. In the south, near Otranto, the beaches are wide and sandy. There is a lot of sightseeing and great food. The beaches on the Gargano are also lovely, but smaller and with lots of grottoes to explore. The Tremiti islands off the northern coast of Puglia also have some nice beaches. The beaches along the Adriatic between Venice and Pescara can be wide and sandy. But they are not the most picturesque and can get extremely crowded in August. There also aren't many luxury hotels although there are many,many three star tourist hotels there. The beaches in Calabria around Tropea are nice but sightseeing would involve more driving. My choice would be southern Puglia.

Grinisa, thank you. I will look to Puglia and that area of southern Italy (indeed, we already drink wine from there). Do you think it is possible to catch a train down there from Rome, or it is many hours? Thanks.

I haven't taken a summer, beach vacation in Italy, but I think Sardinia's beaches are some of the prettiest I've seen anywhere.

According to Trenitalia and Viamichelin, both train and driving will take around 4 1/2 hours. I highly recommend having a car in Pugia to explore so you may as well pick one up on your way out of Rome and drive down there yourself.

There seem to be some very nice country hotels/residences. I found one, near Fasano, that looks very nice. A Masseria. I think Fasano is inland a bit. Is that more or less well located? I think we could take a train then from Rome. Or, maybe just rent the car in Rome and rive south. Reading the TRs though it seems the drive is long and pretty boring, the train might be easier.

I will also look to Sardinia but, one prior year when I checked the hotel rates really were through the roof. Thanks.

Not sure if this is what you are looking for, but between Rome and Naples is a town called Gaeta and it has a beautiful beach.

From my own research over the years, Tropea (Calabria) seems to be at the top of the list for Italian beaches..


http://tinyurl.com/a8bmwt



In Liguria, I've been told that Sestri Levante has long-sandy beaches..

http://tinyurl.com/8xmq2m




Also look into Gargano peninsula in Puglia.

http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/555718266fjMXIH




http://www.prenotazioni-online.info/...ano-puglia.jpg

Sardinia, has the best beaches, and the Costa Smeralda, developed by the Aga Kahn, is very nice part of the Island. My favorite is Hotel Patrizza, smaller but very good service and beaches.

Meant...Pitrizza....sorry stiff fingers !!!!!

The best I have found are 2 hours south of Rome at Sperlonga/Gaeta, but all the beaches will be like a zoo that time of year.

Sardinia has beautiful, pristine beaches and the Costa Esmeralda/Orosei area (south of Olbia) is stunning. As you may know, the name comes from the fact that the water is an emerald green color - really awesome. In August, you can catch a quick flight from Rome to Olbia on Meridiana airlines.

Mil grazie. This information gives me a lot more to work with.

I looked at the "Pitrizzia" (sp?) hotel in Porto Cervo. It is beautiful. It also seems to be around 1,200+ Euros or so per night, in season. Ahy Chihuaha! I think Sardinia has outstanding beaches (friends have also gone) but I fear that I could look forever to find someplace reasonable, even in the 3 or 4 star category, and still not find one. And, European hotels are so tough with 4 in a room, even if they are kids, that we then need a quad (apparently also hard to find) or two rooms.

The Tropea area, in Calabria, also looks nice, with some good hotel options, I believe. That is the other side of the boot in Italy as compared to Puglia? As to how to get there, on a map I don't see any big town close to Tropea. So, does that mean you have to drive there? Fly to Messina? Take a very slow train to Tropea?

Is there less to see and do in Calabria, as compared to Puglia, if you know? Also, I know Puglia has become much more popular recently, and people rave about the food. Is Calabrian food similar? Does the area also have pretty small towns?

And, might you know a good link to check out Italian train schedules, and prices? Whether we fly or train might depend on price. If there is small difference flying could make sense. Thanks.

I believe that Lamezia and Reggio Calabria are the nearest airports to Tropea.


Yes, the other side of the boot..the toe and not the heel, which would be Puglia. Not far from Messina, Sicily.

Website for Lamezio Terme airport:


http://www.sacal.it/

Train schedules:


http://tinyurl.com/3eeyzn

About Tropea:


http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...rtropea17.html

Just to complicate things for you, here are some pics of the Gargano peninsula in Puglia, courtesy of SteveJames:


http://www.pugnochiuso.com/component...d,202/lang,it/

Thank you Skrunchy. The links are very helpful. I will start sending some emails. Unfortunately, it seems staying in town in some of these properties means that you don't have a pool. Yet, for a couple of nights that would be fine.

Hotel near Vieste, on the Gargano peninsula:



http://www.hotelbaiadellezagare.it/e...rt_gargano.php

I've recommended Hotel Baia delle Zagare many times on this board and I think your family would enjoy it. My husband and I stayed there a few years ago and want to return with our two children. They do allow kids to share a room with you but I'm not sure if they would allow two kids as the rooms are not that large. They may have a quad or family room but you will have to contact the hotel. During high season, you must take part in the meal plan so you will have to have at least lunch or dinner at the hotel. The beach is gorgeous as you can see from the photos and they do have a pool. If you choose Puglia, it would be a good idea to break up your stay. Three nights on the Gargano and the rest in southern Puglia. Lots to see in both areas but do get a car. If you like four star properties, check out the other place we stayed, Il Melograno near Monopoli. It is a beautiful converted Masseria and does have a pool. Easy access to Bari, Brinidis, Lecce, Gallipoli and Alberobello by car. Another luxury masseria is the San Domenico.

If you're set on going to Sardinia, look up Golfo Aranci, near the Olbia airport. It is a great town, with lots of activities, and great beaches. It's right outside of the Costa Smeralda area, but you will enjoy all the activities from the Costa Smeralda. I had an apartment in Gaeta for many years and I loved it. The apartment was across the street from the glorious beach, in the Serapo district. Rentals there are not TOO expensive, and the town is really a great hoot in the evenings. There is a very lively piazza in the center of town with a ton of activity and a bunch of really great restaurants. It is close to Sperlonga, which is also a glorious place. If you want great beaches, and not too high prices, check out Palinuro, on the west coast, south of Campania. I spent several fantastic summers there, with pretty good prices. I was impressed with the cleanliness of the water in Palinuro, which is also a loively little town.

Considering the entire country is on vacation for Ferragosto in August I would suggets making plans quickly.

South of Sirolo in Le Marche is very nice beach. Around Numana. Great hotel in that area is Hotel Fortino Napoleonico. May already be booked for August.

We stayed in Levanto last year ( crunchy refers to Sestri Levante which is north toward Santa Margherita) which was fun b/c we were visiting friends in CT and Portovenere. Levanto has a bigger beach than Sestri. Much more to do in Levanto than Sestri and more charming. Water taxi from Levanto to the CT and down to Portovenere is great. We stayed at a wonderful hotel here on the beacj but again probably already booked.

Andrea Bocelli prefers Forte dei Marmi, which has huge beaches. Great area, close to Lucca, Pisa, PIetrasanta, and Liguria. Better book soon.

Between Forte dei Marmi and Portovenere are very quiet areas with beautiful beach as well but not much to do.

We love Levanto b/c it is full of locals - very nice feel to it.

I disagree with the description of Gaeta. The beaches are not great and the area is not great either.

We always enjoy Calabria and south of Naples but it is not for the faint of heart.


New fast train Rome to Bari is 4 hours. Rent car there if you are considering beach b/w Otranto and Bari, which area we also love and highly suggest.

Personally, since beach seems to be the main aim I'd go to Sardinia. There are many places beside Costa Smeralda to go. We stayed in a great hotel last August in Sardinia on the beach - reasonable, great sand, great fish - we could hardly pull the kids out of the water.

Buon Viaggio!

I am wondering, too, about Ischia--I've not been but in my reading, I see that the island has some good beaches. There certainly is a supply of good hotels with pools, too. And you have lots of sightseeing options there, too.

Do you think you would have any interest?

I wonder if anyone who has been there would care to comment about the island..

I love Andrea Bocelli's voice, but I had to chuckle at the mention of his preferred beach.

Motorino: do you have the name of that hotel in Sardinia that you refer to?

The fast train to Bari also sounds very good.

We had looked at Ischia once before, but was told it made Coney Island seem empty and was populated heavily by package tours from Germany, to the extent that menus, etc., were in German as the default.

Gee..that is not the impression I got about Ischia from reading Caroline's report here..I hope someone who has spent time there will chime in!!