aranda

Zappole, you live in Italy! Way cool, I'm jealous. Thanks for the links. Amazing. What about beaches for swimming, possible in May in the locations you mentioned in your last post?

tuscanlifeedit, you make Ischia sound like it could be a possibility. However, I thought a less intense and more relaxing trip to Ischia should originate from Napoli, not Roma (we only have 10 days) unless there is as a ferry to Ischia from Roma.

Thanks,
Aranda

zeppole

You can swim in Camogli, which has an extensive pebbble beach, and there are smaller pebble beaches in Santa Margherita Ligure, which is essentially a yacht harbor.

You can also hike or take a ferry (or kayak) from Camogli to swim and dine at Punta Chiappa, which is part of the national park

http://www.puntachiappa.com/ita/sito...e/DSCN0384.htm

or do the same to reach the Abbey of San Fruttuoso, also part of the park

http://www.hminerva.it/san_fruttuoso_en.htm

Steve_James

Aranda - A lovely spot for a swim is Paraggi (- between SML and Portofino) - a picturesque sandy cove with private beach:

http://tinyurl.com/45yccm

http://tinyurl.com/3qzohx

Steve

zeppole

Pariggi is a lovely place but people need to be advised that it is not on a train line and the only road to it (which dead ends in Portofino) is often extremely clogged with traffic in fine weather, to the point of coming to a standstill for hours.

However, if you are up for a long, flat and pretty walk, it can be reached on foot from Santa Margherita Ligure (which is on the train line) and there are free swimming coves along the way.

aranda

Zeppole and Steve, thanks for the info and the links. The photos are magnificent.

Question, how long is the train ride from Roma to these areas near the coast you all have mentioned?

We don't have experience traveling by train in Italy by the way.

Aranda

Steve_James

Aranda - You can find train journey times on:
http://www.trenitalia.it/en/index.html

Santa Margherita Ligure and Camogli are approx 5 hrs from Rome.

Paraggi is a 10 mins bus ride from SML. Whilst I agree with Zeppole that traffic can be a big problem in high season I don't think you'll have any problem in May - especially if you go midweek.

Hope this helps ...

Steve