Would I be right that most of the coastal beach areas in the Ligurian region are rocky or pebbly? Does anyone know an area in the Ligurian region with more of a sandy beach? thanks

The town of Sestri Levante has two sandy beaches, but otherwise you generally get pebbly beaches, or sheer stone, between Genova and the border where Liguria ends and Tuscany begins.

Between Genova and the French border, I believe there are a couple of long sandy beaches, but I'm not sure exactly where. If you ask your question on the Italian Riviera forum at the TripAdvisor website, I'm pretty sure you'll get an answer pinpointing them.

Sestri Levante
Levanto
Monterosso

I rented a room from this company, and they have information about beaches posted on their website:
http://www.liguriaguide.com/beaches-in-lerici.html

I did not see any of these beaches up close, except San Terenzo which is sandy but small and an "urban" beach. I can tell you the area is beautiful, so thought this might be useful info. Some of the beaches are private.

LorenJuneG, Yes, you are right that most of the beaches in this region are pebbly. And that's why it's fun to embrace the uniqueness of Liguria and find a perfect sunbathing rock on which to perch yourself for tanning or jumping into the water. My recommendation is to visit one of the jewels of the Cinque Terre and walk or hike down to the "beach" and find your own little spot. Who needs a big sandy beach in Liguria when so many other beaches in the world are that way? My favorites:
1) Corniglia: hiking down, down, down the steps from the hilltop town of Corniglia to the water and selecting one of the big broad stones to spread your towel out on. Then when you get too hot, jump in and swim over to the little cove where you can only hear the "rainstick" sound of the pebbles washing over each other.
2) Vernazza: the town spills into the harbor and there's actually a small sandy beach there which is free to use and not crowded with umbrellas. Or walk around to the right where you can find a big rock to sun on, away from the town a bit more.
3) Monterosso al Mare, the largest of the Cinque Terre villages has a sandy beach where you can rent an umbrella / chaise longue.

Wherever you end up, enjoy that sun & saltwater!

Thank you for your fine suggestions. Isn't Italy wonderful, so many people enjoy all it has to offer. I posted on TA too and someone said there are nice beach areas to west of Genoa. No doubt we will be taking the ferries and train all around the coast and enjoying as much scenery as we can, and good Ligurian food of course!

There are also sandy beaches on the coast near Carrara, Pietrasanta, Forte de Marmi, etc.

Diano Marina has a sandy beach.

But I, too, am missing the reason that you are searching for sand..just bring water shoes. I would think that the location--the town itself--is more important than the composition of the beach surface. Most people rent chairs anyway.

I'll admit I'm a bit cranky today but IMO if the OP is looking for a sandy beach they want a SANDY beach. I'll do the pebble thing in Europe but I too would prefer a nice sandy beach to stroll along barefooted!

Well everybody has an opinion, that's good, I will take all travelers' thoughts and personal experiences. Honestly it's not that we'll be sunbathing the whole trip but a little stretch of sand can be nice, right? Some of the nicest water views do have pebbly beaches too. I tend to go into the water with a sandy bottom because I don't like carrying water shoes in my little suitcase. This time perhaps I'll take a bigger suitcase, more room for pottery, and I'll get those water shoes. Thanks for the town advise, I'll definately look into all of them. People discover the best spots and it's nice to share a "find"!

You could go to the completely unknown town of Varazze, which is midway between Genoa and Savona. Here is a link to a brief trip report I wrote about my visit in March to my sister and brother in-laws house there. It is full of photos. Scroll to the end of the report to see pictures of the beach and the lovely old town and promenade adjacent to the beach. If you go, there is an outstanding restaurant in town called Antico Genovese. There are a few others as well but I can't recall their names.

http://tinyurl.com/384xjet

"Between Genova and the French border"

we stayed a few km. east of San Remo in Bussana Vecchia..
there is a long sandy beach just across the road all the way to Arma di Taggia.
The coast is not as beautiful as the French coast, but we really liked it.

Actually the "Ligurian Riviera" is divided into two parts with Savona being roughly the centre point. Liguria Levante to the East up to Cinque Tree is mainly rocky coves with a few small sandy beaches here and there (Bob Navigator is correct); Liguria Ponente going west towards the French border is generally sandy with a few rocky patches.

I like Noli (especially Capo di Noli), Varigotti (listed by La Stampa as one of Italy's 10 best beaches)and Alassio. I haven't made it further west as it gets a too far for a day's trip to the beach from Piedmont, but I understand as you get closer to the French Riveira the sand becomes nicer.

My Cadogan Guide divides the Italian Riviera into two sections with Genoa, not Savona, as the dividing point:

From the French border eastward to Genoa is the Riviera de Poniente. Within that stretch there are various sections such as Riviera dei Fiori, Riviera delle Palme, etc--

From Genoa east/south through the CT to the Tuscan border is the Riviera de Levante.

Google Levanto/Images, You'll find your sandy beach, 10 minutes by rail from the CT. Levanto is a great town.

Mike