Where in Italy to go?
 

Hello!

I'm new to the forum and have a fairly vague question (sorry); where is the best place to go in Italy for beaches?

I have some time away from University and my girlfriend and I want a simple 5 day (inexpensive) holiday in Italy. We are not planning to rent a car or anything like that.

Our main concern is beautiful beaches followed my great food.

Hope someone can help because I am a little lost at the moment.

Cheers :-)

Try looking up some trip reports in the Europe forum or putting some keywords in the search area here. You may also want to amend your question by including time of year you are traveling and budget. Also, a few places such as Buzzfeed, BudgetTravel, and CondeNast Travel have lists of beaches which may help. Enjoy your trip!

Where not to go for good beaches - nearly the whole coastline has great beaches - Italian Riviera, the Rimini Adriatic beaches attract folks from all over Europe and are amongst the most popular but water quality at times is not up to snuff - Viareggio near Pisa is a place I've stayed - not into beaching but sweet beach.

Your question has too many possible answer - you can't go wrong.

Look at Sperlonga--- 2 hours south of Rome airport.

What time of year are you planning to go?

Sardinia.

Where are you coming from?

We're planning on going a month from now (mid-end of August).

I have heard Sardinia is great. Anywhere a bit more specific though?

Also I have heard that it might be a good idea to consider the Amalfi Coast? - Anyone here think that is a good/bad idea?

Thank you!

Without a car you would find it difficult to get to the nicest beaches in Sardinia. Also, you will need at least 2 plane fights to get there and back. You might do better on Elba.

However, in mid-August, most seaside places in Italy are packed, with both Italians and tourists. If you want to battle your way into the Amalfi coast, you need to book right away, and be prepared to encounter intense crowds and traffic. Also be prepared for the fact it is one of the most expensive destinations in Italy.

If you want to lower the cost, consider points south of Amalfi like Maiori.

It is hard to suggest someplace without knowing how many plane changes you are willing to make, and once you land, how simple do you want it to be to get to a beach.

Do you want to just spend 5 days swimming and sunbathing, or do you want to go sightseeing?

Sorry - but in my experience many beaches in Italy - and much of europe are not very good. Either pebbles or rocks versus broad pure white sand - and often are in town centers and packed to the gills. So definitely do google views of beaches you are considering.

Not sure where to reco since I don;t really do beaches - but we have never seen anything (not ben to Greek islands) to compare to the beaches in Long Island and many other places in the US.

Amalfi Coast is beautiful but I thought it's beaches were terrible.

Where are you coming from? There are direct flights from many European and U.K. cities to the three Sardinia airports.

Since you're only looking at a 5-day "simple" getaway, your final destination on Sardinia would depend somewhat on which airport you fly into. There are trains and buses. Can you reach the absolute "best" beach on Sardinia using only public trans? Probably not, but you can certainly reach a nice spot to relax for a few days. If you're looking at one month from now, you may have to settle for what is available in a location you can reach easily and is within your budget.


Here's some train info:

http://www.blualghero-sardinia.com/e...transfers.html

But verify times and find interim stops for each journey here: [use Italian spellings]

http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...005817f90aRCRD

Salerno has great beaches. So does the area around Paestum and Agropoli but as Sandralist points out - it will be a struggle to find somewhere to stay as it's peak, peak season at the time you're travelling.

Jean,

Have you ever been in Sardinia without a car? What inexpensive beach destinations in August are you recommending, available with public transportation from the airports?

By far the easiest to get to from Europe IMO would be Viareggio - just a short train ride from Pisa - which has lots of flights from many places.

nyt - come to Cornwall - wonderful long beaches of perfect sand and plenty of space for everyone.

There are flights many flights from Europe to Genova, providing a short train ride to seaside towns that are much prettier and less expensive than Viareggio, and have wonderful food. Towns like Bogliasco are perfect if you use AirBnb.

Even if one flies to Pisa, heading north to a town like Moneglia will be cheaper and I think prettier than Viareggio, or if one prefers the Tuscan coast, head south of Livorno on the train.

There are a miles and miles and miles of sandy coastline in Italy -- east and west and on its many, many islands -- that are not packed to the gills, even in August. But if you only go to the tourist destinations in Italy and jump to conclusions, you'll go through your whole life with a distorted picture of Italy in your head you apparently can't relearn.

You might also consider this:
http://www.blueflag.org/

Blue Flag rates beaches for cleanliness, etc.

I'm sure there are some wonderful beaches in europe (have never been to Cronwall).

But many I have seen (Italy, France and Spain) were definitely sub par or marginal. Perhaps it's since I'm used to north atlantic beaches, not the Med, which seems very tame - and as I said - often a lot of rocks and pebbles.

We did have a decent - but not great - beach near Marbella. But that is hardly budget territory.

I'd look at package tours firs and where the beach is second - beach vacations are usually in yes nice beach areas. Again water quality can be a factor as the northern Adriatic has suffered from red tide at times - I think the Med side may be better in water quality. Look for a place where folks your age flock.