With dozens of offshore islands and long, deeply indented coastlines, Italy boasts more than 7,600 kilometers of coastline, from sandy masses with towering sea cliffs to glistening turquoise bays.
The most famous beaches are on the southern islands, but Italy’s sandy beaches range from rocky coves to accessible urban beaches to Rimini’s vibrant resorts.
Top 12 popular beaches in Italy
From wild, forested sands to dazzling turquoise shores, Italy‘s coastline is dotted with stunning beaches. Here are 12 of the best coastal vacation inspirations.
- Great for views: Capo Peloro, Sicily
- Great for snorkeling: Baia di Riaci, Calabria
- Best for Nature: Marina di Alberese, Tuscany
- Suitable for families: Pescorce, Puglia
- Perfect for photographers: Cala Rossa, Favignana
- Best for old-school Italy: Santa Maria di Castellabate, Campania
- Best for seclusion: Rabbit Beach, Lampedusa
- Best for adventure: Spiaggia delle Due Sorelle, Marche
- Best for architecture: Viareggio, Tuscany
- Best for spa-lovers: Maronti, Ischia
- Great for hiking: Punta Aderci, Abruzzo
- Great for parties: Riccione, Emilia-Romagna
Now, here we want to talk about them one by one in detail:
1• Great for views: Capo Peloro, Sicily
The beautiful Strait of Messina separates Sicily from mainland Italy and is the legendary site where Homer performed part of his Odyssey. At the northeastern tip of Sicily lies Capo he Perolo, where the Ionian and Tyrrhenian seas meet.
In front of the village lies a beach, a nature reserve, and a flat sandy beach that stretches under a giant telephone pole that was once the tallest in the world. Dolphins frolic in the crystal-clear waters, and in summer, swordfish swim through the strait, where the Calabrian coast rises to the horizon.
- Where to stay: The elegant and modern Capo Peloro Hotel is just 90 meters from the sea. B&B from €75 (£64).
2. Great for snorkeling: Baia di Riaci, Calabria
Italy’s boot-toe knobbly ball, the Capo Vaticano peninsula has some of the most spectacular beaches in the country, with turquoise waters and sweet sands at the foot of cliffs. One of his most beautiful, Baia di Riachi, is a crescent-shaped sandy beach flanked on both sides by fossil-rich rocks. There is also a small island you can climb if you want to sunbathe offshore.
The area is known for its marine life and the calm waters are perfect for snorkeling. Climb around the rocks on the right side of the beach and you’ll find a quiet area perfect for sunbathing and of course snorkeling.
- Where to sleep: Experience old-world charm at Villa Paola, a former convent in beautiful Tropea converted into her 1920s luxury villa. It is now a luxury hotel. From €290 (£250), B&B.
3. Best for Nature: Marina di Alberese, Tuscany
Northern Tuscany’s beaches are meticulously groomed like supermodels, but if you prefer something wilder, head south to the Maremma region near the Lazio border. Here, deep in the Maremma Regional Park, you can drive or bike through tree-lined paths and buffalo fields to find a pine forest bordered by four miles of sandy beach.
No sunbeds are provided here, but you can improvise some shade and windbreak with towels and driftwood (often there’s a nice breeze). But keep in mind that you can’t have the beach all to yourself. You’ll share the beach with semi-tamed foxes that roam the forest behind and frolic on the beach at dusk.
- Where to stay: For a taste of laid-back life in Maremma, head to Landana, a delightful country house hotel on the coast. B&B from 440 euros (£376).
4. Suitable for families: Pescorce, Puglia
Perhaps it’s the crystal clear waters that shimmer between turquoise and jade, the white sand that’s sweet as sugar, the tiny sandbars that form islands off the coast, or the lilies that sprout from the dunes beyond, but this region. is known as ‘Maldives’. Italy became known. Whatever the reason, see for yourself the Salento Peninsula, the sharp bottom of Italy’s turnover.
On the east side of this expanse of land you’ll find the Corniche and Amalfi-style rollercoasters with coastal roads, while on the west side, you’ll find the very calm Ionian Sea with wonderful beaches. Pescorce is perhaps the most breathtaking, with gently sloping waters, and great for families.
- Where to stay: King Ferdinand IV of Bourbon spent his summers in his 16th-century country mansion in Salento. Now converted into an elegant hotel, the Masseria Recasina dei his Carli. From €80 (£68), B&B.
5• Perfect for photographers: Cala Rossa, Favignana
The Aegadian Islands, off the western coast of Sicily, are a series of pristine beaches. Cala Rossa on the bustling island of Favignana has never been so beautiful. The thick cliffs towering in the background are a reminder of its limestone mining past. But these days, people flock to the beach, where he walks about 10 minutes along the trail through the cliffs Or, more simply, gather on the beach aboard a rental boat on a croissant-shaped bay.
Legend has it that in a particularly bloody battle between the Romans and the Carthaginians, this water was once dyed red, but now a gleaming blue-green in the shadows of seagrass beds and glistening white sand. Please be assured that
- Where to stay: A 15-minute drive from the beach will bring you to the stylish I Pretti Resort in Favignana Harbour. B&B from €130 (£111).
6• Best for old-school Italy: Santa Maria di Castellabate, Campania
Cilento’s Santa Maria di Castellabate, home to Campania’s most beautiful coast, is a place you might fear is gone. It’s a small, quiet fishing village with great restaurants and no nightlife to spoil your sleep. beach. Driving south from here in Salerno, past the Greek temples of Paestum and the medieval hilltop town of Agropoli, we follow the pristine peninsula of Cilento to our destination and let time pass by.
I feel Santa Maria is a beautiful little town with some pretty crescent sandy beaches in the center and a long stretch of lidos (private beach clubs) just a short walk from the center.
- Where to stay: On the coastal hill lies the medieval town of Castellabate, and the Residenza Tamara offers spectacular views of the sea. From €65 (£56), B&B.
7• Best for seclusion: Rabbit Beach, Lampedusa
For many, ‘Rabbit Beach’ is Italy’s most beautiful bay, an almost circular bay with dunes, shrubbery, and low cliffs that blend into the brilliant white sands and peacock blue waters. The only problem is that it takes time to get there. Lampedusa is closer to Tunisia than to Sicily, let alone Italy, so you will need to fly or ferry from Sicily. This beach is so fragile that only 550 people can access it at any one time. Therefore, you will not feel crowded even in high season.
- Where to stay: you can stay on the waterfront at the charming B&B Cala Pisana di Paolo e Melo, just a 20-minute drive away From €80 (£69), B&B.
8• Best for adventure: Spiaggia delle Due Sorelle, Marche
South of Ancona, the Riviera del Conero equals the perfect, yet well-groomed beaches that characterize the Adriatic Sea. A natural regional park, it is known for its natural landscapes, from rolling hills to dramatic cliffs with picturesque beaches at its feet. One of his best beaches is Duesorelle, a wild pebble beach at the foot of huge cliffs.
His two toothpaste-white rocks (“sisters”) just offshore give this beach its name. Situated on the edge of a raised headland, it is best accessed by sea. Boats depart from Numana, about eight miles south. You can also rent a dinghy on the nearby beach. A completely pristine beach, rare in Italy. Therefore, bring everything you need.
- Where to stay: As the name suggests, Fortino Napoleonico was once Napoleon’s fortress. Built-in 1811, it is now the Porto Novo beach hotel north of the beach. From €84 (£72), B&B.
9• Best for architecture: Viareggio, Tuscany
The beach at Viareggio is one of Italy’s all-time Tyrrhenian classics, with butter-colored sand raked to perfection, sunloungers racked up along the waterfront and dozens of beach clubs vying for your attention. It’s part of Versilia, Tuscany’s most famous coastline, but while Forte dei Marmi is more glam and Pietrasanta arty, what makes Viareggio special is its liberty-style architecture, Italy’s answer to art nouveau. Here, the seafront becomes a giant architectural catwalk of shell-shaped windows, striped facades, brightly tiled roof turrets, and sinuous lines.
You can sunbathe at the wedding cake-like Bagno Martinelli beach club, completed in 1928 with a colonnaded, turreted façade; or eat at Gran Caffé Margherita, where wildly colorful stained glass and painted ceilings elevate it beyond your average cafe.
- Where to stay: Grand Hotel Principe di Piemonte is a 1920s grande dame that’s been beautifully renovated for the 21st century. From €405 (£348), B&B. principedipiemonte.com
10• Best for spa-lovers: Maronti, Ischia
On the island of Ischia in the Gulf of Naples, Maronti was made famous by part of Elena Ferrante’s “My Brilliant Friend” series of novels set here. But enthusiasts have been visiting Maronti since Roman times for its hot springs as well as sandy beaches. On the west side of this active volcanic island, fumaroles spew steam from the ground, along with areas of scorching sand heated by thermal activity beneath.
Some areas are off-limits, while others allow you to sunbathe on volcanic-heated rocks and get a sabbiatura outside of high season. increase. This is the ultimate beachside treatment submerged in hot sand. It’s supposed to be for joints. Don’t miss lunch at Ristorante Emanuela. Cook chicken or squid under the sand. A gorge halfway up the beach houses the ancient and popular Cavascra thermal pools.
- Where to stay: Overlooking Maronti in the chic town of Sant’Angelo, Villa Egidio offers very comfortable rooms and stunning views. From €80 (£69), B&B.
11• Great for hiking: Punta Aderci, Abruzzo
Park and walk the trail through vineyards and sunflower fields to one of Italy’s most natural beaches in the Punta Adelci Nature Reserve just outside the town of Vasto. The headlands here may look familiar – the meadow-covered cliffs and the stretch of coastline beyond offer hints of Cornwall and Pembrokeshire – but when you hear the cicadas chirping, you know you’re here south. It reminds me of being in Europe.
Head back down the road to the undulating Punta Adelchi. From here you can catch a glimpse of what lies beneath the crumbling cape. A perfect circular pebble beach facing the Adriatic Sea. There are no sun loungers here, but huge driftwood trunks serve as benches and huge boulders provide cozy shade.
- Where to stay: Tra Gli Ulivi in Vasto is a beautiful 3-room luxury retreat located in an olive grove just minutes from the sea. From €60 (£52), B&B.
12• Great for parties: Riccione, Emilia-Romagna
The Adriatic coast from Cesenatico to Ancona is 135 miles of traditional coastline.
Deep sand for digging, water not too shallow not too deep not too fast, and hundreds of bars, restaurants, and beach clubs for every need. This is Italy’s Florida and Riccione’s Miami. A party town was so famous for its nightlife, it owes its name to indie pop artist Tegiornalisti’s classic Italian summer anthem Riccione. This beach is also similar to that of Miami, only with soft sand and eye-catching sunbathers. After the sun goes down, the beach and the hills behind the city become even more lively with nightclubs lining the streets. Also in the summer, there are concerts and live music from the radio station Radio Deejay, which broadcasts from Riccione and features artists such as the Italian rock band His Moeneskin. execution.
- Where to stay: The Grand Hotel des Bains is a renovated mansion right on the beach. From €350 (£300), B&B.
