Best beach to spend 4night/5 days from Venice to Rome

Many might say that the best beaches are south of Rome….

I’ve heard that Rimini has nice beaches and is between Venice and Rome.

That said, Sperlonga (close to Rome), Sardegna, Puglia, Calabria, Sicily, have the best beaches in my opinion.

The route from Rome to Venice is entirely in the interior, so you will need a significant detour to hit the beaches on any coast. Of course both Rome and Venice are near the coast. Near Venice there is the Lido si Venezia and near Rome there is the Lido di Ostia. However beaches aren’t too great around there. We can suggest more but first I’d like to know if you are traveling by train or car.

I am curious to hear what Roberto has to say about Rimini. It has a large sandy beach, but it is mostly covered with the lounges and umbrellas that are part of beach, Italian-style. Lots of people and a busy night life. We spent one night in a lovely hotel there (Hotel Aria) in the off-season, and enjoyed the old town area and the Roman ruins. But we did not visit the beach itself at all.

You can see photos of the beach on websites like this:

https://mytravelation.com/rimini/

not far below Rimini is Riccione which I've read good things about. We've stayed in Pesaro, a little farther down yet again and thought it was a nice town. It has a nice pedestrian-only core, a wide grassy strip above the beach, and good restaurants. I don't know what the OP has in mind for "prettiest beach" but I think all of these three will have plenty of warm sand, beach umbrellas, seaside restaurants and cafes, etc Plenty of pics and YouTube walking tour videos online if that helps make a choice.

There are beaches just east of Fiumicino Airport up and down the coast. I haven't been there but they looked sandy and nice from the air and on Google street view.

Does it have to be a beach on the sea? Could a lake location work for you? Lago di Garcia is just west of Verona and Verona to Rome is easy by train. You would need a car for Lago di Garda, though.

Echoing John, Pesaro is nice, a classic Italian beach town. We stayed off season, FWIW, so it was peaceful. Hotels on the beach have their own facilities.

Most if not all beaches are reservation only (including on lakes) so check with your prospective hotel on facilities and availability, July is very much high season. Tim Parks book “An Italian Education” has vivid depictions of summer at the beach in Italy, a culture quite different from how we “beach” in most of the US.

Tim Parks’ book is a good read, especially the description of going to the beach, Italian style. I believe he is describing Pescara. The beach there looks quite nice on satellite view——a long broad white-sand beach, with that lovely turquoise-blue water it creates.

We lived in Germany four years and loved going to Italy. However, we tried Rimini and were not happy with that beach. The beach was smelly and dirty. Frankly, I would forego going to the beach in northern Italy, just enjoy all the history and art.

I still haven’t heard if the OP will have a car or not. For sure the Romagna coast (including and especially Rimini) would not meet my standards of “pretty beach”. Lots of night life galore for sure, but the girls are not yet old enough to enjoy the bars and the amazing discos on that coast nicknamed the “entertainment factory of Italy”. The Southern Tuscany coast (Maremma area) is the prettiest north of Rome, but without a car it is difficult to reach the better beach towns. On the Adriatic coast, there are nice towns like Senigallia or Pesaro, which are better than Rimini, but those would also require a major detour. Near Venice there are beach towns that are popular like Cavallino and Lido di Jesolo

We spent about 5 days in Senigallia and the beach is quite nice. Sandy. The town is superb for wandering and for food. Then you can drive down to Ascoli and across to Rome. Much more beautiful is the beach near Sirolo. Glorious!!! But we did not stay overnight there....

We will have a car if needed but don’t want to go too far south of Rome. We fly into Rome and immediately take a train to Sorrento for 4 nights, then Florence for 2, Verona for 1 and Venice for 1. We’ll end the trip with 3 or 4 nights in Rome so we would like to take a few days and nights to relax at the beach before ending in Rome. Maybe Sprilonga?

We spent a day at a beach near Rimini and it was enough. So weird. The sand was like mud and then it was just row and rows of umbrellas you pay for. We enjoyed watching all of the older folks doing water exercises in the murky water with a guy dressed in neon like he was dropped out of the 80s.

People from Austria like to go to Grado, just east of Venice. For me, I go to the beach when I go home to the US as Europe just really isn't for beach vacations.

All of this said, I think it is clear that the best beaches in Italy are not between Rome and Venice based on my experience and the feedback here.

I do, however, think that Lake Garda is a nice idea. Lots for kids to do, but still it is stuff you could do in the US.