so, after many many changes... my cousin and I are almost finish with the planning of where we want to go on August. In our first plan we were going to to to Athens, and some Greek islands after Rome..but to much for our budget, so we took it out.. and know we have this: July 31 flight from PR to London August 1 (thursday) - monday 5 London 5 to 12 - Paris 12 to 14 - Venice 14-16 - Florence 16-21 Rome (one day, tour to Ostia)
22- flight back home I was thinking of taking 1 day out of London and maybe 1 out of Paris or Rome and adding one more place... I have read about Cinque Terre beaches... we are not doing Greek islands...so can you guys tell me a good place in Italy that we can do the beach thing...and relax for 1 or 2 days. thanks
Posted by
Tilburg, Netherlands
2829 posts
the Cinque Terre are not actually good as beach destinations: beaches are crowded and have many stones. If you want a beach to relax in the sense of sunbathing and swimming, you can just go to the Venezia Lido for a day, for instance.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15288 posts
I don't particularly care for Venezia lido. You could probably cut a couple of days from Rome and one from Paris. Instead of going from Florence to Rome through the usual route in the interior you could swing by the coast and go to Rome using the coastal route.
The Cinqur Terre are cutet villages, but in terms of beaches they aren't that great since it's mostly steep rocky cliffs. If you go the best beach is in Monterosso. Better beaches are a little to the south of cinque Terre. The Versilia area is the most famous. Of all the resorts there, Forte dei Marmi and Viareggio are the most famous, but any will do. I spent many summers in that area in my youth. The area between Viareggio and Torre del Lago has nice secluded beaches, Florida style. South of Livorno I like Quercianella the best. But also Castiglioncello and San Vincenzo and Marina di Bibbona are nice. Further south, closer to Grosseto I like Follonica, and of course Punta Ala, more upscale but not near the rail line. The Monte Argentario Peninsula is the best in Southern Tuscany, but not an easy reach by train. From there you could even go to the Giglio island and see the capsized Costa Concordia cruise ship (still there).
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32227 posts
shira, If you want to add a couple of days of "beach time", you might consider cutting a few days from Paris or other destinations to allow a few days in the Cinque Terre (or elsewhere). Monterosso has the best sandy beach of all the five towns, with two separate beach areas. The beaches in the new town have more lounge chairs and umbrellas, while the "old town" area is a bit less crowded but still a few chairs, etc. However, keep in mind that in August just about everywhere in that area is going to be crowded (you'll have to deal with that in the other places you're visiting as well). One other possibility would be to head north of the C.T. and visit Levanto, as that has a large beach area (it also extends behind the location where the picture is taken). Levanto is only about a 5 minute ride from Monterosso, so it's very easy to get to. The walk from the station to the beach is about 10 minutes or so. If you decide to stay in the C.T. for a few days, I'd suggest getting accommodations booked SOON! Cheers!
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
Sbira, nothing on your itinerary compares to the beaches in PR. If you have to have beach time on this trip, in addition to other suggestions, do a google search for images of the lido near Ravenna (south of Venice) and spend one night there - small city with great sites.