My fiance and I are taking my 17-year-old cousin to Rome in June to celebrate his High School graduation. When I asked him to let us know what he really wanted to see, the second item on his list was "the beach"! Now, I have counseled him (a small-town Wisconsin boy), about how beaches in Europe are different from beaches in the U.S., and have tried to explain that urban beaches differ from his sandy rural swimming spot along the St. Croix River; I've also pointed out that one doesn't exactly go to Rome to go to the beach (there are LOTS of other places to do that!) -- but he is adamant. He loves cities, he loves Roman history, he loves beaches and swimming, and has always wanted to see the Mediterranean, so here goes!

It seems clear from other posts on SlowTrav that Lido di Ostia is easily reached via public transportation. It also SOUNDS like it might be pretty seedy, and at least one guidebook (Cadogan Rome -- admittedly an older edition from our library) counsels against swimming there because of the pollution.

Can anyone out there shed more light on this? Is the beach really as bad as all that? (Note that we live in NYC and swim at Coney Island all the time -- well, I swim -- my fiance refuses to go into the water because he grew up in Brooklyn and can remember the 70s when the pollution was REALLY bad, and he is convinced that it's all still there, lurking just under the surface! )

Many thanks!!

I am a bit like your cousin, because I like the seaside too. I have made the mistake of going to Lido di Ostia.

The whole of the coast near Rome is pretty unattractive in my opinion and indeed, quite seedy in places.

Give it a miss!

Do go to Ostia Antica, though. It's a fantastic place to visit and I can almost guarantee your cousin will love it. There is lots of info on it on this site.

Ricardo

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Originally posted by Caryliz:
When I asked him to let us know what he really wanted to see, the second item on his list was "the beach"!

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There are several areas with nicer beaches not too far from Rome, though they will require a bit more training (or, in this case even better) driving. Northwards there is Monte Argentario: quite upmarket but a really great place. It's an Island connected to the mainland by two strips of sand (beaches!) and a road. If you are staying in Rome long enough (at least one week), you may consider to spend a couple of days there, getting yourself rooms in some hotel should still be quite easy in June. The island has two main villages, Porto Santo Stefano and Porto Ercole. There are a few pics of Porto Santo Stefano (and of beaches in the Monte Argentario area) in my site.

I would not waste your time going to the beach at Ostia Lido (but agree, see Ostia Antica). Ostia Lido is pretty dirty and very seedy. The beaches around Porto Ercole are indeed lovely. A bit closer to Rome are the beaches south of Terracina and north of Gaeta around the area of Sperlonga; a very attractive area.

I'm taking my family to Italy for 12 days in June. We're spending our first three nights in Fregene, a beach community very near Fiumicino airport, before we head to our villa rental outside Lucca.

There's not much about Fregene in my guidebooks, but a friend who's stayed there says it's quite nice, and my research backs up her opinion. If your cousin is dead-set on some beach action while you're in Rome, maybe Fregene will fit the bill.

We're staying at La Conchiglia which gets a rave from Frommer's.

I went to ostia last summer when it was really hot.. wouldn't recommend it..very crowded and water not so clean... i would definitely second Sperlonga

From someone who spent their hole childhood vactationing very summer on the Jersey Shore, I can say that Ostia is nothing. The water is definitely not the best water in the Med., however it is far better then that of the Jersey Shore or for that matter your neck of the woods, Coney Island. Seedy? Well at places yes. However Ostia is rather large. You will find anything from public beaches to beaches run by bars to private beaches. I personally would recommend once getting there and heading a bit south down to the Cancelli (Gates) region. I feel it is much nicer down there. As far as proximity, you can't beat Ostia.

But, if you would like a nicer town, beach and water venue; then I would recommend heading a bit to the north to Santa Marinella (SP?) It is about 45 minutes to an hour by train and then a 10 minute walk from the station down to the beach.

My absolute favorite place to go though, is Sprelonga. This is located south of Rome. The town is georgous! The water is imaculate! However, it is a bit farther away. I forget how long it even takes. I want to say maybe a total of 1 1/2 - 2 hours counting both the train and the bus that you need to take to get there.

Yes, Sperlonga does have beautiful beaches, both North and South of the township, as does Gaeta and Terracina too. Even Vindicio can be quite pleasant. They, plus other little ones in between dot the coastline south of Rome.
If you take the train to Formia, busses run from there back toward Rome to all of these beaches. One and one half hours sounds about right time wise. So far this is my favourite area of Italy but shortly I hope to see more.
If you'd like to see some photo's let me know and I would be happy to put them up.
Each township has interesting things to see and Sperlonga has both a museum and the remains of an ancient villa and the cave of Tiberius......very interesting place.
Carole.

Thanks for all the great advice!!

We'll be in Rome for 12 days, so certainly have time for trips out of the city. However, we're on a pretty tight budget -- we're also paying for our wedding and honeymoon in Tuscany in September -- so I think we'll be limited to day trips to the beach. (Though I strongly encourage everyone to check out Alice Twain's photos of Monte Argentario -- magical!!)

A question for Tony da Roma: once we get to Ostia, is there a bus or tram we can take down to the Gates region? If not, is it a reasonable walk? (I'm trying to get a sense of the scale here.)

As for Fregene -- when we flew out of Rome this past January (our first trip to Italy!), we spent our last night in Fregene so as to be close to the airport before our a.m. departure. I just went through my big envelope of cards and receipts (ack! still not organized into my journal! ) to try and find the name of the place where we stayed, but it's eluding me at the moment. Anyway -- it was lovely, and we had some nice walks through town and a very nice last-night-in-Italy dinner at a local pizzeria/trattoria. However, judging by the sheer number of billboards, banners, and neon signs for seasonal bars, discos, and nightclubs (all of which were closed up tight in January), I'm not sure it would be any quieter than Lido di Ostia! (Though I can vouch for the beautiful expanse of beach, and the lovely tree-lined streets.) Also, I'm not sure it's accessible via public transportation. (But if anyone out there has information to the contrary, I'd love to know!)

Finally -- Carole R, I'd LOVE it if you would post some of your beach photos! I tried Googling for some before my original post, but didn't come up with much.

Thanks again --

Hi there again, well here are a few photos from some of the beaches south of Rome and I will e-mail you on how to see more about those places if you like.

Hello again, Well that went like a lead baloon but of course that photo is of Gaeta. I will see if I can send one of Sperlonga and one of Vindicio.

The previous photo shows the cave of Tiberius in the second cove, and lastly one of vindicio.

And one of Vindicio.
Carole

This last photo was a substitute and taken in Spring at Vindicio......other photo was too large and I didn't have any others in my photo program just now.
Carole.

In June, the beaches near Rome will only be really crowded on the weekends. Assuming you don't want crowds (maybe a 17 year old does), just go during the week.

I wouldn't swim at Ostia, and don't really find it very attractive. But it is very convenient from Rome and Ostia Antica is well worth the trip.

Fregene can be reached with a Cotral bus from the Lepanto metro. I might be tempted to swim there.

Taking the train to Santa Marinella would be as easy as going to Ostia, just takes a little longer.

One of my favorite stretches of beach (I don't go for rent-a-chair beaches) is just across the Tuscan border near Capalbio. There is a salt water lake (Lago di Burano) and a WWF Oasis just inland from the beach so there is no development on the coast. Just dunes. I would swim there. Not so easy to get there though, the train station is about 3-4km from the beach (the lake is right in front of the train station so you have to walk around it) but I always put my bike on the train. The train ride is about 1:45.

I have friends near Gaeta and they have taken me to some very nice, out of the way places but it involved going by car, walking quite a bit, climbing through holes in a fence or wall, etc.

I say if you want a beach experience, take the extra time to get a little farther from Rome, either north or south.

Steph
(I should note that I get bored to death after about 30 minutes on any beach )

Must say, absolutely no high jinx involved in gaining access to any of the beaches that I mentioned.......Gaeta's Serapo beach (pictured above) let's people straight to the water from the bus......you don't have to rent anything....and it is really lovely swimming there. Sperlonga.....bus drops you in the top piazza and take stairs down either north or south side of the township. Vindicio bus also drops you right at the beach access. Ditto with Terracina.
Of course the Amalfi Coast is probably more beautiful but it is also south of Naples and perhaps a little too far for a day trip from Rome. Other beaches between Formia and Minturno also have good reputations but I didn't swim there.......the whole area is lovely.

North of Rome is unknown territory to me but I am sure others will be able to talk more about that.
Carole

Sorry, didn't mean to imply that the beaches near Gaeta were difficult to get to. My friends just took me to lesser known beaches to get away from the crowds. I wouldn't know how to get back to them. That's all I was saying, though not very well.

What are you doing in Australia? That is new, right? Or do I have you mixed up with somene else?

Steph

Carole R -- thank you thank you for the beautiful beach pictures! Having a visual for these places makes them that much more enticing!

And WebFabbrica -- thanks for the info re: Fregene and Santa Marinella. We'll be staying in an apartment that is close to the red subway line, so getting to Lepanto would be pretty easy. Do you think buses to Fregene would run during the week in mid-June? Also, from which station would we catch the train to Santa Marinella? Do you have a rough idea of how long the trip is?

We are all in favor of avoiding major crowds, so I'm sure we'll be doing our beach trip(s) during the week. I don't mind doing one trip that involves the "rent-a-chair" scenario, only because it's different from our experience here and we've never done it before. Also, my fiance is the kind of person who is bored within about 15 minutes of arriving at a beach, and likes the idea of having a spot where he can nap in the shade and then pop off for an espresso somewhere nearby!

The trip to Santa Marinella is about an hour. The train leaves from Termini but I think they all stop at Ostiense and Trastevere. It's a regional train (read slow). You can see the schedule on the trenitalia web site.

My flute teacher lives there in what was his parents vacation home. He moved there when his little boy was born. He told me that at first he hated the winters because no one was around but now he loves it and hates August when it is packed.

The bus that goes to Fregene is the one that goes to Fiumicino so I am sure that they run everyday of the week. Here is a pdf with the schedule from the Cotral site.

Carole R - I just looked at your profile and it doesn't mention anything about just moving to Australia so I must have you mixed up with someone else.

Steph

There is a bus that runs from ostia south down to the gates region. I can't tell you the number I have never taken it. I have always reached the Cancelli by car.

Hi Steph, You are right in saying that I come from Australia, you may have had me confused with Carole M. I came to slowtravel with 2 trips to Italy behind me, and having stayed in Lazio for nearly 12 months. When I joined, (at Bill Thayers suggestion) not many people on this board had visited the area. I am pleased to say that slowly more members who have visited, are contributing which means that I don't often fill in, despite willingness. So I am always happy to pass on what I remember of my time there. I will share more when I have more to share.

Carole

I have been every summer for five years now in Rome and always went to Ostia several times. I really don't think it's that bad at all. It is not the most beautiful beach, but the water has always been good. There is sand, sun, a cool refreshing wind and the sea.

In my opinion it is great that there is a possibility for that so close to the big city like Rome, if you want a beach life Italy is full of other great places for that.

But maybe it depends where you are used to, I come from Finland and for me Ostia is fine