Finding the best stops off the beaten path in Italy can be a hit or miss proposition. While every small village has its charm, there is a way to find the best spots easily.
The Italian Touring Club creates a list of small hamlets and villages that are worth a stop, known affectionately as the Orange Flag towns. These are places that have found a balance between tourism and traditional life, meaning that there will not be hordes of visitors unloading from tour buses morning, noon and night.
As charming as these stops are, sometimes a visit to the beach is the best way to change-up the rhythm of a vacation. While Italy has endless miles of shoreline, not all beaches are as picturesque as what you might see on Instagram.
The best beaches are designated by Blue Flags, a program managed by an educational foundation out of Copenhagen, but was founded in France. Italy has over 400 Blue Flag beaches, making it one of the top five countries for beaches. The ratings are based on the cleanliness of the water, flora and fauna, etc.
While there are plenty of English web sites that talk about the Orange Flag towns, the best site for finding them is in Italian. Fear not! Click on this link, then expand the map to search the area where you are traveling. The site being only in Italian is a plus, as it does not encourage tourists from all over the world. One of my favorite gems on the list is Castiglion Fiorentino in Tuscany.
Beaches in Italy are a different than in the US. Often the free public beaches are not nearly as nice as the private beaches that offer services and better locations. (One exception to that in my experience is Sardinia, where the wild beaches are spectacular.) Here is a link to a bit more about the Blue Flag beaches.
Prosecco, pasta, sunshine, salt air and family.
Perfect beach day!
The perfect day indeed!
Thank you for including the links for additional info on the beaches. Looks like a perfect, relaxing break on your vacation!
It really is. Glad the links were helpful!
Dreaming of beautiful beaches as we are at a frigid -2. , feels like -18, in MN this AM.
Oh yikes! Yes, just keep picturing an Italian beach instead!
The beauty is that there is a beach for every taste, crowded, not crowded, turistic or not, sand or little rocks, or just rocks, pristine water. And the landscape adds a lot of charm. Your photos and descriptions allow me to be “meta”physically there
True. We are glad you liked it and got to travel there mentally!