Relax & Unwind On the Sea Coast of Italy
~ Personalized Just For You ~

A boomerang shaped strip of land lining the Mediterranean sea from France past Genoa and down to the Tuscan border, the Italian Riviera has a mild climate where an eternal spring produces blossoms year round. In the 19th century travelers from colder climes flocked to villas along this coastline to escape the ravages of winter and enlighten their spirits. Nothing has changed! The Riviera di Levante, the portion south of Genoa, is the destination most vacationers favor with towns like Portofino a haven for the well heeled where super yachts tie up for the day to shop, Rapallo and Santa Margherita Ligure, towns which serve as delightful bases for exploration of this Ligurian coast and the Cinque Terre. Wafting around corners throughout this province is the ever present aromas of garlic and basil in Liguria’s most famous dish, pesto. Naturally bounded by water on half of its territory this is a region of fishermen and the rich bounty they bring up out of the sea that you find on every restaurant table. And the steep slopes above the Cinque Terre produce a white wine perfectly suited for the cuisine. Lastly a trip to the Cinque Terre offers hikes along its trails above the 5 villages, tiny restaurants and guesthouse accommodations, many in private homes for the advernturous who want a meet the people experience. Of the towns Vernazza is especially charming while Monterosso is larger and has a sandy beach. Once unknown as an off the beaten path destination, the Cinque Terre is now in everyone’s lexicon and during the summer is especially crowded making spring and fall better times to visit.

With long stretches of sandy beaches, Tuscany offers the first real opportunity for a beach vacation on the western shore of the Tyrrhenian sea in central Italy. Elegant seaside town of Forte dei Marmi, surrounded by umbrella pines with 5* resort hotels and beach clubs, Michelin starred restaurants with Ferraris in the parking lots, beckon captains of industry and aristocrats to seaside villas for a holiday. Further down the coast at Porto Ercole or Porto Santo Stefano, jumping off point for the island of Giglio, are yacht harbors, rocky beaches with sunning platforms and top flight hotels and restaurants for a sybaritic holiday. Families especially appreciate the beaches and accommodations of Castiglione della Pescaia which is just south of big name wine producers at Bolgheri and the Maremma coast where the Tuscan cowboys herd cattle along isolated beaches. Beach holidays along the Tuscan coast are less crowded that more popular areas to the north or south.

While overlooked for years, Puglia has really come into its own over the last 15 years with fabulous hotels, many made from former estates, most with beach access or beach clubs and spas. The food in Puglia is true Mediterranean diet, much of it freshly grown on the land behind the hotels, and freshly caught seafood. This is Italy of another time with unique towns like Alberobello with its conical houses, Lecce the Baroque “Florence” of the south, tiny but beautiful Polignano al Mare where the cliffs rise out of the sea and are topped with white washed houses. Not only is the food superb but the wines are as good as any in Italy as many of the vintners from the north have traveled south to plant and produce. In a region that is surrounded by the sea for the majority of its land, you will always find a place in the sand. The Gargano peninsula, Santa Maria di Leuca, Otranto, Gallipoli, Torre Canne up to Bari, this is a region where you can decide which kind of holiday you want, surf and sand or countryside, never far from the sea. Plan to stay at least a week or longer for you won’t want to leave once you’ve discovered this beautiful land.

If you want Greek temples and Roman ruins served up with your beach holiday, then Sicily is a one of a kind destination which has delicious food and wine to round out your holiday. From elegant Taormina on the eastern coast with its beach front hotels or elegant hotels up in town above it all you can make an excursion to Mt. Etna, down to Siracusa for the archeological sites or take a ferry from Milazzo to the tiny off shore Aeolian islands.