And the winner is…
Forte dei Marmi. The best family-friendly beach in Italy.
I can’t remember the statistic exactly but about 3000 sq miles of Italy is coastline. For this reason, It is easy to understand why the Italians love the sea so much. The ocean is in their blood and part of most people’s lives.
Every summer, families pack up the kids and head to the beach. Many travel to family homes or rentals for the whole summer. Nonna and Nonno are always around and the kids are happily left in their care while the parents work back home during the week and arrive Friday night to spend the weekend with the entire family. We were lucky enough to experience this ritual first hand. My in-laws have been spending their summers in Forte dei Marmi for 3 generations. Forte is a place that is well known for being family friendly and parent friendly too 😉
In my humble opinion, it is one of the best family beaches in Italy!
Forte dei Marmi at sunset. Bagno Bonacchia ©Michelle Matteoni
Why is Forte dei Marmi a a great family-friendly beach?
Forte is family-friendly because it is not built just for kids in mind but also for the parents. Oftentimes, kid-friendly places are great for children but not so relaxing for the grown-ups. Forte is the best because it beautifully balances a safe fun environment for the kiddos and lots to do for the adults.
For those of you who would LOVE a more relaxing Italian vacation with fewer museums, churches, souvenir shops, and kids complaining, and you want more spris cocktails, naps, happy kids, and the sea, you should consider spending a week of your hard-earned vacation at the beach.
Forte offers wonderful restaurants, bars, shopping (don’t get me started on the FAMOUS MERCATO), and proximity to places like Cinque Terre, Pisa, and Lucca.
Honestly, Forte has it all!!
How to vacation at an Italian beach.
To spend a few days, weeks or months at an Italian beach, you need 3 things :
- A house or apartment rental, or hotel within walking or bike riding distance from the beach.
- A bicycle (rentals are everywhere)
- A reservation at a bagno (beach club).
The family cabina at Bagno Angelo ©Michelle Matteoni
It’s all about the Bagno
The vast Italian coastlines are filled with independently owned beach clubs called Bagni. (There are very few public beaches BTW) Each bagno occupies a piece of the beach and is as unique as its owner. Most Italian families will take a membership for the entire season but there are also places that will rent by the week or the day. With your rental, you will get the use of a cabina (see photo) which is a place to keep bathing suits, towels, toys and to change into a swimsuit.
Included in your rental is a huge umbrella and 2 lounge chairs or an extra large shaded area (called a tenda). This includes a table, beach chairs and lounges.
All the beach clubs will have a restaurant and bar, restrooms, showers, lifeguards and some will have swimming pools, children’s play areas, kid activities, and fun parent and family parties at night.
Local Tip:
The advice I give people who are spending a couple of weeks in Italy is to go and see all the important stuff then take a 3-day (or more) beach break in the middle. It’s kinda like stepping off the tourist express train and on to the local track. You will thank me for it later 😇
Hope you are having a great summer where ever you are.
If you have any questions or want more info please feel free to email me!
Baci!
Michelle