Lemon groves and orange trees. Greenery tumbling down sea-cliffs to indigo sea and white sand. There’s nothing quite as idyllically dreamy as a seaside holiday in Italy. However, all too often, that dream morphs into the tragic reality of sweaty summer traffic jams. Once you’ve finally snared the gold-dust parking place, you then have to navigate basking bodies as oily as seals to find even just a corner to put your towel.
But there is another way to experience the country’s coast.
I’ve spent 20 years exploring Italy, so you can avoid disappointment by heading to one of my favourite, quieter corners. Here are 10 of the best.
Punta Chiappa, Camogli, Liguria
The Italian Riviera is a top pick for a summer holiday: its hills dotted by grand villas, and tiny coves backed by colourful houses. Many tourists make a beeline for Rapallo and Portofino, but those in the know head to Punta Chiappa, a hamlet of orange and ochre-coloured medieval houses. Arriving is part of the joy of it, along a path near the church of San Rocco that winds steadily downward through olive groves and tangles of Mediterranean scrub, opening occasionally to glimpses of the Ligurian Sea far below.
How to do it
Fly to either Genoa Cristoforo Colombo Airport, then drive to Punta Chiappa, or Pisa International Airport, followed by a one to two-hour drive along the coast. Stay at seafront Hotel Cenobio Dei Dogi, with doubles including breakfast, from £305.
Portoferraio, Elba, Tuscany
Elba is the largest island on the Tuscan archipelago, and less visited by foreigners than others around the Italian coast, though it’s popular with Italian tourists. A protected area, it has a surfeit of fine beaches, most unspoilt of which are on the remote western coast. There you’ll find Portoferraio, where Napoleon became the island governor during his exile there. For a remarkably uncrowded beach day, head to the nearby white sand beach of Fetovaia.
How to do it
Fly to Pisa or Florence, followed by a regional flight to Elba’s Marina di Campo Airport or take a ferry from Piombino. Hotel Hermitage has doubles from £207 (five-night minimum in summer).
Porto Ercole, Maremma, Tuscany
Along the Tuscan coast, the rolling Maremma region is beloved by Roman holidaymakers, but off the foreign tourist track. Porto Ercole serves as the perfect launching point to explore the nearby Duna Feniglia Nature Reserve’s fragrant pine forest and dune-backed beach by foot or bicycle. Enjoy views of the Orbetello Lagoon and the Tyrrhenian Sea, as well as the historic forts and charming old town.
How to do it
British Airways has flights to Rome Fiumicino Airport. From there it’s less than two hours by car to Porto Ercole. Stay at Antica Fattoria La Parrina; doubles from £157.
Patù, Puglia
In the deep south of Salento in Puglia, close to the tip of the Italian heel, you’ll find Patù. It’s just down the coast from the cheek-by-jowl white sands of the “Maldives of Puglia”, Marina di Pescoluse, but here you can enjoy the same translucent water without the crowds. The beach alternates scalloped stoniness and flat sections, so it’s good fun, even for younger kids. Patù is also known for its fornos (traditional shops that often double as a neighbourhood bakery where locals bring their own prepared dishes to be cooked in massive wood-burning ovens) and for its olive, tomato and onion-studded pucce (bread rolls).
How to do it
Fly to either Brindisi Airport or Bari Airport, followed by a two or three-hour drive to Patù. Masseria Palane Relax Resort has doubles from £160.
Scilla, Calabria
The coast around the small town of Scilla is especially dramatic, as the Aspromonte massif’s granite and metamorphic rock formations drop sharply into the sea. Less visited than Puglia or Campania, the village lies on Calabria’s Costa Viola (Violet Coast), so-called because of the purplish hues caused by light refraction through the seawater and local seaweeds. Take a day trip to nearby Cala Janculla, among Italy’s most beautiful beaches, accessible only by boat.
How to do it
Ryanair has flights to Reggio Calabria Airport; then drive 20 minutes to reach Scilla. A boat trip along the coast from Scilla starts from £48 per person.
Marina di Camerota, Cilento
Cilento is far less known among international tourists than the crowded Amalfi Coast to the north, yet it is renowned for the remarkable longevity of its residents – often linked to a traditional Mediterranean diet and lifestyle. Take the beautiful drive along the coast from Paestum, Cilento’s extraordinary Magna Grecia temples, and eventually you’ll arrive at Marina di Camerota, a working fishing village renowned for its anchovies, with red-roofed houses clustered around the marina. Boat trips leave from the village to the nearby Baia degli Infreschi Marine Protected Area: an eight-mile stretch of cliffs topped with Aleppo pines, olive groves and Mediterranean shrubs.
How to do it
easyJet flies to Salerno Costa d’Amalfi and Cilento Airport. From there it’s a two-hour drive to Marina di Camerota. Hotel Relais Pian delle Starze has doubles from £58.
Petacciato, Molise
Called the “region that doesn’t exist”, Molise is a sparsely populated region north of Puglia and south of Abruzzo. Petacciato is north of Puglia’s Gargano peninsula, and tends to be less busy than its better-known neighbour – the spur of the boot that gets thronged in summer. You’ll be unlikely to hear another English voice while you relax by the sandy dunes, and feast your eyes on the green-blue views from the Gargano to the Tremiti Islands, all the way to the Majella mountains.
How to do it
Ryanair has flights to Abruzzo Airport, followed by a 1.5-hour drive to Petacciato. Stay at Residenza B&B Vistamare, with doubles including breakfast from £79.
Sirolo, Marche
Still largely undiscovered by foreign tourists, consider the scenic Marche region, edged by the Adriatic, for its jagged, lime-white Conero peninsula. It’s home to Sirolo, a small town that spills over the hills above the coast, with a small historic centre at its heart. In-the-know Italian tourists visit in the summer, drawn to the scenery and beaches nearby, including the Spiaggia delle Due Sorelle, with its photogenic sugar-white rock stacks rising from the sea, accessible only by boat.
How to do it
Fly to Ancona Falconara Airport with Ryanair, then it’s only a 30-minute drive to Sirolo. Terramarina Boutique Hotel has doubles from £96.
Cala Gogone, Sardinia
Cala Gogone is the seaside satellite of the village of Dorgali, on Sardinia’s impossibly beautiful Baunei coast. Much more tranquil and undiscovered-feeling than busier resorts to the east, this sleepy group of red-roofed, relatively modern buildings makes for an ideal base to slow down. From here there are multiple hiking trails, including from Cala Fuili to an old mule track route to the idyllic beach of Cala Luna, shaded en route by juniper and oak forest via a beautiful two-hour walk. You can also take a boat tour from the town along the coast with Tortuga Escursioni Baunei (eight-hour tour: €60 per adult and €50 per child).
How to do it
British Airways has flights to Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport, then drive 1.5 hours to reach Cala Gogone. Stay at Biriola Eco Resort from £87.
Malfa, Salina, Sicily
Salina is the second-largest and greenest of the Aeolian Islands. It was formed by two extinct volcanoes and is covered in chestnut forest, wild herbs and prickly pears. Volcanic soil and rainfall make the island particularly fertile and it’s famous for its capers and Malvasia delle Lipari, made from the local grapes. On the northeastern coast, the commune of Malfa feels uncommercialised and slow-moving. I’d suggest whiling your days away here wine tasting, but those looking for an active adventure can tackle climbing the Aeolian’s highest peak, Monte Fossa delle Felci.
How to do it
Fly to Catania-Fontanarossa Airport with easyJet, then transfer to Milazzo, where you can catch a hydrofoil to reach Malfa. Stay at the Principe di Salina; doubles from £209.