Water Fun For Everyone: Italian beaches

Italy is a peninsula with 8300 km of seaside coast, surrounded by more than 800 islands, with the two biggest and famous islands, Sicily and Sardinia. From north to south, the coasts are very different, rocks in some areas and sand beaches in others. Orienting oneself on the accessibility of Italian beaches is quite difficult, not only due to the different morphology of the coasts, but also due to the lack of accessibility that notoriously distinguishes Italy as a nation. To make up for the shortcomings of national policies on accessibility, there are associations and private companies. Hard work has been done by these private groups to make part of the Italian coast accessible to wheelchair users. Rome&Italy group accessible tourist services, leader in the field of accessible holidays in Italy, with more than 20 years of experience, has taken an active part in making Italian beaches accessible, with its:

• equipment rental https://www. romeanditaly.com/accessible/rentalequipment-for-disabled-new/

• accessible transfers https://www. romeanditaly.com/accessible/accessibletransfer-in-italy-new/

• many other accessible services dedicated to tourists in a wheelchair.

The accessible beaches in Italy are always part of private bathing establishments.

The bathing season in Italy usually runs from May to the end of September. In other periods of the year, even if the weather permits it, the bathing establishments with private accessible beaches are closed, and therefore it is not possible to use the services they make available during the bathing season.

All accessible bathing establishments in Italy are private and usually the payment of an entrance ticket is required, then the services dedicated to disabled customers are free.

Emilia Romagna is the area of Italy with the largest number of accessible beaches, which is bordered by the Adriatic Sea, with the small towns of Rimini and Ravenna. In this area we have thirty-eight 100% accessible beaches, as well as the main city for historical touristic attraction, Bologna, that is also considered to be the food valley capital, with the famous Parmesan cheese and Parma ham. Plan an accessible vacation in this area: it is the perfect combination of history, food and relaxation.

In 2023, we have 650 wheelchair-accessible beaches all around Italy, which includes accessible paths for wheelchairs, assistance services and the possibility of using equipment such as the wheelchairs JOB, and SAND&SEA or the TIRALO beach bed, to make the beaches accessible to everyone. At the moment there is no public mapping of all accessible beaches in Italy. Only by consulting the regional tourist information it is possible to know the list of accessible regional beaches and what accessible services they offer.

Detailed maps with the list of all accessible Italian beaches, with details of the accessible services offered, is possible to have by contacting Rome&Italy group accessible tourist services https://www.romeanditaly. com/accessible/. The 650 beaches in the list, have different numbers of equipment and services, and unfortunately not all the beaches are 100% accessible, some of them have only a few accessible services. This is the reason why Rome&Italy group accessible tourist services has divided the list into two different groups:

• one with 100% accessible beaches, that must have an accessible path for wheelchair from the entrance to the sea, accessible toilets and at least one JOB wheelchair as a service,

• the second group with some deficiencies that has problems so they cannot be defined as fully accessible.

Before planning an accessible holiday in Italy with a visit to the sea included, we recommend that you take several factors in consideration to plan it in the best way possible and with no worries.

Choose the accessible beach, near an area where you have a large selection of accessible hotels, or you have to book your accessible holiday at least one year in advance!

The best areas of Italy for accessible services near the accessible beaches and tourist attractions are:

Lazio Region

Only 20 minutes from Rome there are two 100% accessible beaches:

• Bagno Spiaggia La Madonnina

Via Degli Atolli - Focene, Fiumicino (ROMA) with accessible path for wheelchair, JOB, accessible toilet, and staff for assistance

• Bagno Elmi

Lungomare Toscanelli 103 - Ostia (ROMA) with accessible path for wheelchair, JOB, accessible toilet

There are other beaches in this area but not 100% accessible for the classification criteria of Rome&Italy group accessible tourist services.

Veneto Region

Only 30 minutes from Venice there are three 100% accessible beaches:

• Spiaggia Villaggio San Paolo

Via Carlo Alberto Radaelli 7 - Cavallino Treporti (VENEZIA)

• Settore L5

Lungomare Trieste, Caorle (VENEZIA)

• Stabilimento Balneare Casa Bianca Via Andrea Bafile 11, Lido di Jesolo (VENEZIA)

There are other beaches in this area but not 100% accessible for the classification criteria of Rome&Italy group accessible tourist services.

Liguria Region

Only 30 minutes from Portofino there are two 100% accessible beaches:

• Spiaggia Sestri Levante Spiaggia S. Margherita Ligure

Viale Andrea Doria Ghiaia

• Bagno Marinella

Sarzana (LA SPEZIA) only 20 minutes from the Cinque Terre

There are other beaches in this area but not 100% accessible for the classification criteria of Rome&Italy group accessible tourist services.

Tuscany Region

Only 30 minutes from Lucca and Pisa there is one 100% accessible beach:

• Bagno Teresa

Viale Europa 2 - Viareggio (LUCCA)

There are other beaches in this area but not 100% accessible for the classification criteria of Rome&Italy group accessible tourist services.

There are many other regions in Italy with 100% accessible beaches for our criteria, but this article doesn’t want to be a comprehensive list of beaches. WE hope to provide you with some examples and ideas for those wanting an Italian accessible vacation on the beach.

If after reading this article, you feel you need a vacation to the Italian sea, and you are thinking of planning a relaxing trip to Italy with accessible beaches, art, history and good food, feel free to contact Rome&Italy group accessible tourist services www.romeanditaly.com/accessible/ at info@romeanditaly.it with any questions about accessible beaches and accessible tour services in Italy.

Article written by Stefano Sghinolfi