Italian seaside, where to go?

[TaigaSno]

Hello, I'm looking for suggestions of where to stay for 5 days. Wish list is:
In Italy
At the seaside, we'd like to spend a small amount of time relaxing on a beach on a sun bed under an shade umbrella, but we definitely want to swim in the sea.
Some nice little shops and restaurants.
Close enough to somewhere interesting to do a day trip or two.
Accessible by public transport, we will fly London to Italy then use trains/buses/taxis.
We have already been to Sorrento and really loved it but don't want to go to the same place again, though similar is nice.

Please send me your suggestions of where you've had a lovely Italian seaside holiday?

Cinque Terre! Stay in Levanto/Monterosso/Sestri Levante for the beach. Travel up and down the coast by train or boat to visit the villages - or also Ste Margherita and Portofino. https://www.cinqueterre.eu.com/en/cinque-terre-beaches You can fly to Genoa or Pisa.

All look wonderful, thanks for this suggestion! Looking up accommodation now - any recommendations for places to stay?

Ischia? It’s a lovely island - Fly to Naples then ferry over? Can do boat day trips from there too

https://hotelvisavis.com/en/ We stayed here last September. It was lovely. About 10 mins walk to either of the beaches and 10-15 mins to the station. Lots of shops and restaurants nearby.

Ischia is lovely too. https://www.ischiabluresort.com/en/apartaments-residence-ischia/ This was this year's holiday. The hydrofoil takes about 1 hour. Bus from Naples airport stops opposite. I can't praise this place highly enough.

We are going to the Aeolian islands this year but some of shortlisted places were: the Marche coast (see https://www.wonderfulmarche.com/best-places-to-visit-in-le-marche-ltaly/) and the coast near Ravenna. Puglia has stunning beaches all around and can cater to all kinds of budget (check out Monopoli, Otranto, Polignano a Mare and Gallipoli). Sardegna is meant to have of the most stunning beaches in Europe but haven't been. Loads of options in Sicily of course (Cefalu is one that immediately springs to mind as meeting all of your criteria, or Taormina with a hugher budget).

My daughter's Italian pen friend took her to a water park near Venice. It was on the beach so they spent a lot of time in the sea (as well as on the slides) and had a couple of day trips to Venice and one to the islands in the lagoon. Depending on budget/if you have small DC that might suit you or you could pick a hotel by Jesolo that has its own beach?

Jesolo a bit like Italian Blackpool. Caorle is same coastline but prettier with little cobbled streets and you can get the boat for a day trip to Venice.

We stayed north of Genoa when dc were young. Be aware many Italian beaches are private so you pay to enter and get chair, parasol etc

I'm in Salento, in Puglia. It's lovely but public transport v poor and you'd need a car to access most areas. Sunbeds w umbrella also cost around €35-40 a day so unless you book a hotel w pool, or that includes beds, you'll spend a large sum on sunbeds.

I stayed here in June. Gorgeous little town, all Italian tourists. Amazing food, lovely shops. We flew to Genoa, shuttle to the train station, 30 mins on the train, cost about €3. Hotel was 5 mins from the station. You can do day trips to Savona, Genoa, Portofino etc. So reasonable also. https://www.coccodrillo.it/

We visited Sicily for a week at the end of June and stayed in Taormina it was outstanding (the 2nd season of white lotus was filmed here ) have to admit though the rest of the island was a bit meh - you can visit the hilltop villages where The Godfather was filmed along with a visit to mount Etna

Italian Riviera. Closest airport is Nice in France, then an easy short train ride along the coast. We go to Taggia, but there are several nice towns on the coast in that area.

@Pearl63 I am astounded anyone can find Sicily meh (other than the tourists on White Lotus!). Did you expire much of the island? I have been twice and going again in September and cannot imagine a Godfather tour even starting to enter the list of top 50 or 100 things…

Ortigia is incredible, as are the Greek temples in Agrigento and the Arabo-Norman architecture in Palermo and Cefalu. That’s just the bits I have seen.

Sd352 each to their own , we did explore more than the Godfather tour (and Mt Etna )but as it was on the hillside further up from Taormina it would have been a shame not to have at least visited , we went right along the coast and found a lot of the towns and villages rather industrial compared to Taormina but the locals themselves are pretty upfront about the lack of funding that reaches other parts of Scicily, we also visited the the Teatro and the amphitheater (I would correct you on your assumptions that we were white lotus tourists we enjoy learning the culture and learning at least some of the language to get us by) but there are definitely pockets of poverty that I was not expecting

I know you said seaside but ... look at the lakes! If you like an Italian vibe they are amazing.

And btw according to Viator the Godfather tour is one of the top 10 attractions in the area - these are actually beautiful hillside towns not Disney attractions

Sardinia is amazing , alghero might have everything you need

I was on Ischia earlier this year and it’s breathtaking. Beautiful beaches, friendly people, really nice vibe. Really easy to get to on ferry from Naples.

Thanks for all of these ideas, I'm busy looking them all up - all look so nice!

Cinque Terre!

@MissAmbrosia @milkydress We have booked to go to Monterosso in two weeks time 😁

Thanks everyone for the suggestions, all of these places look wonderful and are going on a list for future holidays.

Oh fabulous! I hope you enjoy it. The villages can be better in the evening for dinner when it's less busy. Sunset at Vernazza is to die for.