Ready for the Beach in Riccione
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Riccione: A fun beach vacation destination in Italy!

If you’re looking for a fun beach vacation in Italy, look no further than a holiday in Riccione!

Riccione is a town located on the Adriatic coast of Northern Italy in the Romagna area.  It’s famous all over Europe for being a great resort town to spend the summer holidays.  You can get to Riccione quickly by car, train or plane.  For example, the closest airports are Rimini and Bologna, and the fast trains reach downtown Riccione from Milan or Bologna.

Driving from Bologna takes about one hour and twenty minutes, or from Milan in two and a half hours. But, be careful – in the summer, and especially on weekends, the traffic can be heavy.  So, to get your Italian beach vacation off on the right foot, we recommend the train as the best way to reach Riccione.

Riccione, Italy – What a Beach!

The beach is approximately 60km long; however, Riccione covers about 5km of it in the southern area.  Additionally, Riccione beach is a sandy beach, making the area perfect for a lovely Italian vacation by the sea.  The “Bagni” are sections of the beach.  Each “Bagni,” or beach, is numbered for ease of identification.  For instance, if you are at “Bagni 41” or “Beach 41”, you’ll naturally understand that “Beach 40 or 42” is nearby, while “Beach 70” will be a further away.   Like many Italian beaches, you can rent a sun-bed with varying degrees of comfort – I mean, you’re on vacation right?  Also, these sun-beds usually come with a beach umbrella for shade.

What to Expect on this Beach Vacation in Italy?

Each of the beaches offers an incredible variety of service and amenities.

Also, most beaches have other attractions such as restaurants, bars, gyms, volleyball, and basketball courts.  The higher-end ones even have kids playgrounds, and even pools and jacuzzis!

Nightlife in Riccione

At night, many beaches have a happy hour with drinks and DJs. As mentioned earlier, and for convenience, the beaches are numbered, and most of them have catchy names. Naturally, this makes the beach name and location memorable.  Most of the hotels have exclusive deals for their clients and offer a discount on their beaches. Some of the beaches have restaurants that provide a local specialty.  It is always a good idea to make a reservation because of good ones sell out quickly. The sea is not crystal clear or blue, but it is clean and usually calm. Naturally, the beach is ideal for anyone of all ages to swim.

The sea walk is known as the “lungomare” (the beachfront area). It has a beautiful pedestrian-only path and bike lane. It’s always jam-packed with people going for a stroll, running, biking or riding scooters. On the pedestrian path, you’ll find some great artwork and exciting water features. Bike and scooter rentals are common and easy to find.

The town of Riccione is found along a 5km on the coast, but the main area is around Viale Ceccarini and Vialeund Dante the two main shopping areas. On these two main streets, you will find a lot of clothing stores, accessories, restaurants, and lounges. At night, the area is incredibly busy, especially on weekends, with night clubs and bars.

Beach Vacation in Riccione Italy - Concert Stage in Piazzale Roma
Concert Stage in Piazzale Roma

What to Find Along the Beach

At the end of Viale Ceccarini, right on the beach, you will find Piazzale Rome. In the summer it has a big stage where they host lots of free concerts and shows. The area is quite popular, in Italy, for great vacation shopping – after spending time at the beach, of course! Outside the downtown core, some big-name outlet stores are available for your shopping delight.

Beach Hotel in Riccione Italy
Beachfront Hotel

Hotels in the area focus on service, great hospitality, and personal touch. Hotel staff is incredibly friendly and helpful. Staff is usually hospitable and trained to take care of their clients’ every need. Hotel staff is almost always fluent in a second language, such as English, German, French, and Russian. Most hotels offer the “Mezza Pensione” option that includes two meals, usually breakfast and dinner. It is possible to have the “Pensione Completa” or three meals included. The majority of hotels have a pool, a bar, and a kids playground. As I mentioned before, most of them offer deals for one of the beaches, and they can make the reservation on your behalf.  Also, the best and most expensive hotels are beachfront, but some lovely boutique hotels can pube found just a couple of blocks away from the beach.

Also, the area is very well known for the abundance of fun things to do. For this reason in a few kilometers radius, you will find some great amusement parks and waterparks:

  • Aquafan: this is the most famous waterpark in the area offering a wide variety of slides and pools
  • Mirabilandia: this is a great amusement park and theme park with rides and rollercoasters
  • Fiabilandia: this is a famous amusement park for kids.
  • Italia in Miniatura: this theme park reproduces Italy most famous monuments in small scale.

The Food, Oh So Good!

Local cuisine is excellent, and unlike what you would expect in America.

Some of the most famous local dishes are:

  • Fritto Misto: breaded and deep-fried seafood, i.e. squid, shrimps, and sardines
  • Spaghetti alle vongole: spaghetti with clams
  • Passatelli with seafood: bread and cheese small dumplings served with a seafood sauce.

But piadina is the real star of the food scene in the area. Piadina is a thin flatbread, cooked on top of a grill.  Piadina is served stuffed with a wide variety of cold cuts, vegetables, and cheeses.  Additionally, locals eat Piadina for lunch, snack, or light dinner. For example, some of the most common combinations are “stracchino and rucola” (soft creamy cheese with arugula) or “prosciutto cotto, mozzarella e pomodoro” (ham, mozzarella, and tomatoes).

What else to do on your Beach Vacation in Riccione, Italy

If you’re looking for something else to do in Italy, on your beach vacation, the hills surrounding Riccione offer a lot of great destinations for an afternoon or day trip. The most famous are:

San Marino

The Republic of San Marino is one of the oldest and smallest countries in the world. San Marino is famous for its three medieval castles on Mount Titano, about 45 minutes away from Riccione. It’s a great place to explore and souvenir shopping.

San Leo

Another great medieval town, dominated by the massive fortress built in the XV century. San Leo is about 45km away from Riccione.  Also, you can get to San Leo by car in about an hour.

Santarcangelo

Beautiful medieval town to explore and enjoy. The town is famous also for its olive oil and red wine (Sangiovese). In the summer the town hosts numerous cultural events.  It is located about 22km away from Riccione.

Ravenna

Ravenna is an ancient city built by the Romans. It was also the capital of the Roman Empire during the barbarian invasions. Theodoric, King of the Goths, also used this city as Capital of its Kingdom. Theodoric is a buried here, in a stone mausoleum featuring his namesake.  Ravenna is world-famous for its Bizantine churches, with their gold mosaics, that are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.  Ravenna is located about an hour north of Riccione and like most Italian towns and cities, it is reached easily by car or train.

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