13 Best Beach Campsites in Italy for a Seaside Holiday

Italy is one of Europe’s great camping countries. Warm sea, sand and shingle within a few steps of your pitch, pine shade over the awning, and a pizza plus an evening stroll along the promenade to round the day off. One thing holds true almost everywhere, though: what makes or breaks a seaside holiday is rarely the region, it is the individual site. That is why we have put together this guide to the best beach campsites in Italy, running from the northern Adriatic through the Tuscan coast all the way down to Sardinia and Sicily. So which are the best beach campsites in Italy, and who is each one actually for?

How we picked the best beach campsites in Italy, and what to expect

The Italian coast has hundreds of campsites and, to be honest, a few of them are enormous holiday factories. So which are the best beach campsites in Italy? We only shortlisted places that tick at least three of four boxes: a beach within walking distance (ideally the site’s own), decent facilities for families, pleasant surroundings such as pine woods or mature greenery, and a reputation that holds up across seasons. We steered clear of sites that are “by the sea” on paper only, with a busy road between the pitches and the sand.

Worth knowing before you book: a beach campsite in Italy today usually does not mean a tent at all. It means an air-conditioned mobile home with a terrace, a kitchenette and its own bathroom, plus pools, a kids’ club, bike hire and, very often, a paid beach service (sunbed and parasol included in the pitch fee or charged per week). Pitches for your own tent, caravan or motorhome do exist at almost every site listed here and work out considerably cheaper, though in July and August you will be sharing the shower blocks with a lot of people and sleeping in real heat.

Getting to the Italian coast

The northern Adriatic is the easy one. Fly into Venice or Trieste, pick up a hire car, and you are at the gates of Cavallino, Jesolo, Caorle, Bibione or Lignano within roughly an hour to an hour and a half. For the Tuscan coast, Pisa and Florence are the natural airports; for Campania and the Amalfi side trips, Naples; for Sicily, Palermo or Catania.

If you are bringing your own caravan or motorhome, the northern sites are the realistic choice for a two week holiday, because the drive down the peninsula eats days at each end. For the islands you need to add a ferry: Sardinia is served from Livorno, Genoa and Civitavecchia, Sicily from Naples and Salerno or across the strait at Villa San Giovanni. Book the crossing at the same time as the pitch, not after.

13 of the best beach campsites in Italy, north to south

We have ordered them geographically, starting with the northern Adriatic resorts that are quickest to reach and finishing on the islands with the clearest water. For each one you will find who it suits best.

1. Union Lido Mare, Cavallino-Treporti (Veneto)

A legend among Italian campsites and the first five star campsite in the country. It sits on the Cavallino peninsula between the Venetian lagoon and the Adriatic, and its headline feature is roughly 1,200 metres of private beach with fine sand and a gentle, shallow entry into the water, which is exactly what you want with toddlers.

• Beach: wide and sandy, private, shallow entry.
• Who it suits: families who want comfort and would rather not get back in the car all week.
• Facilities: two water parks with heated water, a partly covered pool, thalasso wellness, tennis, a riding school, archery, windsurfing.

Cavallino has one more trick: a boat gets you straight into Venice in about 45 minutes. Beach in the morning, one of Europe’s most beautiful cities in the afternoon, and no parking to worry about. Compare places to stay around Cavallino →

2. Camping Village Marina di Venezia, Cavallino-Treporti (Veneto)

If the phrase “a campsite the size of a small town” appeals, this is the one. Marina di Venezia is among the largest campsites in Europe, spread over roughly 80 hectares directly behind a broad sandy beach. Its heart is the vast AquaMarina Park, more than 15,000 m², with ten pools, a wave pool, an olympic pool and a panoramic flume.

• Beach: long, wide and sandy, right at the campsite.
• Who it suits: families with children and teenagers who like a bit of buzz and a serious water park.
• Facilities: water park, restaurants, supermarkets, sports, entertainment programme.

3. Centro Vacanze Pra’ delle Torri, Caorle (Veneto)

A sprawling family resort of around 120 hectares next to Caorle, a brightly painted fishing town about an hour from Venice. The draw here is a water park of roughly 34,000 m² and, unusually for a campsite, its own 18 hole golf course.

• Beach: private and sandy, shallow entry.
• Who it suits: families who want a full day’s worth of things to do inside the gates, including on the odd grey day.
• Facilities: large water park, golf, pools, a dozen bars and restaurants, sports.

Caorle itself is smaller and calmer than nearby Bibione or Lido di Jesolo, so pick this stretch if you want the Italian small town atmosphere without the crowds. Compare places to stay around Bibione and Caorle →

4. Jesolo International Club Camping, Lido di Jesolo (Veneto)

A five star campsite in the middle of Lido di Jesolo, right by what is billed as the longest pedestrian shopping promenade in Europe. Across roughly 11 hectares it offers spacious mobile homes of around 50 m² with a veranda, air conditioning and a fully fitted kitchenette. The rarity: it is one of the few campsites in Europe running an all inclusive concept.

• Beach: sandy, about 800 metres long and up to 70 metres wide, with a pier and beach sports.
• Who it suits: families who want everything covered by one payment, plus a lively resort with shops and nightlife on the doorstep.
• Facilities: adventure pool and outdoor pool, toddler splash area, flume, entertainment programme, beach volleyball and beach tennis.

5. Camping Village Capalonga, Bibione (Veneto)

Bibione is one of the busiest resorts on the whole Adriatic, and Capalonga is its calmer face: it lies in the Bibione Pineda district between the sea and the lagoon, wrapped in a pine wood. The site covers roughly 26 hectares and has its own fine sand beach about a kilometre long and more than 100 metres deep, so even in August there is room to put your towel down.

• Beach: wide and sandy, private, shallow entry into the water.
• Who it suits: families who want space, pine shade and a classic sandy shoreline with no concrete.
• Facilities: water park of around 1,500 m² with flumes and whirlpools, four restaurants, sports, entertainment programme, moorings in the lagoon.

Bibione doubles as a spa resort with a thermal centre, which makes it a workable choice in the shoulder months when the sea is too cool for long swims. Compare places to stay around Bibione →

6. Camping Sabbiadoro, Lignano Sabbiadoro (Friuli Venezia Giulia)

Just over the regional border from Veneto, in Friuli Venezia Giulia, the resort of Lignano Sabbiadoro has one of the longest sandy beaches on the northern Adriatic. Camping Sabbiadoro stands in a pine wood a few minutes’ walk from both the town centre and the sea, so you get campsite facilities with cafés and shops still within reach on foot.

• Beach: long and sandy with a shallow, gently shelving entry, ideal for the youngest swimmers, with a dedicated beach service.
• Who it suits: families with small children, and active couples who will use the beach sports.
• Facilities: water park with a whirlpool, a heated covered children’s pool, a semi olympic pool and a lazy river, tennis, windsurfing, kitesurfing, bike hire.

7. Camping Village Le Esperidi, Marina di Bibbona (Tuscany)

If you would rather trade the Adriatic for pine woods and a Tuscan backdrop, head for the Maremma. Le Esperidi is an eco resort set inside a nature park where pines and oaks give way to Mediterranean maquis, and the site has direct access to the sandy beach at Marina di Bibbona.

• Beach: sandy, reached through the pine wood.
• Who it suits: families and couples who want shade, quiet and a Tuscan atmosphere instead of concrete promenades.
• Facilities: pool with a flume, playground, horse riding, a pizzeria and a restaurant cooking Tuscan food, environmental quality certification.

8. Argentario and Orbetello, Maremma (Tuscany)

A little further south, around the Orbetello lagoon and the Monte Argentario peninsula, you will find a cluster of smaller campsites and camping villages right on the water, among them Villaggio Argentario at Orbetello. This is one of the prettiest and least tamed stretches of the Tuscan coast, and the lagoon is a haven for birdlife as well as watersports.

• Beach: the sand spits, or tomboli, that tie Argentario to the mainland, with shallower water.
• Who it suits: nature lovers, windsurfers and kitesurfers, families looking for a quieter beach.
• Facilities: pools, beach service, watersports hire, a nature reserve on the doorstep.

9. Camping villages around Andora, Ligurian Riviera

Among Italy’s coastal regions, Liguria is something of an outsider for campers. The coast is steep and building land is scarce, so there is not much room for the big resort style sites. The area around Andora on the western Riviera is one of the friendlier pockets: smaller family run campsites and villages set in gardens, Villaggio Colombo among them, all close to the beaches.

• Beach: a mix of sand and shingle, with beach service along part of the shore.
• Who it suits: couples and families who want to combine swimming with trips to Cinque Terre and Genoa.
• Facilities: smaller pools, garden surroundings, resorts within easy reach.

10. Baia Domizia Camping Village, Sessa Aurunca (Campania)

Southern Italy means a warmer sea and thinner crowds. Baia Domizia lies in the Garigliano park on the Gulf of Gaeta and fronts a sandy beach running more than a kilometre. The site is big, around 300,000 m², but the planting is mature enough that it never feels packed.

• Beach: long and sandy, private.
• Who it suits: families who do not mind a longer journey for warmer water and want Naples, Pompeii and the Amalfi coast as day trips.
• Facilities: several pools including a children’s pool and a semi olympic one, sports, restaurants.

11. Camping Thurium, Corigliano-Rossano (Calabria)

The toe of the Italian boot, Calabria, is for the more determined traveller. Getting here takes effort, either a very long drive down the peninsula or a flight into southern Italy plus a hire car, but the reward is crystal clear Ionian water and genuinely low prices. Camping Thurium near Corigliano-Rossano is one of the larger sites on the Ionian coast and sits directly behind a sandy beach.

• Beach: sandy, with the clear water of the Ionian Sea.
• Who it suits: adventurous and budget minded travellers who do not mind the journey and want the authentic south.
• Facilities: pools, entertainment programme, restaurants, sports.

12. Camping Village Bella Sardinia, Cuglieri (Sardinia)

Sardinia has, without much argument, the most beautiful water in Italy: white sand and a turquoise sea that looks borrowed from the Caribbean. The price of admission is a ferry, from Livorno, Genoa or Civitavecchia, and higher costs once you are on the island. Bella Sardinia sits on the west coast near Cuglieri, in a pine wood a short walk from the sea.

• Beach: sandy with see through water, and wilder, rockier sections along the same shore.
• Who it suits: couples and families who want the best water in Italy and accept a longer, costlier journey.
• Facilities: pools, restaurants, direct beach access, quiet surroundings.

13. El Bahira Camping Village, San Vito Lo Capo (Sicily)

Our pick for Sicily. El Bahira lies a few kilometres from the much photographed town of San Vito Lo Capo and the Zingaro nature reserve, above the Golfo di Cofano, where the cliffs draw climbers and the sunsets do the rest. The site covers around 80,000 m² and is planted through with pines.

• Beach: a mix of rock and sand with transparent water, and some of Sicily’s finest beaches nearby.
• Who it suits: active travellers, climbers, snorkellers, and anyone who came for the Sicilian food as much as the sea.
• Facilities: tennis, football, volleyball, a pizzeria and trattoria, mini market, mobile homes as well as tent pitches.

Sicily is really one long road trip, so if you make it this far, leave time for the interior and the ancient sites as well as the coast.

The best beach campsites in Italy compared

A quick overview to help you narrow the list down. The prices are indicative only, because they shift with the dates, the type of accommodation and the number of people, so treat them as an order of magnitude for high season rather than a quote.

*€ signals the rough price level of a mobile home in high season, not an exact figure. Always confirm current rates with the campsite or your tour operator. For a family in summer they commonly run somewhere between 90 and 180 € (around £75 to £155) a night.

When to go and how to book a beach campsite in Italy

The swimming season on the Italian coast runs roughly from mid June to mid September. On the Adriatic the sea warms to a comfortable 25 to 27 °C in August, and it is warmer still in the south and around the islands. The peak, and with it the highest prices and the biggest crowds, is the whole of August, especially the week around 15 August (Ferragosto), when Italians take their own holidays.

Our recommendation: if you are not tied to school holidays, aim for the second half of June or the first half of September. The sea is warm, the campsites are half empty and the rates drop noticeably. With children, early July tends to be the sweet spot, warm water but still ahead of the August rush.

Where next

• What to see in Venice, the obvious day trip if you base yourself at Cavallino or Jesolo.
• What is slow travel, ten ideas for staying in one place longer and seeing more of it.

Best beach campsites in Italy: frequently asked questions