The Abruzzo coastline gets just as crowded as every other Italian coastline during the peak summer weeks but if you avoid high season, or at least go midweek and arrive early, then you have a better chance of finding a parking spot and a patch of sand with a little privacy.
Our preference is always to go to the beach on weekdays in late summer when there's hardly anyone around, the weather is still hot and the water is warm.
Our trips to this region over the years have almost always been in September and the places we describe here on the Trabocchi coast between the Ortona area to just south of the Sangro river are where some of our favorite Abruzzo beaches are located.
The beaches on this part of coastline fall into two distinct categories. The easily accessible ones are predominantly sandy, have lots of amenities and more parking but can also get much more crowded and lack character. The ones that require a little more effort to reach have no amenities at all and are mostly pebbles but they are more secluded and much more attractive; so there's a clear choice.
Starting from the north of our chosen area, Lido Riccio has a large sandy beach with a good amount of parking that can fill up quickly however and there's plenty of nearby restaurants. Not a bad choice for those who don't want to do any walking. Immediately south of Lido Riccio is the Ripari di Giobbe Nature Reserve which extends for about two miles to the outskirts of Ortona.
The Reserve consists of a narrow strip of crumbling rocky cliffs overlooking the sea. The coastal railway line here was constructed too close to the water so after various landslides over the years it became necessary to shut it down and in its place they came up with the great idea of replacing it with a bike path that eventually will run the entire length of the Abruzzo coast. Not yet however because in this area north of Ortona it will probably have to detour inland.
Driving south from Lido Riccio the first sign you'll come across on the left is for Punta Ferruccio. It has a very small car park and requires a 20 minute walk to reach the cove so this is not one that we usually pick. A little further along there is a much larger collection of signs, right opposite the Cantine Roveri winery, pointing the way to the Ripari di Giobbe beach as well as describing the food and wine trails around Ortona.
The car park at the end of the road is large enough to accommodate mid-week visitors and don't be put off by the private tourist facility next to the beach because this really is a very nice cove that you reach via a long wooden boardwalk with steps down to the pebbly beach. On a mid-week morning in September there were only four other people present so it was ideal but you need to bring your own provisions.
Passing through Ortona the first large beach off the main road is Spiaggia Saraceni close to the port. It has lots of sand and facilities but is very close to the town and traffic.
Continuing south the Spiaggia di Punta Acquabella is a favorite of many people but we would place it well behind Ripari di Giobbe. It has an ample car park high up on the hill among the olive trees which then requires a quite steep walk down the road and along a path between the houses to the tunnel on the bike path. The beach itself is a very small with pebbles and rocks and its easy accessibility from the bike path makes it more likely to be crowded.
About 1 mile south of Punta Acquabella there is a way to drive all the way down to the bike path and reach the sea without any walking but it requires a bit of local knowledge and is a very narrow road with no ability to pass cars coming in the opposite direction so I wouldn't recommend it at weekends. The access point on the left is directly opposite a sign on the right hand side of the SS16 that simply says 'Ripari'.
The well-hidden narrow road between the wall and the bushes (left photo) that takes you down to a small car park (right photo) next to the bike path and the sea.
After turning left here there is another hidden left turn where you can barely see a road at all - it's used by the few residents that have houses here and at the end of a short drive you reach a small car park that is screened from the bike path by a hedge.
If you make it this far you can simply cross over the bike path and the sea is right there and a few hundred yards south is the Spiaggia di Ripari Bardella next to the Trabocco Mucchiola.
Continuing south the next beaches are all in and around Marina di San Vito Chietino, which is a pleasant seaside town distinguished by wide sandy beaches on a very popular part of the Costa dei Trabocchi. You won't find any hidden coves here but as a place to rent bikes, stop for a swim or a drink wherever you please or just relax on the sand it's not a bad choice.
The 5 mile stretch from Marina di San Vito Chietino to Fossacesia Marina is quite flat and has plenty of access points and car parks with various trabocchi operating as restaurants. It's also the section of the bike path that caters very well for cyclists with a good selection of restaurants, bars and bike rental shops all along the path, making it very easy to stop for refreshments and lunch.
Punta Cavalluccio is located in this section, where we had a long multi course dinner many years ago on the trabocco, something everyone who visits this coast should do at least once. Mancini Olive Oil is also located nearby. The Spiaggia del Cavalluccio is a well organized beach with good amount of sand but it's quite small so you might have to reserve an umbrella and sun loungers here because it's easily accessible and very popular.
A few hundred yards further south is the Spiaggia della Fuggitella next to the Trabocco Pesce Palombo. It's an attractive area and the water is quite shallow here but the beach is mostly pebbles. The area around Fossacesia Marina has several stabilimenti balneari to choose from, some with their own dedicated parking spots and others noted for the higher than average quality of their food.
The final beach worthy of mention which we particularly like is a few miles south across the Sangro river at Le Morge. The beach itself is spectacular, much wider with more sand than any of the others on this section of coastline and over one mile long.
It's about half way between San Vito Chietino and Vasto and being further away from those population centers it was almost completely empty on a weekday at the beginning of September. A large car park and a large free beach area makes it a great option for those who don't want to pay to feel like a tinned sardine at a average stabilimento balneare.
