Do you fancy an Italian roadtrip? Do you fancy a roadtrip along a sunny coastline devouring scrumptious Italian food while you take on some adventures along the way? Read on to find out more about this if your answer to all of these questions is a yes!
My blog is about offbeat Italy, and this post is strongly synonymous with that. It’s about the places that are yet barely touched by tourism. It’s about experiencing, appreciating and enjoying these places while preserving their beauty by respecting the Italian people, culture and the environment that has created such marvellous places. Honestly, I have conflicting emotions while writing this blog – one that encourages me to share my pleasant experiences with the wider audience over social media so that my fellow readers can enjoy the post or even plan a trip here; while the other of not wanting to expose this rather untouched piece of heaven to a greater audience for the fear of ruining it’s very untouched, unexplored charm.
The nearest way to access the beaches along this coastline is to fly in to either Bari or Brindisi airport and drive down to this coastline dotted with beaches exposed to the Ionian sea. This coastline is particularly interesting due to the vast variety of beaches it has to offer within a distance of approximately 150 km and spanning across 3 regions – Puglia, Basilicata and Calabria!
On my exploratory roadtrip wherein I beach hopped for two days, I encountered a few noteworthy beaches. Starting off from the east in Puglia and driving westward towards Basilicata and Calabria:
1. Lido Azzuro – a fine textured sandy beach with greyish white sand, and abundance of restaurants, hotels and accommodations in the vicinity. 2. Castellaneta Marina – a resort town with a fine textured sandy beach with turbulent waves ideal for kite surfing on a windy day, having a handful of beach bars in the vicinity. This beach seemed rather unknown and more popular with the locals. It had a handful of visitors and sub beds in September, thus making it ideal for a day picnic by the beach if you want to have the beach all to yourself. 3. Marina di Ginosa – a relatively happening seaside resort town with some good accommodations, restaurants and a decent nightlife. This town has proximity to the archeological park of Parco Archeologico dell’Area Urbana di Metaponto and Tavole Palantine. 4. Lido di Policoro – this seaside resort town is similar to Marina di Ginosa in terms of accommodations, restaurants, nightlife and proximity to the archeological park. It’s beach is a sandy-pebbly mixture while the town is noteworthy for its camping and glamping sites coupled with adventure sports. 5. Montegiordano Marina – a pebbly beach town with crystal blue waters and only a handful of visitors barring the peak summer months of July and August. This town has a handful of accommodations, bars and restaurants but a cute promenade for a jog or a pleasant stroll. A few 100 metres away, you can visit the Castello Federiciano for a fee from where you can enjoy the nice panoramic views overlooking the sea or enjoy the views for free by parking your car somewhere on the side of the highway for a brief moment. 6. Trebisacce – the last beach town that I’d like to mention. It’s a sizeable town with an abundance of restaurants, hotels and accommodations in the vicinity. The beach is pebbly, good for a swim and receives a decent amount of visitors even in off season months.
While I’ve mentioned only a few beaches, this relatively short patch of the coastline is replete with many more. So grab your picnic basket, your favourite bikini or trunks, and explore some of these beaches – sandy, pebbly, quiet or happening, for swimmers, kite surfers or campers – take your pick!
Offbeat Italy 
Nice itinerary. Will definitely try it.
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