On the third day of our trip, we decided to visit Riccione, a charming seaside town on Italy’s Adriatic coast. Initially, we hadn’t planned to go, but my husband and our older daughter love the beach, and he insisted that no holiday would be complete without some time by the sea. Since we hadn’t packed our swimsuits, we actually bought them in Venice, and then searched for the nearest beach we could easily reach from Bologna. Riccione turned out to be the perfect choice.
We took a regional train from Bologna to Riccione which took around 1 hour and 40 minutes. Since we booked the train tickets at the last minute, we chose the cheapest option without much consideration. As it was mid-July, peak travel time in Italy, the train was very crowded, and my husband and I had to stand for the first 30 minutes or so. Lots of young people got off at Rimini station, which is another popular beach town just before Riccione. Next time, if we have the opportunity to travel from Bologna to Riccione again, I would definitely opt for a high-speed train, which takes just over an hour and offers a more comfortable journey.
We stopped by a supermarket before reaching Bologna train station in the morning and bought enough water and food for the day to make the most of our time at the beach.
The day before our trip to Riccione, while we were in Florence, my older daughter took the initiative to research the best beach to visit. She discovered that Riccione would be an ideal choice for our family. In her research, she came across Ettore 68, a popular lido in Riccione. She reached out to them by email, and we were impressed by how helpful and responsive they were, making our visit even easier.
It took us 15 minutes to get there by walking from Riccione train station. The members of staff at Ettore 68 were very friendly, helpful and kind. They accept both cash and credit card payments, making transactions easy and convenient. The beach is kept impeccably clean, and the facilities are excellent, including a heated swimming pool, toilets and changing rooms. There are also a play area for children and a restaurant on-site, making it an ideal spot for families.
It was uncrowded in mid July. They provide everything you might need for a day at the beach, including towels and swimming caps (for the swimming pool), so there’s no need to bring anything except your swimsuits – and even those can be easily purchased from the numerous shops in Riccione. We rented a parasol, 2 sunbeds, towels and bought swimming caps.
The weather was beautiful, it was very hot so it was a perfect beach day for us. The sea water was warmer than Portofino where we went around the same time last year. The beaches in Portofino were so picturesque with the most beautiful coloured water but Riccione was good enough for us. It was very convenient for us to travel from Bologna so we are happy with our spontaneous trip to Riccione.
We went for a walk in the afternoon. I had noticed a gelateria on the way to the beach in the morning and was keen to visit. The shop is called Ciò Gelato, and their watermelon granita (granita di anguria) was amazing! It’s the best watermelon granita I had in Italy. I ended up ordering a large one when we stopped there again on the way back to the station. I highly recommend this lovely gelateria, which also has a shop in Bologna. Unfortunately, I discovered this after returning home, so I didn’t have the chance to visit. If I ever go back to Bologna, I’ll definitely try their gelato.
The train back to Bologna was quite busy, but we managed to find seats for all of us and were able to rest during the journey. After a full day at the beach, we were all tired, but the experience left us with a wonderful memory to treasure from our Italian beach holiday. We’re already discussing which beautiful Italian beach destination we should visit next on our travels.
