Beach Towns Near Rome: The Southern Lazio Coast

The beach towns near Rome that are worth the trip lie along the southern Lazio coast, between Anzio and Gaeta, one to two hours from the city by train. The closest beach is Ostia, which belongs to the city of Rome itself and is half an hour from Porta San Paolo station by suburban train. Further south come Anzio and Nettuno, the dunes of the Circeo National Park, Terracina, Sperlonga, Gaeta and Formia.

How far is the closest beach from Rome, Italy?

Ostia is about 28 kilometers from the Colosseum by road. It is a district of the city of Rome with two centers: Ostia Antica, next to the ruins of the ancient port city, and Lido di Ostia, which runs along the sea between the mouth of the Tiber and the pine woods of Castel Fusano.

The Metromare railway, opened in 1924, covers the 28 kilometers from Porta San Paolo, where it connects with Metro line B, to Ostia. In the timetable in force since July 27, 2026, trains leave about every 20 minutes during the day from Monday to Saturday, and Lido Centro is about half an hour from Porta San Paolo. Ostia Antica is two stops earlier, so the ruins and a swim fit into the same day.

Beach towns near Rome, from Anzio to Gaeta

Where to go from Rome to the beach depends on how far you are willing to ride, and the coast changes character as it runs south. Here it is in order, from the closest to the farthest. The train times in this section are from the October 2026 timetable, so check them before you travel.

Anzio and Nettuno

Direct regional trains from Termini reach Anzio in about 65 minutes and Nettuno, the next town down the coast, in about 70. The emperor Nero was born in Anzio in AD 37, and the remains of his villa lie between the lighthouse and the ancient port. On January 22, 1944, Allied troops landed on this coast in Operation Shingle. The Sicily-Rome American Cemetery in Nettuno holds the graves of more than 7,800 American war dead, with nearly 3,100 names on its Walls of the Missing, and our guide to WWII sites in Italy covers the landing. Both of Anzio's beach rivieras, Levante and Ponente, hold the Blue Flag in 2026.

The Circeo National Park: Sabaudia and San Felice Circeo

The Circeo National Park, created in 1934, was the first protected area in Lazio. It takes in about 25 kilometers of coastal dunes between Capo Portiere and Sabaudia, four coastal lakes, a lowland forest and Monte Circeo, a 541-meter promontory that legend makes the home of Circe, the sorceress who enchanted Ulysses. Sabaudia, beside the lake of the same name, was built in a single year, from August 1933 to April 1934, during the reclamation of the Pontine Marshes, and it keeps its rationalist town plan. San Felice Circeo lies on the eastern slopes of the promontory. In 1939 a Neanderthal skull was found in its Guattari cave.

Terracina

Terracina stands where the Via Appia reaches the sea. It was Anxur, capital of the Volsci, until the Romans took it in 406 BC, and the Temple of Jupiter Anxur still looks down from Monte Sant'Angelo through a row of open arches. In the old town, the cathedral of San Cesareo was built on a temple of the Roman forum, and until 1870 the town was a gateway to the Papal States. By train, the trip takes about an hour and a half, with a connecting bus from Priverno-Fossanova station. Its two main beaches, Ponente and Levante, hold the Blue Flag in 2026.

Gaeta and Formia

Gaeta covers the slopes of Monte Orlando, a promontory joined to the mainland by a short isthmus. Its old quarter of Sant'Erasmo still looks medieval. The town went through 14 sieges. The last, in 1860 and 1861, closed with Gaeta's surrender and marked the end of Bourbon rule. In 1849 the town sheltered Pope Pius IX in exile. On Monte Orlando stands the sanctuary of the Santissima Trinità, near the Grotta del Turco and the Montagna Spaccata, a mountain split by a deep cleft. Four Gaeta beaches, Serapo among them, hold the Blue Flag in 2026. The local dish is the tiella, a round pie filled with anchovies, octopus and squid, or with vegetables.

Formia, next door, has the railway station for both towns. Intercity trains reach Formia-Gaeta from Termini in about 67 minutes, and Gaeta's old quarter is about 9 kilometers away by road. Cicero had a villa at Formia and was killed nearby on December 7, 43 BC. A Roman mausoleum on the Via Appia is traditionally called his tomb, although no archaeological evidence confirms it, and in 2026 it opens only on special dates. Ferries and fast boats to the island of Ventotene leave from Formia all year. The 2026 timetables change with the season, so check the current one before you go.

Is Sperlonga, Italy worth visiting?

Sperlonga is a real town: a municipality of the province of Latina with about 3,450 residents, 55 meters above the sea on a spur of the Aurunci mountains between Terracina and Gaeta. Its name comes from the Latin spelunca, cave, and Tiberius survived the collapse of a grotto here in AD 26. The old town is a cluster of white houses and narrow lanes above sandy beaches that run for about 10 kilometers, and it belongs to the association of the Most Beautiful Villages in Italy.

It is worth visiting for more than the beach. In 1957, workers building the coastal road from Terracina to Gaeta, the modern Via Flacca, uncovered the sculptures in the grotto of Tiberius's villa. The round pool inside the cave held more than 15,000 marble fragments from groups telling the adventures of Ulysses, among them the blinding of Polyphemus and the attack of Scylla. When they were found, they were attributed to the three sculptors from Rhodes credited with the Laocoön in the Vatican Museums. The national archaeological museum opened on the site in 1963 displays them. As of September 2026, the grotto itself is temporarily closed for maintenance, so check the museum's page before you go.

On the October 2026 timetable, direct regional trains from Termini reach Fondi-Sperlonga station in 1 hour and 5 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes. The town is 13 kilometers from the station by road, and the town's website lists the public connections. By car, allow two hours or more from central Rome.

Can you swim in Sperlonga?

Yes. Four Sperlonga beaches, Ponente, Levante, Lago Lungo and Bazzano, hold the Blue Flag in 2026. The label, run by the Foundation for Environmental Education, requires beaches to meet its bathing water quality standards, along with rules on safety and services.

For the calmest days, go in June or September. August is Italy's busiest tourist month, according to ISTAT, and it is still the month Italians prefer for their own holidays.

Which is better, Sperlonga or Gaeta?

They suit different trips, and you do not have to choose: the two towns are 16 kilometers apart on the Via Flacca, about 20 minutes by car.

• Sperlonga is small, with fewer than 4,000 residents. The day revolves around the beaches, the white lanes of the old town and the museum of Tiberius's villa.
• Gaeta is a port town of about 19,000 people, with a commercial and fishing harbor, a medieval quarter, a sanctuary on its promontory and four Blue Flag beaches. It is also easier to reach by train, and its Favole di Luce illuminations light the town in late fall and winter (the 2025-26 edition ran from November 9, 2025, to January 11, 2026), after the beach season.

Choose Sperlonga if the sea is the point of the trip. Choose Gaeta if you want a town around you in the evening.

Adding the coast to a trip through Ciociaria

Gaeta is about 50 kilometers from Cassino, roughly an hour by car, so the coast and the hills of Ciociaria fit into the same week. Our Ciociaria destination page covers the inland side, our guide to Ciociaria explains the region, and Lazio beyond Rome covers the hill towns north and east of the capital. If you would like a few days by the sea added to a week inland, design your trip with us: Maria Grazia Nardoianni, our founder, reads every request herself, and a proposal with real names and costs arrives within seven days.