Beach Club Basics of Lerici

Between too much work and the poopy weather, I haven’t been very inspired to write as of lately. It’s amazing how much the weather affects me! Usually this time of year I am full of observances and funny anecdotes (or so I like to think!), but with the past two weeks of fall temperatures (and rain), had me in a bit of a lull. So, waking up this morning to summer weather was really a treat!

Lucy and I made our way down into the village early with camera in tow to finally get in some good shots of the local beach clubs. I figured after my blog about the downside of July and my insistence of paying for a beach club, I ought to back it up with some information on those here in Lerici.

At the public beach, Venere Azzura, there are also two beach clubs at each end of the cove. While in my opinion, you are still pretty packed in, you do have your own chair and they are less expensive than the other beach clubs (about €8 for a lounge char and €4 for a chair).

There is also a small Beach Club at San Terenzo, but you are basically smashed in with the public beach so I would not consider paying for this!

To the south you have Locanda del Lido, one of the two best in town. Here you have a fine sand beach, a decent amount of space between rows of umbrellas and lovely water in which you can walk out a good 100 meters and still be only up to your waist. They have a couple of snacks bars serving decent food as well. Be prepared for the price though at about €32 for entrance, two lounge chairs and an umbrella.

Toward San Terenzo you will find Colombo Beach Club, recently refurbished with a fabulous jetty and a (not so deserved) 4-star hotel right on the sea. Here there is only a small patch of sand. The rest is terraced stone and the exclusive wood jetty. NOTE: The hotel itself is a fabulous location and you would think at over €200/night you would have a “beachy” chic room, but no. The rooms leave lots of to be desired with modular, wood furniture and ugly decor and the restaurant is so-so with astronoimcal prices.

But back to the beach club which is really nice. Again, not an inexpensive place at €38 for entrance, two lounge chairs and an umbrella on the terrace and €40 for the same on the jetty; yet the space and ambience, gorgeous water and constant breeze makes this the other best of Lerici.

There are also several nice beaches, public and private, to the south of Lerici heading to Tellaro, including the uber-chic Eco del Mare (bit more n that another time!). You can also rent small dinghy boats in town that can fit up to 6 people and are fun for putting around the coves versus feeling like a sardine!

In any case, you are better off arriving before 10AM on a weekday and more like 9AM on the weekend in order to nab a good spot. If driving, you can park at the Vallata parking lot which is conveniently located smack between the two villages of Lerici and San Terenzo (about €9 for the day). Again, get there early!

Anyway, welcome back summer!

Hope you stick around for a while...