Pretty reluctant to move on today as the Aire has emptied a lot and the location is so ideal, literally being across the road from the beach and a short walk into town – but we have more of this beautiful coastline to explore, not before a last look though….

We joined the coastal road and drove alongside the huge industrial port of Vado and through the busy streets of the semi industrial towns of Vado Ligure and Savona (neither place offering anywhere sensible and safe to park) and were soon parked up in our Aire for the night in Albisola Marina, about half a mile from the sea front and after a brief chill that is exactly where we headed.

Arriving at the sea front fairly centrally we opted to walk back the way we had driven along the brightly coloured mosaic promenade (which in the bright sunlight was a little dazzling) of Albisola Marina to the far end of the beach….

A sort of sand / gravel mix with plenty of space for everyone but with a mix of manicured private sections and only a little patch of dog friendly beach at this far end. After a little off lead time, we continued to walk towards Savona to catch the little Spiaggia delle Madonetta, with the rocky outcrop housing the Madonna Shrine and Albisola as a backdrop in one direction and the Port in the other….

At this point we headed back the way we came, crossing the river that divides the two villages and crossing into Albisola Superiore to enjoy a stroll along the thankfully paved promenade, passing the main beach Spaiggia Albisola Superiore and down onto the l’ultimo Spiaggia Abisola to find a little bit of shade for Tilly behind some rocks….

Before wandering back to the Aire in the shade through the narrow alleyways and streets of Albisola Superiore….

Thoughts of the day:

• Even though roadside outside of the villages the footpath is consistant alongside the coastal road and feels quite safe as it is protected either by barrier or wall, unlike in France where it was often just a gravelly or grassy verge and often just disappeared altogether.
• This Aire or Sosta is just below the motorway so is a little on the noisy side but really nicely laid out with a bit of shade and level concrete grid to park up on.

Today’s stats:

• Miles driven – 10
• Miles walked – 6
• Beaches – 4
• O/N – £4.69 (no EHU)

Still some cloud around keeping it a little cooler we enjoyed a more leisurely stroll today, wandering west around the headland passing Lido delle Sirene and Grotti de Bergeggi….

Getting a lovely view across Bergeggi a small hillside village with a lovely mostly course sandy beach….

A much smaller and less touristy place than either Spotorno or Noli of yesterday but all the more welcome with quieter beaches and for a change mostly public beaches with seemingly no dog ban! Spiaggia de Luna and Spiaggia di Bergeggi…

Such a welcome treat to be able to sit on the beach and let Tilly play whilst I relaxed – just as a sunday should be.

Thoughts of the day:

• We decided to stay put as the roads at the weekends appear to be particularly chaotic with the huge numbers of groups of bikers and cyclists enjoying the coastal road (totally get it as this road is pretty spectacular) and we are quite content to have a lazier day.
• I have been somewhat distracted today, as my son was running in the London Marathon and I wanted to keep an eye on his progress – very proud of his achievement of completing the challenge and raising money for Make a Wish an amazing charity.

Today’s stats:

• Miles walked – 6
• Beaches – 3
• O/N – £13.87

An absolute corker of a day and a really unbelievable drive as we start the day with a brief walk down to the main beach at San Bartolomeo…

We then continue our journey along the SS1 coastal route heading north stopping for a shortish walk in Andora the next village along – beautiful sands with many private sections of beach and some public areas….

Continuing along the way we are afforded specatular views down onto Laigueglia and it’s sandy foreshore, though we are unable to get down any closer and safely leave the van…

Likewise in the beautiful resort of Alassio there was no way of getting the van down to the seafront due to height restrictors but we did manage a quick pull in…

Our next stop was Ceriale (Albenga was too busy and chaotic!) where we were a little bit cheeky, in so far as we pulled into an out of town supermarket, did some much needed shopping and then left the van for an hour or so to wander down to the coast. We took a quick look at a campsite that we were contemplating for a few days – no chance as the only access was via a railway bridge with a height restriction of 2.3m – a fairly typical issue along this stretch of coast as the SS1 coastal road and the railway vying for pole position next to the sea. Also disappointingly the railway runs right next to the beach and so access and views are restricted for much of this section (glad we didn’t opt to stay here). When we did get into Ceriale and to the beach the views were non existent from their nice new (still under construction) promenade by private bars and changing sheds etc….

What a shame – bearing in mind this would seem to be a developing area with several apartment / hotel complexes under construction – I think they might have missed a trick – still we did manage to get a look at a couple of the beaches – Spiaggia di Pippo and Spiaggia di Ceriale…

The road from here to Spotorno turns out to be the most scenic section I have ever had the pleasure of driving, as it meanders its way hugging the rugged white cliffs just above the sea, unfortunately stopping places were few and far between so the sheer beauty will remain as a private memory, though I did take the odd pic whilst waiting at traffic lights….

And a cheeky snap of Spiaggia di Casteletto, where visitors were parked on a little widened area at the roadside, with a fair few steps down to the beach…

We soon arrived down into the resort of Spotorno where we found space (just) in a very basic Aire at the northern end of the beach….

We soon parked up, the marked spaces are just wide enough to leave about a metre between vans – not ideal but the location less than 50 metres from the fabulous long sandy beach of Spiaggia nel Blu – well stunning….

Rather than walk along the sea front which we shall do tomorrow, we opted to follow the footpath at the side of the SS1 as it continues it’s journey along the coast to get some aerial views of the stunning sea – makes all the difference in the world in bright sunshine and sandy base and also a closer look at Bergeggi Island….

A little further on were two pretty and tricky to get to coves – Lido del Serene and Spiaggia de Punto Prodani…

Just around the bend and we get views down onto the next resort along – Bergeggi and glimpses of it’s beach….

Wow what a day – we can easily cope with a crowded Aire after a day like today…

And our evening stroll was pretty magical too – we do love an Island…

Thoughts of the day:

• This is more like the coastline that I was expecting, I can’t help having felt a bit disappointed with the coastline since joining the Riviera in France apart from the odd little pocket here and there.
• There must be 50 or so vans parked up here – is it surprising that the only other non Italian plate is an Austrian – so far on this journey there have been a good smattering of French and German plates….

Today’s stats:

• Miles driven – 36
• Miles walked – 6
• Groceries – £60.66
• O/N – £13.87

A beautiful sunny day and indecision played a big part in us deciding to stay another day – that and the local police doing a round of the vans parked in the aire – I wasn’t sure what he was checking for but seemed to be checking each van’s registration, so I went over to ask and he said that we needed to pay for our stay on the App. Now to be honest when we arrived yesterday and I saw that the barrier was broken and the pay machine was all wrapped in tape, I didn’t even look on the app (EasyPark) and just though oh great a freebee! Needless to say, I promptly got on the app and purchased 24 hours parking – at least one van wasn’t so lucky and got a parking fine – so I learned a lesson here but got away with last night!

On our morning walk down to the beach, I took a photo to match the one taken yesterday evening after the sun had gone down…

We spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon relaxing and doing a bit of catch up on these blogs, before setting out for Diano Marina in the afternoon. There is a little breeze aroung this afternoon which made it very pleasant and we were able to walk most of the way to Diano by promenade alongside the beach….

Over the river into Diano and down onto the first couple of beaches, which were pebbly like those of San Bartolomeo – Bagni Majestic and Bagni Paradiso – both linked to hotels of the same names….

But then as we arrived in Diano having walked along the Marina – sand glorious sand the main Spiaggia de Diano Marina is actually fine powdery sand….

There followed a section of nearly empty, finely manicured private beaches – what a waste – Bagni Netuno and Bagni Bianca and quite a few more, all bearing the name of the relevant bar but actually the same beach just cut up into small sections….

Quite a nice touch adding these pontoons for additional seating or sunbathing as the beach is quite narrow here. At the far end is the old town of Diano Marina and the mostly public sandy beach of Bagni Elena….

At this point we stopped for a drink and a break before heading back through the village of Diano, which is definately a bit more upmarket than it’s neighbour San Bartolomeo with a good mix of boutique shops – we even bought some artificial flowers for the van!

Thoughts of the day:

• Finding somewhere to park up is proving somewhat of a challenge, with many campsites coming in at around 50 euros a night, so I was grateful to have found this Aire at San Bartolomeo al Mare, not the prettiest but with a nice view and flat secure gravelled ground….

Today’s stats:

• Miles walked – 7
• Beaches – 7
• O/N – £8

Our first proper cloudy day in a while, so indeed quite a pleasant drive along the SS1 coast road with pretty amazing sea views all the while, however very little opportunity to pull over and properly enjoy the views.

We did manage a quick stop over on the way into Imperia by the beach – Spiaggia Borgo Prino….

We continued along the coast road to an Aire about 500m from the sea front in San Bartolmeo al Mare and after parking up took a nice leisurely stroll along the sea front, firstly heading west towards the hill top village of Cervo….

Wandering along Spiaggia Cervo (an almost sandy beach!) to Bagni Tosca a sort of enclosed swimming lagoon….

And finally the again nearly sandy Bagni l’Angolo….

At this point we about turned and headed back across the river to San Bartolomeo and wandered along the promenade and its gravelly beaches – Spiaggia San Bartolomeo….

Bagni Lido Della Rovere and Spiaggia Bassamarea….

Spiaggia Diano Marina with the village itself in the distance….

Time to head back and perhaps we shall take a walk into Diana Marina tomorrow if we decide to stay another day.

Thoughts of the day:

• This aire would appear to be free at the moment as the barrier is broken and the payment machine all taped up – result!
• Backed onto the river for the pretty views of Cervo does mean however that we are subjected to the cacophony of the frogs / toads all night – boy are they noisy – however as with any continuous noise you are usually able to blank it out after a while – here’s hoping!

Today’s stats:

• Miles driven – 32
• Miles walked – 6
• Beaches – 8
• Food – £5.47
• O/N – £0

A lovely warm and sunny day and we are grateful to the canopy keeping the van a little cooler whilst being on EHU the solar panel isn’t so important. We leave it until after lunch to take a stroll along the seafront, stop for a brief play on the dog friendly section of Spiaggia Vallecrosia….

Before wandering over the river bridge to Ventimiglia….

Not the prettiest of villages, more functional really but a nice promenade all the way along the sea front and a tidy main beach, albeit still of the grey stony variety…

Across another river is the old town of Ventimiglia and Marina San Guiseppe….

Not a long walk as that sun is pretty powerful and any kind of shade is either gained in the occasional green space (mostly not dog friendly) or by wandering through the streets which we didn’t really fancy – so back to camp for a bit of shade and a chillax before taking a further stroll in the evening….

A nice relaxing day, rounded off with an Aperol Spritz with the neighbours a lovely Slovenian couple, using a bit of their commendable english and Google Translate for the rest.

Thoughts of the day:

• It is a fine line between historic tumbledown beauty and just a feeling of a place being a bit rundown and I would firmly put this area in the latter category
• I wonder why, with the weather being so beautiful, the season really doesn’t appear to start until May or June time – with many bars and restaurants still being prepped for the season.

Today’s stats:

• Miles walked – 5
• Beaches – 2
• O/N – £25

Another beautiful day and for us a day trip to Sanremo. We took a short walk up into the main village of Vallecrosia and then it was just a 10 minute train journey into the heart of Sanremo – ideal plan. From the station it was another short walk down onto the sea front where we turned left (eastwards) along the promenade, passing the marina to the furthest beach – a rather stony and scruffy small beach (not dog friendly) – Spiaggia San Martino….

At this point we turned back on ourselves and found the far more attractive Spiaggia Chiosco Morgans tucked into a bay between the 2 main marina’s, still and calm waters protected by the outer sea walls – this is a private beach (as indeed were nearly all the beaches in Sanremo) with paid access via the various bars…

On the western side of the marina followed Spiaggia Lungomare Italo Calvino and the tiny little ‘public’ beach – Baia Greco….

Another beauty of a private beach – largely empty as some of the bars are not open and look at the prices….

Nearly £28 to spend the day on the beach – that is incredible – I’d want a 3 course lunch and cocktails included for that! Some were cheaper and you could just go on the beach without the accessories for around a tenner but even so. Also the further we got from the town centre, many of the bars were not open for the season yet, but still you could not access the beach as the gates from the promenade were locked – look at these lovely beaches – empty but more annoyingly inaccessible! Spiaggia Blue Bay, Baia Paradiso and Spiaggia Boca….

After a coffee and a break we meandered back through the town (mainly to get some shade and cool down a bit) admiring the colourful architecture and lively narrow streets…

With an hour to kill before our train home we made our way back to the sea front and found a shady spot outside a bar from which to enjoy a cold drink and a spot of people watching until it was time to head back.

Thoughts of the day:

• It was nice to see some proper sand today but a real eye opener as to the sectioning off of the beaches and charging for entry.

Today’s stats:

• Miles walked – 9
• Beaches – 8
• Train – £6.07
• O/N – £25

Another fine day but with a little cloud around as we leave the mountains and make our way back down to the coast, a pity that we are unable to safely pullover and take photos of the views we experienced (when daring briefly) to take our eyes off the road. Arriving in Menton we are able to find parking just a short walk from the long sea front and enjoy a lovely stroll along the promenade catching as many of the pebbly beaches along the way – Plage Solenzara (to the west), Elsa Plage and Plage de Roquebrune….

Plage du Borrigo and the central Plage du Menton….

As we pass the last beach, Plage du Fossen before entering the old part of Menton where the street bars and cafes are filled with the lunchtime crowds….

The beach, Plage des Sablettes, is busy and sheltered by the old Port of Menton walls…

After a little break here (again all the beaches are not dog friendly) we make our way back to the van through the old Town….

From Menton we take the windy coastal road and are very soon crossing over the border (only the incoming french side is manned) into Italy – whoa a first for me…

A short way along the coast we arrive in Ventimiglia and our campsite (Camping Vallecrosia) for the next 3 days and are settled in with enough of the now sunny afternoon left to enjoy a walk along the sea front – disappointingly the beaches here are stony rather than sandy, with lots of driftwood making them appear quite scruffy. Though there are several bits of earthmoving equipment showing signs of a pre-season clear up in progress. Immediately outside the site is Spiaggia (beach in Italian) di Vallecrosia which is the area of Ventimiglia that we are in and not the prettiest but it is dog friendly for which we are grateful and will enjoy over the next few days….

Heading eastwards along the promenade passing a few beach cafes and bars, we pass Spiaggias dei Cani, di Ponente Verbone and Libera Bordighera….

Before arriving at the small resort of Bordighera and it’s beach….

At this point we run out of promenade and decide that it is time for us to head back to site for the evening – our first impressions? A bit lived in but charming none the less.

Today’s stats:

• Miles driven – 22
• Miles walked – 8
• Beaches – 12
• O/N – £26