La Costa dei Trabocchi: a place with endless options
This time we are going to take you to one of the most representative places in the whole region, the Costa dei Trabocchi (the Trabocchi Coast).
Before we dive into our trip, the Costa dei Trabocchi, as its name refers to, it’s a long coast that goes from Ortona to Vasto. It owes its name to the famous “Trabocchi”, old fashioned fishing machines placed all over the coast and a few meters further down from the shores. They might be old fashioned but they still work perfectly and the coolest part is … they are restaurants! (Don’t worry, there are plenty of things to do and places to visit in the Costa dei Trabocchi, we will be coming back often, more posts are on its way!).
OUR TRIP
We had three checkpoints: Spiaggia La Foce (La Foce Beach), the town of Rocca San Giovanni and a gelateria, which we never thought was going to be that good! Once we had everything we needed, we drove until Francavilla al Mare, and after that, we took the SS16 Via Adriatica to our first checkpoint, the Spiaggia la Foce. From the Marina di San Vito, we drove right next to the Adriatic sea and admired the trabocchi. It was such a wonderful view.
THE FIRST CHECKPOINT
To get to the Spiaggia la Foce you need to turn right at Rocca San Giovanni. After that, you need to turn left when you see a sign in the form of an arrow pointing to the left that says: “Costa dei Trabocchi. Lido Foce. Rocca San Giovanni”. You need to be careful not to miss it because it’s a bit hidden. You just need to follow the road and you’ll get to the beach.
One important thing, you need to bring your own stuff like food, water, chairs, umbrellas, anything you like and of course your camera!
The Spiaggia La Foce it’s a really nice beach. It’s never crowded and it’s always clean. Its waters are crystalline but at the same time deep, as the beach doesn’t have any break waves. Instead of the sand, the beach has tiny rocks, which might be a little bit uncomfortable when you walk around with naked feet. So, if you have any water shoes they’d be more than helpful.
Like any spot in Abruzzo, you can “own” this beach and do anything you like. Meditate, read a book, take pictures, swim, snorkelling and more. Personally, I really enjoy just laying right on the shores, being there, hearing the sound of the sea while the waves come and go over and over. It’s like my personal natural spa. And you, what would you like to turn the beach into? Let your imagination do the job for you …
La foce
THE SECOND CHECKPOINT
After La Foce, we decided to go to the Town of Rocca San Giovanni, which by the way, belongs to the club of the “Most beautiful towns in Italy”. The beach is near to the town so it took us little time to get there.
The town of Rocca San Giovanni makes you feel that time is not passing. When we got there we only saw two people in the Piazza del Municipio (The Town Hall Square). Everything was so calm, the only thing we could hear was the silence. From the Piazza del Municipio, it’s possible to see the Chiesa di San Matteo Apostolo with its bell tower and the Palazzo del Municipio (the Town Hall Building).
Then we walk around the streets of the town. There are many vicoli (alleys), the majority of them were filled with plants and flowers, making them beautiful and colourful. We also visited the memorial to the fallen of the wars, which is placed on a terrace that offers a panoramic view of the valley below.
The Memorial to the fallen
The main square of Rocca San Giovanni
THE THIRD CHECKPOINT
On our way back home we stopped by a gelateria (never thought it was going to be that good!) named Copa dè Dora. The gelati were so good and so the prices!! A big cup was only 3.50 euros and you can choose up to 4 flavours: nutella, fior di amarena, coconut, pistacho, kinder, stracciatella, etc… It was the perfect way to finish our trip!
The Costa dei Trabocchi it’s literally a paradise, especially during spring – summer period.
We will be coming back to this place quite often!
May 27, 2020