Lidos, Spritzes and Sun: A Kid Free Guide to Italy’s Private Beaches

Beach Lidos in Italy are a great place to relax for the day.

On our trip to Positano and Palermo without kids, we had the opportunity to experience Italian beach lidos for the first time.

What is a beach “lido” you ask? 

In Italy, many of the beaches are privately owned and have set up umbrellas and tables for you to rent. There are typically small public areas of the beach where you can sit without buying an umbrella but from what we saw, they were very crowded as people looked to find space for their towels. 

Some lidos are more sophisticated and better experiences than others. For example, some may just offer you an umbrella and a chair. While others may provide you with waiter service throughout the day, Wifi and even a full service restaurant if you’d rather not eat at your umbrella.

When we were in Positano and Palermo, we tried a few different quality versions. 

First up in Positano was Da Ferdinando. This lido is located away from the Spiaggia Grande -- the big main beach that sits below the center of Positano town. Instead, Da Ferdinando is located about a 10 minute walk on a path over the hills at Fornillo Beach. We heard that this is the beach the locals tend to use versus the main beach that is more crowded and expensive. 

We liked Fornillo Beach as it was much quieter than Spiaggia Grande. Positano is overwhelmed with day trippers during the warm months and when we were there in September was no different. Ferries of all sizes are regularly coming in, clogging the areas around Spiaggia Grande. 

In addition to Fornillo Beach being a bit quieter, it was also more affordable, with a beach chair and umbrella costing 60 euros for the day at Da Ferdinando. You can book online and select which umbrella you want. Front rows were 80 euros for the day. Second row and further back were 60 euros. Book in advance as the best umbrellas booked up quickly. Booking a lido also gives you access to private bathrooms and showers. Da Ferdinando had music going the entire day as well -- it was at a nice volume, not distracting. It also had free wifi -- you just had to ask staff for a password. 

Da Ferdinando had waiters walking the beach where you could order drinks or food. They put the order in a tablet and you pay when you close out at the end of the day. You can order the typical Aperol Spritz as well as a selection of beers and wines. We had white wine to stay cool most days as well as various Spritz’s and beers. Food was also available. Our total each day was around 60 euros in food and beverage. Service was good -- even if an order or two went missing. When we alerted the staff that we were missing some items, they quickly corrected the issue. With hundreds of umbrellas to care for, this was not a big deal for us. 

Our first day at Da Ferdinando was a bit windy, so the umbrellas had to stay down, but the chairs also had built in sun shields to use which was nice to protect your face. It wasn’t perfect but a nice alternative if you are looking to stay out of the sun. 

The beach was gorgeous, with good sized waves. People were swimming despite the waves. The sand was a bit rocky, meaning that walking without sandals or shoes on could be a little uncomfortable. Bring water shoes if you have concerns. 

In Palermo, the beach was drastically different. It was white sand beaches in Mondello and clear blue water. Almost Caribbean like. 

For our first beach day in Mondello, we booked online at Lido Valdesi on the main beach. It was about a 10 minute walk from our hotel. 

Unfortunately, the weather on this day was not good. It rained much of the day, meaning that we spent most of our time under the covered restaurant while waiting out the rain. We were able to get some time in the umbrella but it was limited.

On our second day in Mondello, we didn’t have a reservation booked online, so we went to the closest lido to our hotel that looked nice -- which was Lido Vigili del Fuoco. The weather was gorgeous. This lido had beach service as well to order food and drinks, but the service was not as fast as what we experienced at Da Ferdinando. With that said, drinks were far more affordable in Mondello than Positano. 

Overall

We were not sure if we would like the lido experience in Italy as our usual beach vacations are in the Caribbean where beach umbrellas are included. But I was pleasantly surprised. The chairs were close together, but having waiters quickly bring you drinks and food was nice. And it was good to be able to book your beach location in advance so you know where you are sitting. 

Weather can be tricky, so you may get unlucky like we did and have a day where you buy an umbrella online but ultimately don’t use it much due to rain.