Green Flags in Calabria: discover the child-friendly beaches

The national primacy of Calabria's Green Flags 2024 has been confirmed. A success that makes the region proud and brings the total number of Calabria's Green Flag beaches to 20.

 What does a Green Flag award mean? Something very important for all families at the seaside with children.

The Green Flag, in fact, is a guarantee of a safe and well-equipped seaside holiday for children of all ages and needs.

Child-friendly holidays? Calabria is the perfect region to experience the sea with the family.

This is certified by the voluntary and independent Italian paediatricians who, every year, award the Calabria Green Flag to beaches equipped to guarantee healthy and safe holidays for families. A commission of almost 3,000 white coats has decreed that Calabria is the region with the highest number of suitable beaches, awarded the unmistakable green banner with a bucket and spade in the centre.

Do you want to know the 20 Calabrian Green Flags? There is something for everyone, from north to south, from the Ionian Sea to the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Here is the complete list:

• Bianco (RC)
• Bova Marina (RC)
• Bovalino (RC)
• Caulonia-Caulonia Marina (RC)
• Capo Vaticano (VV)
• Cariati (CS)
• Cirò Marina-Punta Alice (KR)
• Isola Capo Rizzuto (KR)
• Locri (RC)
• Melissa-Torre Melissa (KR)
• Mirto Crosia-Pietrapaola (CS)
• Montepaone (CZ)
• Nicotera (VV) 
• Palmi (RC)
• Praia a Mare (CS)
• Roccella Ionica (RC)
• Santa Caterina dello Ionio (CZ)
• Siderno (RC)
• Soverato (CZ)
• Squillace (CZ)

Ready to find out more about the Green Flag resorts and beaches in Calabria? Some of these have also been crowned Blue Flags, combining services for children with those for adults, as well as care for the environment and seabed.

Let's take a "dive" by province, starting from the south.

The province of Reggio Calabria is in pole position with 8 Green Flags: one on the Tyrrhenian coast and seven along the Lower Ionian Sea.

Representing the Tyrrhenian beaches of Reggio Calabria is the Green Flag of Palmi, a town that in summer is known for its evocative Procession of the Varia (UNESCO Intangible Heritage). Protected by Mount Sant'Elias, where the Three Crosses monument stands, Palmi overlooks the splendid Costa Viola with a series of beaches not to be missed: from Baia della Marinella to Baia della Tonnara, passing through Pietrenere, Trachini, Scinà and Ciambra, it is a succession of unique coves and cliffs, such as the characteristic Scogli Agliastro and Scoglio dell'Ulivo.

Along the Reggio Calabria Ionian we encounter the Green Flag beaches of the Greek area, where the ancient Greek of Calabria is spoken.

We start in Bova Marina, among the towns of the so-called Bovesìa, and review the child-friendly beaches of Bianco and Bovalino, whose uncontaminated nature makes them a nesting site for Caretta Caretta turtles, whose hatching is a spectacle to be admired discreetly by young and old alike.

It continues towards Locri, with a stop for the whole family at the National Archaeological Park of the same name, and concludes with a string of Green Flags that are also Blue Flags: Siderno, Roccella Ionica and Caulonia Marina.

In addition to the already well-known Green Flags along the Catanzaro Ionian Sea of Santa Caterina dello Ionio, Squillace, Montepaone Lido and Soverato (the last one also a Blue Flag, known for its crystal-clear waters and the so-called Bay of the Hippocampus).

There are two Green Flags along the renowned Costa degli Dei, in the province of Vibo Valentia. These are the beaches of Capo Vaticano and Nicotera.

The first opens up between the sheer cliffs overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea, which at sunset look out over the incomparable spectacle of the nearby Aeolian Islands, on the promontory from which the famous local bitter takes its name; the second, with its wide free beach and the beauty of Scoglio Partuso, offers families with children every comfort.

Crotone's Green Flags, which are also Blue Flags, include the beach of Isola Capo Rizzuto, which is also one of the largest Marine Protected Areas in Europe, with the beautiful Le Castella fortress.

Next up is Torre Melissa (a marina in the municipality of Melissa), with its unmistakable symbol of the Aragonese Tower, and the splendid Punta Alice beach in the municipality of Cirò Marina, embellished by the remains of the ancient Shrine of Apollo Aleo.

To the delight of adults, as well as children, these areas are home to the fine Calabrian wines Sant'Anna di Isola Capo Rizzuto IGT, Cirò and Melissa DOC.

Finally, closing the itinerary among Calabria's Green Flags is the province of Cosenza, with the beaches of Cariati and Praia a Mare, on the Ionian and Tyrrhenian sides respectively.

The Marina di Cariati overlooks a clean sea and it offers a long coastline equipped with a marina. A visit to the village, which preserves intact its walls and its original medieval layout, is a must.

Praia a Mare, which is also Blue Flag, is embedded in the "Riviera dei Cedri" Regional Marine Park, which includes within its perimeter one of Calabria's two small islands: Dino Island. The islet facing the beach has enormous naturalistic value, as it is the habitat of species of marine flora and fauna threatened with extinction.