Where are the best beaches in the mediterranean?

[NalCruiser]

Knowing nothing about Europe, I have no idea what ports should be flagged as good ones for a beach stop. what would you consider an ideal beach stop while cruising the mediterranean? Are the best beaches in Spain? France? Italy? Greek Isles? Turkey? Somewhere else?

What's known for great beautiful beaches?

[luvtheships]

Knowing nothing about Europe, I have no idea what ports should be flagged as good ones for a beach stop. what would you consider an ideal beach stop while cruising the mediterranean? Are the best beaches in Spain? France? Italy? Greek Isles? Turkey? Somewhere else?

What's known for great beautiful beaches?

Med cruises are not known for numerous beach stops as it is all about history and culture.

 

That said, Mykonos is your beach port. With a baby in tow you might want to check out the St John Resort there for a day pass.

 

There will be some swimming avaialable in Cannes, Nice, Capri and of course if you stay on in Barcelona you could fit in a beach day.

 

But as for the cruise itself, Mykonos would be the most convenient day. However, if you do Capri or Nice a bathing suit might be an idea to bring along or wear under your clothes for a quick dip.

Livorno, Venice, Rome, Athens, Kusidasi, Istanbul are not swimming ports unless you want to forgo the history and culture and seek out a beach.

 

FWIW..you do know something about Europe I am sure.

[TLCOhio]

Knowing nothing about Europe, I have no idea what ports should be flagged as good ones for a beach stop. what would you consider an ideal beach stop while cruising the mediterranean? Are the best beaches in Spain? France? Italy? Greek Isles? Turkey? Somewhere else?

What's known for great beautiful beaches?

 

Excellent summary and many key points by luvtheships. Mykonos is super wonderful. Below are some of my pictures as evidence and proof!! In southern France, many of their coastal areas have fairly narrow, rocky areas that limited the ability to have the natural, wide, sandy beaches that many value and desire. Italy has many of those such beautiful coastal areas. Great for views and drama, but not exactly a filled with the beach options along such rocky coasts.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 81,835 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

 

On the opposite side of the Mykonos village on the island, here's a sampling of the beachside activities. This includes Agrari, Elia and the long sweeping Kalafatis beach that has become famous to wind surfers:

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some additional visual samples on the opposite side from the Mykonos village for various beachside activities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By sharp contrast, here is the view along the scenic southern French coast west of Cannes while driving from Saint Raphael eastbound on this great scenic D559 route.:

 

[NalCruiser]

what I meant of course is I don't know much about what are considered to be the good places for beaches in mediterranean.

still looking at so many itineraries so have no idea which ones feature nice scenic places for beaches. I have heard that with all the culture/history it is nice to stop somewhere and swim.

Is Mykonos and the greek isles then considered to be the best beach stops? how do they compare with sicily/sardinia as I notice some ships stop there.

[NalCruiser]

Terry, your photos always leave my jaw somewhere in the vicinity of the floor.

You have some AMAZING photos! You probably have a nice camera, but you have a very good eye for photos!!!

[luvtheships]

what I meant of course is I don't know much about what are considered to be the good places for beaches in mediterranean.

still looking at so many itineraries so have no idea which ones feature nice scenic places for beaches. I have heard that with all the culture/history it is nice to stop somewhere and swim.

Is Mykonos and the greek isles then considered to be the best beach stops? how do they compare with sicily/sardinia as I notice some ships stop there.

Mykonos is your easiest nicest place to enjoy the beach

[TLCOhio]

Terry, your photos always leave my jaw somewhere in the vicinity of the floor. You have some AMAZING photos! You probably have a nice camera, but you have a very good eye for photos!!!

 

Appreciate your kind comments. You've kind of nailed a big part of the "secret" in have a "good eye for photos". Filling the screen, involving people, making it "interesting", etc., are all important factors. Like with a good painter, it is not exactly the paint brush that does the "magic".

 

I have upgraded to a Nikon D3100 that shoots at a higher pixel level and has a few other improvements. That D3100 camera with the basic Nikon 18-55mm zoom lens would run around $550 in the USA today. Just now, Nikon is coming out with a D3200 with some adding improvements, 24mp for this "consumer-level" of SLR. A good camera, but not at the top-pro, high-cost levels.

 

Lens are also important. Now have a Nikon 55-300mm lenses and a 10-20mm Sigma wide angle. That camera also has 1080HD video capability that works well with our new grandson and another grandchild due August 1. In most cases, I shoot in the program or auto setting, letting the camera do the work on settings and focus so that I can be more concerned on framing and subject options. Here are a few basic, key photography secrets:

 

1. Shooting lots of pictures. That's easier with digital to do, learning as you are taking pictures. Show people only the "good ones!" and do not boring them with the average and/or poor ones.

2. Move closer! Zoom in, fill up the frame, try different angles.

3. Involve people. Make it interesting. Get that human element/connection when possible.

4. Hold things steady. Gently squeeze. Use door frames, walls to lessen the blurs in lower-light situations.

5. Editing: Fine-tune your pictures on your lap-top, brighten when needed, level it out, improve the croppings, etc. Narrow down to only your "best of the best" pictures before sharing.

 

Hope this helpful for others planning their upcoming cruise adventures.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 82,350 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[luvtheships]

The St John Resort in Mykonos offers day passes..they pick you up at the ship and deliver you back and you have use of their beach and pool for the day...30E per adult..baby free or at least half price. While Mykonos is your best bet for a beach day, please do not skimp and try to go to a public beach....very crowded..even the ones that are touted as family beaches.

[Hlitner]

When we think of beaches and the Med we simply think of islands! There are literally hundreds of islands in the Med (most are Italian or Greek) and many (such as Mykonos) have excellent beaches. For land-based beaches we would probably lean towards Croatia for the best although Spain does have a few nice beach resorts such as Sitges (about 45 min from Barcelona). The biggest disappointment are the beaches of the French Riviera...many of which would probably be totally ignored if they were moved to the East Coast of the US. Folks are often shocked to find that some of the famous Riviera beaches are full of rocks/stones...dirty...and with sometimes polluted water.

 

Hank