We visited Santa Marinella Beach on our visit to Roma so we could get a flavour of beaches in Italy…read moreand to split up our week of Roma sightseeing. Planning it out we were looking at Ostia Beach at first but after reading the online info we decided to take the plunge and take the train from Roma-Trastever station to Santa Marinella. The train ride was supposed to take 45 min but with a delay on the track it was almost an hour. We arrived at Santa Marinella Station and it was evident while on the train that there were other beach goers heading the same way. We got off the train and it was literally a five minute walk to the beach. When arrived there it was classic European style (need to rent a parasol and lounger chair). We paid 30 euros for 2 chairs and a parasol. Some may think this is expensive (I did) but it's the norm at most beaches and totally necessary. The beach was mainly visited by Italians with a few foreigners. You arrive, head down the stairs and look for the beach attendants. A guy spoke english so it was no problem to pay for a chair rental. Just down from the beach chair rental was a cantina bar which sold espresso-cappacino, drinks, ice cream and snacks. A little further down was another cantina which sold pizza, another espresso bar and panning sandwiches. Public restrooms were relatively decently clean and not too stinky. Over some speakers played Bob Marley then some easy listening Wham. The Parasol's are colour coded so you can figure out where you are at. The beach goes around in a half moon shape with the public beaches on both sides. We were there on a 32C day with little clouds so taking a parasol was a must! The sand was so hot to walk on! The water was nice and I would think in the 78 - 80F range. The beach was busy for a Monday but not overly crowded. On the weekend I would think it's quite busy! A wonderful beach experience that we were so happy to do for the day! Totally worth it and would do it again in a heartbeat!

Date of Visit: Friday, 1 July 2016. We took a train from Termini to S. Marinella station for 4,60€,…read morewhich took about an hour. We arrived around 15:00 in the afternoon. This beach is about a 5-10 minute walk from the S. Marinella train station. It wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be for a Friday. Seemed like it was mostly Italian and some tourist that go to this beach. Once you see the rows of umbrellas, you find one of the workers and you can pay to use the umbrellas and chairs (this is a weird concept for me since we don't usually have these things in Hawaii). My friends and I ended up paying for two umbrellas for about 15€ and we just put our towels and bags under it. There seems to be a lot to do around the area, but I personally did not look around too much. There are a few places nearby to grab a bite to eat or drink. There are also people that sell handbags and inflatables on the beach, which was also an interesting sight. Overall, it wasn't a bad first experience. The major factor was the public transportation for that particular day was a mess, so please anticipate such delays as Italian public is always unpredictable.