Turning up early is no longer enough at some of the most sought-after beaches in Italy. An increasing number now require visitors to secure a place before they set out, with local authorities adopting reservation systems to manage another busy summer season.
The trend is most visible in Sardinia, where several beaches have replaced unrestricted entry with fixed daily quotas. At La Pelosa, near Stintino, admission between June and September costs €3.50 and is limited to 1,500 people a day. Five hundred places are released before the season begins, while the remaining allocation becomes available two days before each visit. Reports indicate that advance reservations have already been fully booked until September 15.
La Pelosa is no longer an exception. Cala Goloritzé, near Baunei, limits admission to 250 visitors at any one time from April until October, with reservations opening 72 hours before arrival. Daily quotas also apply at Su Sirboni, near Cardedu, where numbers are capped at 786, and at Cala Brandinchi, close to San Teodoro, where no more than 1,447 visitors are admitted each day. Beaches without reservation systems stop admitting visitors once the daily limit has been reached.
The measures follow another increase in tourism across Italy. Official figures for the first quarter of 2026 recorded a 4.2 per cent rise in tourist arrivals and a 7.5 per cent increase in overnight stays, bringing heavier demand to some of the country’s busiest coastal destinations.
The practice is not limited to Sardinia. Around one third of the mainland coastline in Italy is managed by private beach clubs that charge entry fees. Although Italian law permits picnics, many clubs do not allow visitors to bring food or drink from outside, adding to the cost of spending a day at the beach.
Founded in 2016, The Traveller Trails is a print and digital magazine and a trusted source for current news, trends, analysis, opinions, interesting blogs, videos and exclusive interviews from every corner of the world.
