43.281° N, 10.508° E
Complete guide
Spiaggia dei Tomboli di Cecina: beach guide
What the beach is like
The Spiaggia dei Tomboli di Cecina lies in the municipality of Cecina, in the province of Livorno, on the Ligurian Sea, along the Riserva naturale Tomboli di Cecina. It is on the stretch of coast between Cecina and Bibbona, where, according to Visit Tuscany, equipped beach clubs are interrupted by stretches of free beach. The beach is 2.3 km as the crow flies south-east of the village of Marina di Cecina and 3.4 km south of the centre of Cecina. It is sandy and faces south-west.
The reserve includes the tomboli, long ridges of dunes covered in dense vegetation. The tomboli start from the beach and stretch inland, an ecosystem created to protect farmland from sea winds. According to Visit Tuscany, at Marina di Cecina vast centuries-old maritime pine woods overlook fifteen kilometres of shore and form the Riserva naturale biogenetica dei Tomboli di Cecina. At Marina di Cecina the beach is long and wide, with soft sand, edged by the green of the Mediterranean scrub. The Italia.it portal lists three beaches in Cecina: Le Gorette, on the northern side of the harbour, the Cecina Mare beach and the beach of the Tomboli di Cecina nature park, which is free.
Getting there
Marina di Cecina, officially Cecina Mare, is a hamlet of the municipality linked to the centre by a built-up strip running from the railway station to the sea. The avenue joining the hamlet to Cecina opened in 1910. Visit Tuscany suggests the walking route Tra mare e fiume, 9 km in 3 stages, towards the centre of Cecina. The Tomboli reserve can be explored on foot, by bike or on horseback and has picnic areas. As the crow flies, Rosignano Solvay is 14.1 km to the north-west and Livorno 34 km to the north-west.
When to go
Based on the orientation of the coast, with the southerly (ostro), the south-westerly (libeccio) and the westerly (ponente), the wind blows from the sea and the beach is exposed to waves. With the tramontana, the north-easterly (grecale) and the easterly (levante), the wind blows from land and the sea close to shore is calmer, with the beach sheltered. The scirocco and the mistral (maestrale) hit it from the side. This is an indication, not a forecast.
Surfing and windsurfing are practised between Cecina and Bibbona. In the reserve's pine wood you can lie in the cool shade of the maritime pines. Marina di Cecina has been a seaside resort since the late nineteenth century.
Seabed and sea
In the 2025 season the bathing water along this stretch was rated excellent by the European Environment Agency (EEA). The beaches of the hamlet of Marina di Cecina, that is Cecina Mare, have received the Blue Flag every year since 2006, according to Wikipedia. In 2026, Marina di Cecina and Le Gorette appear, for the municipality of Cecina, on the FEE Blue Flag list. According to Visit Tuscany, the Etruscan Coast (costa degli Etruschi) has 6 Blue Flags, awarded for bathing water quality and services. The sources consulted do not describe how the seabed slopes at this point.
Facilities and free beach
According to Visit Tuscany, wide stretches of free beach alternate with long-established beach clubs along the Marina di Cecina shore. Marina di Cecina has swimming and sailing schools, riding stables and a marina that the website describes as large and well equipped. Hotels, guesthouses and campsites are often surrounded by greenery. Along the whole Etruscan Coast, the same website points out free and equipped dog beaches where you can walk with your dog.
Rules and protected areas
The biogenetic nature reserve of the Tomboli di Cecina consists of the extensive maritime pine woods overlooking the shore. The sources do not agree on its size. On one page Visit Tuscany describes the Tomboli di Cecina reserve as stretching for 15 kilometres; on another it says it runs for 5 km along the sea between Cecina and Bibbona.
Nearby
In the reserve, sea daffodils (Pancratium maritimum) and sea poppies flower on the beach, junipers grow in the low scrub, and holm oaks, maritime pines and stone pines dominate the tall scrub. It shelters wild rabbits, foxes, weasels, porcupines, roe deer and badgers, as well as turtle doves, green woodpeckers, hoopoes and wood pigeons. Inside there are picnic areas with benches and tables.
The Spiaggia di Bibbona is 1.2 km to the south as the crow flies, the Spiaggia di Marina di Cecina 2.2 km to the north-west and the Spiaggia di Mazzanta 5.8 km to the north-west. Marina di Bibbona is 4.6 km to the south-east as the crow flies.
Marina di Cecina was founded at the wish of the Marquis Carlo Ginori on the left bank of the mouth of the Cecina river, with a small colony for land reclamation and coral fishing. Villa Ginori, which incorporated a sixteenth-century tower of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, dates from 1740. The first records of the bathing season date from 1882; in 1890 a horse-drawn tram service was introduced with eight runs a day, and in 1893 the first real bathing establishment opened. In Cecina you can visit the Archaeological Museum and the Roman villa of San Vincenzino, a residential complex dating from a period spanning the first century BC to the fifth century AD. The area is crossed by the Etruscan Coast wine route, with wines such as Bolgheri DOC and Terratico di Bibbona DOC.
Sources
- Wikipedia (it) — Marina di Cecina
- FEE Italia — Bandiera Blu 2026, elenco spiagge
- OpenStreetMap
- EEA — Bathing water quality 2025 (IT009049007008)
- QualeSpiaggia — open data spiagge (CC BY 4.0)
- Riserva naturale Tomboli di Cecina | Visit Tuscany
- Marina di Cecina | Visit Tuscany
- Le spiagge della Costa degli Etruschi | Visit Tuscany
- Cecina | Visit Tuscany
- Cecina - Italia.it