Camping Borghetti

With the beach right by your front door, you’re sorted for sea dipping, watersports and general lazing about on the sand. If you’re feeling energetic, take an hour’s walk down the coast, passing through the serene splendour of the Ripari di Giobbe nature reserve and into Ortona. Like so many of the towns on the Adriatic coast, there’s a lot of history here in pretty packaging: take in the sea views from the Aragonese fort, queue with the faithful for a glimpse of St Thomas the Apostle’s relics in the cathedral ,and visit the Ortona Battle museum to learn about the town’s key role in World War II. Further afield, with splendid hill views enroute, towns like Pescara, Lanciana and Teramo (20 minutes, half an hour and an hour away), have a mix of Roman ruins, medieval buildings and shady alleyways for afternoon strolling. If you're after mountain hikes and wildlife encounters, it’s just over an hour from the site to the extremely hilly Gran Sasso National Park and Feudo Ugni Nature Reserve, both of whom have impersonated the Himalayas and Tibet in various Italian films: bears and wolves roam the slopes and forests, and eagles circle overhead. For more face-to-face contact with our furry friends, Abruzzo Zoo is 20 minutes away just outside Cona, with a cast of elephants, giraffes and zebras. For further family frolics, there are slides and chutes and flumes and things at Aqualand del Vasto waterpark, and all sorts of treetop ropes and zipwire mayhem at Parco Naturale Maiella, both 45 minutes away.