Where to stay at Vallugola

Venues in Vallugola Bay

Hotel Capo Est

A four-star hotel set on a panoramic terrace above Vallugola Bay, inside the Monte San Bartolo Nature Park. It is the only hotel directly overlooking the bay, and runs a free shuttle service by golf cart with driver to the harbour and the beach. The property is set in around 5,000 square metres of gardens, with a semi-Olympic outdoor pool, hot tub, wellness area and gym. It has 94 rooms in Junior Suite, Superior and Garden Deluxe categories, all with balcony and largely with sea views. Rooms have air conditioning, fibre Wi-Fi at 100 Mbit/s, satellite TV, safe and bathroom with shower.

Services include: internal panoramic restaurant with à la carte menu, B&B, half board, full board and all-inclusive formulas, private raised beach area in the immediate vicinity of Vallugola beach, two tennis courts, bowls court, free internal parking with 132 spaces. The hotel is equipped for cyclists and welcomes small pets.

• Address: Via Panoramica 123, 61011 Gabicce Mare (PU)
• Website: capoest.com
• Category: 4 stars
• Rooms: 94
• Distance from Vallugola beach: around 70 metres as the crow flies
• Services: pool, wellness, restaurant, free shuttle to the bay, free parking
• Suited to: families, couples, cyclists, full-service holiday stays

Camping Gabicce Monte

A small campsite on a promontory 100 metres above sea level, set in the Monte San Bartolo Nature Park, in an intermediate position between Gabicce Mare and Vallugola. It has thirty pitches for small campervans and tents, plus two mobile homes with panoramic veranda and private parking. The mobile homes include a double bedroom, a twin bedroom, a living room with open kitchen and a full bathroom.

Services include: green areas overlooking the sea for sunbathing, shared spaces with tables and chairs, gazebo, barbecue area, coin laundry, hot showers, free Wi-Fi, vending machines. The campsite rents electric bikes, organises sailing trips, and has agreements with a restaurant at 100 metres (30% discount for guests), with the bar/pizzeria/mini-market at 400 metres and with two beaches (Baia Vallugola and zone 45 of Gabicce Mare).

The nearest beach is reached on foot in ten minutes via the sentiero del coppo, a panoramic woodland path that requires suitable sports footwear. Vallugola beach is reached in around fifteen minutes on foot. The sandy beaches of Gabicce Mare and Cattolica are reached in 25 minutes on foot or by the shuttle service leaving from the Gabicce Monte panoramic terrace.

• Address: Gabicce Monte area, in an intermediate position between Gabicce Mare and Vallugola
• Website: campinggabicce.it
• Type: campsite with pitches + mobile homes
• Pitches: 30
• Mobile homes: 2
• Services: hot showers, Wi-Fi, laundry, e-bike rental, partner restaurant
• Suited to: campers, campervan travellers, hikers, cyclists, lovers of quiet

Gabicce Mare: the widest offering

Gabicce Mare, around four kilometres from Vallugola, is the reference municipality for traditional accommodation. It concentrates over a hundred hotels along the seafront and in the streets behind, with categories ranging from the upmarket seafront hotel to the small family hotel in the inland streets. Most hotels in Gabicce Mare are 3-star, with a significant cluster of 4-star on the seafront and in some panoramic positions.

The most common types:

• Seafront hotels, with a direct view of the beach and pedestrian access to the seafront promenade. The most widespread category.
• First-row inland hotels, 50-100 metres from the beach, across the seafront road.
• Hotels of the Gabicce Monte hill, in panoramic positions, reached by car or shuttle from the seafront area.
• Hotels of the first inland hill, between the seafront and the SP 44 Panoramica, in a quiet position yet within a short distance of the beach.

Gabicce Mare venues generally offer half-board and full-board formulas, in line with the Romagna Riviera seaside tradition. Many hotels include the beach umbrella and related services in the rate. Rates vary significantly with the season: in high season (July and August) prices are higher than in June, September and low season.

For booking, both international circuits (Booking, Expedia) and direct contact with the venues are used, along with sites dedicated to the Romagna Riviera. For longer stays (weekly, fortnightly) rates are usually more favourable and often include the beach package.

Gabicce Monte: the historic village

The village of Gabicce Monte, at 150 metres above sea level, hosts a small number of boutique and residential venues, in keeping with the historic dimension of the village. The most common types:

• Character hotels, of small size, with panoramic views and an in-house kitchen.
• Bed and breakfasts in historic buildings of the village, with a small number of rooms and family-run management.
• Holiday houses and apartments, in the residential fabric of the village, often run by private owners through short-let platforms.

The advantages of staying at Gabicce Monte: quiet, panoramic views over the Riviera and the Marche coast, proximity to the panoramic restaurants and immediate access to the paths of the Monte San Bartolo Park. The distance from Vallugola Bay is around four kilometres along the SP 44, drivable in ten minutes. To Gabicce Mare beach, the village is linked by the summer tourist train (blue line) and a network of shuttles.

Cattolica: the Queen of the Adriatic

Cattolica, the first municipality of the Romagna Riviera as you head south, has the widest variety of accommodation in the area, with over 400 hotels across all price ranges and types, from the small family hotel to the upmarket resort. The distance from Vallugola is around four kilometres via Gabicce Mare and the SP 44 Panoramica.

For those staying at Cattolica, access to Vallugola is via the mobile pedestrian-cycle bridge over the Tavollo (opened in 2008), which connects Cattolica to Gabicce Mare, and from there by car, bike or on foot to the bay.

Features of Cattolica's offering:

• Seafront hotels, with sea view and direct access to the beach.
• Pedestrian-centre hotels, in particular around via Dante and piazza Primo Maggio.
• Harbour-area hotels, in touch with the seafaring tradition of the town.
• Resorts and upmarket hotels, with wellness, pools and sport, in panoramic positions.

Cattolica complements its seaside offering with a significant cultural offering (Museo della Regina, Acquario Le Navi, Teatro della Regina, summer Arena), which makes it a destination suited also to stays combining sea and culture.

Pesaro: the city of art

Pesaro, around twenty kilometres from Vallugola along the SP 44 Panoramica, is a destination suited to those wanting to combine a seaside stay with the visit of a historic city. The city has been a UNESCO Creative City of Music since 2017 and Italian Capital of Culture 2024, and has a varied accommodation offering spread between the seafront, the historic centre and the residential districts.

The most common types:

• Hotels of the Pesaro seafront, with direct access to the seven kilometres of sandy beach.
• Historic-centre hotels, close to Piazza del Popolo, Casa Rossini, Teatro Rossini and the other Rossini-related places.
• B&Bs and holiday houses in historic buildings, some of particular architectural interest.
• Hotels of Baia Flaminia, at the entrance to the San Bartolo Park, in a pass-through position for those visiting Vallugola Bay.

From the Pesaro seafront, Vallugola is reached in twenty minutes by car along the SP 44 Panoramica.

The ridge villages: Casteldimezzo and Fiorenzuola

The villages of Casteldimezzo and Fiorenzuola di Focara, within the municipal territory of Pesaro, offer a very limited number of beds, in keeping with their historic dimension and the restrictions of the San Bartolo Park. These are generally bed and breakfasts, agriturismi and holiday houses set in the historic fabric of the villages, limited in number and family-run.

For those seeking full immersion in the park and short distances from the hiking paths, these venues are a worthwhile choice. The distances from Vallugola are a few kilometres along the SP 44 Panoramica.

Which option to choose

The choice of where to stay depends on holiday priorities. A guide to help orient:

Seasonality

The accommodation offering is largely seasonal, with full operation from mid-April to late October and a concentration of opening in the months of June, July, August and September. Some venues, in particular at Pesaro and Cattolica, stay open all year to cover the demand for business stays, conferences, cultural events and winter tourism.

For booking in high season (July and August), it is advisable to make contact well in advance, especially for the venues in Vallugola Bay and for the most sought-after types (hotels with pools, all-inclusive formulas, family stays). In low season (May, June, September, October) availability is generally wider and rates more favourable.