Costa dei Trabocchi day trip from Pescara or Sulmona and Scanno
A day trip along the Costa dei Trabocchi from Pescara or Sulmona and Scanno: the Trabocco Turchino at San Vito Chietino and a stretch of the Via Verde on the old coastal railway, the Romanesque abbey of San Giovanni in Venere above the sea at Fossacesia, a seafood lunch on the Punta Cavalluccio trabocco, then the cliffs and wild beaches of Punta Aderci and an evening in Vasto's old town, from Piazza Rossetti to the Loggia Amblingh. Every stop has a typical visit length.
How long do you have?
Map: 1 days
Costa dei Trabocchi in 1 day
Day 1
Trabocco Turchino
Old wooden fishing platform on stilts below the cliffs of San Vito Chietino, the trabocco D'Annunzio described in The Triumph of Death.
Via Verde cycle path (San Vito Chietino)
Cycle and walking path on the old coastal railway past the trabocchi; hire a bike or walk a stretch above the coves.
San Giovanni in Venere Abbey
Romanesque abbey on a hill above the sea at Fossacesia, with a carved portal, a crypt and a cloister looking over the Adriatic.
Trabocco Punta Cavalluccio (trabocco restaurant)
Long-standing trabocco now serving a fixed seafood menu on the old fishing platform, with the sea under the planks.
Punta Aderci nature reserve
Protected headland north of Vasto, with clay cliffs, a path over the point and long wild beaches for a swim.
Historic centre of Vasto (Piazza Rossetti and the Loggia Amblingh)
Old hill town above the sea: Piazza Rossetti, the Palazzo d'Avalos and the Loggia Amblingh, a walkway on the cliff edge looking over the gulf.
Getting there
From Pescara, San Vito Chietino is about 40 minutes by car and Vasto about 50 minutes on the A14 motorway; regional trains along the coast stop near San Vito, Fossacesia and Vasto. From Sulmona the drive is about an hour and a quarter to San Vito. A car is the easiest way to link the stops, which are spread along some 40 km of coast.
Staying in Pescara or Sulmona and Scanno? This day fits into those city plans, and in the Trip Builder it is one click under each of them.
When to go to Costa dei Trabocchi
Late May to September is the season for trabocco lunches, swimming and cycling the Via Verde; August is the busiest month. June and September are warm and quieter. In winter most trabocchi are closed, though the coast and the abbey are pleasant for a walk.
Plan the rest of your trip
- Where to stay: hotels in Costa dei Trabocchi on Booking.com or Trip.com
- Skip-the-line tickets: museums and sights in Costa dei Trabocchi on Tiqets
- Tours and day trips: things to do in Costa dei Trabocchi on GetYourGuide
- Data on arrival: an eSIM for Italy from Airalo
Some of these are affiliate links: we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Tips for Costa dei Trabocchi
- Book a trabocco lunch well ahead: places are few, menus are fixed, and most trabocchi open only from spring to early autumn.
- The Via Verde, a cycle and walking path on the old coastal railway, runs past many of the trabocchi; rent a bike for a stretch of it.
- Punta Aderci is reached on foot from the car park, with little shade: bring water, a hat and good shoes.
- Most trabocchi are private fishing platforms or restaurants; see them from the cliffs and the Via Verde unless you have booked.
- End the day in Vasto: the Loggia Amblingh walk looks over the gulf, and Piazza Rossetti fills for the evening passeggiata.
Make it your own
Open the guide in Andiamo Places to see every stop on a map with walking directions, move places between days, check opening hours for your dates, and add your own finds. After the trip, your photos become a journal and, if you like, a printed photo book.
Guides are made with the help of AI and public sources such as Wikipedia, and may contain errors. Opening hours and prices change, so check before you go. Spotted a wrong photo, a pin in the wrong place, a missing stop or a better one? Write to andiamotravelapp@gmail.com: the e-mail opens with this guide filled in.
Photo credits
- Historic centre of Vasto (Piazza Rossetti and the Loggia Amblingh): Luca from Vasto, Roma, Italia, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Punta Aderci nature reserve: Goldmund100, CC BY-SA 3.0
- San Giovanni in Venere Abbey: Zitumassin, Public domain
- Trabocco Punta Cavalluccio (trabocco restaurant): Lucrezia Rossi, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Trabocco Turchino: No machine-readable author provided. Idéfix~commonswiki assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0
Opening hours change; check before you go. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
