Beaches in Piran

Piran has no sand, so a beach day here is settled by three other questions: what you will lie on, where the shade is, and whether anyone is watching the water. The coast is pebbles, rock and concrete platforms built out into the sea, and the tourist office lists some fifteen beaches and zones across Piran, Portorož and Strunjan, each with its own surface and its own gear.

Fiesa is the beach for days when the sea needs to be shallow and the sun needs somewhere to hide. Pebbles and concrete platforms meet a strip of grass, pines throw shade over the shore, and the water stays shallow, which suits families. Showers and toilets stand on site, so a long afternoon does not mean a trip back to town.

There is no lifeguard, and the beach is sometimes called a wild one, so the watching is up to you. Sunbeds and parasols can be hired from May to September. Parking is paid, €1.80 an hour from March to October, but walkers can follow the coastal promenade from Piran and buses run there as well. Take the promenade on the way out and the bus back if the afternoon has been long.

Beside the old town: Fornače and Hotel Piran

Fornače is the quick swim for anyone who left the car in the garage there. The shore is part pebble and part concrete, and the way into the water suits people with reduced mobility. The beaches in front of Hotel Piran lie right beside the old town, stone and concrete, so you swim and are back among the streets without a bus.

Riviera is rocky, with concrete platforms of its own. The verdict for a day of sightseeing is the platform by the old town over any bus ride: you rinse off and carry on before the salt has dried. For a whole afternoon on the water, go to Fiesa instead.

Portorož is where the beaches are looked after. Bernardin has concrete platforms with ramps and lifts, which puts the sea within reach of people who cannot manage steps. Meduza has concrete terraces, sunbeds and a beach club, and the central beach is accessible too. Line 1 of the city bus links all of it to Piran.

Seča is part rocky and part pebble, and it is where kitesurfers go. Monty's is the beach for dogs.

Strunjan swaps managed platforms for a rocky shore under a cliff. Krka and Salinera have grass behind the water and a way into the sea, and Krka sits inside the park. Moon Bay and Bele Skale are natural beaches under the cliff, and Bele Skale is reached by a path through the woods.

The cliff is flysch, up to 80 m high and about 4 km long within the park, formed some 40 million years ago. Moon Bay has a rockfall hazard map, which says plenty about what kind of beach it is. From 1 July to the end of August a free minibus runs to the Krka bathing area.

When to goThe sea reaches about 24°C in August, so the month you come decides how long you stay in the water, and the page on when to go gives it month by month.The best time to visit Piran →

Day tripsWhen the water is too cool, the salt pans, Koper and the Škocjan Caves fill the day, and the day-trips page sets them out.Day trips from Piran →

2 daysThe two-day itinerary fits a beach half-day around the walls, the bell tower and the museums.Piran in 2 days →

Where to stayWhere you sleep decides which of these beaches is a walk away, and the page on where to stay sorts the neighbourhoods.Where to stay in Piran →

Getting aroundGarages, the minibus and the city bus all matter on a beach day, and the page on getting around lays them out.Getting around Piran →

FoodAfter the water comes dinner, and the food page covers sardines, the fritolin and where to sit in the evening.What to eat in Piran →

MistakesThe mistakes page collects the traps that catch most visitors, from a car in the old town to cash on the bus.Mistakes everyone makes in Piran →