Gioiosa Jonica is on the eastern side of Calabria in the Locride area. The town’s marina was built and expanded during the ’Italian Miracle’ in the sixties and seventies and is the liveliest place to go. At the weekend, there are lots of visitors from neighbouring towns, because the town has plenty of small pubs and cafés for youngsters and good restaurants for those looking for a less hectic evening. La Cascina, in an old renovated stone house on the coast road between Locri and Rocella, serves excellent food in a cosy and friendly atmosphere. The town’s beach is mostly very fine sand and unlike many Italian beaches, where you have to pay to hire a sun lounger and sun umbrella, here the majority of the beach is open to the public with no charge. The sea is quite shallow, making it a perfect beach for children.
