Blue Flag Marinas in Italy 2026: Which Harbours Won, and How They Differ From Beaches

Every year, Blue Flag guides focus almost entirely on beaches. Tourist marinas, the harbours equipped for recreational boating, get much less attention, even though they form a distinct part of the programme. On 1 October 2026, at the 66th International Boat Show in Genoa, Liguria presented its awards: 35 municipalities, 72 beaches and 18 certified marinas. This article starts from those figures to explain what a Blue Flag marina means for anyone who sails.

Beaches and marinas: two awards in one programme

The Blue Flag programme is run by the FEE, the Foundation for Environmental Education, an international non-profit founded in 1981. According to press coverage of the Ligurian event, the award assesses water quality, environmental management, services, safety and accessibility. A beach and a marina are different things. A beach is a stretch of coastline open to the public. A marina is a tourist port facility with berths, services for boat users, and management of waste and on-board sewage. The label is the same, but the assessment looks at the infrastructure and how it is run, not only at bathing.

Liguria in 2026: the numbers

According to the presentation, Liguria has the highest number of awards of any Italian region. For 2026 the figures are 35 municipalities, 72 beaches and 18 certified tourist marinas. New entries include the municipalities of Andora and Taggia. Among the marinas, the newcomers are Marina del Fezzano in Porto Venere and the Porto Turistico Internazionale Carlo Riva in Rapallo.

What it means if you choose a marina

For boaters, a Blue Flag on a marina means the facility has been assessed on the same sustainability and service criteria as beaches, adapted to recreational boating. It is not a guarantee of price or of berth availability, and it does not replace direct checks on specific services, such as water and electricity supply or waste collection facilities. Treat the award as a starting point, and read the services the operator declares.

Checking the current season's list

Awards are renewed every year, so a marina that held the flag in one season may not hold it in the next. Before planning a trip around a specific marina, check the official list published by the FEE or FEE Italia, which is the authoritative source for the national list of awarded marinas.