Delfino Verde - Take the Boat to the Beach from Downtown

If you're looking for a cheap thrill before real life starts again in September, especially for kids, the Delfino Verde is a good option. It's run by a private company but has contracts with Trieste Trasporti, the local bus company, and APT, the bus company that takes you further afield (like to the Airport).

The Delfino has three lines departing from Molo dei Bersaglieri in downtown Trieste.

1. Muggia (Trieste Trasporti)
2. Barcola/Grignano/Sistiana (Trieste Trasporti)
3. Grado  (APT)

This summer I decided to get a 10-ride pass so that Eva and I could have five trips to Muggia, which is a great place for a walk and some ice cream, or to go swimming and lay on the beach (we walk about 10 minutes and choose a different place each time. Some beaches are free and others you pay for but have more services (like bathrooms and restaurants). While the view from the Muggia side is not as pretty as Barcola or other beaches on the Trieste side, kids love boat rides and a trip to Muggia is easy peasy. The historic center is also quite cute and feels like mini Venice. I don't have a car, and the busses to Barcola are always super packed in the summer, as are the beaches in that direction, so Muggia worked out for us this year.

The down side is that kids pay (on the city bus kids are free up to age 10, at least in 2017) and if you want to ride together you have to have two tickets. This means I had to buy two ten-trip passes, which cost 13.50*2. I thought that was dumb, but, then again, I just couldn't get myself to pay 7.90 each for one round trip. We have only gone twice so far, but that's okay. The Muggia line runs all year, so we will eventually get those rides in.

Another cheap option is to take the Delfino Verde in one direction and then take the city bus back. We did that both times (I have a yearly bus pass and Eva rides free). Bus 20 leaves from the Bus station in Muggia and takes you all the way downtown to the station in Trieste. Eva got her boating fix two days in a row and we still have 8 more chances to go.

As an aside, and because I am talking about Bus lines this week, Bus 20 also stops at the Free Time shopping mall and that is the one that has Decathlon, for cheap sporting goods. Just so you know. Keep Bus 20 in mind when Carneval time comes again. Muggia does Carneval in spectacular fashion and who wants to drive anyway?