One of the best beaches in the Roman area, Santa Marinella, is accessible by train from Rome. And that's it! Just a few bucks for the train and then you can easily walk to the beach. America has nothing on Rome public transport.
We each got some snacks and wine from the shop downstairs and headed out. We found a place on the beach (which wasn't even very crowded, despite being a weekend and a gorgeous sand beach), dug a hole so the wine would be kept cool, and spent the day mostly sunning but periodically swimming.
Imagine that kind of beach being a short train ride away. And not a bus, but a train, which isn't as bumpy and a lot more luggage can be carried on.
I didn't get burned because I have an obsessive need to apply sunscreen. I'm ridiculously white and even venturing out in the sun for a millisecond can turn me cinnamon red. However, while I applied copious amounts of sunscreen every half hour, my friends mocked me. How distressing. At least, until we got home and they had neon red sunburns on every part of themselves while I was still my pasty white unburned self.
Today's moral lesson is: public transport, but also apply more sunscreen than you think you need.
