mistermagoo,
Nice area is Cattolica....Why don't you look at flights to and from Bologna.....they are much cheaper and you are not too far away, probably an hour to one and a half hours at the most, there are regular trains going down that coast....Its certainly worth looking into and you will also have a wider choice of flights.
Paula

We've been to Rimini twice.

In 2002 we flew from Glasgow-Stansted with easyjet, then Stansted-Forli (Bologna) with Ryanair.

In 2004 we flew to Rome and stayed 4nts, then got the train to Florence and stayed 3 nts, then got the train to Rimini for 5nts. We then got the train up to Milan and stayed a few nights before travelling home.

The trains in Italy are cheap and good. You may want to consider flying to another airport and seeing a city too!

http://www.trenitalia.it

Thank you Lesley and Paula, for your replies. Good suggestions about travelling from Bologna. Neither of us are old but are a bit concerned about travelling by rail in Italy. There is quite a lot of crime committed against rail passengers in Italy - particularly non-residents.
It's not too long ago that we were on a Med cruise and at our dinner table we became friendly with a couple from London, who decided to venture to Pompei from the port of Naples by rail. They came back poorer than when they left, having been mugged in broad daylight in front of other passengers. The culprits, who apparently were not believed to be Italian, were never caught.
That aside it's a great place to holiday. From Catollica we visited Venice and on another occasion we visited Florence. Each time we were accompanied by the same guide, even though our trips were a year apart.
She was Italian, very astute and possessing of a great knowledge of the places visited. Above all she had a tremendous sense of humour. Definitely the safest and best way to see the sights in Italy, as far as we are concerned is to go with a guide.
It's just a shame that here in the Northwest we don't have an airline operator that is prepared to do Rimini in the same way as flights are available from Stanstead.
Regards to you both.

Did someone tell you that about the trains in Italy? I've never heard that and I've travelled by train quite a bit in Italy. You can also book first class which is very nice.

I'm quite surprised by what you have said....could it just be a bad experience someone had but not a regular occurrence?

Hi Lesley,
Yes they most certainly did get mugged and that was from Naples to Pompei. I don't suppose the incidents are any more prevalent than on our own London Underground or for that matter any other busy local line. I just think that when you are in a different country and don't speak the language - you are more likely to be targeted. Wherever we have been throughout Italy our guides have always warned us to be careful. I notice that there are elsewhere, postings about such happenings. Of course I would be the first to admit that theft from the person crime is up all over Europe. It won't stop us travelling but it certainly puts us on our guard.
Thanks for your reply, and take care.