The local beaches are amazing but keep in mind that it’s hard to find “Il Paradiso del Sub” and a bit hard to walk the stairs. You go towards the main beach from the train station and turn right under the railway in a subway. Then take the gravel path along the fence down to the ocean. The beach is devided and the second part is even harder to access. The main beach of Zambrone is a more normal sandy beach, several kilometers long .
Just before Tropea is Parghelia. There is a nice beach called Michelino’s beach.
The absolute coolest beach is of course in Tropea, Mare Piccolo, right by the church. Do not forget to swim to the cave!
Just south of Tropea is Baia di Riaci, a really nice beach.
Close to the Capo Vaticano, with a magnificent view, a few miles south, is Grotticelle. Several beautiful beaches are found here.
There are of course many other nice beaches in the area but unfortunately you can not visit everyone.