Beaches? More than 50 of them, some sweeping strands blessed with golden sand (the most popular scattered along the southern coast), others lined with smooth rocks and sheltered by seacliffs. There are also castles, Roman ruins, and charming hill towns to explore (brush up on your Italian, because English speakers are scarce) – and plan on working up an appetite. This is Tuscany, after all.

What's Your Pleasure?

BEACHES It's hard to beat Marina di Campo, with more than a mile of fine golden sand, but one environmental group has called Marciana Marina the best beach in Italy. It isn't the sand (the shore is lined with small, smooth stones), but the water is clear and pristine, and the marina is the kayaking center of the island. (Paddle west to see one of the island's most beautiful shorelines.)

SIGHTSEEING Most of the remote northwestern tip of Elba near Cabo Vita is accessible only by the sea (sailors love it when this happens). But head west from Bagnaia (where the views from an 11th-century fortress are superb) to San Giovanni (home to a popular thermal spa), then stop for lunch in the island's main town, Portoferraio. If it's spring, continue a short ways west to Capo Bianco, where the lovely coastline is adorned with an abundance of wildflowers.

DINING Seafood, Tuscan-style…tempting? Start with a simple salad of shellfish drizzled with olive oil, followed by a black risotto (cuttlefish is the main ingredient, with its ink added to the rice at the end). Some restaurants allow you to choose your own fish (to grill or bake), and if you are on in the island in autumn, don't miss the fresh-from-the-forest porcini mushrooms. As for wine, skip the chianti and savor an Elba rosso (mostly sangiovese grapes) or, with shellfish, a Ansonica bianco.

Web Picks

www.elbatuttanatura.com
Neatly organized by category at a glance, this site is a virtual window to the world of Elba. Travel essentials are covered, of course, but in a variety of helpful ways, including suggested itineraries for biking, hiking, kayaking, and other activities. Also pages of good reading on food, island legends, nice photos, a great map, and an online booking service for hotels and transportation.

www.infoelba.com
Handsome photography helps set the mood for this visitor's guide, which looks at the island's regions and towns (under the easy-to-overlook "Municipalitys" menu near the bottom of the main page) – and also provides links to accommodations for each of the areas. A solid website.

www.theatlantic.com/issues/2000/11/russo.htm
Genial account of a visit to Elba, from the pages of the online version of the Atlantic Monthly – and it provides a nice sense of the place, the food, and how to spend some relaxed days on the island. And good links.

• Elba map 101
• Elba map 102
• Tuscan islands map 103
• Elba map 104
  
  

CHARACTERISTICS

Lying only 10 km. from the mainland, Elba is the largest island in the Tuscan Archipelago and having a surface area of 224 sq. km., it is the third Italian island in size. Elba has become an internationally famous tourist resort. Her climate is particularly mild. Her coastline, which winds for 147 km., is incredibly varied. The grandeur of the Mount Capanne group (1019 mt.) is magnificent. The average year long temperature is 15.7°C: January's average is 9.3°C, while July's is 24.3°C. The averages for the various seasons are: Winter 9.7°C, Spring 13.9°C, Summer 22.7°C, Autumn 16.6°C. The average monthly water temperatures from Spring to Autumn are the following: April 19°C, May 20.2°C, June 24.1°C, July 26.8°C, August 27.3°C, September 25.5°C, October 23.1°C.

A "man size" island, Elba has been able to snatch up all the benefits from modern civilisation, its comforts and technology, without however compromising her nature, landscape, sea and coast, mountains and woods. She hasn't allowed her ancient villages to be disfigured nor the remains of her ancient civilisation to be destroyed. Elba is like a treasure chest rich in delightful surprises, framed by crystal-clear waters which caress sandy beaches, secret green bays and inlets, or steep cliffs. Inland environments range from shady woods, to sweet cultivated fields, to barren lands where aloe and cactus reign. And then you have Elba's towns: those on the sea, which often maintain the ancient flavour of a fishermen's shelter, and those chiselled out of the rock up high, which still tell us about pirate raids of long ago.

You can hunt for mushrooms, berries, flowers or chestnuts. You can observe the world of wild animals which here find an ideal habitat. Or you can simply enjoy the fresh, clear air and the beauty that nature so generously gave to this island. Perhaps after a taste of the local cuisine which blends sea traditions with those typical of Tuscany.

Elba Itineraries