July 2020 – 5 nights with family and friends
A mid-sized island off the west coast of Italy accessible by car ferry from the Tuscan mainland to quickly get to island life and enjoy Italian seafood.
Like the rest of our travel guides, this is not an all-encompassing account of everything we did. We do not want to make a list of ‘Best’ or ‘Must-do’ experiences since we know it depends on your personal preferences. These are only our personal favorites and they are divided into two groups: “Avventura Favves” and “Other Things We Liked”.
The Avventura’s Italy Map – see all of our Favves on the map
Overview
With how close it is to the mainland, visiting Elba is a great way to add in a short, island beach vacation to a larger trip to Italy. It is not as big as Sicily or Sardinia, however still big enough that it’s best to have a car to drive in order to explore the various beaches on the island. Our overall experience was positive, but there were some things we found a bit strange. To be fair, we visited Elba right after the Covid-19 quarantine. Americans were not allowed to travel to Italy during this time and we found the people a bit unfriendly toward us. We’re not sure if it was Covid/fear related or just the overall feeling of the people who live and work there full-time, but we did not feel as welcome as we traditionally feel all over Italy.
In fact, our initial accomodations were at a small winery. The owner was reluctant to rent to us initially because he thought our children would be too loud (it only had 3 rooms and we were taking 2 of them). He eventually agreed and then canceled our reservation 2 weeks ahead of time because he said he couldn’t meet the Italian Covid requirements. We scrambled to find alternative accommodations but most places were booked.
We also had a disaster of a ferry experience. We arrived 30 minutes early for our ferry but there was mass chaos. It was very disorganized, with lots of screaming and yelling and plenty of beeping. We missed our initial ferry but with a lot of pushing and shoving got on the next one! It was no fun. However, overall it was worth it, because we had a lot of fun on the island and really enjoyed the good seafood and local wine. We’re not sure why Napoleon wanted to leave.
Avventura Favves
Beaches
Cavoli Beach – This is a beautiful sandy beach with turquoise water. It was easy to park for a small fee and there’s a delicious self-service restaurant (cafeteria-style) right at the beach. There’s also some fun rocks to jump into the water from (or just watch the crazy teenagers do it).
Sansone Beach – This is a beautiful stone beach about a 10 minute hike from the road. There is only parking on the street and it can get quite crowded. There are chairs and umbrellas for rent, as well as kayaks and paddleboards. We did both and used them to explore the nearby caves. There are no services at the beach, but there is a nearby beach bar.
Sant’Andrea Beach – This is the beach that was directly down from our hotel. We really appreciated the convenience here. It was sandy, the water was clear and beautiful, there were water sports and a few casual but pretty good restaurants with good prices and local beer (the beauty of Italy).
Restaurants & Bars
Teatro (Portoferraio) – This is a delicious restaurant with a chalkboard menu that changes nightly. They have an incredible terrace with space for the kids to play and run around while we enjoyed the fresh seafood and local wine.
Salegrosso (Maricana Marina) – This was an easy favorite, as it is recognized by Michelin with The Plate Award (it’s not a Michelin star but it’s also not Michelin star prices). It’s in a great location in a cute town, right by the water. The presentation of the food was impeccable and we started with a good antipasto sampler to try all the seafood starters. Overall, a perfect experience, or maybe it was just because the kids weren’t with us that night.
Sciamadda (Maricana – inland) – This is a homey restaurant with a comfortable vibe that’s located high up from the water (with incredible views) in a cute little village. They served classic delicious homemade food with a very memorable chocolate cake – we even ordered a second one because it was so good.
Other Things We Liked
Scuba diving with Unica – There was not too much to see in the water, but the kids got to dive in a very safe way with a great instructor. It was also a very good price for our group.
Biodola Beach – This is a very long beach but not very wide. There were lots of empty chairs because they are quite expensive to rent (or owned by a hotel), and so the rest of the beach was crowded. It was difficult to find parking, but we had a nice lunch on the beach (see below).
Da Luciano (restaurant at Biodola beach) – We had lunch here one day while we were on the beach. Really convenient, right on the beach with a great view. Good service and nice pastas.
Barsa (restaurant at Sant’Andrea beach) – We did both take-out pizza here for lunch one day (and ate on the beach) and went back for dinner and ate the fritto misto and also some lobster dishes. Both were tasty with good prices.
Hotel Gallo Nero – This hotel is a series of cottages nestled into a hill overlooking the water. They have a really nice pool and it was a 5 minute walk to the beach. Our cottage was a bit tight for 5 people and the room decorations were a bit dated. The breakfast was good, but there was a long wait due to Covid restrictions.
Gelato – We always like gelato and there’s no better place to get it than in the summer than on a beach island. I think we had it everyday. We liked both ZeroGradi (multiple locations) and Gelato degli Artisti (2 locations).
Logistics and Miscellaneous Notes
Elba is part of the Tuscany region so it is a good choice to add onto a vacation to Florence or the Tuscan wine region. It’s also close to Pisa, where we stopped on our way from Portofino to the ferry to take some pictures with the Leaning Tower. We’ve never paid the 18 euro ticket to go up it since the only real thing of interest to see in Pisa is the tower itself and the sandwiches at L’Ostellino.
It doesn’t require a plane to get there, but as we mentioned the ferry port at Piombino was stressful. Note that Elba hotels usually have discounts on the ferries so it is best to book your hotel first and ask.
Next Time We Go
We missed the southeast side of the island because it was just too much driving for us but we’ve heard that the Capoliveri beaches, as well as Ristorant Koala are very good. We also have Italian friends that have a house near Cavo. Maybe going with them next time we would get a better local flavor and the service may feel warmer.
Overall, we liked it and it was convenient, but all else being equal we prefer a Greek island like Crete or Sardinia.
Have any questions or suggestions for Elba? Post them in the comments below or contact us at LewinAvventura@gmail.com.
The Avventura 