Adventures on Elba Island

We just got back from a week of hard work on Elba Island, arduously testing out restaurants, personally verifying the swimming conditions of the azure water, and verifying the presence of actual fishies with our masks and snorkels. After all this labor we are happy to report that Elba is an official New Destination for us, and we can't wait to show it off to you!

This spot is ideal for a Family Week, with kids running happily around the quiet-but-not-stuffy campground, the beach just steps away from the bungalows with smooth pebbles to lie on and plenty of rocky bits underwater to explore with masks and fins. There is also a first-rate diving center right on the grounds with exploration at all levels to be enjoyed around the peninsula of Enfola, at the northern tip of Elba.

It is also equally perfect for a group of grown-up rowers, with a some coastal boats parked on the narrow isthmus, the rows can be launched from one side or the other, depending on the wind and waves. Why drive over curvy island roads when we can ROW to the quarry, or the crystal museum, or for dinner at the mouthwatering Acqua Cheta restaurant in the picturesque port of Portoferraio, where Napoleon was held captive?

So far we're planning on coming back to row in September 2018, rowing over from Piombino with the van following on the ferry with our bags. Kids, dogs, and grandmothers all welcome, it will be a quintessentially easy and relaxed week!

The boys begged for this all week and finally had their dream come true...a paddleboat to jump off of!

Elba in general is very dog-friendly, with restaurants and bookstores alike all welcoming our four-legged family members.

Campgrounds in Italy are very comfy, this one makes sure you have a piping-hot espresso no more than 100 feet from your bungalow.

The campground restaurant is a refined seafood delight with amazing sunset views over the bay

This morning was refreshingly cool and called for rock sculptures.

An ex-military jeep driven by a local cooperative drove us up into the old pyrite mine to collect fool's gold and hematite, to the delight of the, ahem, kids.

Give a kid a pile of dirt and let'em at it!

We doubt the miners of the past enjoyed this view as much as we did!

Enfola and the campground viewed from the promontory in front of it

A beautiful path slopes up the promontory for walking or jogging, up to an old WWII munitions cave and back down to a hidden beach.

Our poor kids, hard at work searching for new places to row!

Eeny-meeny-miney-mo, on which side of the isthmus shall we row?

#familyweek #elba #tuscany #adventurerowing #coastalrowing #newdestinations #bringyourdog