Isola d’Elba After the Lockdown

After months of being quarantined in Italy due to the coronavirus, restrictions finally were lifted and we were able to venture out, and this time out of our province of Bergamo. Off we went to Isola d’Elba, an island off the coast of Tuscany. Have you heard of it, because we hadn’t up until this point. https://www.infoelba.it/

Boat tour

An island that is easy to get to with the ferry, offering beaches, nature, and history. One way to see the island is by sea. We took a tour https://www.facebook.com/baiardaexcursions/ Flavio was great, so knowledgeable about the island, took us to multiple spots to enjoy some snorkeling and even a private beach accessible only from the sea. A snack was included, and we were able to see the island from the sea. He told us about the best spots we should make time for, which we later drove to. The mining history was cool to see which made me realize that no matter what your interests are, this island has something for everyone.

Lodging

My husband reserved a hotel with an all inclusive package right on the beach. We looked at a few hotels, however, we found https://www.hotelcaposud.it/en/ would be the best for our family, including my husband, and our three girls. Hotel Capo Sud is right on the beach of Capoliveri. It has dark sand and pebbles because of the minerals, including iron, once extracted from the island.

The hotel offers different options for the restaurant service, but we went with the all inclusive which included breakfast, lunch and dinner. The meals were presented so beautifully and were fresh and delicious. Lots of seafood, but if that isn’t your thing there are other options to choose from. The staff serving our table was amazing. We got to know them a bit for the few days we were there. Every detail was taken into account, like if we didn’t finish our bottle of wine, it would be waiting for us at our table the next day. The kids enjoyed their meals and if I thought it was too much food, they could order a half portion.

Getting to the island

Getting there from Bergamo, we drove to Pisa to see the tower, my girls’ first time. We saw it, climbed up, then continued to the port in Piombino to catch the ferry to Portoferraio on the island. We used the company called Blu Navy to board with our car. This was the first time doing this and I was so surprised how organised boarding so many cars was. If you have ever been to Italy, you know that means a lot because not many things are done in an organised way here.

The trip took about an hour and when we arrived, drove about 20 minutes to Hotel Capo Sud located in Capoliveri. The winding roads made it more difficult to go from one part of the island, to another, but the views on the way were amazing.

Covid-19 restrictions

Due to this insane pandemic the world is going through, you can bet that it had a lot to do with how things are done nowadays. When we arrived to check in, you had to wait outside for your turn to go inside the office. The beach umbrella and chairs were assigned to you and that was your spot for the remainder of your trip. Our dining table was assigned at the first meal and we were to continue to sit at that table for each meal. Although, our first dinner there we were seated inside, and we asked to sit outside and the staff kindly moved us. At the pool, all the lounge chairs were spaced out by twos and you could not move them and once they were full, no more people could use the pool. Although that wasn’t a problem since the hotel was not packed anyways. That’s the nice part about it because you can travel without worrying about the crowds since currently, not all countries are allowed to fly into the EU.

Luckily, being at the beach, no masks were worn, except to walk into the dining area, or leaving your room. We enjoyed the fresh air, it was a nice break from the every day.

The food!

If you’ve read some of my other posts, you can tell we are a family that loves to eat! Visiting an island, means the freshest seafood. My girls are not picky eaters, so they love to eat as much as we do.

Since we chose the all inclusive package, we ate only at the hotel. Each day, there was a new menu. You can start with a primi piatti (first course), then a secondi piatti (second course), and finish with a dessert. There were a few options for each so we loved to order a little of everything to try almost everything on the menu. Since it’s 5 of us, that’s not hard to do. Grilled swordfish, fried octopus, salmon crepes,

Exploring the island

One of our stops while exploring was to a winery. http://www.arrighivigneolivi.it/ Azienda Agricola Arrighi did not disappoint! Be sure to call to make reservations for a wine tasting because the owners are the nicest people. They took the time to explain the process of the ancient practice of making the wine using terracotta. Since the terracotta barrels are porous, it allows oxygenation, creating amazing red wines.

The Arrighi family also has experimented with putting the grapes in the sea using baskets. We tried a few grapes that were in these baskets and the taste is so different. A little salty, but so good! The salt that penetrates the grapes also acts like a disinfectant and antioxidant which allows them to make more of a sulfite-free wine. More of a natural wine! The girls enjoyed the animals on the farm, a horse and a cat. While the adults enjoyed tasting each of their wines along with some Tuscan bread drizzled with their olive oil. We spent a few hours, bought a few bottles for us to take back home and continued our adventure by stopping on one of the beaches we saw from the boat ride.

Spiaggia please!

One of the beaches we stopped at was in Capoliveri. We parked on the side of the road and walked by a few houses to reach the beach. The beach had white pebbles, the water was very clear and we had a great time. Great for families since the water is calm and not doesn’t get deep right away. Some snorkeling and few hours later, we headed back to our hotel.

Portoferraio

We came in and out of Portoferraio, the port closest to our hotel. If you have time, you can visit Napoleon’s residences he had two residences. This was his place of exile for 10 months from May 3, 1814 to February 26, 1815. They were not open yet when we went after the lockdown, but should be interesting to see. Many shops here at the port, restaurants to choose from and even after things started opening, it was quite busy with tourists from all over Europe. Check out the view from the top, looking down to one of the beaches here.

Worth the trip

If you’re spending some time in Italy, I recommend heading over to this incredible island. What’s not to love? Beaches for every type of group, sandy, with pebbles, calm, snorkeling areas. Book a boat tour, or rent a bike and see the island that way. Whatever you choose to do, this was a surprising marvel you shouldn’t miss!

If you make it to Isola d’Elba, let us know about your experience on the comments below and don’t forget to watch our youtube video about our experience here too. https://youtu.be/zIdov-CPKqs