White Beaches

Path from the centre of Portoferraio to the white beaches up to the famous Capo Bianco.

--INTRODUCTION--

White beaches

Approximately 5.0 km itinerary- Middle difficulty

Starting point: Porta a Mare di Calata Italia

Our walk itinerary starts from the parking in front of the 16th-century Porta a Mare on the dock by Portoferraio. Along a path of 5 km we will overcome Piazza Marinai d'Italia and Viale Manzoni in arriving to the beach of Ghiaie, the first of three wonderful beaches of our route to Capo Bianco.

Near Calata Italia, towards the port where the ferries dock, on the opposite side of the Medici dock, characterized by its horseshoe shape, we can also admire the Medici tower of Linguella. We move between luxurious yachts, sailing ships on one side and ancient pastel buildings reflected on the sea from the other one.

Once left the old dock, we reach the modern harbour dominated by the ramparts of the mighty Forte Falcone. Then we cross the large parking area along the basin, walking near the
Medicean fortifications until we reach Piazza Marinai d'Italia (formerly Piazza del Popolo). From here we turn right, entering in the tree-lined Viale Manzoni, which runs along the barracks Teseo Tesei, property of the financial police, and runs straight towards the sea.

Then we arrive the city park of Ghiaie, a prosperous walled garden, where large trees provide shade to the numerous games for kids and paths with benches where you can relax and read a good book. Both from the Park and Viale Manzoni, we arrive to the beautiful beach of Ghiaie, characterized by pure white pebbles and crystal clear waters. From the beach there is a wonderful view on the open sea and the small island of Scoglietto, characterized by the lighthouse guarding the open sea of the Bay of Portoferraio. In the distance you can see the Tuscan Coasts. The long beach (about 400 meters) is flanked by a wide promenade on which peek out a few bars and restaurants.

At this point you can decide whether to return to the starting point or whether to extend the walk up to the following beaches of the coast. In the following stretch you need to be a little careful because we you'll have to walk on the road open to vehicles with no sidewalk. We take the road towards Capo d'Enfola; a gentle climb leads us up to the Hotel Villa Padulella. On the right there is the small street (with s signal) which leads us to the beach of Padulella.

The way uphill flanks the Hotel and the fences of some villas and shortly thereafter flows into a little square near the sea. At this point we take the path going down along the cliff and from
which we can admire, glancing right, Forte Falcone, the beach of Ghiaie and, in the distance, the coastline of Nisporto and Nisportino. Meanwhile, the track consists of a terrace overlooking the sea, plunging between broom bushes and maritime pines. In short we come over the beautiful beach with pure white sand and gravel, protected by a high white rock wall.

We cross the beach and we reach the other side, where we find a ladder that goes up towards the interior of the Bay, between prosperous agaves, along the fences of the gardens of some villas. Then the trail grows straight and flat up to get onto a dirt road, slightly uphill, which takes us to the square above the beach of Capo Bianco. At the bottom of the square we take the short staircase in concrete up to the long and narrow beaches characterized by high white cliffs overlooking the crystal clear sea with intense blues and greens shades. 

 

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