Anyone been to Elba?

You might consider the islands of Ponza if you're looking for a place that hasn't really been discovered by American tourists.

I've looked at Isola di Ponza on Google Earth and it looks amazing. Of all the smaller islands I've looked at, this is the one that hangs there in the back of my mind. Unfortunately we wont be traveling this far south. I dunno, maybe we'll have to adjust our itinerary, skip the usual Tuscan stuff and dip a little south of Rome down to Anzio. It looks like there's a boat to the isle from there. Thanks for the bug in my ear. By the way..I've looked back into the RS Helpline archives and found ZERO about Elba. I take it it's WAY off the radar of Americans. Elba's town of Portoferraio looks wonderful on Google Earth. One or the other....

Strange. The google advanced search first didn't work for me either, then it did. 74 hits for Elba. You might try again.

Yes, but the first 7 Advanced Google hits have an OP requesting info on Elba, but no posts. If Rick doesn't go there, does anyone here dare? Ed, where are you? I'll bet Ed's been there.

Not much there except for the national park. Spent five nights and biked most of it, hiked a bit on the southeastern knob. The terrain is rugged, so don't try it with weak legs or bad knees. I went on a solo trip, my wife would have killed me had I drug her along. I didn't pay particular attention to the beaches, so no information there. The only place to stay, essentially, is Portoferraio. I think there might be a couple of other ferries that hit the eastern shore, but they could be seasonal. No ferry to Corsica, so you're pretty much at a dead end when you get there. Unless you like desolation, don't bother. Edit: Thanks, Kent. I infer that only a screwball goes to the screwball places?

Thanks Ed. The advance search came up with many hits but, like Kent sez, no posts. So again thanks for your post. I hear Napoleon didn't like Elba much either. Maybe we'll dip south for Isola di Ponza instead of Elba. Or maybe we'll just sit in a piazza and have a 2nd bottle and contemplate things.

How about Sardinia? There are lots of off-the-beaten-path places there, I've heard.

Have not been to Elba but met a couple from Geneva, Switzerland, a few years ago at the agriturismo we were staying at and they told us they loved Elba. I am sure some of the other above-mentioned islands are lovely too.

Been to Elba. Did it as part of a bike tour in Tuscany. We spent one night, rode the bike over the rib of the island. one side very pretty, the other mostly mining for minerals. The main town is very pretty, nice beaches, great hotels. I'm sure there is more to explore, we were limited due to the end of the bike tour.

Ray, You've received some great replies so far, but if you need further information you might try Thorn Tree Message Board. Have a look at This page for a brief description. If you decide to go there, be sure to post a "Just Back Report" as it would be interesting to hear how you like it. Happy travels!

Napoleon was there, it didn't turn out too well for him.

Bumping this up because someone else is also asking about Elba.