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Autumn travel: Elba

sapto

sapto

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So far so good. Arrived in Elba (by ferry, booked half a day before: Terremare. Pros you only have to check in 30min before departure. Around €70) and found a spot on the Camping Scaligieri (https://www.campingscaglieri.it/index.php), west of Portoferraio.
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BTW: €37.40 from Milano to Piombino. Just in case anyone complains about our Swiss-Road-ticket-all-tunnels-included
 
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Camping Scaglieri: 3 Nights (2adults, 1 baby) €93.-
We liked the site, staff was friendlyMarket was great for bread but didn‘t have much else but we didn‘t care. The pool looked great and gym was tiny.
Our impression was that the site is one of the smaller ones here on Elba and the beach was also smaller than the larger ones south of Portoferraio.
 
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It looks good, Elba has been on our list for a while.
How long is the ferry crossing ?
 
It looks good, Elba has been on our list for a while.
How long is the ferry crossing ?

The ferry takes you in one hour from Piombino to Portoferraio. From there on everything takes at about one hour max to get to (Camping Scaglieri: 10 min away. Camping Stella Mare: 20 min.)
We booked with aferry...
 
Camping Stella Mare (https://www.stellamare.it/): 2 nights € 75.-, staff very friendly, pools are nice and the beach only 2 min away with some nice coffee shops. The facilities (washing up and shower) around our pitch are very basic.
Camping is great for kids/there are a lot of kids (0-16 year old), miniclub and minidisco (if you hate it do not look for a pitch around the restaurant).
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This time we left the bicycles and the thule carriot at home and until now we did not regret our decision. There might be some great bike trails (even a bike park around Capoliveri: https://www.capoliveribikepark.it/) but the streets are often to narrow.
 
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Sleeping: We slept 2 nights down because of the wind/storm and used the top of our Joolz to lay him down (at rear end). Worked well (Sorry forgot to take any pictures).
At top he just sleeps between us or at the side. Best way so far for us.

Sitting: Yesterday one of our chairs fall apart (~13 years old). Actually only the seam it self. Or maybe I ate to much ice cream here
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Today we went to Capolivieri (nice town up the hill). Today until Sunday is also kind of a traditional wine party (to cast the nicest person to represent the tow). Note to me: Come back when we both drink some wine again.
View is great, town a good mixture of touristic shops (all sell the same...) and „real“ vinothekas and coffee bars.
Kids: You can take your stroller however we found it easier to just walk with a rucksack and a kanguroo bag/ergo baby.
Best parking for us was at coop, 5 min from centre.
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Not exactly a kids place but a great camping is da Mario (https://www.campingdamario.com/) close to Porto Azzuro. At about 25 pitches under some nice trees and just a hop to the sandy/tiny stone beach. No kids programm, no pool, no disco nor polonaise but great to relax and chill! Dogs are allowed.
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The spot is great for scuba diving and snorkeling (local diving school at the beach).
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(you can see the path to Porto Azzuro on the right side)
There are actually two campings here: Camping Arrighi just next to da Mario.
The facilities are 12 years old and run with solar power. Clean and in a way better than the ones in Stella Mare (maybe because there were more guests).
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See you soon Elba! Was a great time with you! We took the ferry from Rio Maria to avoid the rush in Portoferraio and to try something new. Was a good decision (booked in advance, ticket office opens at 9.10 am, we took the 9.40 ferry).
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We liked the beaches, the people, the food. The facilities could be better but were okay (I saw better in Croatia). The campings were great to superb. Kid was welcome everywhere. Coffee! We like Italian Coffee and the Brioche with jam or chocolate.
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Coffee!
 
We stopped in Chioggia just because we like the town!
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Tipp: Driving on Sunday in Italy is best, almost no traffic/trucks. We stayed in Sottomarino in a nice hotel (Bristol).
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After a nice dinner last night we drove to Innsbruck. We took the A4 (direction Verona) until you can take the A31, it ends and then we took the SP 350
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(nice windy street up the hill) to Trento and there we changed to A22 - Brenner (Toll €11.- and €9.-).

(And sorry again: Toll from Area Piombino to Chioggia around €15.-. So more than CHF 40.-)
 
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Time to sum up:

- Elba: Great island in Autumn still warm enough to enjoy the sea and sandy beach. Great for scuba diving and snorkeling. The island is small and you reach everything within less than an hour/hour and a half. There are nice towns on the coast line and some on the top of some hills. Great walking opportunities with dog and kids. Roadcycling&mtb seems popular and we saw a lot of so called e-bikes. To get here is easy by ferry (Moby or Torremar, aferry.com).
- Kids are welcome! A lot of campsites have got special programm for them, if you fancy that. The beaches seemd ideal to build sand castles and no sign of jellyfishes (maybe in Summer) and there are quite a few more activities to do with kids (boat trip, whale watching).
- Gear: We were happy to take an extra duvet with us because Autumn can be cold. Used the the Cadac a few times. Stroller as mentioned before: I think it is good to have one with you but maybe also possible to do everything with an „ergobaby“ as towns ar often with cobblestones and sandy beaches aren‘t ideal neither. We used a topper and an external windscreen cover.

- If you travel in Autumn: Check if you need some winter tyres in Italy/or take some chains with you. I remembered there was a sign (October - March).

As said before: We'll be back here. Winter or Spring would be interesting.
 
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Looks fantastic. We have already more or less stopped thinking about camping already:( It’s 5-12 C degrees here and not much sun in a day.
 
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Pomonte, West coast, we helped a local to carry his boat to the winter „dock“ and had a coffee in return. Friendly n lovely.
Pomonte itself is nicely situated next to the beach, no camping however a nice looking hotel Sardi.
 
Sleeping: We slept 2 nights down because of the wind/storm and used the top of our Joolz to lay him down (at rear end). Worked well (Sorry forgot to take any pictures).
At top he just sleeps between us or at the side. Best way so far for us.

Sitting: Yesterday one of our chairs fall apart (~13 years old). Actually only the seam it self. Or maybe I ate to much ice cream here
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Did you have it repaired? I had the same problem a couple of years ago. Took the fabric to a shoemaker (cordonnier) at a shopping mall in Vendôme (France). The man put a new stitch on it. I was not quite happy with the looks of it, but it holds up to now.

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Did you have it repaired? I had the same problem a couple of years ago. Took the fabric to a shoemaker (cordonnier) at a shopping mall in Vendôme (France). The man put a new stitch on it. I was not quite happy with the looks of it, but it holds up to now.

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I got an broken chair from a friend (Garage Weibel, Bern) and took the cloth of it to fix it.
Anyway thinking of replacing them...
 
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Goodbye Elba! This year was warmer and sunnier! Food is still so lovely and people very child-friendly. Def recommend to others travelling with kids.
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Short stop in Volterra and then back home!
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Ferry in Beckenried-Gersau, Central Switzerland
 
It's this time in the year again. Although we have to avoid stopping/driving through Ligurien (Genua/Genova) we might still be OK driving to Elba...
 

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