Sant'Andrea Beach

Sant'Andrea is a small hamlet of Marciana overlooking a bay on the north-western coast of Elba. The beach, about 150 metres long, is fine cream-coloured sand, framed at both ends by pale granite rocks smoothed by the sea. The seabed slopes gently for the first few metres and then drops off, with clear water shading from green to blue.

Getting there

From the provincial road that runs from Marciana towards Marina di Campo, follow the signs for Sant'Andrea: the road winds down in hairpins to the village. You park about 100 metres before the beach, in an area with a few free spaces and the rest paid. In summer the Marebus shuttle runs.

Which wind to go with

The bay is sheltered from southerly winds: the sea is calm with the sirocco, the south wind and the libeccio (south-west wind). It is exposed to winds from the west and north, so with the mistral or the tramontana (north wind) the waves reach the beach.

Facilities and tips

The beach mixes sections with rented loungers and umbrellas and free stretches; there are bars, restaurants, canoe, kayak and pedalo hire and boat hire from a jetty. Snorkelling is among the best in the area. A path over the rocks leads to the little cove of Cotoncello and the flat rocks of Cote Piane. In the past the bay was a loading point for wine shipped to the mainland; in 2022, unexpectedly, a number of Caretta caretta turtle hatchlings emerged on the beach.