Hiking on the island of Elba
The island of Elba is not called the pearl of Tuscany for nothing - Elba's nature is beautiful and mountainous. Here you will find lush chestnut forests, winding roads, ancient villages and fortresses on mountaintops, and cliffs rising straight into the sky from the clear blue water, with lovely beaches hidden between them.
Elba attracts hikers and holidaymakers alike with its wonderful hiking trails, promenades and beaches. Elba is famous for being the last place of exile for Napoleon. Come and take a look, but I can assure you that it is not the worst place for exile!
We are going to catch the last of the summer sun on this little-discovered Italian island. This hike is planned as a nice active vacation - a fairly undemanding trail and nice weather allow us to carry a light backpack, we enjoy a moderately leisurely pace on the hikes and by evening we will reach a place to stay, which has all the amenities of the civilized world. We will eat breakfast in hotels and go out to enjoy dinner together in the middle of local village life. Warning - you can't just have schnitzel with fries here, fortunately the menu only includes authentic island food and delicious local wine!
This hike is right for you., if you appreciate beautiful nature and enjoy walking, have hiked in a group before and like it, or if you want to try this type of recreation for the first time. Our hike is not physically or mentally demanding, to participate in the hike you need the physical fitness of a person with a completely normal active attitude to life and normal leisure clothes/shoes. For the sake of convenience, you could also bring hiking poles, but you can do without them! So, just get up from your desk and let's go catch some sun and experiences!
We will hike for four full days., the days are about 16-20km and last 6-8 hours (with breaks). The trails on the hiking days are different - some days we put more effort into going up and down, some days it is flatter. There is dense forest, but also wide views, we walk between rocks and on forest paths. We are on the trail during the day and there are generally no cafes or taverns there. We can enjoy the food culture (and to the fullest) at the end of the hiking day. Some evenings we end at a place where we can swim in the sea and enjoy the clean and clear sea water.
At the end of September, the season on Elba begins to end, which also means that the majority of visitors have left, but the rest of the island is still in full swing. The weather on Elba at this time is pleasantly warm (around 25 degrees Celsius during the day).
During the hike we will take many photo breaks – the nature is beautiful, the views of the sea are enchanting and it probably won't leave anyone indifferent. Our goal is to see the island of Elba in its truest form. The hike is designed so that we can enjoy nature, historic villages, historical values left behind by Napoleon, and also the local food culture. In short, we will see the island of Elba in its entirety!
Hiking equipment is completely primitive – comfortable light hiking shoes and normal sports clothing. Hat and sunscreen. A backpack that can hold your things. Hiking poles are a great help, because there will be both ascents and descents, but in principle you can do without them. The whole story!
Overview - short & sweet
Goal: to discover the island of Elba by hiking and have an active vacation!
Dates: 25.09-02.10.2027
Activity: hiking
Adventure guide: Sergei Kleidov
Technical difficulty level: 1/5
Physical difficulty: 1/5
Group size: min 9, max 14 (including adventure guide)
Trip price for early bird registration (until 31.01.2027) — 1590€
Standard Registration (01.02.2027-30.05.2027) — 1749€
Last minute travel price (from 01.06.2027) — 1908€
NB! Elamus+ community members get a 5–10% discount. Read more and check your discount eligibility. community members page.
Travel cost
Price includes:
All travel arrangements and Elamus+ Estonian-speaking tour guide (with experience of Elba Island hiking trails)
Local transport, i.e. round-trip train ticket Pisa-Piombino-Pisa and round-trip ferry tickets from Piombino to Elba and bus ticket from Pomonte to Portoferraio. The airport is about a 10-15 minute walk from the first night's accommodation in Pisa, we will walk it ourselves!
All overnight stays throughout the trip (in a hotel or guesthouse)
Breakfast (except on the day of arrival and the following morning (26.09.2027), when we take an early train to the port)
Festive dinner at the end of the hike
Portoferraio Culture Day museum passes: Napoleon's Theater and City Residence and Pistrik Fortress.
Stylish Elamus+ sports shirt for each participant
Group pharmacy
Elamus+ hiking tour preparation package valued at €200:
a personal 30-minute online call with the tour guide, upon request;
winter hiking training before the trip*;
summer hiking training before the trip*.
*Held once a year — participation depends on the time of registration. Trainings take place in Estonia.
The price does not include:
Flight tickets Tallinn - Pisa - Tallinn (about €300)
Insurance (travel insurance)
Personal hiking equipment
All meals and snacks, except breakfast and final dinner
Extra activities and transportation for them (or if you want to do/see anything else)
Personal hygiene products and medications
Registering for the tour
Before registering, please read travel conditions. To secure your place on the trip, you must pay a deposit of 20% of the trip cost within 3 business days of receiving the confirmation and invoice by e-mail. If there are less than 30 days left until the trip, the total cost (100%) must be paid. Read more: frequently asked questions ja package tour information sheet.
Schedule and equipment
hiking days
The aim of our hike is to explore the entire island of Elba and its historical sights. In total, we will hike for four full days and about 70-80 km (27.09-30.09.2027)
We hike about 16-20 km per day and estimate that it will take 6-8 hours.
We carry our own backpack during the hike. Fortunately, given the conditions, we don't need to carry a lot of gear and can keep the bag fairly light.
During the hike we will stay in hotels/guesthouses.
We start the morning with a free breakfast, except on 26.09.2027, when it makes sense for us to take an early train to the port. Then everyone can stock up on breakfast the day before or buy it from the ferry cafe. We grab lunch on the way as everyone has stocked up, and for dinner we look for a nice place with the group to exchange impressions of the day and enjoy Italian food.
The hike does not require any special equipment - you should have comfortable hiking shoes. You could also bring light rain gear just in case, but generally, wear the clothes you would love to wear on a warm summer day. A hat is essential.
Hiking poles would be very useful because there are steps and descents.
We will be hiking at the end of September, and this time is also the ideal hiking weather in terms of weather. Then the days will be a pleasant temperature of 20-25 C, the evenings and nights will be cooler, and the chance of rain is quite small. The sea water is pleasantly swimmable. All the prerequisites are there for a great active vacation!
before and after the hike
We arrive at Pisa airport and then walk to our first place to stay. The airport is really only a 10-15 minute walk from the center of Pisa, so it won't break our bones even if we arrive very early/late. Depending on the time of the flight, we will fill our time - either go to bed right away or we can also look around Pisa on the day of arrival. The next day we will take the train early to the port, from where we will take the ferry to Elba Island and our discovery tour of Elba Island will begin.
On the first day we will only do an introductory hike (about 10km) to reach the pleasant summer town of Cavo. There we can swim, enjoy the day and the next morning we will start this real four-day hiking trip on the island of Elba (27.09-30.09.2027).
After the hike, we have one full day off (01.10.2027). In the morning we wake up, have lunch and then take local public transport to Portoferraio (the island's capital), where we spend our free day. That day we will visit the main attractions of Elba (of course, they are related to Napoleon): Teatro dei Vigilanti or Napoleon's theater and Napoleon's city residence or Palazzina dei Mulini, as well as Forte Falcone or Falcon's fortress, built in 1548 by the Medici family. In the evening we plan to have a final dinner together, where we can summarize all our travel impressions, and then head back to the mainland tomorrow.
If you have more time, you can extend your vacation and either stay in Pisa or take the train to another region of Italy!
NB! There may be minor changes to the schedule and planned activities - for example, due to weather and conditions or passenger requests.
Travel documents, Covid and footnote information
The participant is responsible for the validity and orderliness of their travel documents. The following documents are required for this trip:
passport/ID card;
travel insurance (including travel disruption, baggage, medical assistance).
We recommend that you take out travel insurance immediately after receiving confirmation of your travel registration so that you are also covered for longer-term health problems!
Read more also Elamus Pluss OÜ travel conditions
Don't worry, let's do it!
Is this hike suitable for me?
Absolutely! But in order to make the hike enjoyable, it is still recommended to invest in preparation. An active and sporty lifestyle is helpful for this hike, and to enjoy the hike, the prerequisite is that you like walking. You will be able to enjoy the hike better if you practice longer hikes in Estonia. When registering for this hike, you will also get access to mountaineering lectures and an invitation to glacier training, but these are more of the knowledge you would need for another of your future adventures. Elamus+ However, a test drive is undoubtedly a good helper.
But I don't have any hiking gear, who can afford to buy it?!
Good equipment helps you enjoy the hike, but you don't really need anything special for a hike on Elba Island. Light, rainproof clothing is probably the best special equipment to have on hand. The guide, who has inspected the trails with his own eyes, will also give you advice on equipment. Feel free to ask!
Okay, I registered. Now what?
To make the hike more enjoyable, we recommend participating in our preparatory events before the trip - it's also part of the fun. Elamus+ also organizes preparatory hiking training and, if desired, we can provide advice on suitable insurance and equipment, etc.
But in principle, you can also just keep an eye on the group chats, buy a ticket at the right time, and show up at the airport with your gear.
Read more also frequently asked questions.
