Beaches
Elba's Longest Beaches: Marina di Campo vs Lacona
Elba's two longest beaches compared: Marina di Campo's 1.5km town seafront against Lacona's 1.2km sheltered gulf and protected dunes.
Elba's two longest beaches sit on opposite sides of the island's southern coast, and while they share some obvious similarities, shallow water, sand, family appeal, they have a genuinely different feel. Marina di Campo is a town beach; Lacona is a gulf backed by dunes and campsites. Here's how they actually compare.
Length and Setting
Marina di Campo is Elba's longest beach at around 1.5 km, running directly behind the town of the same name. Lacona is a close second at almost 1.2 km, curving around a sheltered gulf in the municipality of Capoliveri. Marina di Campo's setting is urban and walkable, with hotels, restaurants and shops right behind the sand; Lacona's is more open, with low dunes and campsites rather than a town centre.
Marina di Campo: The Town Beach
Marina di Campo has the length advantage and the most facilities of the two: a children's play area, snack bars, hot showers, water sports rental and disabled access in parts, alongside both free sections and beach clubs. Because the town runs the full length of the beach, there's no single access point to bottleneck.
- Best for: convenience, restaurants and shops within walking distance of the sand.
- Good to know: the stretches nearest the promenade and hotels fill first in summer.
Lacona: The Gulf Beach
Lacona trades some of Marina di Campo's convenience for a more natural setting: low dunes support one of the last protected dune systems in the Tuscan Archipelago, home to the sea lily and other plants rarely found elsewhere on Elba. The water across the sheltered gulf is shallow and calm, and several separate access points spread the crowd out along the bay.
- Best for: a more open, natural setting with slightly less built-up infrastructure than Marina di Campo.
- Good to know: stick to marked paths through the dunes rather than cutting across them.
Which Beach Should You Choose?
If you want to stay somewhere and walk straight onto the beach, with restaurants, shops and a proper seafront, Marina di Campo wins on convenience alone. If you'd rather have a more natural setting with dunes and a quieter, more spread-out feel, even though it's slightly shorter, Lacona is the better choice. Both work well for families thanks to their shallow water, so the decision mostly comes down to how much town you want around you.
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