Kayak excursions: Marina di Campo - Lacona

Length: 16 km
Level of difficulty: the length could be challenging but you can do it in stages
Interesting aspects: photographic, geological, biological

From the beach in Marina di Campo paddle towards the left of the gulf made up of granite rocks and you will have the coast on one side and the tiny island of Porto Caccamo on the other: since a kayak has only a small draft it is the only type of boat that can sail through semi-submerged rocks without suffering any damage.

The water is emerald green and the perfumes of the Mediterranean bush fill the air all around you. Once you have passed the enchanting tiny Ischia bay, with its two tiny, shingle beaches that are set in the pink granite like jewels, you will come to Rota with its numerous, tiny inlets carved out of the dark-coloured rocks that are just waiting for you to go in for the first swim of your excursion.

As you cross the gulf of Fonza and go past the tip of Priolo you paddle amidst the suggestive rocks and get to Longio where the brilliant white colour of the granite contrasts the turquoise colour of the water. Paddle past Mele point (or Mete) with the Triglia rock to your right, you will get to first the beach of Ripa Nera and then cala del Fico, characterized by beautiful alabaster crystals set like jewels in the steep rocks that go right down to the waters edge.

Keep going and you will soon get to the Water grotto: a tiny grotto with a natural water spring inside, where sea birds like to stop to quench their thirst. Since canoes are normally small and make hardly any noise it is easy to enter the grotto and admire the birds that fly in and out of the grotto as if doing acrobatics.

Paddle only a few hundred metres from the grotto and you have the Coralline sand bed, an enormous granite column that goes down 70 metres as far as the sea bed, in exceptionally crystal clear water that is rich in marine life. Once you have gone past the Coralline paddle upwards towards Lacona, in an area where the water is exceptionally clear and rich in fish and sea life and where you will often see shags fishing: these elegant sea birds, similar to cormorants, are famous for catching their fish by diving down deep into the water.

Along this part of the coast there is a beautiful secret, almost hidden beach among the rocks that has no access either by boat or dinghy so it is perfect if you want to stop for a swim or cool off inside the grotto.

Once you have Paradise beach behind you, paddle next to Cala dell’lnferno where you can find one of the most numerous colonies of seagulls on the Island of Elba; here the sea bed is rich in posidonia and is the perfect habitat for many different species of fish.

Once you have left Punta della Contessa, the Second World War posts stand before you, and you will then get to Lacona beach.

You have time for a quick swim before you start paddling back towardsMarina di Campo.

You have time for a quick swim before you start paddling back towardsMarina di Campo.