Small but full of sights and history, on the north side of Elba island, Portoferraio certainly has the potential to be a great tourist destination for those with an affinity for sailing, since the Mediterranean islands of Corsica and Sardinia are just kilometers away.
![Marina Portoferraio - The Fortress of the Medici]()
Location & Approach Portoferraio is definitely one of the smaller destinations but somehow it attains that small town mystique to which is added a certain flavor since it’s located on the Island of Elba, near Tuscany, Italy. The marina in Portoferraio is small by any standard but people come here just for that feeling of “land that time forgot” and that small town attitude.
The marina is located half a nautical mile southwest of the city center, which is itself located on the northern side of the island of Elba in the Tyrrhenian Sea. An interesting fact about the harbor is the fact that it’s surrounded by a steep hill on which you’ll see buildings sitting almost one on top of the other. This gives the marina a distinct look.
The overall shape of the marina is that of a horseshoe which makes it safe from swells and currents coming from out to sea. Mooring can be done all along the shoreline and along ones mall concrete pier extending out from the center of the marina. Mooring and approaching the marina should pose no problems to most skippers since there are no underwater hazards in the immediate vicinity and the water depth is 4.2 to 5m.
Infrastructure & Ambience The marina has 140 berths, 20 of which are reserved for transit vessels. The maximum length of the boats handled by the marina is 22m so it’s really not full of big, expensive yachts, a fact that contributed to its exclusive and off the beaten path feel. All quays are illuminated at night and every mooring place comes with a drinking water connection and electricity.
The guest can benefit from hot showers and toilet facilities, a laundry service, a catering service which can be an alternative to a night out at a local restaurant, car and motorcycle rental, a taxi service, Wi Fi internet connection and fax and secretarial services.
The marina is also equipped with a boat yard which can perform a varied array of boar repair and maintenance services such as battery and oil replacement/disposal, engine, electrical and sail repair. Among the equipment here, sailors will find a travel lift and a slipway.
But what the marina lacks in size, it surely makes up for in with its location which affords crew fast access to the whole Tuscany coast in Italy, to Corsica as well as Sardinia.
And certainly there is plenty to see and do around the old town of Portoferraio which has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Museums, art galleries, archeological sites not to mention the house of the famous Napoleon Bonaparte who was brought here in exile, medieval fortresses, and plenty of sports facilities can lure and enthusiast on shore for a long period of time.