In this page, I review all the beaches easily reachable from Porto Ercole, with tips and useful information to reach them and a description of what type of beach you’ll find on site (sandy or rocky, equipped or free beach, with or without bars or restaurants).
There are about thirty beaches, small beaches, and coves at Argentario in total, but those easily reachable from Porto Ercole are much fewer, and there are no swimmable beaches directly in the town. The most beautiful little coves are only accessible by boat.
Guide to beaches reachable from Porto Ercole:
The advice I provide in this guide to the beaches of Porto Ercole is all based on my personal experience: I have known Porto Ercole and Argentario very well for over 30 years, which I have visited countless times.
The Sights
The only beach that can be easily reached on foot from Porto Ercole is the small beach of The Sights, which derives its name from the lovely panoramic view of the islet. There is both a small sandy beach and a part on the rocks; the waters are clear and clean. Given the sunken position between rocky heights, however, both early morning and from mid-afternoon onwards the beach is in shade, and it’s not pleasant.
Until not many years ago it was a free beach, then recently almost all the space was taken over by the “Beach Club” of the nearby 5-star Hotel La Roqqa: panoramic terraces covered by a pleasant well-kept English lawn have been created, and several rows of umbrellas and gazebos have been arranged. Very beautiful, but also very expensive: an umbrella on the lawn and two sunbeds cost about €80 per day (there are also some umbrellas with sunbeds placed on the beach and cost €65, but they cannot be booked), a sandwich or a caprese at the bar costs €20 and water or soft drinks cost €5 each. For more information: isolottobeachclub.com
The reviews on Tripadvisor are on average very negative.
Of the free beach part, only a few spaces on the rocks remain, but it’s not worth it since the only bar available has outrageous prices.
The road leading to the beach has been redone and is now very easy, but the elevation is significant and going back up requires some effort. For Beach Club customers, the price of the umbrellas with sunbeds includes the shuttle to the parking lot on the scenic road. Parking costs €10 a day.
My personal opinion: it’s not worth spending all that money to spend a day at the Beach Club because at that point it’s better to spend a little more and rent a dinghy (€80-150 in June and September and up to €200 or more in August, which is the same price as a day at the Beach Club when you include food and parking) to truly have a fantastic day in the various nearby coves, or spend that money for a comfortable day in Feniglia with an excellent seafood lunch at Braccio.
Instead, the little Le Viste bar located on the scenic road just above the beach is worth a stop: it has a splendid view
Feniglia
The most convenient and easy option to spend a nice day on the beach from Porto Ercole is to take the car (or bus) and go to Feniglia: one of the two sandy beaches on the two strips of land connecting Argentario to the mainland. Feniglia consists of 6 km of sandy beach linking Poggio Pertuso (the promontory overlooking Cove Galera, therefore the next hill to where Forte Filippo is located) to Ansedonia. The sand is fine and the water is clean, but note that in Feniglia finding crystal clear water or seemingly “dirty” depends on the wind direction. If you’re unlucky, you might occasionally find small algae. Notably, the waters are very shallow and gradually become deeper very slowly: ideal for families with young kids, and for those not comfortable with deep waters.
Right behind the beach
From Porto Ercole, it’s obviously best to go to the access near Cove Galera (map).
On that side, there are several establishments, but from my experience, the best is undoubtedly Braccio Energy Beach (website, Google Maps), in fact, it is always the most crowded, and even the hundreds of Tripadvisor reviews are all excellent. The cover photo shows the Braccio umbrellas.
Braccio restaurant
And to the pleasure of being on the beach was added the pleasure of good seafood: absolutely recommended also the Braccio restaurant: tables with sea and Porto Ercole fortress views, attentive service, and above all excellent cuisine. One of my absolute favorites in Argentario. The main dish to try is definitely the seafood spaghetti, sometimes there are also interesting daily specials: if you’re lucky, sometimes on Monday there might be some lobster left over from the weekend served with tagliolini in seafood sauce.
Otherwise, one of my favorites is the classic calamari fry:
In the picture, it is shown with fried zucchini flowers, which though not on the menu and rarely available: in more than 20 years I’ve managed to order it here only twice. I photographed them for memory sake.
That it is an excellent restaurant is not just my opinion: the Tripadvisor reviews are all generally very good, everyone is satisfied.
Indeed it’s always full: I highly suggest booking a table in advance by phone at +39 0564 834210
La Shack Ansedonia
The other good restaurant in Feniglia is La Shack, on the Ansedonia side (map and reviews). From Porto Ercole’s side on foot takes about 2 and a half hours and it’s a lovely beach walk, which I DO NOT recommend doing in July or August: better in June or September, preferably on days with minimal wind and not too hot. Better to bring a backpack with water and a towel to sit or lie down for a break midway. Obviously, La Shack can also be reached by car, but the walk in Feniglia is worth it.
The restaurant tables are under a nice scenic veranda:
The cuisine is very good, the service attentive and professional. Reservation also recommended here.
See also: website, Tripadvisor reviews
parking and useful info
Returning to the Feniglia side Porto Ercole: the parking is at the end of the road leading to the beach (map), and currently costs €10 per day for non-residents.
It can also be reached by bicycle from Porto Ercole and from Orbetello, and the bike is the best means to explore the natural pine forest reserve extending all over the strip just behind the beach. And the bike is always the best means to reach the central entrances of the free beach.
Almost all of Feniglia is a free beach: aside from the few establishments on the Porto Ercole and Ansedonia sides in between the whole beach is freely accessible. You must obviously bring all the equipment and drink and eat, but the central part of the beach is the most beautiful: the view is splendid and the waters are always cleaner, even though the seabed declines more quickly than on the side where the establishments are. The pine forest just behind the beach offers shade and sun protection on the hottest days. Note, however, that there are wild boars in the pine forest.
Giannella
Giannella is the beach on the other strip that connects Argentario to the mainland, the northern side. In theory, it is very similar to Feniglia, but I have always preferred the latter: certainly Feniglia has the better view, is much closer to Porto Ercole (Giannella is more convenient for those staying in Porto Santo Stefano), and I prefer both the water and the sand. Over the many decades I’ve spent in Argentario I have only gone to Giannella a few times: I’ve tried various establishments and their respective restaurants, but none have ever really impressed me. Anyway, maybe it’s just a matter of personal taste: perhaps you might like Giannella more and I encourage you to try it at least once.
The road connecting Argentario to Albinia crosses all Giannella:
Along the entire road, is a succession of campsites and establishments, each with its own parking lot. I suggest you study in advance options and reviews using the embedded map above.
One of the most famous restaurants in the area is L’Oste Dispensa (Google Maps, website, menu).
Cove Galera
Cove Galera is the inlet located immediately behind the promontory where Forte Filippo stands, one of two forts overlooking Porto Ercole (see map). The beach lies between the namesake port (where all the large yachts that can’t dock in Porto Ercole are anchored) and the promontory of Poggio Pertuso.
When I was little, I remember the entire bay being covered in shallow waters, then over the years the retreat of the currents completely sanded the whole area, and now the shoreline is directly at the inlet’s mouth (see satellite map). There are two establishments and a parking lot.
N.B. A supposed “Il Chiodo” restaurant appears on Google Maps, but it doesn’t actually exist: I believe it was created on the map as a joke by an unenthusiastic visitor.
I must say that the Cala Galera beach hasn’t changed its charm over the decades: sad it was 40 years ago and sad it remains today. At least I can’t find any attraction in it: in my opinion, the nearby Feniglia is clearly better.
Or the beaches and hidden coves along the Argentario rocky coast between Porto Ercole and Porto Santo Stefano are much better, but they are not easy to reach, and only a few are reachable by car from Porto Ercole. Of these few, I recommend two:
Long Beach
Long Beach is not much further than Le Viste, but I strongly advise against trying to reach it on foot: the scenic road is full of tight blind curves and there is no space for pedestrians, you risk being hit by a car if the driver isn’t careful. So it’s necessary to go by car.
However, when you arrive at the path entrance to access the beach THERE is NO parking lot: there is only a small widening where only a few cars can fit (map). If it’s full, you can try climbing back up via San Paolo to the nearby vestibule in front of the road (blocked) leading to Forte Stella: there’s more space for other cars.
By the way: Forte Stella is definitely worth a visit.
Given these restrictive conditions, I’ve never spent a day at Long Beach: I’ve managed to visit only a few times off-season, in spring, when I visited Forte Stella.
At the entrance, there’s this informative sign:
The path to descend is rather steep (photo).
This is the beach seen from above:
The water is surely clean, but like all other beaches and coves in the area, it’s better, in my opinion, to enjoy it from a boat.
Sweet Water
Sweet Water is the most “external” beach that can be reached by car from Porto Ercole: shortly after the scenic road is blocked, and you can’t continue by car towards Porto Santo Stefano and the other beautiful beaches and coves of Argentario. Immediately nearby is the splendid luxury hotel Il Pellicano.
The water is crystal clear, and the beach is scenically beautiful, but in my opinion, it’s uncomfortable: not very spacious, rocky, uncomfortable to lie down, not easy to plant your own umbrella. However, there’s a small establishment and a bar. Also here in the afternoon, the shade arrives rather early.
This video shows it well:
Getting to Sweet Water by car is much easier: there’s a larger parking lot (map). It costs €3 per hour or €10 all day.
all the other beaches of Argentario
As mentioned at the beginning, along the entire coast of Argentario, there are about thirty beaches and coves, but from Porto Ercole, the ones most easily reachable by a tourist are those listed before. To reach the others, you would need a boat. Note that on the Porto Ercole seafront, there are several dinghy and small boat rentals, which are sufficient to reach these beaches on a nice summer day when the sea is calm.
The tourist office of Porto Ercole (found under the town hall at the entrance of Piazza Roma) should have this handy map of the Argentario beaches:
As you can see, the leaflet is in Italian and English.
An enlarged copy of this map can also be found on a billboard on Andrea Doria seafront in Porto Ercole (at this point). From that billboard, you can scan the QR codes with your smartphone to get information on all the beaches.
You can find information on beaches and coves also on argentarioturismo.it:
I will soon publish another detailed article on all the beaches of Argentario.
See also my guide to discovering Porto Ercole:
I am an engineer passionate about travel, history, culture, and technology. I publish a series of websites on various topics: religion, travel, conscious buying advice, dangers of Artificial Intelligence, and reflections on the future of human society. Explore all my websites.