Postcard from Giglio

TRAVEL GUIDE | CABANA TRAVEL | WORLD OF CABANA

A tiny island off the Tuscan coast in the Tyrrhenian Sea, just five per cent of Giglio is inhabited. Although numbers swell in summer, Giglio remains wild: its oak forests and vineyards lead to dramatic granite cliffs, rocky coves and sandy beaches. Elizabeth Bennett explores. 

BY ELIZABETH BENNETT | CABANA TRAVEL | 26 JULY 2025

Views from the new harbour-side La Guardia restaurant © La Guardia

Not much time has to pass on Giglio before you start seeing the same faces every day. There are the two sisters who prefer to smoke in silence rather than speak to each other, the young couple always chasing after a disappearing toddler and the girl who runs the boat trips, barely out of her bikini wherever we spot her.  

Considering that this tiny island ten miles off the Tuscan coast in the Tyrrhenian Sea has a local population of just over 1000, it’s not surprising that its cast of characters becomes quickly recognisable. The numbers may swell in summer but on our mid-week trip at the end of May, Giglio still feels relatively sleepy.  

Here, just five per cent of the island is inhabited, its full-time residents predominantly spread across three small settlements: Porto, where the ferry arrives, Campese, a beach town on the opposite side, and Castello, on the top of the hill at the island’s centre. The rest of Giglio is wild, with steep slopes covered in shrubs, oak forests and vineyards that lead to dramatic granite cliffs punctuated with rocky coves and sandy beaches.

Despite this, Giglio is relatively accessible for outsiders. If you pick up a hire car in Rome and drive north, the port of Santo Stefano can be reached in just over 90 minutes, ready for you to drop your car and hop on the one-hour ferry. After all, you won’t need or want a car in Giglio – you’re much better off on foot, scooter or boat.  

We happily rely on our two feet for this trip and start our first morning by hauling ourselves up one of the island’s former mule paths that link Porto to Castello. These ancient routes cross all over the island and are heaven for hikers and mountain bikers.  

On reaching Castello, a spectacular medieval hilltop village wrapped inside fortified walls, we duck under low arches and follow narrow cobbled streets, catching glimpses of the walls’ towers between stone houses and across small squares. For a bird’s eye view of Castello and sweeping views of the island in every direction, we climb a little further again to the panoramic point called Pineta di Castello. From here you have 360 degree views with Giglio’s big sister, Elba, to the northwest and the Tuscan coast to the east. 

Walking along the island’s upper ridge and snaking back down to sea level, wildflowers stretch out in every direction, a vibrant patchwork of sunshine yellow, poppy red and deep violet. An afternoon at Spiaggia delle Cannelle with its soft white sand and transparent water is calling. The first real hot week of the year, groups of locals catch up as they walk up and down in the shallow water – some brave enough to fully submerge, the temperature still biting. I pull up my towel in a shady sliver at the back of the beach and promptly fall into a deep sleep. Giglio’s grounding energy will have that effect on you.  

Giglio's inviting turquoise water © Elizabeth Bennett

The island’s pace is slow and the simple rhythm of beach days and port evenings is easy to slip into. As the sun starts to go down, people migrate to the pastel-hued harbour for an aperitivo, plate of freshly caught fish or a pistachio gelato (Bar Pierina, La grotta del Pescatore and Gelateria Artigianale Da Nilo were our favourites). There aren’t big name hotels or restaurants on Giglio but for something more contemporary, harbourside La Guardia with its breezy terrace and modern Mediterranean menu is excellent.  

While in town, it makes sense to pick up picnic supplies from an alimentari like Da Morena, ready to repeat the same itinerary again the next day. Spiaggia delle Caldane, the smallest of Giglio’s sandy beaches, tucked into the trees with its inviting turquoise water, became our go-to spot. Only reachable by foot or by boat, it was never particularly busy, its peaceful atmosphere encouraging you to simply take a slow dip, have another nap, stare into space and probably spot the same people you saw yesterday, enjoying a parallel holiday in this little pocket of paradise.