A series of excursions for families are organized annually on the island of Elba by the Italian Alpine Club. The name of the initiative, which refers to those activities designed and organized specifically to involve families who want to get closer to the mountains and nature, is “FAMILY CAI“.
It is not true that the mountains and excursions with even very young children are difficult or even impossible. Also to disprove this widespread belief, the island’s CAI Sub-Section offers a series of treks suitable for children. The experience is mainly familiar.
Excursions become the starting point for offering both a pleasant psycho-physical activity and the possibility of getting to know the natural world together with your family, exploring and having fun.
The organizers are entrusted with the role of creating the knowledge and organizational bases, but the real experience is shared with parents and other children.
The program of activities is varied, fun and stimulating, always with a focus on new very young hikers and their interaction with the environment, inserted in a social microcosm which aims to form a strong sensitivity towards nature through immersion in the wild, playing, learning and respect.
To participate in the excursions it is necessary to activate membership in the local subsection of the Italian Alpine Club. Registration covers insurance for all outings of both the Cai Family and general calendars. The details to register are available on the website www.caielba.it.
Alternatively, to participate without CAI membership, it is necessary to register individually (both adults and children) before each excursion. For information you can call 333 3799660 or 346 945392.
Family CAI Elba Island: 2024 excursion calendar
Below is the calendar of 2024 outgos designed for the little ones:
- 11/02/2024 – “Follow the water” Ferraja Regina Aquarum: Discovering how a luxurious villa of the Roman aristocracy turned out to be a water collection center never found in the past. What was all that water for? And why was it all filled up so quickly? These are some of the questions that will be explored during the morning.
- 02/25/2024 – Edible herbs workshop: in collaboration with the Academy of Cuisine, we travel through the Bagnaia valley going up the path, collecting and recognizing the edible wild herbs typical of Elba cuisine. He accompanies the ethnobiologist of the Orto dei Semplici, Francesco Marino.
- 03/03/2024 – The Piane del Canale: route through the granite landscapes of the southern part of the Monte Capanne chain, to discover and learn about trees, the Mediterranean scrub, the animals of the forest. He accompanies the naturalist Franca Zanichelli.
- 04/07/2024 – Walking among the dunes: trekking by the sea along the shoreline of Lacona beach, looking for shells, gastropods and starfish on the shore, and on the dunes looking for the plants that grow in the sand, the fennel, velucchio, sea lily. He accompanies the naturalist Franca Zanichelli.
- 04/28/2024 – To the Butterfly Sanctuary: trekking from the Monte Perone picnic area until reaching the mountain ridges overlooking the northern landscape of the Tuscan Archipelago, in the place where butterflies live. Guide Roberto Barsaglini.
- 06/10/2024 – The RIO mine: trekking in the Rio mine construction sites, from Bacino to Valle Giove, with backpack and pickaxes to discover the world of minerals. He accompanies Prof. Andrea Dini, researcher at the CNR in Pisa.
- 10/20/2024 – Descent into the Ginevro tunnels: trekking on the Calamita peninsula up to the Ginevro mine with descent to the 1st underground level. The guide Stefano Luzzetti accompanies.
CAI ferry agreement
Thanks to the agreement with the Moby and Toremar ferries to the island of Elba, CAI members can request a discount code from the local subsection via email, attaching a photo of the card with the current year’s stamp.
