Located on the northern side of Elba, Portoferraio is the island's main landing place. The port, in fact, is located in a bay well protected from the winds and is spread over an area of about 50,000 square meters with 1.5km of quay.
In addition to the maritime connections with Piombino (Italy), Cavo (Elba Island) and Bastia (Corsica), the port of Portoferraio is well equipped for the mooring of cruise ships and for yachting.
It also hosts a decent fishing fleet to which we must add, especially during the tourist season, the traffic of boats that practice deep sea fishing.
The port of Portoferraio can be reached by bus, taxi and by car and scooter (useful information for those who are already on the island).
The CTT nord company (Compagnia Toscana Trasporti) operates the local public transport service on the island of Elba. Line buses connect all 7 municipalities into which the territory is administratively divided, even if the times and frequency of the lines vary according to the time of year, with a significant increase in connections during the tourist season.
The bus station is located about 200m from the port.
Provincial Road 24 (SP 24) or Provincial Road 26 (SP 26), depending on whether you are on the western or eastern side of the island. Once in Portoferraio, after a large roundabout, continue north along the SP 24 to the port.
For parking, it is necessary to take into account the ZTL timetables and the paid parking rates (blue lines) if free parking areas are not available (more info: see "Parking").
Radio Taxi Elba single number: +39 05651822. Taxis in service in Portoferraio are stationed near the port.
The island of Elba has an airport (Marina di Campo Airport) in the municipality of Campo nell'Elba . Annual connections with Pisa, and seasonal connections with other Italian and foreign locations. The port of Portoferraio is about 13 kilometers away. It can be reached by bus (extra-urban line 116 of the north CTT - Compagnia Toscana Trasporti), by car and by taxi (see "How to reach the port - Car").
In 2019, the municipality of Portoferraio experimented with a night shuttle bus service called Cosmopoli by night with the function of connecting some car parks in the urban area of Portoferraio and the city center. More details on: elbasharing.com
Moby and Toremar Ticket Office - Calata Italia, 36
Being in the heart of the town, near the port of Portoferraio, there are countless commercial activities: bars; restaurants; pizzerias; taverns; car & scooter rental; boat rental; pharmacy and so on.
Near the port of Portoferraio it is possible to visit a whole series of places full of charm and history. On the territory - and significantly in the heart of the city - there are numerous places of worship: the church of Mercy consecrated to the patron saint Cristino, the proposition of the Nativity of Mary, the church of the Blessed Sacrament and so on. Also in the historic center, there are three squares (piazza della Repubblica, piazzale De Laugier and piazza Gramsci).
Squares and churches, of course, are not Portoferraio's only attraction. The inhabited area of the Elban capital is in fact dominated by the Falcone fort, an imposing fortification with sighting and defense functions built starting from the mid-sixteenth century. Not far away you can also admire the Forte Stella (dating back to the same period), where the Portoferraio lighthouse is also located. Also in the port area, you will have the opportunity to admire the Torre del Gallo and the Torre della Linguella: located at the entrance to the port, they house respectively the lighthouse of the moletto della Sanità and that of the port of Portoferraio.
In the territory of Portoferraio there is also a large number of archaeological sites, which testify to the passage of the Etruscans and Romans. Among the most significant ones there is no doubt the Roman domus of Linguella, near which stands the archaeological museum of the same name. Other places to visit before leaving Portoferraio are finally the Mills building and the villa of San Martino, where Napoleon Bonaparte lived during his exile on the island of Elba.