It’s almost two weeks now that we’ve got home from our Tuscany holiday this Summer and it still feels so far away already. I almost can’t believe around two weeks ago we’d wake up and decide what heavenly cove we should visit next, planning road trips, beach picnics and what swimsuit would be best to wear for that particular trip.

As you might have noticed from my most recent posts, I have enjoyed the holiday quite a lot, although it was of a new kind for me this time and although I wasn’t extremely sure about it at the beginning. I like the idea of having a nice familiar beach with all sorts of comforts a few steps away from where I’m staying, I like knowing where I’ll go and what I’ll do almost everyday when on holiday. I like to plan ahead every single detail when traveling, I like lists quite a lot. But this time I haven’t planned one single thing (which made me extremely touchy a few times when things didn’t went as I’d wanted), and it was totally different and unexpected most times, but, I’ve decided, I like this kind of way of travelling as well as the usual if not more.

Road trips, especially in Tuscany, are very little about maps and plans, but more about sense of direction and asking to locals about every single thing. We rarely found our way to the destination we’ve set ourselves that day just by relying on Google Maps, honestly! There are very few directions and most times they’re not clear enough for someone who has never visited. After a little while though, when we’d finally figured out how things were structured and what was where, we became confident enough to be the “locals” people would thank for the very detailed directions, so I thought I’d put together a little guide to share our experience and hopefully help anyone visiting Tuscany in summertime!

Cala Violina

I’ve talked about this place and our experience with it already in a recent post (where you can find even more pictures), but it is totally worth another mention over here too.

I’d highly suggest wearing proper workout gear on top of your swimsuit if you decide to visit this beautiful cove, because you’ll have to walk for around 3km hiking up and down the mountain that surrounds it before spotting it. We have tried a couple of different paths after hearing they had a toll parking half-way closer, but in the end we decided it wasn’t extremely worth it unless you have children – that might find it easier because the path is clearer.

Otherwise I’d suggest parking here – there’s a big free parking in the middle of a little countryside road that is not far away from the start of the path. From there we’d usually continue walking and find the path to Cala Violina not far away on our right. From there it’s about 2.3km of hike, where your trainers and a light-packed beach bag will be your best friends!

The cove itself is the most beautiful of them all, with the water so clear and blue that you’re rarely able to see where the sea ends and the sky begins. You should totally consider bringing goggles with you because there are some nicely big fishes that are usually very friendly and nice to see underwater. The beach isn’t extremely small but not too big either – it can be crowded but it’s nice because it’s not a place for everyone because of the hike to get there, so it’s usually quiet, with very few children and both the water and the sand is clean from the very first hours of the morning until sunset. A place I’d totally suggest visiting if you’re in the area!

Cala Civette

Cala Civette is the cove right next Cala Violina. From the parking spot I was talking about earlier, it’s a little closer and easier to get to, but still, remember your trainers and a few water bottles because the hike is not for everyone!

The cove is beautiful here too, but way wilder for sure. We found it was way less populated even on weekend days, the perfect spot for anyone who likes tranquility and a bit of a natural landscape at its wild stage. All surrounded by the local trees on the montain behind it, the water here is still extremely nice and crystal clear, the sand softer and thinner and the beach smaller.

Punta Ala

Whenever we wanted to go somewhere nice but still avoid the 6km hike and getting home extremely exhausted, we would go to Punta Ala. We’d still park at the same spot, and from there, the beach is very close and easy to get to simply by following the paved road. It’s quite a nice spot, with a very decently clear water and a lot of space for everyone, with wild sand dunes and rocks along side an extremely long beach.

Rocchette

This is another one I’ve already talked about recently (and shared a few more pictures as well!), but this place was totally very nice and picturesque! We visited it a couple of times and felt in love with the typical red rocks all the way around the beach and the water being extremely clear you could see everything on the seabed.

Free parking here is non-existent, but, if you go nice and early, you might be able to park inside the camping and have a little discount for the daily rate! However we would totally suggest getting there fairly early and place yourself as close to the sea as possible, and allow yourself a lot of space by positioning your stuff around – because this is the place we’ve seen getting crowded more than others and people can be very invasive (especially after they’ve paid a whole lot for parking and can’t find some place for themselves!).

Talamone

Talomone is a little medieval village a bit down towards south. We visited it on the very first days of our stay, and we found it pretty picturesque indeed! I loved how blue the water was and how deep the promontories overlooking the sea were.

We had a hard time finding our way to what was closer to a “beach” there. We asked for directions several times and lost ourselves even more, before realizing you could either pay for a daily slot at the historical and extremely pretty Bagno Delle Donne or find your way down the rocks and very steep and small steps to a super small rocky cove for a free option – for which I highly reccomend appropriate shoes!

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And that’s basically it! A little roundup of our favourite coves and beaches to visit in Tuscany!
Have you ever been in Tuscany? Will you consider road tripping it? x

Where sand whispers

Oh this place! I’ll admit I was pretty much sold on visiting it just by having a quick browse on the internet and discovering it was pretty much the most beautiful cove you could have seen in Tuscany. And yes, they were all so right about it!

To get there the very first time, we got lost several times and walked for an hour or more without being able to figure out what was the right path to take and almost giving up. We woke up bright and early just for the occasion, as everyone was saying the cove tends to fill up very quickly but getting there early to spot it semi-deserted was totally worth a try. And we spent all the sleeping time we deprived ourselves of, by wandering around without a logic!

But then we got it, and spot the sign we’ve walked past several times withour even realizing. And from there we realized we needed to practice a good 3km hike to get to our final destination, as if all the wandering wasn’t enough. Needless to say we weren’t able to see Cala Violina almost empty that time, or never really!

Each time we went there, we were basically already exhausted before even arriving (but with practice it got better at some point!) but it was so extremely worth it!

After what felt the longest, most intense hike of all, we found ourselves in front of the most beautiful, crystal clear sea I’ve seen in years, on a cosy white sandy beach all surrounded by trees and montains and nothing else at all! I’ll admit sometimes I wasn’t even able to determine where the sea ended and the sky started because of how beautifully blue both were at the very same time!

It’s called Cala Violina because of its sand being on the grainy side, causing a little sound or whisper when you walk on it, especially at sunset when the cove is a little bit quiter, reminding of the sound of a violin. A bit poetical, maybe, but I can say, if there’s something poetical in this world of ours, it’s because of places like this one.

It really didn’t matter how tired we felt by the end of the day, or the fact that the hike was seriously as intense as it could be in the severe Summer heat of Italy in August and with several bags on our shoulders. It was just worth it so much that I decided that it was the place I wanted to spend my birthday in, and believe me when I say I never, ever, thought I would have ever wanted to go for an extreme hike on my birthday, when I could have done anything I wanted really!

That said, can somebody bring me back there, pretty please?!

P. S. I have a little Tuscany guide coming up next with more places worth a visit if you’re interested! x

As I’m writing this post, I’ve basically just come back from our Tuscany holiday and have found the very first moment to sit down and go through an endless list of photos, which has made me very nostalgic already!

This year we had two spare weeks at the very end of August, and after dreaming about the sea all Summer long, we decided to dedicate them to visiting somewhere new, exploring and, most importantly, find our way to the beach and the whole sand-between-my-toes and sunbathing things we were so jelous of when browsing through Instagram these last months. After pondering where we should have gone, we decided, although the plan of discovering some places far away sounded very appealing, we wanted to keep appreciating the amazing country we live in and explore somewhere new right here in Italy instead.

People would travel from the most distant places to have a peek of beautiful Tuscany, and we’re so lucky to be only four hours of car journey from it. It totally felt a bit wrong that we hadn’t give it a chance just yet! But I’ll be completely honest: as much as I was excited for this holiday to begin, I wasn’t expecting to find anything like this in the slightest…

Tuscany is special. From the very first minute we were there, we knew there was something different and charming in everything. Our plans were to road trip it as much as we could so that we’d be able to find some nice wild coves and enjoy the oh-so-coveted time at the beach. And when road tripping Tuscany, you won’t only find yourself in front of the most beautiful crystal clear water and cosy coves of soft white sand… We were surprised by how picturesque the countryside landscapes we found ourselves in front of basically everyday were, how we could stop countless times to take pictures at the fields or at the horses because we couldn’t help but stop and admire them.

And then, when, after the longest hike, you find that beach you were looking for, it’s all sort of magical, with the water so clear you can see everything on the seabed, and behind you the woods and the trees surrounding everything you can see.

These pictures are actually from this place called Rocchette, all surrounded by those typical red rocks. The water there was always as blue and clear as it can be, and swimming in it was as dreamy as it sounds! Totally one of our favourites!

Do stay tuned for more pictures from the seaside and for a little Tuscany guide with the upcoming posts! x