The beaches of Castiglioncello

The beaches of Castiglioncello are not one beach. They are a handful of small bays wrapped around a pine-covered promontory, each with a different bottom, a different shelter and a different way of reaching the water. Learning them is the pleasure of a stay here.

What follows is a guide to the shoreline, not a list of facilities. Beach clubs, free areas and seasonal arrangements change; ask locally on the day, or ask us when you are staying.

The Baia del Quercetano

The Baia del Quercetano is the largest and most enclosed of the village's bays, a curve of shore below the pine woods with the village above it. It is the beach most visitors meet first, and it works well for a long morning because the bay feels protected. In high season it is also the busiest. Go early or late.

Le Forbici

Le Forbici takes its name from the shape of the rocks — "the scissors" — and is a smaller, more intimate inlet. The shoreline here mixes rock and pebble, and the water is clear close to the edge. It is a good place for swimming and for sitting still, less good for a long sandy afternoon.

Santa Lucia

Spiaggia di Santa Lucia is a compact bay on the coast of Rosignano Marittimo. It is best approached as a swimming place rather than a resort beach: the sea and the shade are the point. The Santa Lucia guide describes a day there in detail.

L'Arancio

L'Arancio is another small shore on the same stretch, with the alternating sand, pebble and rock that characterises this coast. It is the kind of beach you arrive at rather than pass through, which keeps it calm even in summer.

Fortullino

Fortullino lies at the southern edge of the village's coastline, where the built-up area thins and the vegetation closes in. It is a reminder that the Castiglioncello coast is a transition: village, pine wood, rock, and then the longer shores towards the Maremma.

Sand, pebble and rock

Along this coast the shoreline alternates between sand, pebble and rock within a few hundred metres. That is why locals move between bays with the wind and the season. A sandy bay is better for lying down and for children; a rocky edge is better for snorkelling and clear water. Neither is universally better.

We do not publish distances between the beaches. The useful measure is walking time on the day, and that depends on the path, the heat and you. The village is small; the bays are close.

Two private accesses at Roc Villa Bay

Roc Villa Bay has two private accesses to the sea: a sandy beach reached by a private path, and a rocky cove reached by stone steps cut into the garden. Both belong to the property. They are described on the villa with private sea access page and on the private cove page.

These are not public beaches and we do not describe them as such. They are the house's own ways down to the water, and they are the reason a day here can begin with a swim before anyone else is on the road.

Practical honesty

Beaches on this coast are not all served in the same way. Some stretches have bathing establishments, some are free, some are reached by paths and steps rather than by car. We do not publish a facilities map because it would be out of date before the season ended. Ask us, or ask in the village, and you will get a better answer than any list.

Bring water, sun protection and shoes that can handle a coastal path. Take everything back up with you. The Mediterranean here is fragile, and the small bays stay beautiful only if they are treated that way.

Beyond the beaches

The shoreline is the beginning, not the whole holiday. The things to do in Castiglioncello page covers the pine woods, the Castello Pasquini and the coast beyond the village. The Tuscan coast guide places all of it between Versilia and the Maremma.

If you are considering a stay, the villa in Castiglioncello page explains the house and its two accesses to the sea, and the enquiry form is the place to ask about dates.