I
had organized the vacation carefuly already a few months before. I
made sure I knew about everything going on. But reality turned out to
be different. Firstly because I had forgotten I was dealing with a
small italian summer resort where things change from year to year,
therefore all my gold-worthy information kind of turned out to be
words written in the sand. Most of the places (restaurants and beach
bars) were either sadly empty or simply closed, forever. Secondly
because Ponza is different. Ponza is not about planning and
organizing, it is all about going with the flow.
Ponza
is surely not for lazy people. To get the most out of it there is a
lot of walking and climbing to do. The days we weren't riding a boat,
we were climbing up and down some small stares craved in stone,
exploring new ways to get back in the water.
In
those few days (6 days for Ponza are nothing!) we had so much more to
do in the sea that it turned out pointless to rent a car. Because of
the incredible rocky W I K I nature the real breath-taking views
were the ones that you could contemplate from the sea. Also as all
the most beautiful spots to swim at are unaccessable by land, renting
a boat at least for a day is a must.
Ponza
is definitely not comparable to trendy Elba with its vibrant night scene or to fancy Capri, with all its comforts and glamour. Ponza is
simple. And due to its remoteness, which I personally found extremely
refreshing and terapeutic, it offers you the kind of experiences you
won't find easily in other, extremely packed, italian summer resorts.
Primitive and quite wild, Ponza gives you a unique sense of freedom.
In the most romantical way.
Beaches
If
you are a lover of fine soft sandy beaches Ponza is not for you.
Although the crystal blue waters in Ponza are breath-takingly
beautiful its coasts are mainly rocky. Rather than beaches Ponza is
full of “places to swim at”.
The famous Frontone is the one that most resembles a classical beach. Supposedly, due to its bars, this beach is the place to be and be seen during the sunsets. I personally didn't make it as at the end of the day after all that swimming I was quite exhausted.
Unaccessable by land, there is a comfortable boat taxi service (5 euros) which takes you from the main port to the Frontone in 10 minutes. This beach is the best option if you have kids but not that exciting if you seek for a little excitement.
Our apartment was near to Cala Feola, where we found one small beach, with real sand!!, reachable by feet. The water was not as blue as in the rest of the island, but after our adventurous day, it seemed like a paradise! The beach is called La Marina.
The best “places to swim at”
The famous Frontone is the one that most resembles a classical beach. Supposedly, due to its bars, this beach is the place to be and be seen during the sunsets. I personally didn't make it as at the end of the day after all that swimming I was quite exhausted.
Unaccessable by land, there is a comfortable boat taxi service (5 euros) which takes you from the main port to the Frontone in 10 minutes. This beach is the best option if you have kids but not that exciting if you seek for a little excitement.
Our apartment was near to Cala Feola, where we found one small beach, with real sand!!, reachable by feet. The water was not as blue as in the rest of the island, but after our adventurous day, it seemed like a paradise! The beach is called La Marina.
The best “places to swim at”
At
Cala Feola we found several other amazing places for swimming like Le
Piscine Naturali and La Caletta. Although as I already mentioned the
best spots are accessable only by boat. Usually where other people
are swimming it should be nice. Spiaggia del Cuore was lovely in my
opinion!
Boat
renting
You
can get a boat from any port or beach. They're all the same but a
bigger choice is available in the main port. The price for a small
boat should be 50 euros, not more. They also charge you for the gas
which should be around 30 euros. For that we drove until the
Palmarola island and back.
If you haven't ride a boat before (like us) and you're not really secure about yourself I'd suggest you to stay around Ponza. Because the open sea inbetween Ponza and Palmarola island may be wavy even on a very calm day it might be a bit frightening.
As the sun illuminates the east coast waters in the morning its better to rent the boat from the port and then head towards North. By the time you will have reached the other side of the island, the sun will have moved with you. I would recommend you to ride at least until La Spiaggia di Lucia Rosa. From there in either directions it is the same distance back to the port. More South there is the famous Chiaia di Luna, some consider it to be the most beautiful spot of the island but due to the numerous yachts and boats the water is not always the cleanest. It is spectacular in the warm afternoon sunlight.
If you haven't ride a boat before (like us) and you're not really secure about yourself I'd suggest you to stay around Ponza. Because the open sea inbetween Ponza and Palmarola island may be wavy even on a very calm day it might be a bit frightening.
As the sun illuminates the east coast waters in the morning its better to rent the boat from the port and then head towards North. By the time you will have reached the other side of the island, the sun will have moved with you. I would recommend you to ride at least until La Spiaggia di Lucia Rosa. From there in either directions it is the same distance back to the port. More South there is the famous Chiaia di Luna, some consider it to be the most beautiful spot of the island but due to the numerous yachts and boats the water is not always the cleanest. It is spectacular in the warm afternoon sunlight.
However
if you are determined to visit the Palmarola island yourself it's
better to rent the boat from the coast which faces Palmarola, in that
way the ride back is easier and faster. You never know how the winds
and waves might change by the end of the day.
Boat excursion
Boat excursion
If you are planning to rent a boat yourself I would suggest to do the trip before. In this way you can spot all the nice places and come back to your favourite one yourself.
Unfortunately I didn't manage to put the pictures in order because of blogspot's new stupid posting system.. Farewell!
Useful links:
Vetor Aliscafi, ship from Anzio
Guide
to some (inevitable) costs in Ponza:
100
euros weekly food budget
80
euros boat rent
40
euros a meal at any restaurant, excluding wine
20
euros for fresh fish, we bought 8 calamaris for a dinner for
two
15
euros boat excursion around Ponza + Palmarola
5
euros boat taxi from port to Frontone beach
1.2
euros one way bus ticket
tutta
l'arte e' politica altrimenti sarebbe semplicemente una decorazione.
To
get to Ponza:
70
euros two way ship ticket to Ponza
7.2
euros train ticket to Anzio and back
I also didin't manage leave short comments under the photos, if any questions please leave in the comments.
For those who don't know, Ponza and Palmarola are summerhomes for the Fendi sisters. I spotted them both on the Palmarola island. You can spot the house on the right, in he middle of the green. Check out the post about Silvia Venturini Fendi's house here.
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