Portoferraio, Elba tide times

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived.

Model-derived from a global ocean grid. Useful indication; expect about ±45 minutes on average vs. a local harmonic gauge, individual stations vary widely. See /methodology for per-region detail. Not for navigation.

Conditions as of 06:00 local time. Refreshes daily.

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived. · Not for navigation.

The angler tradition for major/minor fishing windows: major ≈3-hour windows around moon transit and opposition; minor ≈2-hour windows around moonrise and moonset. Times are Europe/Rome local. Folk tradition, not a scientific forecast.

Portoferraio is the main town and ferry gateway of Elba, the largest island in the Tuscan Archipelago at roughly 224 km². The harbour is almost completely enclosed — its shape has been compared to a wine bottle, with a narrow entrance between two promontories — making it one of the most naturally sheltered anchorages in the Tyrrhenian. The Forte Falcone and Forte Stella Medici fortresses flank the hillside above; the old town's Napoleonic heritage (his Palazzina dei Mulini and Villa San Martino) draws considerable visitor interest, as Elba was Napoleon's home in exile from May 1814 to February 1815. Elba's coastline runs to approximately 147 km, ranging from the granite headlands of the west coast to the iron-ore stained red beaches near Rio Marina on the east. The island's geological diversity — iron, pyrite, granite, schist — makes for exceptional snorkelling and diving: underwater rock colour transitions are visible within a single dive. Historically Elba was one of Europe's largest iron-ore producers; the mines at Rio Marina and Capoliveri operated until the late 20th century. Tidal range at Portoferraio is around 0.3 m above Lowest Astronomical Tide, matching mainland Tuscan values. The enclosed harbour geometry damps even this small range further inside the anchorage. Tidal current through the entrance channel is negligible — arriving ferry captains set approach speed and angle by wind and vessel momentum, not tidal stream. Around the exposed western cape (Capo d'Enfola, Capo Sant'Andrea) a modest sea-breeze-driven littoral drift operates, but this is meteorological, not tidal. For sea-kayakers circumnavigating Elba, the key variables are the afternoon maestrale (north-westerly) that accelerates along the northern shore and the fetch from the south-west that affects the western headlands. Tide height difference between start and finish of a multi-day circuit is small enough to be practically irrelevant for beach landing selection. Open-Meteo Marine provides the tide data shown here (±45 min / ±0.2–0.3 m). For authoritative sea-level records at Elba, ISPRA maintains the Portoferraio tide gauge as part of the Rete Mareografica Nazionale.