We will be based near Sienna and wondered what it would be like to take a day trip to Elba. Is this possible? I have been in to viamichelin and it looks like a 2 hour trip to Piombino and 1/2 hour by hydrofoil to Portoferraio. Has anyone done this and what is the island of Elba like?

Daytripping there is not possible. Elba is an island that can easily keep you occupied for a week (or a couple of weeks ^_^), but beside this, getting there from Siena will take you at least 4 hours, considering all things. You may consider dropping a couple of days from your Siena stay and heading to the smaller Giglio island with ferries and (I think) hydrofoils leaving from Porto Santo Stefano in Monte Argentario. Giglio is far smaller than Elba and an overnight stay might be nice. Yo may also consider daytripping there from Posto Santo Stefano, or daytripping to the tiny and wild(ish) Giannutri island.

Hi Alice, If I take the route that viamichelin suggested, we by-pass Sienna and as I said, they reckon on a 2 hour trip from Asciano (where we're based). Where is Porto Santo Stefano? Do the Giglio islands have nice beaches? Are they close to Elba?

Viamichelin is not all that reliable when it comes to estimating timing for driving in Italy ^_^ I know this by experience.
Porto Santo Stefano is located on Monte Argentario, not far from the city (you may call it a town) of Grosseto. Monte Argentario is an island connected to the mainland by two thin strips of sand, so that you can drive to the island, and it has gorgeous beaches.
If you are after a nice beach, though, you may find nice places that are closer to Siena: from Siena you can get to Follonica, which is not that great in itself. COntinue south and get to Scarlino or Castiglione della Pescaia.
And Giglio has gorgeous beaches too, but as I said before, better not daytrip there from Siena (or Asciano), that's too far for a daytrip.

I went to Porto Azzurro on Isola D'Elba. We spent a few leisurely days there, hiking, enjoying the slow pace, eating good food (I Quattro Gatti). I really enjoyed it. We departed out of Florence and I remember it took at least half the day to get over there. I'd go back in a heartbeat!

Hi Alice,thanks for the info. So there ARE fairly nice beaches on the Tuscan coast?! I don't read about it anywhere. We are travelling with our two teenagers and I'm sure that they will look forward to having a break from all the museums/churches in all the towns and enjoy a day on the beach. Do we travel up to Livorno and then down the coast to these little places? Do you know where I could get a map of the Tuscan coastline online? Thanks again!

Sure there are!!! Where do you think I went on holiday on the seaside for the first fifteen years of my life (before I discovered Greece)? ^_^
Do not bother with driving up to Livorno, therea re decent places up there, but the very best beaches are south of Livorno. I name you a few of the best places in my previous message, check out those.

Oh, I muts say that with "gorgeous beaches" I mean quite wild places: no umbrellas for rent, no bars, no nothing, often enough not even a lifeguard. One of the palces I liked the most was (twelve years ago) Alberese. We stayed in the village, every morning catered for some bread and fruits that we bought at nearby farms, pedaled for some 10 miles across a large pine wood to get to the beach with a lot of water bottles and spent the mot part of the day just laying there: when it got too hot we moved under the shadow of the pines than went back to the beach. No crowds, no cars (there was a parking, though) and no toilets. And certainly no music-blasting radios.
I do not know ehere you can find a map on-line, but once you are in Siena you may consider getting a TCI map from a bookshop: I think you may find them at Feltrinelli bokshop (or Feltrinelli International bookshop) in Siena.