I've read posts suggesting we skip Elba Island, but I haven't heard a reason. It sounded like a good idea and something a little different. We leave for Rome in 2 days and only have one night scheduled for Elba. What is it like?

We were there last year and really liked it - but it's not worth it just for one night. For one thing, the train journey from Rome is long and quite tedious, with a change of trains enroute, so you won't have a lot of time to explore. Portoferrario is an interesting town, but I don't think it's worth all that hassle. Having said that, we really enjoyed our stay there and in Marino di Campo, but we spent very little time exploring and most of our time on the beach. If you want details of where we stayed, let me know, but I think your time would be better spent in Rome or perhaps Ostia if you want to get out of the city. H

It's a beautiful, mountainous island. I've stayed overnight there and done it as a day trip which is easy from Livorno or Pisa. The main town, Portoferraio, is lively and attractive, and buses go to the rest of the island. Ferries go at least every hour from Piombino to Portoferraio and the crossing gives good views of the island coast. Piombino is a dump with a steelworks so do not spend any time there.

Thank you for the advice. We will not be going there directly from Rome, but will already be in Tuscany, so I wasn't too worried about the travel time. I have reservations at (I think) Hotel Fabricia or maybe it's the Hotel Hermitage - I've misplaced my info. Do you know either?

Both Hotel Fabricia and Hermitage are good 4 star hotels. Hotel Villa Ottone is also nice (near Fabricia). Either way with your car you can easily get a sense of the whole island in a couple of days.