Cala del Gesso Beach

Cala del Gesso is the cove that makes the case for Monte Argentario, and it asks you to earn it. Tucked below pale stone cliffs draped in dark green scrub, it is a small crescent of fine smooth pebbles, no more than two hundred metres of shore, fronting water so clear you can watch the fish drift over the rocks without a mask. For snorkellers and strong swimmers it is one of the genuine highlights of this coast, the kind of clarity the developed beaches to the north simply cannot match.

Reaching it is the whole story. From the panoramic road that loops the promontory you turn off near kilometre 5.9, just after Cala Moresca, onto Via dei Pionieri, then walk down a paved path that finishes in a short, steep staircase, around twenty to twenty five minutes in all and steeper on the way back. Parking along the road is very limited and fills early, which is the natural cap that keeps the cove from being overrun. The easier alternative is to arrive by sea, with boats arranged from the pier at Porto Ercole, which lets you swim straight off the bow and skip the climb.

The honest read is that this is a wild swim, not a beach day, and going in expecting comfort leads to disappointment. There is no bar, no lounger and little shade, the shore is pebbles rather than sand so water shoes earn their place, and on a hot August afternoon the small cove fills fast. Come early, come in June or September, and carry everything down and back up again. Then reward the climb where this corner really shines, in the harbour kitchens of Porto Ercole and Porto Santo Stefano, all just landed fish and local white. For easy sand with a club and a car park instead, look to Giannella or Castiglione della Pescaia.