Cala Violina: booking required

Cala Violina is one of the best-known beaches in Tuscany, famous for its crystal-clear water, its beautiful sand and the pine forest that sits right behind it.

It's actually a little cove along the coast that has formed a small beach, tucked between Follonica and Punta Ala. It lies within the Scarlino nature reserve and is loved for its turquoise sea, which gets those gorgeous shades from the seabed below.

So where does the name come from? When you walk on the tiny quartz grains that make up the sand, in the right conditions they produce a sound a bit like a violin — a phenomenon you'll only find in around a hundred places worldwide.

You can only reach the beach on foot, along a trail of roughly 2 kilometres — but don't let that put you off. Plenty of visitors happily make the walk, and it's an effort that's absolutely worth it for a day by the sea surrounded by unspoilt nature.

As often happens, though, all that fame has made it a bit too popular, and that can put a strain on the delicate natural balance of this special microclimate — it's a spot where sea turtles come to lay their eggs. To protect the beauty of the place and make sure future generations can enjoy it too, the Municipality of Scarlino has introduced a set of rules everyone needs to follow.

One of them is a daily cap: no more than 700 people can enter the beach each day.

 

The rules for visiting Cala Violina

The Municipality of Scarlino has decided that to visit the beach you need to book through a page on the town's website: https://booking.calaviolinascarlino.it/

This helps keep an eye on numbers and means people don't turn up only to find they can't get down to the sea.

A booking is needed for every single person who will physically be there.

Children under 12 also need a booking, even though entry is free for them.

So everyone in your group or family needs their own booking. The only exception is babies in their first year of life, who don't need a booking at all.

There's a symbolic charge of 1 euro per visitor. This stops people from booking and then not showing up, which would block others from getting in.

On top of that, the money raised is used by the Municipality to maintain the area and to look after other natural spaces.

Heads up: the booking and its cost are non-refundable if your plans change.

The other rules cover opening hours and the calendar.

These rules only apply during the summer season — outside that period it's obviously much quieter. So if you'd like to see Cala Violina without worrying about set times or bookings, go before 31 May or from 1 October onwards.

The summer season covered by the rules runs from 1 June to 30 September.

Access is allowed from 8:30 am to 6:30 pm.

 

Other safety and access rules

To go into a bit more detail: animals aren't allowed at Cala Violina. The only exceptions are guide dogs for blind visitors and sea rescue dogs accompanied by trained staff.

Since the area is also crossed by trekking and horse-riding routes, during the summer season horses aren't allowed either, not even just passing through.

Throughout the whole area, leaving litter and dropping cigarette butts is forbidden.

 

How to book Cala Violina

Hit the “Prenota Ora” (Book Now) button, which you'll find at: https://booking.calaviolinascarlino.it/

1. First-time visitors fill in the required fields: Email, Password, First name, Last name and phone number.
2. Your email and password will work next time too — just click “Accedi” (Log in), the link at the top of the registration form.
3. Pick the date you want to book.
4. If you need parking, indicate the type of vehicle (Car/Motorbike or Camper).
5. Specify how many people in total for the beach spot.
6. Flag whether any children under 12 are coming along.
7. The payment summary will show the total amount due.
8. Tick the Privacy box and the Terms and Conditions box.
9. Confirm the “I'm not a robot” CAPTCHA.
10. Hit “prenota e paga” (book and pay) to finish. You'll get an email with your tickets.
11. No need to print the tickets — you can just show them straight from your phone.

HEADS UP: double-check all your details before pressing “prenota e paga”. Once confirmed, the booking can't be changed or refunded.

 

How to get to Cala Violina

The closest car park to the beach is at Val Martina, reached from the S.P. 158 “delle Collacchie” at kilometre 10. You can only enter if you've booked: it's 10 euros a day (15 euros with a camper), a flat rate valid from 8 am to 8 pm no matter what time you arrive. From there it's about 1.8 kilometres on foot to Cala Violina.

Alternatively, you can use the car park on Viale Garibaldi, at Puntone, near the marina. In summer there's a fee: 0.50 euros an hour for cars (0.30 euros an hour for residents). There's also a weekly pass for 30 euros and, for residents only, a prepaid card costing 13.50 euros that covers 10 stops with no time limit. From here, follow the signs and walk roughly 6 kilometres to the beach.

You can also reach Cala Violina by bike or by sea: in that case access to the Costiere area is free, and you just need to book your entry to the beach.