First some photos of Guvano to give you an idea:
- Posted on May 15, 2013
- Updated August 14, 2014
- Updated June 23, 2016
- Updated July 23, 2017
- Summer 2018 Update
Well yes, yesterday I went for a swim at the little beach of Guvano known for being a nudist beach.
Since before going there I searched a bit on the internet and found some old information that didn't help me much, I decided, in addition to the photos, to put some more information updated to May 14th.
The beach is always there and there are always nudists; I don't think it is authorized by anyone but it is so isolated and not very visible to those who are not interested that I don't think it bothers anyone.
It is located not far from Corniglia, it is visible and can be reached from the path that leads from Vernazza to Corniglia itself (but I don't know if the path is passable from there; there is a homemade sign on the road but the friability of the ground and the wildness of the woods make it a lottery to get there).
If you don’t want to climb the mountain, there is the old train tunnel that takes you directly there from Corniglia station.
This is the hardest part.
One, find the tunnel! From the station there is no tunnel or indication…. I will give you a help: when you are at the bottom of the steps that lead from the village to the railway, go right and take the little road that goes down (the tunnel is right next to the one currently in use by the railway).
Two, make the tunnel! As already written there is no indication (to tell the truth it is not even written that you cannot enter or that there is danger) nor the phantom green gate where you have to ring that I read on some site (they told us that the gate has been removed/broken).
Three, entering the tunnel! This was the hard part; obviously all dark; you enter and you see things abandoned by vagrants (like mattresses, rags, bottles...) but there was no sign of anyone. Inside it is really dark, and luckily I had the flashlight of the new cell phone that saved us otherwise we can't go; without forgetting the return: another 15 minutes of flashlight...
Four, we arrived at the exit of the tunnel! No one asked us for money (but I don't know about this because it's not yet "high season").
Five, the beach! There are two: the first one can be reached just after the tunnel with a makeshift metal ladder that seems to be quite solid; the second one on the other side of the bay but we didn't find a way to get there (maybe you have to go down the first one and climb a bit).
Conclusions:
– the beach is really worth it even if, like me, you are not a nudist. Obviously if you think it might bother you to see naked men (and women), don't go.
– the route is a bit scary and at your own risk; now that I have been there I would go back without fear but yesterday, more than once, in the tunnel we wanted to go back.
Here are the directions on how to find it:
Update August 14, 2014:
I didn't go directly to the beach because the weather wasn't good and the sea was rough but from the path that goes from Vernazza to Corniglia above the beach I saw many people bathing so I can say that everything is still unchanged. I point out that a couple of guys walked along the path (without going through the tunnels) so I assume it is doable. I'll also add a new photo taken that day:
Update June 23, 2016:
Unfortunately today I tried to go back to the beach but… it was no longer possible.
From the path, perhaps you could still do it but at the designated point you can see many fallen stones and there will be twenty FS signs that prohibit you from going and remind you of the danger of landslides (I think the ban was there before but today it seems really real to me so much so that you can no longer see the path that was at least traced before).
From the railway tunnel… Gate barred and padlocked… in addition to the usual many danger and prohibition signs.
I hope someone has better news in the future…
Update July 23, 2017:
Michele writes to me: “Hi, I was there yesterday with my wife, the tunnel is still closed but the path has been reopened and cleaned, there are blue signs to recognize it.”
Update Summer 2018:
I read some updates on the situation on the internet (unfortunately I don't have first-hand news because I don't frequent the area much): the tunnel is closed on both sides. The path, access to which has been closed, has almost completely collapsed and it seems very dangerous to try to go down. At the moment I think the only way to reach the beach is by your own boat. I'm sorry!