La Maddalena Archipelago Full-Day Boat Trip from Palau Sardinia

Palau and the La Maddalena Archipelago National Park

Palau is a small port town on the north-east coast of Sardinia, facing the islands across a narrow channel and known for the Bear Rock, a granite outcrop shaped by the wind on the headland above it. From its maritime station boats and ferries cross to La Maddalena in about 15 minutes, which makes it the natural base for a La Maddalena boat tour.

The archipelago became a national park in 1994 to protect its pink and grey granite islands, its seagrass meadows and its extraordinarily clear water, in the strait that separates Sardinia from Corsica. How to get to Palau: it is about 40 km from Olbia, around 45 minutes by car or a little longer by bus. Traffic can be heavy in summer, so leave early to reach the 9:00 to 10:00 check-in.

Spargi and Cala Corsara

Less than 15 minutes after leaving Palau, the boat reaches Spargi, a round, uninhabited granite island covered in Mediterranean scrub. Its best-known bay, Cala Corsara, is a chain of small beaches of white sand and turquoise shallows, framed by rocks that wind and salt have carved into strange shapes. Off its coast divers found the wreck of a Roman cargo ship, a reminder that this channel has been a busy sea route for two thousand years.

You have about an hour and a half here to swim, sunbathe or explore the paths behind the beach, and your guide explains the history of the island and its old military posts. Afterwards the boat cruises along the eastern coast of Spargi, a good moment for a light lunch bought on board or brought with you.

Budelli's Pink Beach and the Natural Pools

Budelli is the most famous island of the park because of its Spiaggia Rosa, the Pink Beach, coloured by tiny fragments of shells and of a marine organism that lives in the seagrass meadows offshore. To protect its fragile sand, the beach has been closed to visitors for decades, so the best and only way to see it is from the water, as you do on this tour.

Nearby, between Budelli, Razzoli and Santa Maria, lie the natural pools of Porto della Madonna, a shallow lagoon where the sea turns shades of emerald and pale blue over white sand. The boat slows down for a photo stop while your guide explains the rules that keep this corner of the park so pristine. On this option the visit to Budelli is a view from the boat, not a landing.

Santa Maria Island and Cala Santa Maria

The second beach stop is Cala Santa Maria, on the island of the same name, where a small jetty lets you step straight onto a wide beach of fine pale sand backed by juniper and scrub. The island has only a handful of seasonal residents, and the water in front of the beach is shallow and calm, ideal for children and for relaxed swimming.

You have about 75 minutes here. Swimmers stay on the beach, while walkers can follow a path of about 1 km to the old lighthouse at the northern tip, with views over Budelli, Razzoli and the strait towards Corsica. On some Mondays park rules replace this stop with a beach on Caprera, and your guide will let you know on the day.

Caprera and Cala Coticcio

Caprera is the green island of the archipelago, covered in pine woods and linked to La Maddalena by a short causeway. On its eastern coast lies Cala Coticcio, nicknamed Tahiti for its tropical look: a cove of pink granite boulders around water so clear that you see fish and rocks several metres below the boat. Is Cala Coticcio worth visiting? It is often called the most beautiful swim of the whole archipelago.

The boat anchors in the bay for about an hour, and you swim straight from the deck; bring a snorkelling mask, because this is a true natural aquarium. On the way back to Palau your guide points out the island of Santo Stefano and the old granite quarries before you reach port in the late afternoon, around 17:30.