A La Maddalena boat trip gives you a full day of island hopping and swimming. We compared 12 cruises from $56 with free cancellation; the top tour rates 4.3 from 1,571 reviews. Your ticket includes a local lunch cooked on board.
Price from
Full day$56
Today's lowest boat trip price across all 12 cruises
Average rating
All 12 cruises45
27,044 verified reviews across 12 cruises
Time on the water
Shortest to longest6–9h
Shortest: La Maddalena Archipelago
Longest: La Maddalena Archipelago
Choose your day
Each La Maddalena Sardinia boat trip here is a full day, from $56 per person out of Palau. Most leave from Palau; others start in Santa Teresa Gallura, Cannigione or, with a minibus, Olbia. Our top pick sails from Santa Teresa Gallura with lunch cooked on board.
★ 4.3 · 1 571 reviews
★ 4.6 · 6 436 reviews
★ 4.5 · 2 982 reviews
★ 4.4 · 2 876 reviews
★ 4.3 · 2 827 reviews
★ 4.5 · 2 597 reviews
★ 4.6 · 2 522 reviews
★ 4.0 · 2 104 reviews
★ 4.4 · 1 387 reviews
★ 4.7 · 657 reviews
★ 4.9 · 558 reviews
★ 4.5 · 527 reviews
Still deciding?
Twelve listings, but most first visits come down to four: the only start from Santa Teresa Gallura, the classic full day from Palau, a Palau day that swims off Caprera on set days, or a dinghy from Cannigione. Pick one and we will point at a listing.
See it before you pay for it
Pale granite, white beaches and shallow green water: most of the day is spent between these, with swim stops of 20 minutes to two hours. Look first, then pick the boat.
The coastline most of the day is spent along.
The kind of cove the boats stop at for a swim.
Some listings let you swim straight from the deck.
Where a dinghy goes and the larger boats cannot.
Side by side
All three are full days, priced per person. Lunch is the clearest difference: cooked on board on our top pick from Santa Teresa, bought on board on the Palau day, and packed by you on the dinghy day from Cannigione, which swaps the town stop for the coves of Caprera.
Swipe the table sideways →
| From Palau: La Maddalena Islands Full-Day Trip by Boat | TOP PICKFrom Santa Teresa Gallura: La Maddalena Full-Day Boat Tour | La Maddalena: Caprera,Spargi,Budelli & Santa Maria Boat Tour | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price per person | $56 | $70 | $157 |
| How long, as listed | 7 hours | 8 hours | 8 hours |
| Cost per hour | $8 per person | $8.75 per person | $19.62 per person |
| Starts from | Palau, sailing at 10:30 | Santa Teresa Gallura port, 8:00 | Cannigione, check-in by 9:15 |
| Lunch | Bought on board | Cooked on board | Bring your own |
| Swim stops | Cala Corsara, Santa Maria | Santa Maria, Spargi, 1.5 hours each | Caprera, Budelli pools, Santa Maria, Spargi |
| Town or Caprera | Coticcio Mon, Tue, Fri; town other days | About an hour in town | Caprera coves; no town stop listed |
| Rating | 4.4 · 2,876 | 4.3 · 1,571 | 4.9 · 558 |
| Best for | A full day from Palau | Starting in Santa Teresa | Caprera by dinghy |
| Check dates | Book this one→ | Check dates |
Free cancellation
Verdict
It is the one trip here that leaves from Santa Teresa Gallura: meet at the port between 8:00 and 8:15, back around 5:00 PM. Lunch is cooked on board, the boat docks at Santa Maria and Spargi for 1.5 hours each, and you get about an hour in La Maddalena town. It costs $70 per person, rated 4.3 from 1,571 reviews.
Check dates and availability→Before you book
Whichever Maddalena boat tour you book, the landing fee of up to €5 per person is not in the listed price; most operators collect it in cash at check-in or on board. No listing says snorkel masks are provided, so bring your own. And on all twelve trips the Pink Beach on Budelli is seen from the boat only.
Two-minute check
Three things decide it: swim stops or sights, which port you can reach in the morning, and how big a boat you want. Answer three questions and we will point at one listing, with what its price covers.
What do you want most from the day?The balance between swimming and sightseeing changes from boat to boat
Where will you start from?Most boats leave Palau; others start in Santa Teresa or Cannigione
Which day sounds like yours?This answer picks your listing and shows what its price covers
You’ll get the one that fits your answers, and the thing about it that catches people out.
What travellers say
Six of the twelve, from the Santa Teresa day to a dinghy out of Cannigione, in travellers’ own words. Ratings and review counts are the live figures, and each card says what its price covers.
★★★★★
Based on 27,044
verified reviews
All twelve listings on this page, rated by travellers.
Read all 27,044→From Santa Teresa
$70 · per person · 1,571 reviews
★★★★☆
1.5 hours each at Santa Maria and Spargi, walked ashore by gangway, a local lunch cooked on board and about an hour in town. Rated 4.3. “A seafood pasta was served as lunch after the first beach stop.” — Marianne, Norway
The classic full day
$62 · per person · 6,436 reviews
★★★★★
The Budelli natural pools, then 1.5 hours each at Santa Maria and Spargi. Food and drinks are sold on board. Rated 4.6. “Great day spent visiting three different beach spots and an hour stroll around La Maddalena old town” — Sanja, Canada
Islands day from Palau
$56 · per person · 2,876 reviews
★★★★☆
Leaves Palau at 10:30 for Spargi and Santa Maria. On Monday, Tuesday and Friday it swims at Cala Coticcio; on other days it stops in town. Bring your own mask. Rated 4.4. “my one remark is that should be clearer the variations in itinerary before booking” — Cristina, United Kingdom
Smaller boat with Caprera
$157 · per person · 558 reviews
★★★★★
Cala Coticcio on Caprera, the Budelli natural pools, 1.5 hours at Santa Maria and coves on Spargi. No town stop, and lunch is yours to bring. Rated 4.9. “As it was a small boat we could visit places that large boats weren’t able to go!” — Mariana, Ireland
A 1956 motorship
$80 · per person · 657 reviews
★★★★★
A restored 18-metre motorship with a covered deck: Cala Serena on Caprera, 1.5 hours at Cavaliere on Budelli, two hours on Spargi. Food is sold on board. Rated 4.7. “Best boat tour we have ever done, loved the long swim stops.” — Damian, United Kingdom
From Olbia, by minibus
$191 · per person · 527 reviews
★★★★★
A shared minibus to Cannigione and back, then about an hour each at Spargi, Santa Maria and the town, with tomato pasta on board. Rated 4.5. “the boat staff were very friendly & our van driver was punctual & careful” — Anita, United Kingdom
What it really costs
Every La Maddalena Sardinia boat trip here is priced per person, from $56 to $191. Lunch, a cash landing fee and the way to the port change the real cost.
Swipe sideways →
| What you book | Price | What you get | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big boat from Palau, food sold on board | $56–$65 per person | Spargi, Santa Maria, Budelli, most days the town | 6–7 hours |
| From Palau, with pasta on board | $67 per person | Pasta with mussels and prawns, Santa Maria, Cala Corsara | 7 hours |
| From Santa Teresa Gallura | $70 per person | Lunch cooked on board, two beach stops, the town | 8 hours |
| From Cannigione or Baja Sardinia | $70 per person | Pasta cooked on board, Spargi, Santa Maria and the town | 8 hours |
| Caprera coves, on a smaller boat | $80–$157 per person | 1956 motorship or dinghy; no town, no lunch in the price | 6.5–8 hours |
| From Olbia, with a minibus | $191 per person | Minibus to Cannigione, tomato pasta, two beaches, the town | 9 hours |
The honest answer
Worth it if you are staying near Santa Teresa Gallura and want lunch handled: $70 per person buys two long beach stops, a local dish cooked on board and an hour in town. It scores 4.3, below several Palau boats, so weigh the trade-offs.
The Santa Teresa day, hour by hour
Meeting is 8:00–8:15 at the ticket office by the Coast Guard. Online bookings still queue at check-in, and friends who book separately may not get the same boat.
The La Maddalena landing fee is collected here: €5 from June to August, €2.50 in May, September and October. Cards are not accepted for it.
The park covers about 20,000 hectares and seven main islands. The boats on this departure all have restrooms; diving from them is not permitted.
The boat docks at the beach and you walk down a gangway, so there is no swim to shore. An hour and a half to swim or sit on the sand.
The second beach stop works the same way. The listing does not fix the order of the stops, so either island can come first.
The listing promises a local lunch cooked onboard; reviewers describe seafood pasta. Drinks are not mentioned, so bring water.
On this tour Maddalena town gets about an hour: the old streets, a coffee or an ice cream. The Pink Beach is seen up close, from the boat only.
The listing gives the return as around 5:00 PM. If you drove, the car park is about 200 metres from the port and takes coins or cards.
Best time of day
The hour that matters is the one before you sail. Check-in in Palau runs from about 8:45 to 10:00, depending on the listing, and one trip closes boarding at 9:45; three give no refund if you are late. Our top pick meets earlier, between 8:00 and 8:15 in Santa Teresa Gallura. The return is the easier part: most boats are back between 17:00 and 17:30, and one Palau trip comes in at 16:30 in October.
On the ground
About an hour ashore on ten of the twelve listings.
Cooked on board on four listings; on the rest, buy or bring.
Bring your own mask: no listing says one is provided.
Two listings mention a covered or shaded deck.
What it's like
Twelve listings are on this page, and the boat trip in each is a full day among the islands of La Maddalena, the national park off the north coast of Sardinia. What sorts them first is the harbour. Eight leave Palau, one leaves Santa Teresa Gallura, two leave Cannigione or the bays beside it, and one starts with a minibus from Olbia to the boat at Cannigione.
From Palau the islands are close. One listing puts Spargi less than 15 minutes away, another gives 35 minutes to Budelli. Most of the Palau boats then follow a similar loop: a swim at Spargi, the natural pools at Budelli, a long beach stop at Santa Maria, and about an hour in La Maddalena town before the boat turns back.
At Budelli, read the itinerary closely. The Pink Beach is closed to visitors, and no listing here lands on it: the boats show it from the water. People swim in the natural pools of Porto della Madonna nearby, for 20 to 30 minutes on the bigger boats and an hour on two of the trips.
The boats differ more than the islands. Two Palau listings give their size, 210 and 150 passengers, and both warn that the beaches get crowded in the busy months. One trip sails on a refurbished 1956 motorship, 18 metres long. The dinghy trip from Cannigione, at $157 per person, uses inflatable boats that reach places larger boats cannot.
Lunch is the other real difference. Four listings serve it on board: a local lunch cooked on board on our top pick, pasta on the Northern Sardinia trip and on the Olbia minibus day, and pasta with mussels and prawns on the Palau trip named for it. On the rest you buy food at the bar or bring your own. The dinghy trip asks you to pack lunch, because no food is sold on the islands.
Caprera is the island most boats pass rather than stop at. Three trips put you in the water there: Cala Serena from the 1956 motorship, Cala Coticcio or Cala Brigantino from the dinghies, and Cala Coticcio on Monday, Tuesday and Friday from Palau, when that trip leaves out the town. Ten of the twelve listings include about an hour in La Maddalena town.
Our top pick is the one day that leaves Santa Teresa Gallura. You meet at the port between 8:00 and 8:15, swim for an hour and a half each at Santa Maria and Spargi, stepping ashore by a walkway at the front of the boat, spend about an hour in town and are back around 17:00.
While you're comparing routes
Most boats pass Caprera on the way to Spargi and Budelli. These three put you in the water there: Cala Serena from a 1956 motorship, Cala Coticcio or Cala Brigantino from a dinghy, and Cala Coticcio on Monday, Tuesday and Friday from Palau.
6.5 hours · ★ 4.7 (657)
$80See dates 8 hours · ★ 4.9 (558)
$157See dates 7 hours · ★ 4.4 (2 876)
$56See datesPractical
Most of the day is settled before the boat leaves: which island stops your listing makes, what you bring, how you book, and how you reach the harbour.
Most boats stop at Cala Corsara or Cala Granara, for 75 minutes to two hours. From Palau it is less than 15 minutes away, by one listing.
The Pink Beach is seen from the boat. People swim in the natural pools nearby, for 20 minutes to an hour on most boats.
A long beach stop on most listings, 75 minutes to two hours. On one Palau trip it is a five-minute photo stop.
Three trips stop there to swim. The rest pass it on the way, with the view from the boat.
About an hour ashore on ten of the twelve listings, for the harbour, the shops and an ice cream.
No listing says masks are handed out on board. One asks you to bring a snorkelling mask for Cala Coticcio.
The landing fee, up to €5 per person, is paid in cash on the day. Three listings warn that card payments can fail on the islands.
Four boats serve lunch. On the others you buy food at the bar or bring it; the dinghy trip asks you to pack your own.
One listing limits luggage on board to small bags and compact folding strollers.
Our top pick has restrooms on its boats; the 1956 motorship has two bathrooms and a covered deck. Most listings do not say.
From $56 per person for a full day from Palau. The dinghy day and the minibus day from Olbia cost more.
On our top pick, friends who book separately may not end up on the same boat. One booking keeps you together.
Three listings give no refund if you are late for boarding, and one closes boarding at 9:45.
Shown on each of the twelve listings. Check the cancellation window on the one you book.
One Palau listing asks for the landing fee by e-mail after booking, and counts the booking complete once it is paid.
Eight listings leave the harbour here, with check-in from about 8:45 to 10:00 near the ferry terminal.
A boat trip from La Maddalena port is possible on three listings, chosen as an option when you book.
Our top pick meets at the port between 8:00 and 8:15. There is parking about 200 metres away.
Two listings leave from here or nearby Laconia and Baja Sardinia. The dinghy trip uses a yacht-club pier a kilometre north of the port.
One listing takes you by minibus to the boat at Cannigione and back. The listing does not name the meeting point, and no trip offers a hotel transfer.
Best time
No listing names a month to go, so plan by the harbour. Boats leave in the morning and are back around 17:00 to 17:30; the listings run six to nine hours, and the minibus day from Olbia is the longest.
6 – 7 hours
Eight listings, the most choice of any harbour. Check-in from about 8:45 to 10:00; four sail at 10:30, and most are back between 17:00 and 17:30.
8 hours
Our top pick: meet at the port between 8:00 and 8:15, two long beach stops, lunch cooked on board, back around 17:00.
8 hours
Two listings. The dinghy trip checks in by 9:15 and leaves at 10:00; the other asks you to arrive 30 minutes early.
9 hours
The longest day here, at $191 per person: a minibus to Cannigione, the boat, back in port between 17:00 and 17:30, then the minibus.
Worth knowing
Check the weekday. On one Palau trip, Monday, Tuesday and Friday bring a swim at Cala Coticcio on Caprera; on the other days the boat stops in La Maddalena town instead.
Diving in depends on the listing. Two Palau trips mention diving from the boat. Our top pick does not permit it; its boats reach the beaches by walkway.
Stops are not the same length. Santa Maria is two hours on the pasta trip and a five-minute photo stop on another Palau trip. Read the itinerary, not just the island names.
Leave early for Palau. One listing asks you to set off an hour ahead because of the traffic into town, and another names four car parks near the harbour.
Ask about the guide's language. Most listings name English and Italian, several add French and Spanish, and one Palau trip adds a smartphone audio guide.
Travelling with a dog? Our top pick takes small pets on board, though not in August and not onto the beaches. The other listings do not say.
Lunch on board
7 hours · ★ 4.0 (2 104)
$67View 8 hours · ★ 4.4 (1 387)
$70View 9 hours · ★ 4.5 (527)
$191ViewGo deeper
Common questions
Yes, from the boat. The Pink Beach is closed to visitors, and no listing here lands on it: the boats show it from the water. People swim in the natural pools of Porto della Madonna nearby, for 20 to 30 minutes on the bigger boats and an hour on two trips. One trip takes guests ashore on Budelli at Cavaliere beach, by dinghy.
On four listings: our top pick serves a local lunch cooked on board, two serve pasta, and the Palau pasta trip serves pasta with mussels and prawns. On the others you buy food at the bar or bring your own. The dinghy trip from Cannigione asks you to pack lunch, because no food is sold on the islands.
No. The town of La Maddalena charges a landing fee of up to €5 per person, less in May, September and October, paid in cash on the day. Children under 7 do not pay. Three listings do not mention it, one gives no amount, and one asks for it by e-mail after you book.
Yes, bring your own. No listing says masks are handed out on board, and the Palau trip that stops at Cala Coticcio asks you to bring one.
Palau has the most choice: eight listings, from $56 per person, with Spargi less than 15 minutes away by one listing. Santa Teresa Gallura has one trip, our top pick, at $70 per person. From Olbia there is one listing, a nine-hour day at $191 per person with a minibus to the boat at Cannigione.
Ten of the twelve listings include about an hour ashore. The two Caprera trips do not. One Palau trip stops in town on Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday and swims at Cala Coticcio on the other days.
Yes, if you are staying on the island. Three listings let you board at La Maddalena port instead of Palau, chosen as an option when you book; on one of them, that start is for guests staying on the island. Starting there, one trip leaves out the town stop.
Four Palau trips check in from about 9:00 and sail at 10:30; three of them are back between 17:15 and 17:30. Our top pick meets in Santa Teresa Gallura between 8:00 and 8:15 and is back around 17:00. Three listings give no times and show them when you check availability.
One PDF · no account needed
One PDF: which harbour suits where you are staying, what each listing serves for lunch, and the cash to carry for the landing fee. Built from the listings and the same live prices as this page.
The plan is on its way. If it isn't there in a minute, look in Promotions.
Why trust this page
Prices, ratings, durations, meeting points and island stops are read off the live listings, and updated with the page.
Twelve full-day listings around the archipelago are on this page, from $56 per person. Our top pick is the day from Santa Teresa Gallura. Nobody pays to be featured.
No listing here lands on it, and we say so. We also say where people swim instead.
We name the four boats that serve lunch, and say that the landing fee is paid in cash on the day.
The answer
Our top pick meets at the port at 8:00 and is back around 17:00: an hour and a half each at Santa Maria and Spargi, reached by a walkway from the boat, about an hour in La Maddalena town, and a local lunch cooked on board. It costs $70 per person and is rated 4.3 from 1,571 reviews.
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From Santa Teresa Gallura: La Maddalena Full-Day Boat Tour
★ 4.3 · 1 571 reviews · Free cancellation