Which one to pick
The best La Maddalena boat tour for you comes down to five things: the port you leave from, the price, whether lunch is in it, the size of the boat and the stops. We put all twelve full days on this site side by side, priced $56 to $191 per person, and give a straight answer for each kind of day.
Quick answer
The short answer. For most people the best La Maddalena boat tour is our top pick, the full day from Santa Teresa Gallura at $70: lunch is cooked on board, and you get 1.5 hours each at Santa Maria and Spargi plus about an hour in La Maddalena town. On the lowest budget, the Palau islands day costs $56. The highest rating here, 4.9 from 558 reviews, belongs to the dinghy day from Cannigione at $157.
By port
Palau, Santa Teresa, the Cannigione coast or Olbia: the port decides the morning.
Eight of the twelve trips leave from Palau, and three of those can also be joined at the port of La Maddalena if you stay on the island. Palau is close to the islands: one listing reaches Spargi in less than 15 minutes. Most Palau boats sail at 10:30 and are back between 17:00 and 17:30; one listing asks you to set off an hour early, as traffic into Palau is heavy.
Santa Teresa Gallura has one trip, our top pick: you meet at the port at 8:00–8:15 and are back around 17:00. Two trips start on the Cannigione side: the north coast day with pasta, joined at Laconia, Cannigione or Baja Sardinia, and the dinghy day.
Starting in Olbia costs more: $191 with the minibus, against $56 to $80 for the trips that leave from Palau. In practice the best La Maddalena boat tour usually starts at the port nearest your bed.
Every trip, current fare
Every price is per person. Lunch is in the price on four trips; the landing fee is in none. Use the table to narrow the best La Maddalena boat tour down to two or three.
| Trip | Price | Length | What the price covers | Where it starts | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Teresa full day, our top pick | $70 | 8 hours | Lunch cooked on board; 1.5 hours each at Santa Maria and Spargi; the town | Santa Teresa Gallura, 8:00 | 4.3 · 1,571 |
| Archipelago day with a live guide | $62 | 6–7 hours | Live guide in four languages; Budelli pools, Santa Maria, Spargi | Palau or La Maddalena | 4.6 · 6,436 |
| Archipelago day with an audio guide | $59 | 6–7 hours | Smartphone audio guide; Spargi, Santa Maria, Budelli pools | Palau or La Maddalena | 4.5 · 2,982 |
| Palau islands day | $56 | 7 hours | Spargi and Santa Maria; Cala Coticcio or the town, by weekday | Palau, 10:30 | 4.4 · 2,876 |
| Wild islands from Palau | $56 | 7 hours | Two hours at Cala Corsara, an hour at the Budelli pools; the town | Palau, 10:30 | 4.3 · 2,827 |
| Four stops on a 210-passenger boat | $64 | 10:30–17:30 | Three decks; Spargi, Budelli pools, Santa Maria, the town | Palau, 10:30 | 4.5 · 2,597 |
| Four islands on a boat built in 2025 | $65 | 10:30–17:15 | Live guide in four languages; Budelli pools, Santa Maria, Spargi, the town | Palau, 10:30 | 4.6 · 2,522 |
| Palau day with pasta | $67 | 7 hours | Pasta with mussels and prawns; two hours at Santa Maria | Palau | 4.0 · 2,104 |
| North coast day with pasta | $70 | 8 hours | Pasta dish cooked on board; Spargi, Santa Maria, the town | Laconia, Cannigione or Baja Sardinia | 4.4 · 1,387 |
| The 1956 motorship | $80 | 6.5 hours | Covered deck; Cala Serena, Cavaliere, Cala Connari; lunch not included | Palau or La Maddalena | 4.7 · 657 |
| Dinghy day from Cannigione | $157 | 8 hours | Dinghy to coves on four islands; aperitif with white wine; bring lunch | Cannigione, 10:00 | 4.9 · 558 |
| Olbia, minibus and boat | $191 | 9 hours | Minibus to Cannigione port and back; tomato pasta on board; the town | Olbia, by minibus | 4.5 · 527 |
Straight answers
Here is the best La Maddalena boat tour for each kind of day, with the guide to read next.
Lunch cooked on board, 1.5 hours each at Santa Maria and Spargi with a walkway onto the beach, and an hour in town. Rated 4.3 by 1,571 reviewers. The Santa Teresa day in full.
Cala Corsara and Santa Maria, then Cala Coticcio on Caprera on Monday, Tuesday and Friday, or the town on other days. Rated 4.4 by 2,876. Every departure out of Palau.
Rated 4.9 by 558. Dinghies reach coves that larger boats cannot, with a Sardinian snack and a glass of white wine. Bring your own lunch. The Cannigione departures.
6,436 reviews at 4.6, the largest count on this site, and a guide in four languages. How the island route runs.
Rated 4.7 by 657, the highest score under $100. Long stops at Cavaliere on Budelli and Cala Connari on Spargi; no town stop.
The one boat tour to La Maddalena on this site with transport from Olbia: a minibus to Cannigione port and back, nine hours, tomato pasta on board. The Olbia day.
Money on the day
What the fare covers, what it leaves out, and what to carry.
Four trips put lunch in the price: Santa Teresa promises a local dish cooked on board, the Palau day with pasta serves pasta with mussels and prawns, the north coast day a pasta dish and the Olbia day tomato pasta. Marianne from Norway, on the Santa Teresa boat: «A seafood pasta was served as lunch after the first beach stop.» No listing puts drinks in the price.
On the other eight you buy food at the bar on board or bring your own. On the dinghy day nothing is sold on the islands, so pack lunch.
Then there is the landing fee for the Municipality of La Maddalena: up to five euros a head, depending on the month, in cash, and in no listing’s price. Children under seven do not pay. Three listings warn that card payments can fail on the islands. When you weigh the best La Maddalena boat tour on price, add the fee and some cash for the bar.
On the water
A swim stop, the town from the sea and a plate of lunch.
People swim in turquoise water next to the white side of a boat, with a rust-coloured granite shore behind them.
A row of pastel houses lines the harbour front, and a small motorboat cuts a white wake across the blue water in front of them.
Seen from above: bread rolls, cheese, cured meat and olives on one plate, and a bowl of penne in tomato sauce beside it.
The boat
Three kinds of boat, and what the listings say about space on deck.
The listings that give a size describe big boats: 210 passengers on three decks for the four-stop day from Palau, and 150 on a boat built in 2025 for the four-islands day. Both operators write, in capitals, that the beaches are crowded in high season. Noelle from Switzerland said it of the Santa Teresa boat too: «it was quite touristy with many people on board, but that’s the format».
Two trips differ. The 1956 motorship is 18 metres long, with a covered deck and a sun deck; Alexandra from Romania liked that it «has a limited number of guests as opposed to larger boats». The dinghy day uses inflatable boats. Mariana from Ireland: «As it was a small boat we could visit places that large boats weren’t able to go!»
If space on board decides the best La Maddalena boat tour for you, look at these two, at $80 and $157.
Where you swim
All twelve trips show you the Pink Beach on Budelli from the boat only. Where you get into the water often decides the best La Maddalena boat tour, so here it is stop by stop.
A swim stop on eight trips: 20 to 30 minutes on most big boats, an hour on the wild-islands and dinghy days, 1.5 hours at Cavaliere on the motorship.
The long stops on most days, 75 minutes to two hours each. The wild-islands day passes Santa Maria for photos only.
Three trips swim there: the motorship at Cala Serena, the dinghy day at Cala Brigantino or Cala Coticcio, and the Palau islands day at Cala Coticcio on Monday, Tuesday and Friday.
No listing says masks are handed out. Pack your own.
Our verdict
Book Santa Teresa if you are staying on that coast. For $70 you get lunch cooked on board, two beach stops of 1.5 hours and an hour in town. Our top pick, rated 4.3 by 1,571 reviewers.
From Palau, the $56 islands day keeps the cost lowest, and the $62 archipelago day adds a live guide. If the rating matters most, the dinghy day at $157 is rated 4.9. Any of them is the best La Maddalena boat tour only if its stops match your day.
Book direct
Our top pick, the lowest price, the most reviews and the highest rating, all priced per person.
★ 4.3 · 1,571 reviews
★ 4.4 · 2,876 reviews
★ 4.6 · 6,436 reviews
★ 4.9 · 558 reviews
Common questions
No. On all twelve trips the Pink Beach is seen from the boat only; one listing says this is due to government regulations. You swim nearby instead, in the natural pools of Budelli, which eight of the twelve trips stop at.
Ten of the twelve, usually for about an hour. The motorship and the dinghy day leave the town out. The Palau islands day visits it on Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday only.
On four trips: Santa Teresa ($70), the Palau day with pasta ($67), the north coast day ($70) and Olbia ($191). On the others you buy food on board or bring your own; on the dinghy day you must bring it.
No. A landing fee for the Municipality of La Maddalena, up to five euros a head depending on the month, is paid in cash. Children under seven do not pay. On one Palau trip the fee is requested by e-mail after booking.
Three trips swim there: the 1956 motorship at Cala Serena, the dinghy day at Cala Brigantino or Cala Coticcio, and the Palau islands day at Cala Coticcio on Monday, Tuesday and Friday. The others pass Caprera from the water.
The two Palau boats that give a size carry 210 and 150 passengers, and both say the beaches are crowded in high season. The 1956 motorship is 18 metres long; the dinghy day uses inflatable boats. No listing gives a limit on group size.
Go deeper
Twelve full days around the archipelago, side by side: port, stops and what the price covers.
From PalauThe harbour most boats leave from, and the days that start there.
From Santa TeresaThe day that sets out from the northern tip of Sardinia.
Lunch on boardThe boats that serve lunch, and what is on the plate.
The islandsSpargi, Budelli, Santa Maria and Caprera, one by one.
From Santa Teresa Gallura: La Maddalena Full-Day Boat Tour
★ 4.3 · 1,571 reviews · 8 hours