From Santa Teresa Gallura
The La Maddalena boat tour from Santa Teresa is an 8-hour day from the harbour of Santa Teresa Gallura, back around 5:00 PM, for $70 per person. Lunch is cooked on board, the boat docks at the beaches of Santa Maria and Spargi for 1.5 hours each, and you get about an hour in La Maddalena town. Below: every stop, what the fare covers and how it compares with the boats from Palau.
Quick answer
The short answer. If you are staying in or near Santa Teresa Gallura, book the La Maddalena boat tour from Santa Teresa at $70: it is the one full day on this site that starts there, with lunch cooked on board, two 1.5-hour beach stops and an hour in town in one fare. If you would rather swim in the natural pools of Budelli or pay less, the days from Palau start at $56.
The morning
An early start, a cash fee and one booking for the whole group.
The La Maddalena boat tour from Santa Teresa meets at the port of Santa Teresa Gallura between 8:00 and 8:15, at the ticket office near the Coast Guard. If you come by car, the listing points to a car park about 200 metres away that takes coins or a card.
Bring cash. The Municipality of La Maddalena charges a landing fee on these trips, and on this day it is paid at check-in, in cash only: the listing says it cannot be paid by credit card. It is five euros a head from June to August and half that in May, September and October, on top of the $70 fare.
Booking online does not move you ahead of the queue at check-in, so arrive with time to spare. Travelling as a group? Put everyone on one booking: the operator sails three boats, and separate bookings may end up on different ones.
Stop by stop
The listing gives no timetable beyond the meeting time and the return, but it names every stop of the La Maddalena boat tour from Santa Teresa.
Check-in near the Coast Guard, landing fee in cash, then on board.
About 20,000 hectares around seven main islands, the listing says.
The boat docks at the pier of the beach, and a walkway at the front takes you onto it.
The second beach stop, ashore the same way. Diving from the boat is not permitted.
A close look at the Pink Beach from the boat. It has been closed to visitors for decades, so nobody lands there.
A walk through the historic centre, with time for a coffee by the harbour.
A local dish cooked on board; reviewers describe a seafood pasta after the first beach stop.
At the same port you left from.
On the day
Four frames from the archipelago: a deck, a cove, a beach and a waterfront.
The canvas awning of a deck frames a turquoise bay full of moored boats, with a red rock and sailing boats behind them.
Swimmers spread across a turquoise cove, with a strip of pale sand on the left and rounded granite boulders all around.
A long strip of white sand runs below a hill of green scrub, with dark patches of seagrass in the turquoise water and a row of buoys.
Pastel houses with tiled roofs line a stone quay, cars parked along it, as a small inflatable boat cuts a white wake past them.
Lunch
A dish cooked on board, served between the stops.
Most full days around the archipelago leave lunch to you: you buy food at the bar on board or bring your own. On the La Maddalena boat tour from Santa Teresa the listing promises a local lunch cooked on board, as part of the day.
The operator does not name the dish, but reviewers do. Marianne from Norway: «A seafood pasta was served as lunch after the first beach stop.» Miruna from the United Kingdom: «the lunch was amazingly tasty and the crew was super nice.»
Drinks are not mentioned, so bring water or money for the bar. Only four of the twelve full days on this site serve lunch in the fare, and this is the only one of them that leaves from Santa Teresa.
Every trip, current fare
The La Maddalena boat tour from Santa Teresa next to five full days from Palau. Every price is per person, and the landing fee is paid on top.
| Trip | Price | Price is for | Length | What the price covers | Where it starts | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Teresa full day, our top pick | $70 | per person | 8 hours | Lunch cooked on board; Santa Maria and Spargi, 1.5 hours each; an hour in town; the Pink Beach from the boat | Santa Teresa Gallura, 8:00–8:15 | 4.3 · 1,571 |
| Islands day from Palau | $56 | per person | 7 hours | Spargi, Santa Maria; Cala Coticcio on Monday, Tuesday and Friday, the town on other days. Lunch to buy | Palau, sails 10:30 | 4.4 · 2,876 |
| Full day with an audio guide | $59 | per person | 6 - 7 hours | Cala Corsara, Santa Maria, the Budelli pools from the boat, an hour in town. Food to buy | Palau, check-in 8:45, or La Maddalena | 4.5 · 2,982 |
| Archipelago day with a live guide | $62 | per person | 6 - 7 hours | Budelli natural pools, Santa Maria, Cala Granara, an hour in town. Lunch costs extra | Palau or La Maddalena | 4.6 · 6,436 |
| Four stops on a three-deck boat | $64 | per person | 1 day | Cala Corsara, the Budelli pools, Santa Maria, an hour in town. Food from the bar | Palau, 10:30 to 5:30 PM | 4.5 · 2,597 |
| Palau day with pasta | $67 | per person | 7 hours | Pasta with mussels and prawns; Santa Maria, the Budelli pools, Cala Corsara, the town | Palau | 4.0 · 2,104 |
Santa Teresa or Palau
The earlier start, the lunch, and the pools you swap for it.
Palau is where most boats for the archipelago leave from: eight of the twelve full days on this site sail from there, seven of them for $56 to $67. The La Maddalena boat tour from Santa Teresa costs $14 more than the lowest Palau fare and starts earlier, but lunch is cooked on board and the day starts and ends at the northern tip of Sardinia.
On most Palau days you swim in the natural pools of Budelli, for 20 minutes to an hour; the Santa Teresa day shows you Budelli from the boat instead. From Palau you can also swim on Caprera: one day stops at Cala Coticcio on Monday, Tuesday and Friday. The listing from Santa Teresa gives no sailing time to the islands, so we will not guess one.
Staying on the islands themselves? There is a La Maddalena boat tour from La Maddalena too: three of the Palau days also take passengers on board at the port of La Maddalena.
Before you book
A few lines on the listing make the La Maddalena boat tour from Santa Teresa easier on the day.
Five euros a head from June to August, half that in May, September and October; paid at check-in, never by card.
The operator sails three boats. Friends on separate bookings may end up on different boats.
Check-in is 8:00–8:15 at the port, and booking online does not move you ahead of the queue.
You go ashore by the walkway at the front of the boat. Diving off the side is not permitted.
None of the listings say masks are handed out, so bring your own for the beach stops.
Small pets are allowed on board, except in August, but not on the beaches.
From the reviews
Beaches, lunch and crew, and one honest warning about the crowd.
The La Maddalena boat tour from Santa Teresa carries 1,571 reviews at an average of 4.3. In the recent ones we read, the beaches, the lunch and the crew come up again and again. Sofía from Ireland: «Overall a great day trip! Good price considering all the stops.»
It is not a quiet day, and the honest reviews say so. Noelle from Switzerland: «Admittedly, it was quite touristy with many people on board, but that’s the format, and the boat is designed to host that many passengers - so it’s only fair.»
Book direct
Our top pick first, then the lowest fare on this site, the day with a live guide in four languages and the Palau day with pasta on board. All four are priced per person.
★ 4.3 · 1,571 reviews
★ 4.4 · 2,876 reviews
★ 4.6 · 6,436 reviews
★ 4.0 · 2,104 reviews
Our verdict
Book it if you are based in Santa Teresa Gallura. For $70 this La Maddalena boat tour from Santa Teresa gives you lunch cooked on board, 1.5 hours at Santa Maria, 1.5 hours at Spargi and an hour in town, all from your own harbour.
If the Budelli pools or the lowest fare matter more, drive to Palau: full days there start at $56, with lunch to buy on board.
Common questions
You meet at the port of Santa Teresa Gallura between 8:00 and 8:15, at the ticket office near the Coast Guard. The listing gives the return as around 5:00 PM, at the same port.
On the La Maddalena boat tour from Santa Teresa, yes: the listing promises a local lunch cooked on board, and reviewers describe a seafood pasta. Drinks are not mentioned.
No. On every full day on this site the Pink Beach on Budelli is seen from the boat only. From Santa Teresa you get a close look from the water, and you swim at Santa Maria and Spargi instead.
It is not in the price: five euros a head from June to August, half that in May, September and October. On this day you pay it at check-in, in cash, not by card.
From Santa Teresa if you are staying there: lunch is cooked on board and there is no drive to Palau. From Palau if you want the Budelli natural pools or a lower fare: full days there start at $56 per person.
Small pets are allowed on board, except in August, but not on the beaches. Of the twelve full days on this site, only the Santa Teresa listing mentions pets.
Go deeper
The harbour most boats leave from, and the days that start there.
Boat tours comparedTwelve full days around the archipelago, side by side: port, stops and what the price covers.
Lunch on boardThe boats that serve lunch, and what is on the plate.
The islandsSpargi, Budelli, Santa Maria and Caprera, one by one.
Which one to pickChoosing by port, boat, price and the islands you want.
From Santa Teresa Gallura: La Maddalena Full-Day Boat Tour
★ 4.3 · 1,571 reviews · 8 hours