The day out
A La Maddalena day trip runs 6.5 to 9 hours on the water and on the beaches of the archipelago. Twelve boats on this site make it, from Palau, Santa Teresa Gallura, Cannigione and, with a minibus, Olbia, starting at $56 per person. Below: when to arrive, what happens at each stop, where lunch comes from, what to pack and when you are back.
Quick answer
The short answer. On a La Maddalena day trip from Palau you usually check in between 9:00 and 10:00, cast off at 10:30 and are back between 17:00 and 17:30. In between come two or three swim stops, a look at the Pink Beach from the boat and, on ten of the twelve boats, about an hour in La Maddalena town. Bring cash for a landing fee of up to five euros. If you want lunch made for you, our top pick from Santa Teresa Gallura cooks it on board, for $70 per person.
Hour by hour
The day as the Palau listings describe it. Each boat runs the stops in its own order.
Most Palau boats check you in at the maritime station on Piazza del Molo. One listing turns away anyone who arrives after 9:45; three say a late or missed boarding is not refunded.
Most boats leave Palau at 10:30. One listing puts Spargi less than 15 minutes away, another gives 35 minutes to Budelli. On the way you pass Santo Stefano and the Bear Rock of Palau.
Cala Corsara or Cala Granara, from 75 minutes to two hours depending on the boat, below granite rocks the listings call the Head of the Witch and the Bulldog.
The big boats give the natural pools of Budelli 20 to 30 minutes; you go in from the boat. The Pink Beach is close by, and on all twelve listings you see it from the boat only.
Cala Santa Maria is the longest stop on many boats, 75 minutes to two hours. Some come alongside a pier with a walkway, so you step ashore instead of swimming in.
Four boats serve a meal cooked or served on board as part of the price. On the others you buy food at the bar or bring your own.
About an hour in town: the harbour at Cala Gavetta, the old streets, shops and ice cream. One Palau boat goes to town only on Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.
Where the listing gives a time, boats are back in Palau between 17:00 and 17:30; one returns at 16:30 in October. From Santa Teresa Gallura you are back around 17:00.
The morning
Palau at 9:00, Santa Teresa Gallura at 8:00, Cannigione before 9:15.
Eight of the twelve boats on this site leave from Palau, and three of those also board at the port of La Maddalena. Check-in on most Palau boats runs from 9:00 to 10:00 for a 10:30 departure, at the maritime station on Piazza del Molo. One listing warns of heavy traffic into Palau and asks you to set off a good hour early.
From Santa Teresa Gallura the La Maddalena day trip starts earlier. You meet at the port between 8:00 and 8:15, at the ticket desk near the Coast Guard, and the landing fee is collected there in cash. Groups of friends should share one booking, or they may not board the same boat. From Cannigione the dinghy trip asks you to check in before 9:15 for a 10:00 start, and the Olbia trip takes you to Cannigione by minibus from a meeting point.
Sonya from Australia, on a Palau boat: «when you board the seat you chose is for the entire day.»
On the water
Shade on deck, a swim stop, a lunch plate and a harbour front seen from the sea.
From under a white awning on deck, small motorboats and sailing boats lie moored in a turquoise bay below a red granite headland.
A dozen swimmers float in turquoise water next to the white side of a boat, with pink-grey granite rocks and green scrub along the shore behind them.
Penne in tomato sauce on one paper plate; cheese, cured meat, green olives and two bread rolls on another, with wrapped cutlery and a cup of water.
A row of pastel yellow, pink and cream houses lines a stone quay, and a grey inflatable boat cuts a white wake across the blue water in front.
Lunch
Four boats cook or serve lunch; on the rest you buy it or bring it.
Four of the twelve boats serve a meal on board as part of the price: the Santa Teresa Gallura boat a local dish cooked on board, the Palau pasta boat a plate of pasta with mussels and prawns, the boat from Laconia, Cannigione and Baja Sardinia a pasta dish, and the Olbia trip a tomato pasta. Marianne from Norway, on the Santa Teresa boat: «A seafood pasta was served as lunch after the first beach stop.»
On seven of the other eight you buy food at the bar on board or bring your own. Freddie from the United States, on the Palau islands day: «We had brought our own food but one could purchase a meal (pasta) or snacks on board.»
The dinghy trip from Cannigione is the exception. You are asked to bring your own lunch, and food cannot be bought on the islands; the captain offers a Sardinian snack with a glass of white wine, listed as optional. No listing says drinks are in the price.
Every trip, current fare
Every price is per person, and the cash landing fee is never part of it.
| Trip | Price | Price is for | Length | What the price covers | Where it starts | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| From Santa Teresa Gallura, our top pick | $70 | per person | 8 hours | Lunch cooked on board; Santa Maria and Spargi, 1.5 hours each; about an hour in town | Santa Teresa Gallura port, 8:00 to 8:15 | 4.3 · 1,571 |
| Islands day from Palau | $56 | per person | 7 hours | Cala Corsara and Santa Maria; Cala Coticcio on Monday, Tuesday and Friday, town on the other days. Lunch extra | Palau maritime station, check-in 9:00 to 10:00 | 4.4 · 2,876 |
| Archipelago day, Palau or La Maddalena | $62 | per person | 6 to 7 hours | A live guide; Budelli pools, Santa Maria, Cala Granara; an hour in town from Palau. Lunch extra | Palau or the port of La Maddalena | 4.6 · 6,436 |
| Four islands from Palau | $65 | per person | 10:30 to about 17:15 | A 150-seat boat built in 2025; Budelli pools, Santa Maria, Spargi, town. Lunch extra | Palau, pier 4, at 9:30 | 4.6 · 2,522 |
| The 1956 motorship | $80 | per person | 6.5 hours | Cala Serena, Cavaliere beach on Budelli, two hours at Cala Connari; no town stop. Lunch extra | Palau or La Maddalena | 4.7 · 657 |
| Olbia with a minibus | $191 | per person | 9 hours | The Olbia minibus to Cannigione and back; tomato pasta on board; town, Spargi, Santa Maria | A meeting point not named; the boat leaves Cannigione | 4.5 · 527 |
How long it lasts
Six and a half hours at the short end, nine with the minibus from Olbia.
On paper a La Maddalena day trip runs from 6.5 to 9 hours. The shortest is the 1956 motorship at 6.5 hours, back in Palau at about 17:30. The longest is the Olbia trip at 9 hours, because the minibus to Cannigione and back is part of the day. Most Palau boats sit in between: out at 10:30, back between 17:00 and 17:30.
Time ashore is what people talk about afterwards. Peter from Hungary, on a four-stop Palau boat: «Very well-structured program, many attractions to see and experience (3 round of beach visits and one town), however, enough time truly enjoy it.» Lionel from Jersey, on the pasta boat, saw it differently: «I was expecting more time on the first beach, as I think they count lunch time.»
For longer on the sand, our top pick from Santa Teresa Gallura gives Santa Maria and Spargi an hour and a half each, with the boats docking at the piers, and still fits in an hour in town. All its boats have restrooms. The motorship spends two hours at Cala Connari but skips the town.
What to bring
The listings say little about packing, so this list keeps to what they do say.
On most boats the landing fee is paid in cash on the day: five euros from June to August, two and a half in May, September and October. Card payments can fail on the islands.
No listing says masks are handed out. The Palau islands day strongly recommends bringing one for its stop at Cala Coticcio.
Unless your boat is one of the four that serve a meal, bring food or money for the bar. On the dinghy trip from Cannigione you bring a packed lunch.
One Palau listing allows only small bags and compact folding strollers on board.
Where the listings give an age, children under seven do not pay the landing fee. No listing gives a minimum age for the trip.
Book direct
Four ways to make a day trip to La Maddalena, all priced per person.
★ 4.3 · 1,571 reviews
★ 4.4 · 2,876 reviews
★ 4.6 · 6,436 reviews
★ 4.7 · 657 reviews
Our verdict
For a full day with lunch made for you, book our top pick from Santa Teresa Gallura at $70. Two long beach stops, a meal cooked on board and an hour in town.
If you start from Palau and want to spend less, the islands day costs $56 per person. Bring lunch money, a mask and cash for the landing fee.
Common questions
Most Palau boats check in between 9:00 and 10:00, leave at 10:30 and are back between 17:00 and 17:30. From Santa Teresa Gallura you meet at 8:00 to 8:15 and return around 17:00.
On four of the twelve boats, including our top pick from Santa Teresa Gallura and the Olbia trip. On the rest you buy food at the bar or bring your own; on the Cannigione dinghy trip you bring it. No listing says drinks are in the price.
No. Where the listings mention it, the fee is paid on the day, mostly in cash: five euros from June to August, two and a half in May, September and October. Children under seven do not pay it.
No. On all twelve listings the Pink Beach is seen from the boat only. You swim nearby instead, in the natural pools of Budelli, for 20 to 30 minutes on the big boats.
Ten of the twelve do, for about an hour. The Palau islands day goes to town on Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday only. The 1956 motorship and the Cannigione dinghy trip skip the town.
No. Eleven of the twelve start at the port, and you make your own way there. The Olbia trip is the only one with a minibus, from a meeting point to the port of Cannigione and back.
Go deeper
The 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.
SnorkellingWhich boats stop for snorkelling, and what gear is on board.
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