A day cruise
A Sardinia cruise on this coast is a day, not a week: a full day on a passenger boat around the La Maddalena archipelago, back in port by early evening. Twelve listings run it, from $56 per person, for 6 to 9 hours. Below: what the day is, what each price covers, and what the one Olbia listing does and does not tell you.
Quick answer
The short answer. For a Sardinia cruise of one day, our top pick is the full day from Santa Teresa Gallura at $70: two beach stops of 1.5 hours, about an hour in La Maddalena town and a local lunch cooked on board. The lowest fare is $56 from Palau; from Olbia, one listing with a minibus, at $191.
Day cruise, not a liner
One day on the water, back in port by evening: that is the whole idea.
Search for a Sardinia cruise and you find two different things. One is a week on a cruise ship. The other, and the only one this site covers, is a full day on a passenger boat around the islands of the La Maddalena National Park, back by early evening. The listings use the word themselves: a full-day cruise from Palau, a day cruise from Palau.
Two listings give their size: one takes 210 passengers on three decks, another 150, and both say boats and beaches are crowded in high season. For something smaller there is a restored 1956 motorship, 18 metres long, and a day by dinghy from Cannigione that can reach places larger boats cannot reach.
Marcela from Poland put the case for it simply: «When you're near La Maddalena, it's impossible not to take a cruise around the archipelago.»
On the water
Three frames from the boats: what the day looks like from on board.
Turquoise water and moored boats seen from under a canvas awning, a red rock headland behind.
Pastel houses with tiled roofs line a stone quay as an inflatable boat cuts a white wake.
Swimmers, some in masks, beside the white hull of a boat, with granite rocks on the shore.
Stop by stop
Routes differ by listing, but most days out of Palau follow one pattern. The times come from the listings and are approximate.
Most Palau boats check you in between 9:00 and 10:00.
Boats from Palau sail at 10:30; Spargi is less than 15 minutes away.
A beach stop of 75 minutes to 2 hours, at Cala Corsara or Cala Granara, depending on the boat.
The natural pools, 20 to 30 minutes on most boats. The Pink Beach is seen from the boat only; nobody lands there.
The long beach stop of the day on most listings, 75 minutes to 2 hours.
About an hour ashore for a walk, an ice cream or the shops, on 10 of the 12 listings.
Return times run from about 17:00 to 17:30; one Palau boat is back at 16:30 in October.
Our top pick
The one day out of Santa Teresa, with lunch cooked on board.
It is the only Sardinia cruise on this site that starts in Santa Teresa Gallura, at the northern tip of the island. You meet at the harbour between 8:00 and 8:15 and are back around 17:00. The day has two beach stops of 1.5 hours each, at Santa Maria and Spargi, where the boats dock with a walkway onto the beach, and about an hour in La Maddalena town.
The listing promises a local lunch cooked on board. Marianne from Norway: «A seafood pasta was served as lunch after the first beach stop.» Every boat on this day has restrooms. Two honest notes: it is rated 4.3 by 1,571 reviewers, below several Palau days, and diving from the boat is not allowed. Sofía from Ireland: «Good price considering all the stops.»
Every trip, current fare
Six of the 12 listings, with our top pick and the lowest fare. Prices are per person; the landing fee is never included.
| Trip | Price | Price is for | Length | What the price covers | Where it starts | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Teresa day, our top pick | $70 | per person | 8 hours | Two 1.5-hour beach stops at Santa Maria and Spargi; about an hour in La Maddalena town; a local lunch cooked on board | Santa Teresa Gallura harbour, meet 8:00 to 8:15 | 4.3 · 1,571 |
| Palau islands day, lowest fare | $56 | per person | 7 hours | Beach stops at Spargi and Santa Maria; Cala Coticcio on Caprera on Mon, Tue and Fri, La Maddalena town on the other days; food to buy on board | Palau, sails 10:30 | 4.4 · 2,876 |
| Archipelago day with a live guide | $62 | per person | 6 - 7 hours | Live guide in four languages; Budelli pools, Santa Maria, Cala Granara; an hour in town if you start in Palau; food and drinks extra | Palau or La Maddalena | 4.6 · 6,436 |
| Palau day with pasta | $67 | per person | 7 hours | A plate of pasta with mussels and prawns; two hours at Santa Maria; Budelli pools; Cala Corsara; town; drinks extra | Palau harbour | 4.0 · 2,104 |
| The 1956 motorship | $80 | per person | 6.5 hours | Restored 18-metre boat with a covered deck; Cala Serena on Caprera, Cavaliere beach on Budelli, two hours at Cala Connari; food to buy on board | Palau or La Maddalena | 4.7 · 657 |
| Olbia day with a minibus | $191 | per person | 9 hours | Shared minibus to Cannigione and back; tomato pasta on board; an hour in town; stops at Spargi and Santa Maria | Meeting point not stated; the boat leaves Cannigione | 4.5 · 527 |
Staying in Olbia
From Olbia: a 9-hour day, what is known and what is not.
If you are in Olbia, perhaps off a ship for the day, read this part closely. We do not track ship timetables or cruise ports in Sardinia, and none of the listings here says it is timed to a ship.
Of the Sardinia cruise excursions on this site, it is the only one with a road leg. It costs $191 per person and runs 9 hours. A shared minibus takes you from a meeting point to the port of Cannigione and back. On board: an hour in La Maddalena town, two stops of about an hour each at Spargi and Santa Maria, and a tomato pasta served by the crew. A docking fee is paid in cash to the driver.
What it leaves out matters just as much. The listing gives no start time and no meeting point in Olbia; it says to check availability for details. The boat is due back in Cannigione between 17:00 and 17:30, before the drive back. On a fixed timetable, ask both before you pay. Anita from the United Kingdom: «our van driver was punctual & careful».
Before you book
A few minutes on the listing saves trouble at the harbour on the day of your Sardinia cruise.
It is charged for the municipality of La Maddalena, up to five euros a person, and no listing includes it. Most collect it in cash; one asks for it by e-mail after booking.
No listing says masks are provided. One recommends bringing a snorkelling mask for the swim at Cala Coticcio.
Four listings serve lunch on board. On the rest you buy food from the bar or bring your own; on the dinghy day you bring it.
Arrive early: three listings say late arrivals get no refund, and one asks you to leave an hour early for traffic into Palau.
The Palau islands day goes to Cala Coticcio on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays, and to La Maddalena town on the other days.
Pick by what matters
If the top pick does not fit your plans, these are the honest reasons to choose another.
The Palau islands day: 7 hours, beach stops at Spargi and Santa Maria, and a swim at Cala Coticcio on Caprera three days a week.
The archipelago day: 6,436 reviews at 4.6 and a live guide in four languages.
The dinghy day from Cannigione, rated 4.9 by 558 reviewers. Bring your own lunch. Ana from Portugal liked the «places that are not usually reachable on larger mini-cruises.»
Pasta with mussels and prawns and two hours at Santa Maria. Rated 4.0, the lowest here.
Our verdict
Book the Santa Teresa day if you want the day done for you. For $70 this Sardinia cruise gives you two long beach stops, an hour in La Maddalena town and a lunch cooked on board.
If price comes first, the Palau islands day at $56 is the lowest fare here. If you are in Olbia, the minibus day at $191 is the one listing that names it; ask its start time first.
Book direct
Our top pick first, then the lowest fare, the day with the most reviews and the Olbia day with its minibus. All four are priced per person.
★ 4.3 · 1,571 reviews
★ 4.4 · 2,876 reviews
★ 4.6 · 6,436 reviews
★ 4.5 · 527 reviews
Common questions
Only from the water. On all 12 listings the Pink Beach is seen from the boat only; one listing says this is due to government regulations. The swim near it is in the natural pools of Budelli, from 20 minutes to 1.5 hours depending on the listing.
No listing includes it. The fee is charged for the municipality of La Maddalena: up to five euros a person from June to August, less in the months either side. On most listings children under seven do not pay. Bring cash: most collect it at check-in or on board.
On four of the 12: the Santa Teresa day (a local lunch cooked on board), the Palau day with pasta (mussels and prawns), the northern Sardinia day (a pasta dish) and the Olbia minibus day (tomato pasta). Elsewhere you buy food on board or bring your own. No listing says drinks are included.
Ten of the 12 do, for about an hour. The Palau islands day stops there on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays only. The 1956 motorship and the dinghy day from Cannigione do not stop in town.
No. On 11 of the 12 listings you make your own way to the harbour. The Olbia listing adds a shared minibus from a meeting point to Cannigione and back, but it does not say where that meeting point is.
Most Palau boats sail at 10:30 after check-in from 9:00 and are back between 17:00 and 17:30. The Santa Teresa day meets at 8:00 to 8:15 and returns around 17:00. The Olbia listing gives no start time; its boat is back in Cannigione between 17:00 and 17:30.
Go deeper
Minibus to the port and a full day on the water.
The day outFrom the morning departure to the return: timing, stops and what to bring.
Lunch on boardThe boats that serve lunch, and what is on the plate.
From PalauThe harbour most boats leave from, and the days that start there.
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