Lovely boat trip around La Maddalena in northern Sardinia

Writer: Helena Bergström

We have made a lovely boat trip around La Maddalena in northern Sardinia, starting from the town of Palau. We choose our excursions with care, and this one felt well chosen. The archipelago and national park of La Maddalena is a paradise worth discovering!

Boat trip around La Maddalena - starting in Palau

La Maddalena is an island and an archipelago (and a town) in the northern part of Sardinia. The main island can be reached by car ferry, which we did in 2015. Another way to experience the islands, which is incredibly popular, is to go on a day trip by boat from Palau. This is what we did now! We travelled by boat Squalo IV from the company Flotta del Parco.

Palau is located in the northern part of Sardinia, which belongs to Italy.

Start in Palau in northern Sardinia

We booked the boat trip the day before, which you are encouraged to do, and then got down to the harbour in good time for the 11am departure. There was life and movement we must say! Sooo many excursion boats and sooo many tourists. We can see that it is popular to do this type of boat trip during the high season!

We boarded "our" boat in good time and secured a good seat at one of the tables on the upper deck.

A short while later, it was crowded on board ...

A short stop at the town of La Maddalena

Our excursion started with the boat being steered towards the town of La Maddalena, on the island of the same name. We may have stopped here just to pick up some more passengers, but regardless, it was nice to check out this lovely little town.

Spargi Island - stop for swimming and lunch

Then it was time for a stop on Spargi Island. The announcer (speaking in Italian, English and Spanish) encouraged us to take photos of the turquoise blue water - and of course we did!

Then the boat docked, and we could go ashore for sun and swimming.

Yes, there was some swimming!

When we got back on board, we ate our packed lunch. Many more did the same, while others paid for lunch on board. Some pasta with tomato sauce on a paper plate for expensive money? Well, we were happy with our own picnic!

Budelli and S. Maria islands - stop for swimming

The journey continued and there were a few more photo and swimming stops. Now we were at the islands of Budelli and S. Maria and here we were not allowed to go ashore. However, the turquoise water was free to experience!

Cala Garibaldi on Caprera Island - stop for sun and swimming

Another stop was made where we were allowed to go ashore - the bay of Cala Garibaldi on the island of Caprera.

Here, dramatic mountains, lovely pine trees and a nice beach met. It was another moment of sun and swimming.

Peter also took the opportunity to bring up his drone so we could see the bay from above.

The drone view confirmed what we also saw from the boat: sooo many boats in the water. There are excursion boats, luxury yachts, sailboats and motorboats of all kinds ...

On the beach, people enjoy sunbathing and swimming, preferably with an umbrella as the sun is hot in the afternoons in August.

Cala Coticcio on Caprera Island - stop for a swim

At 5 pm, the last stop was waiting, which offered swimming off Cala Coticcio on the island of Caprera. For our part, we now felt "full" of bathing and we stayed on board, where we looked at all the huge luxury yachts, which are often surrounded by small boats, SUP boards or huge inflatable swan or flamingo bathing rings. Or why not equip your boat with a slide straight down into the water?

At the end of the tour, we were also able to check out some of the old military fortifications located on the island of Caprera.

Back in Palau

Just after 6pm we were back in the small town of Palau, after a long, lovely day at sea. From here we walked back to the campsite where we had stayed for the night.

Where can you stay or park your motorhome?

If you want to do a boat trip around La Maddalena, it is of course convenient to stay in Palau or nearby. We stayed at Camping Acapulco, from where we only had 0.6 kilometres to walk to the tourist harbour. Moreover, we liked this campsite very much!

It wasn't super cheap (we paid around 50 euros/night without electricity) but the campsite offers an experience in the form of stunning views of the sea, gorgeous rounded rock formations everywhere and great swimming spots.

More to see and do in the neighbourhood

Another option, to experience La Maddalena, is to take a car ferry to Main island La Maddalena - it is also possible to bring a motorhome. Near Palau you can also experience the beautiful beach Spiaggia di Porto Pollo. If you want to go a little further and experience even more turquoise water and beautiful beaches, we can highly recommend a stop in Cala Gonone.

Would you like to take a boat trip around La Maddalena?

Would you like to take a boat trip around La Maddalena? Or maybe you've already been here? Do you like to do excursions on the water when you are travelling?