Visiting Cala Gonone in Sardinia - boat trip in a paradise

Writer: Helena Bergström

What is it like to visit Cala Gonone in Sardinia? We were here for the first time in 2015, and this became our absolute favourite place on the island. Of course, we wanted to come back in 2025, now that we had the chance. Once again, it was a fantastic boat trip on the turquoise blue water!

Cala Gonone in Sardinia

Cala Gonone is a cosy little coastal town, which attracts many tourists during the summer months. The main reason for coming here is to hire a boat, or to join a boat trip, and thus experience the fantastic coastal strip with small bays, beaches and caves.

Cala Gonone is located on the coast, on the eastern side of Sardinia.

Driving to Cala Gonone

You can reach Cala Gonone from the north or south. Whichever way you go, you can expect a steep and winding road with many hairpin bends towards the end.

Visiting Cala Gonone

Cala Gonone is a fairly small town, but in the summer it is still very busy with tourists and holiday activities.

There is a central sandy beach, which is perfect for sunbathing and swimming. However, this is not the best beach - the most beautiful beaches in Cala Gonone can only be reached by boat!

We had arranged to meet in Cala Gonone with the Swedish motorhome couple Thomas and Anna-Karin, whom we had met a few weeks earlier in Corsica. So nice to see them again! We had a lot to talk about of course, and we did that over a pizza and a beer at the pizzeria Zio Padrillo. Here we got really good pizzas and also good service.

Boat hire in Cala Gonone

Above all, we wanted to get out on the water! You can choose between joining a larger excursion boat or hiring your own dinghy. We chose the latter, and wandered around the small rental offices to find a boat to rent. It turned out that the boats almost was over, but not quite.

We hired a boat with our new friends and were given information on how to go. The recommendation was to drive to the furthest point, to Cala Coloritzé, and then slowly chug back with any number of stops along the way...

No sooner said than done, we set off along the coast with Peter at the wheel. The journey to Cala Coloritzé took about 45 minutes, while the water splashed around us and we could gaze at the beautiful mountains along the coast.

A great day on the water!

It really was a wonderful day on the water! The mountains are dramatic and offer deliciously imaginative shapes.

The water is a lovely turquoise blue colour, and there are many boats chugging along the coast, ranging from small dirigibles to larger sailboats and excursion boats with many tourists on board.

The sandy beaches are fabulously beautiful, with soft, fine-grained sand. The special thing about these beaches is that they can only be reached by boat, as there is no road to them from land.

At a few of the beaches, the boat is driven onto the beach and passengers are dropped off. Then the captain has to drive out again, anchor a bit off the beach, and then swim to shore. At other beaches, everyone has to swim to get to shore, sometimes a relatively long distance. At least this is the case now during the high season, otherwise the beaches would be full.

We decided to eat our packed lunch on one of the beaches where the captain is allowed to drop off passengers. A narrow "corridor" was marked out with buoys and the boats had to queue for their turn to enter the beach. Yes, the beaches are small and in high season it gets crowded! If you want an even more exclusive experience, it might be worth aiming for pre or post season, outside of the absolute peak.

There are also several lovely caves along the coast. We anchored the boat and swam to some of them, and then walked into them. Really cool! Also a good place if you want shade for a little while ...

All in all, it was a fantastic day on the water, and on the beaches, at Cala Gonone. A little paradise we must say that this is!

Tips: What to consider for a boat trip in Cala Gonone

You can choose between booking on a tourist boat or hiring a rigid inflatable boat. If you are renting a boat during the high season, it's a good idea to book well in advance. We asked the night before and there were only a few boats left to rent.

At the time of booking, we had to pay a deposit in cash, and we could then pay the remaining amount by card. For a full day's hire of a boat for 4-5 people, in the high season, the total cost is almost 400 euros, including fuel. There are also smaller boats for hire, suitable for two people.

What to bring before/on the boat trip

• Cash and payment cards (to hire the boat)
• ID (to hire the boat)
• Plenty of water and/or other drinks
• Packed lunch/snacks (after you leave the harbour there is nothing to buy)
• Bath towel
• Swimwear
• Cap/sun hat
• Sunglasses
• Sunscreen cream
• Possibly a parasol
• Swimming shoes (not necessary, but may be useful in some places)
• Snorkel and cyclops

Where can you stay or park your motorhome?

There are several different hotels in Cala Gonone. If you're travelling by motorhome, there's basically only one place to "choose" from: Camping Car Palmasera. This is a nice place with nice pitches and very good location. We did find the price a bit steep (we paid about 50 euros/day incl. electricity) - not least because you had to pay extra to use the showers - but we were still happy with our stay here.

More to see and do in the neighbourhood

If you like hiking and dramatic mountain formations, we recommend a trip to Gorropu Canyon, which is half an hour from Cala Gonone by car.

Have you been to Cala Gonone in Sardinia?

Have you visited or would you like to visit Cala Gonone in Sardinia? Have you perhaps been to a place similar to this one? Please tell us!