Things to Do in La Maddalena: spots, beaches and anchorages by catamaran

The La Maddalena archipelago has 62 islands and islets protected by a national park since 1996, off the northeast coast of Sardinia. This park covers 20,180 hectares, including 15,046 hectares of marine area. You reach it from Palau in 15 to 20 minutes by ferry, or directly by sea from a catamaran sailing through the Strait of Bonifacio. The highlights: the 20 km panoramic road that runs along the coast of the main island, the wild beaches of Caprera including the famous Cala Coticcio, and the coves of the uninhabited islands of Spargi and Budelli, accessible only by boat. By catamaran, the experience changes radically: you anchor in the morning calm before the group excursions arrive, you reach beaches that cannot be accessed from land, and you plan your itinerary according to the wind and the tides.

How to reach La Maddalena from Palau?

The ferry from Palau is the only land access to La Maddalena. The crossing lasts 15 to 20 minutes, with departures every 30 minutes in high season. Two companies operate the link: Delcomar and Maddalena Lines.

The Palau-Maddalena ferry

The ferry trip costs between 4 euros (foot passenger) and 15 euros (vehicle) one way, depending on the type of vehicle. In July and August, the queues to board with a car can exceed an hour: it is better to arrive in Palau early in the morning or to opt for a bicycle, which always gets priority. On the island, a car or a scooter remains essential to cover the panoramic road, but rental companies are available right at the ferry exit. In September and October, frequencies stay high and waiting times drop considerably.

Arriving directly by catamaran

From a catamaran underway, access to La Maddalena is direct: no Palau, no ferry, no queue. You anchor in the national park as soon as you arrive, a stone’s throw from coves that land-based tourists will sometimes take hours to reach. The La Maddalena marina has pontoons for a classic stopover, but anchoring in the park’s authorised areas offers incomparable freedom. For those who wish to reach the archipelago from Corsica, the distance between Bonifacio and La Maddalena is short - a few hours of sailing through the strait. Sailoe offers catamaran cruises departing from Corsica that include the La Maddalena archipelago in their itineraries.

What is the panoramic road of La Maddalena island and which beaches can you discover?

The Strada Panoramica is 20 km long and runs along both coasts of the island. It gives access to the finest beaches of the main island within a few minutes’ walk from the roadside, never straying far from the sea.

Spiaggia di Bassa Trinità

Bassa Trinità is one of the most spectacular beaches on the main island: shallow turquoise water, dunes covered with junipers and wooden walkways that protect the coastal vegetation. Access is via a turn-off from the SP114, with a basic car park at the edge of the track. From the sea, the bay is clearly visible and offers a quiet anchorage from which to come ashore by dinghy. The shallow sandy bottom and the northwest exposure make it an ideal snorkelling spot in a southerly wind. In July, the beach is packed in the middle of the day; from a catamaran anchored early in the morning, you enjoy an hour of absolute calm before the first arrivals.

Cala Spalmatore

Cala Spalmatore benefits from a natural sheltered position that protects it from the mistral, which makes it the ideal refuge on days of westerly wind. The water takes on pink hues here, due to the reflection of the granite on the sandy bottom. A beach bar set up high invites you to linger. From offshore, the jetty is easy to spot and serves as a landmark for the dinghy approach. It is one of the most accessible beaches on the panoramic road, with a car park less than 200 m from the shore.

Spiaggia Monti d’Arena

A large stretch of golden sand framed by the pink granite boulders typical of the archipelago, Monti d’Arena has fewer services than Spalmatore but offers more space. It is ideal for families: a flat bottom, shallow water over a long stretch, natural shade under the rocks at the end of the day. Few shops nearby - bring a picnic. From the sea, the approach is easy and anchoring is practicable here.

The Giardinelli Peninsula and Testa del Polpo

The Testa del Polpo is a rock formation at the tip of the peninsula whose name evokes its resemblance to an octopus head seen from above. The small cove nestled there is reachable by a 400 m path from the car park, or directly from the sea. The view of Caprera from this promontory is one of the best on the main island. It is a classic stop on boat excursions, but by catamaran you can anchor in the shelter of the peninsula and stay until sunset.

What is there to do on Caprera island and how do you get there from Maddalena?

Caprera is connected to La Maddalena by the Moneta bridge. The island is largely part of the national park and is home to the wildest beaches of the entire archipelago, including Cala Coticcio, whose access is regulated.

Spiaggia del Relitto

Spiaggia del Relitto takes its name from a wreck visible on the seabed from the surface in calm conditions. It is the most renowned beach on Caprera: very fine white sand, water of a clear blue, a bar reachable by climbing a few steps from the beach. Arriving by dinghy from a catamaran is possible; anchoring in the bay is practicable depending on conditions. In July and August, the beach is busy but remains less crowded than the spots on the main island, because reaching it by car from the Moneta bridge takes longer.

Cala Coticcio, nicknamed “Tahiti”

Cala Coticcio is the most photographed place in the archipelago. The water there is an intense blue-green, the pink granite rocks plunge straight into the sea and the sand is white. Access is strictly regulated by the national park: an accredited guide (GAE) is mandatory, a maximum of 15 people per group, 60 people per day on the site. An environmental fee of 3 euros per person is collected via the PagoPA platform. Booking is essential in high season, often required several days in advance. From a catamaran, the cove reveals itself from offshore - one of the most striking panoramas in the archipelago. Anchoring nearby is possible, but landing ashore requires going through an accredited park guide. The neighbouring cove, Cala Brigantina, is subject to the same rules according to the national park of the archipelago.

Hiking on Caprera

Caprera has a network of trails marked out by the national park. Three routes are particularly recommended:

• Trail no. 14 (Cala Napoletana-Punta Crucitta): 4.5 km, 100 m of elevation gain, about 1h15, easy level. Views over several successive coves.
• Trail no. 15 (Cala Caprarese): 4 km, 100 m of elevation gain, about 1h30, easy level. Leads out onto a quiet beach.
• Trail no. 7 (Monte Tejalone): 1.5 km, 100 m of elevation gain, about 45 min, easy level. Panoramic view over the whole archipelago from the summit.

The official routes and elevation profiles are available on the national park website (parks.it).

The Garibaldi museum and the Caprera memorial

Giuseppe Garibaldi lived and died on Caprera. The house-museum (Compendio Garibaldino) is open from 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., closed on Mondays and on 16 August. The 2026 prices are as follows: 8 euros per person for the museum only, 12 euros for the combined ticket covering the museum and the memorial (Batteria Arbuticci), 2 euros for those aged 18 to 25, free for under-18s. The site is managed by the Italian cultural heritage authorities (garibaldicaprera.beniculturali.it). Outside July and August, a morning visit lets you see the museum without waiting, then head to the Caprera beaches in the early afternoon.

Which islands of the archipelago can only be reached by boat?

Spargi, Budelli, Santa Maria and Razzoli are uninhabited islands of the national park, accessible exclusively by sea. This is where you find the wildest coves and the most preserved waters of the La Maddalena archipelago.

Spargi and Cala Corsara

Cala Corsara is the largest cove on Spargi and one of the most spectacular in the whole archipelago. White sand, crystal-clear water, no bar, no road - only the beach and the juniper forest in the background. Access is exclusively by boat from La Maddalena or from Palau. Spargi lies in the park’s Mb zone (general protection): navigation and swimming are permitted there with authorisation from the national park. From a catamaran, anchoring in front of the beach allows you to go straight into the water from the boat. Most group excursions from Palau or La Maddalena make a stop at Spargi; by arriving early from a catamaran anchored overnight in the archipelago, you enjoy Cala Corsara in the calm of the early morning.

Budelli and the Spiaggia Rosa

The Spiaggia Rosa is one of the most famous beaches in the Mediterranean. Its pink sand is made up of fragments of Miniacina miniacea, a foraminifer whose remains have accumulated on the shore over thousands of years. The beach has been classified in the park’s Ma zone (full protection) since the early 1990s: access from land is prohibited and bathers cannot come ashore there. It can only be admired from offshore - which makes it a must-see stop on boat excursions, time to take it in and photograph its hues from the cockpit. According to the national park, this restriction is intended to preserve the pink sand, which massive removals had significantly depleted before it was placed under protection.

Santa Maria and Razzoli

Santa Maria and Razzoli form the northern tip of the archipelago. These two islands are less frequented than Spargi, as group excursions stop there less often. The waters are a deep blue-green, the rocky bottoms contrasting with the shallow sandy areas of the inlets. By catamaran, sailing between Razzoli, Santa Maria and Spargi in a single day is possible in good wind conditions - a classic loop itinerary departing from La Maddalena.

Sailing between these uninhabited islands from a catamaran means having access to each cove according to the time and the conditions, with no ferry timetable to keep to. Spargi in the morning before the excursions, Budelli to see the pink beach at lunchtime, Santa Maria in the late afternoon. To organise a catamaran cruise in the La Maddalena archipelago departing from Corsica with Sailoe, the charter teams are available to build a tailor-made itinerary.

What itinerary should you plan to visit La Maddalena in 1 day or 3 days?

One day is enough to cover the main island and Caprera. Three days let you add an excursion to the uninhabited islands and sail in a different way, with no timetable constraints.

One-day itinerary

Take the ferry from Palau early in the morning, then head into the town of La Maddalena for a coffee on the harbour. Next, the panoramic road anticlockwise: Bassa Trinità, Spalmatore, Monti d’Arena, Testa del Polpo. Lunch taken there or in a restaurant along the road. Cross the Moneta bridge towards Caprera in the early afternoon: Spiaggia del Relitto or Cala Coticcio if a guide booking has been made in advance. Return to La Maddalena, ferry back in the late afternoon. Getting around on a rental scooter, this programme is comfortable without being rushed.

Three-day itinerary

• Day 1: La Maddalena island - the full panoramic road, all the beaches of the main island. Night in the town of La Maddalena.
• Day 2: Caprera - the morning beaches (Relitto, Coticcio with a booked guide), the Garibaldi museum at the end of the morning, hike on trail no. 15 towards Cala Caprarese in the afternoon.
• Day 3: boat excursion to Spargi, Budelli and Santa Maria. Return in the late afternoon, ferry to Palau in the evening.

Itinerary from a catamaran

By catamaran, the programme is no longer organised from a fixed point but from the boat. Arrive directly in the archipelago from the Strait of Bonifacio or from the Bonifacio base, first night at anchor in a bay of Caprera or on an official park buoy. The next day, the distances between islands are short: an hour of sailing at most between any two points of the archipelago. The main freedom: reaching the coves of the uninhabited islands early in the morning, before the group excursions that leave Palau at 9 a.m. Sailoe offers catamaran cruise itineraries in Corsica that regularly include a stop in the La Maddalena archipelago.

Things to do in La Maddalena in practice: useful information

The archipelago operates with almost no public transport on the two main islands. A car, a scooter or a bicycle are essential to connect the beaches and the spots outside the town of La Maddalena.

Which season to choose?

May-June and September are the best times to visit the archipelago: fewer people, water already warm, mistral less frequent than in the height of summer. July and August are the peak months: packed beaches, queues at the ferry, accommodation prices at their highest. For catamaran sailors, June and September offer optimal sea and wind conditions in the Strait of Bonifacio, with less maritime traffic in the park’s anchorages.

Beach and national park regulations 2026

Several rules have applied on every beach in the archipelago for several years: a ban on cool boxes, on inflatable bags (other than approved armbands) and on removing sand or pebbles - an offence punishable by a fine. On Caprera, Cala Coticcio and Cala Brigantina require an accredited guide and the environmental fee of 3 euros per person via PagoPA.

Navigation and anchorage regulations 2026

The La Maddalena national park is divided into zones of graduated protection. The Ma zones (full protection, including Budelli) are closed to navigation and swimming. The Mb zones (general protection, including Spargi) are open to navigation and swimming with park authorisation. A ban on overnight anchoring introduced in 2024 had been suspended by the Sardinia administrative court in June 2025; the national park’s ordinance 33/2026, which came into force in June 2026, definitively removed this general ban. For catamaran sailors, overnight anchoring on the park’s official buoys is permitted, provided you hold a valid park permit and a closed black-water system.

Frequently asked questions about La Maddalena

What can you do in La Maddalena?

La Maddalena offers the 20 km panoramic road, the wild beaches of the main island (Bassa Trinità, Spalmatore, Giardinelli), the island of Caprera with Cala Coticcio and the Garibaldi museum, and boat excursions to Spargi, Budelli and Santa Maria. From a catamaran, you discover these spots from the sea, with no parking or ferry constraints.

How long does it take to visit La Maddalena island?

One day is enough to see the main island and Caprera. Three days let you add a trip out to sea to the uninhabited islands and sail at your own pace between the coves. By catamaran, you stay several days at anchor to enjoy each spot at the time that suits you.

What is the most beautiful beach in La Maddalena?

Cala Coticcio on Caprera is often cited as the most beautiful, but access is regulated: an accredited guide is mandatory, a maximum of 15 people per group, an environmental fee of 3 euros per person. Cala Corsara on Spargi and Spiaggia del Relitto on Caprera are accessible by boat and just as spectacular.

How do you get from Palau to La Maddalena?

The Delcomar or Maddalena Lines ferry connects Palau to La Maddalena in 15 to 20 minutes, with departures every 30 minutes in summer. The one-way fare ranges from 4 euros for a foot passenger to 15 euros for a vehicle, depending on the type. Catamaran or sailboat sailors arrive directly by sea, anchoring in the national park without going through Palau.