A week in Sardinia: La Maddalena and the Costa Smeralda
7 days · 100 nm · starts in Olbia · Italy
Olbia
Boat handover, provisioning in town. Olbia is the main charter base of the north-east; most one-week routes start here.
Olbia → Tavolara
A rock of an island almost a kilometre high at the mouth of the Gulf of Olbia — the most recognisable silhouette on the coast.
Tavolara → Porto Cervo
The heart of the Costa Smeralda: a marina, shop windows and the most expensive berths in the Mediterranean. A night in the marina here costs noticeably more than the route average.
Porto Cervo → La Maddalena
Into the archipelago via the Strait of Bonifacio. The archipelago's main town is on the island of the same name — a convenient place to plan the next days from.
Caprera and Spargi
Caprera is joined to La Maddalena by a bridge; Garibaldi's house is on the island. Spargi and its neighbours are about the water and the anchorages.
La Maddalena → Porto Rotondo
Back to the mainland along the coast. Porto Rotondo is a calmer and cheaper marina than Porto Cervo.
Porto Rotondo → Olbia
A short final leg, the fuel dock and handover. Night on the boat in the marina, fly out the next day.
North-east Sardinia is two different routes in one: the Costa Smeralda with its marinas, and the La Maddalena archipelago, which is a national park in its entirety. Legs are short but the waters are busy, and anchoring in the park is regulated — this is not an area where you drop the hook wherever you like.
Practicalities
- The La Maddalena archipelago is a national park: transit and mooring are paid, the permit is arranged online or through the base, and some bays are closed to anchoring. Check the current rules with the fleet before you leave.
- The Strait of Bonifacio between Sardinia and Corsica is known for strengthening winds — plan the crossing for the first half of the day.
- Costa Smeralda marinas are the most expensive on the route in August; budget for berths separately from the boat.
When to go and what it costs
Italy is dearer than its neighbours in summer and noticeably cheaper in spring: a median €202 per person per week in spring against €462 in summer. If your dates are flexible, May and early June give the best balance — and booked 2–3 months ahead, a spring week comes out at about €173 per person.
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