Olbia Banner Large
Route · 7 days · round-tripYacht charter route · Sardinia

Olbia via Long.

Round-trip yacht charter from Olbia through Tavolara, the Maddalena islands and Bonifacio in Corsica, then home via Costa Smeralda over seven days.

The route

Day-by-day route

Click any pin on the map or any day in the route summary below to see that day's stop, story and photos.

Tavolara
Day 1

Olbia → Tavolara Island

A gentle 15-mile hop south to shake down the boat under Tavolara's 565-metre limestone wall, then quiet nights across the water at Porto San Paolo.

Distance

9 NM

Sailing

~1.8h at 5 kn

At a glance

Route at a glance

Best season

May – mid-October (peak Jun – Sep)

Duration

7 days

Departure

Olbia

Sailing area

Sardinia

Route summary

Click any day to jump back to the map and see its photos, narrative and mooring tip.

Plan this route

See boats from Olbia

Live availability & prices, bookable online

All Sardinia routes

Compare other route variations

Search the whole fleet

Every destination, date and boat type

The full story

Day-by-day journey

Named anchorages, mooring notes and things to do for every leg of the week — the map follows along as you scroll.

Day 1 / 7
Tavolara
1
Day 1

Olbia → Tavolara Island

Most crews spend the first afternoon getting acquainted with the boat, and this leg is built for exactly that. Fifteen miles down the coast, Tavolara climbs almost vertically out of the water, a slab of grey limestone that once styled itself the smallest kingdom on earth. We usually drop the hook at Spalmatore di Terra, sand at four to six metres, well tucked from anything out of the north. The swim here sets the tone for the week: pale bottom, sharp shade under the cliff. Ashore, a rough track leads to the little cemetery where the island's self-declared royals are buried, worth the twenty minutes it takes. This is a day anchorage only, so once the light softens we motor back across to Porto San Paolo and tie up opposite for a settled first night.

Things to do

Swim the sand at Spalmatore di Terra

Walk to the island kingdom's cemetery

Free-dive Tavolara's underwater limestone arches

Lunch ashore at Da Tonino taverna

Mooring tip

Spalmatore di Terra is a daytime anchorage only, sand at 4-6 m and sheltered from the north. Plan to overnight in the small marina at Porto San Paolo across the channel, around EUR 60-90 a night.

Caprera
2
Day 2

Tavolara → Caprera

The run north crosses into the Maddalena archipelago, a granite maze that rewards an early start. Caprera is where Garibaldi settled in 1855 and stayed until his death, and his low white house still stands with the furniture more or less as he left it. The draw for most crews is Cala Coticcio on the eastern side, reachable only from the water, its granite arms wrapped around a sand bottom that glows turquoise by midday. In July and August the park requires you to book a mooring buoy online before you arrive, and the popular buoys go fast. If they are gone, Cala Portese on the south side gives you a free anchorage over sand at five to seven metres, less dramatic but perfectly calm in settled weather.

Things to do

Anchor and swim at Cala Coticcio

Tour Garibaldi's house and tomb

Walk the trail to Punta Rossa fort

Snorkel over sand at Cala Portese

Mooring tip

Cala Coticcio's park buoys run about EUR 40-80 a night at peak and must be reserved online through the Maddalena park. If they're taken, drop anchor free over sand at 5-7 m in Cala Portese.

Spargi
3
Day 3

Caprera → Spargi

Barely an hour separates Caprera from Spargi, so there's no rush to weigh anchor. The island has no residents and no road, just pink-tinged granite piled into shapes the wind has been working on for a very long time. Cala Corsara on the southwest corner is the anchorage everyone comes for, sand at four to six metres and good holding once the north wind eases. Take the tender or swim around to the Piscine Naturali on the south shore, a set of shallow pools warm enough to linger in. Afternoons here tend to slow right down. We often leave the deck rigged for shade, pull out lunch, and let the crew drift between the boat and the beach until the light turns gold and the day-trip boats clear out.

Things to do

Anchor and swim at Cala Corsara

Snorkel the Piscine Naturali rock pools

Beachcomb the empty southern shoreline

Shade lunch on deck under the granite

Mooring tip

Book a park buoy at Cala Corsara online, roughly EUR 40-60 a night in high season. When none are free you can anchor alongside on sand at 4-6 m, though the cove empties of wind more reliably than of day boats.

Bonifacio
4
Day 4

Spargi → Bonifacio

Today's the passage to respect. The Bonifacio Strait squeezes the Mistral between Sardinia and Corsica and can add five to eight knots to whatever's forecast, which makes it the windiest stretch of the western Med. We cross only in daylight and only when the outlook stays under twenty-five knots; otherwise the plan is simply to wait. Get the timing right and it's twelve straightforward miles to the Corsican shore, where Bonifacio hides its harbour inside a slot of white limestone, the old town balanced on a seventy-metre cliff directly above the water. You berth stern-to deep in the inner fjord, fully protected once you're in. Climb up to the citadel that evening. The walls, the lanes, and the light off the chalk rock all reward the effort of getting there.

Things to do

Walk the citadel ramparts at dusk

Descend the King of Aragon's Steps

Tender into the limestone sea caves

Langoustine risotto ashore at U Castille

Mooring tip

Berth stern-to inside the inner fjord at Marina de Bonifacio, around EUR 100-180 a night at peak and completely sheltered. Only attempt the strait crossing in daylight with the Mistral forecast under 25 knots.

Santa Teresa Gallura
5
Day 5

Bonifacio → Santa Teresa Gallura

Pick a calm window and the return leg is short, eight miles back over the strait to the Sardinian side. Santa Teresa Gallura sits behind a headland that shrugs off wind from any quarter, which makes it a reassuring place to tie up after a lively couple of days. The Longonsardo tower, thrown up by the Aragonese in the sixteenth century, keeps watch over the entrance. Anchor off Rena Bianca, a short white crescent right below the town, for the afternoon swim. If there's time, take the road out to Capo Testa, where the granite has been carved by weather into hollows and mushrooms that photographers spend hours on. Evenings belong to the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, where a glass of mirto after dinner is close to compulsory.

Things to do

Swim off the Rena Bianca crescent

Climb the 16th-century Longonsardo tower

Wander the wind-carved rocks at Capo Testa

Sip mirto on Piazza Vittorio Emanuele

Mooring tip

Berth stern-to in Santa Teresa Gallura's marina, roughly EUR 60-100 a night and sheltered from every direction. Rena Bianca just outside works as a fair-weather anchor stop on sand at 4-6 m.

Palau
6
Day 6

Santa Teresa → Palau

Palau is a proper working port, the jumping-off point for the Maddalena islands and only a short ferry ride from La Maddalena town itself. The sail across is undemanding, twelve miles of familiar water, so there's room in the day for something ashore. The obvious outing is Capo d'Orso, a granite headland a few miles east where erosion has shaped one boulder into an unmistakable crouching bear; the walk up from the road is steep but brief and the view over the archipelago earns it. Back in the harbour, look for malloreddus, the little saffron-tinted Sardinian gnocchi, at one of the port trattorias. Come evening, wander round to Porto Rafael, a low-key cluster of pastel houses where the light on the water at sunset is about as good as this coast gets.

Things to do

Hike up to the Capo d'Orso Bear Rock

Ferry across to La Maddalena town

Eat malloreddus at a port trattoria

Watch the sunset from Porto Rafael

Mooring tip

Take a stern-to berth at Marina di Palau, about EUR 80-120 a night at peak and sheltered from the north. Marina dell'Orso a mile east is the bigger fallback if Palau is full.

Porto Cervo
7
Day 7

Palau → Olbia

The last leg runs twenty miles south down the Costa Smeralda, and there's usually time to fit in one more swim before the boat goes back. Cala Granu, tucked just outside Porto Cervo and reachable only from the water, is a fine spot to drop the hook over sand at five to seven metres while the crew has a final float. If anyone fancies a look at how the other half moors, the marble Piazzetta up in Porto Cervo is a short walk from the quay. From there it's a straight run into Olbia. Top up at the fuel berth by the entrance, give the boat a proper clean, and confirm the handover slot the yard will have asked you to hold. A last dinner at a Porto San Paolo trattoria closes the week where it more or less began.

Things to do

Anchor and swim at Cala Granu

Stroll the marble Porto Cervo Piazzetta

Refuel and wash down at Olbia Marina

Farewell dinner at a Porto San Paolo trattoria

Mooring tip

Berth stern-to with lazy lines at Olbia Marina, roughly EUR 100-150 a night at peak. Refuel at the fuel berth by the entrance and confirm your handover slot with the base at least 24 hours ahead.

Sail this route on your own charter

Check live availability from the departure marina, compare boats and secure your week online — free cancellation included.

See boats from OlbiaBrowse all boats