14-day route
Route · 14 days · one-wayYacht charter route · Sardinia

Olbia via Bonifacio & Caprera.

Two weeks from Olbia through Tavolara, the Costa Smeralda and the Maddalena islands, with a Bocche di Bonifacio crossing to Corsica and back.

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.

Day 1

Olbia → Tavolara Island

A short first leg out of Olbia's gulf to the limestone wall of Tavolara, where a king still holds court.

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

14 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 / 14
1
Day 1

Olbia → Tavolara Island

Most crews sail out of Olbia after lunch, once the boat is provisioned and the paperwork is done. It is an easy reach across the gulf, and Tavolara grows on the horizon the whole way: a sheer grey massif that climbs above five hundred metres straight from the water. The island sits inside a marine protected area, so you pick up one of the park buoys on the sandy north shore rather than dropping the hook where you please. Ashore there is almost nothing, which is the point. Two family kitchens serve lobster and grilled fish, and a beach bar handles the rest. Tavolara even has its own self-styled king, a title passed down one Sardinian family for generations. Swim before dinner while the light goes gold on the cliff.

Things to do

Dinner at Da Tonino, Re di Tavolara

Swim off the sandy north-shore beach

Photograph the 565-metre limestone wall at sunset

Snorkel the seagrass inside the marine park

Mooring tip

The north shore has a handful of park buoys on sand and seagrass; free anchoring is restricted inside the reserve. Arrive by mid-afternoon in July and August to be sure of a mooring.

2
Day 2

Tavolara Island → Porto San Paolo

This is the shortest leg of the fortnight, so there is no rush. We usually linger on the Tavolara buoy through the morning, then slip across the narrow channel to Porto San Paolo in under an hour. The village is low and unfussy, a working slip for the little ferries that shuttle day-trippers to the island. What you come for lies on the way: the coves around Punta Coda Cavallo, where the water shades from turquoise to deep blue over pale sand. The beaches below the headland make a good lunch stop before you tie up. Porto San Paolo itself has a pontoon and a scatter of trattorias along the front, handy for topping up bread, fruit and a bottle of Vermentino before the next day north.

Things to do

Lunch stop in Cala Coda Cavallo

Swim over pale sand at Punta Molara

Provision Vermentino along the village front

Watch the Tavolara ferries from the pontoon

Mooring tip

Porto San Paolo has a small marina pontoon with modest depths, so call ahead in season. If you would rather anchor, the sandy bays under Capo Coda Cavallo hold well in anything but a strong easterly.

3
Day 3

Porto San Paolo → Golfo Aranci

Leave by nine and you round Capo Figari with the morning still cool. The passage north from Porto San Paolo runs maybe fourteen miles, most of it comfortable sailing once the day's thermal has filled in. Keep a watch off the cape: a pod of bottlenose dolphins has settled these waters for years, and they often come to ride the bow. Tuck into Cala Moresca under the Figari headland, two small crescents of golden sand backed by pines, with a path through the scrub linking Cala Greca and Cala del Sonno if you fancy a walk. Golfo Aranci town is a plain fishing and ferry port, not pretty, but the anchorage off Cala Moresca is one of the better protected spots on this stretch. Grill something on board and stay the night.

Things to do

Watch bottlenose dolphins off Capo Figari

Anchor at Cala Moresca beneath the pines

Walk the path to Cala del Sonno

Snorkel the rocks under Capo Figari

Mooring tip

Anchor off Cala Moresca on sand in three to six metres, tucked under Capo Figari for shelter from the north and west. It fills with day boats by midday, so come in early or wait for the late-afternoon exodus.

4
Day 4

Golfo Aranci → Porto Rotondo

The run down to Porto Rotondo is short, only a few miles, so make a morning of the beach at Marinella on the way. That long white bay between the two headlands has the best holding on this coast and good shelter from the prevailing northwesterly, which is why half the fleet seems to be there on a July afternoon. Porto Rotondo is where the Costa Smeralda starts to show its money. The marina wraps around a neat piazza of arcades, boutiques and gelato, all built in the deliberately rustic Emerald Coast style. Berths are not cheap in high season, but the town is made for an evening stroll and a long dinner. If the budget says otherwise, anchor off Marinella and take the tender in for aperitivo.

Things to do

Beach morning anchored off Marinella bay

Aperitivo on Porto Rotondo's central piazza

Gelato along the arcaded waterfront

See San Lorenzo church's carved-wood interior

Mooring tip

Book a Porto Rotondo berth well ahead for July and August, as it is a busy, pricey marina. The anchorage off Marinella beach is the free alternative, sand in three to five metres with reliable holding.

5
Day 5

Porto Rotondo → Porto Cervo

Short and pretty, this leg threads the indented Costa Smeralda coast up to Porto Cervo. The old village above the marina was the Aga Khan's original vision for the Emerald Coast in the sixties, and it still trades on it: whitewashed walls, bougainvillea, and a covered walkway of designer shops the locals call the Passeggiata. Superyachts line the quay at the Marina di Porto Cervo, and the people-watching alone earns the stop. For a swim, the Piccolo and Grande Pevero beaches sit just south, both easy to reach by tender. This is the priciest night of the trip if you take a berth, so plenty of crews anchor in nearby Cala Granu or Liscia Ruja instead and come in by dinghy to walk the village at dusk once the crowds thin.

Things to do

Walk the Passeggiata's designer arcade

Swim at Grande Pevero beach

People-watch superyachts on the marina quay

Sunset aperitivo above the old harbour

Mooring tip

Marina di Porto Cervo is superyacht territory and charges accordingly, so reserve ahead if you want the quay. For a quiet, free night, anchor in Cala Granu just north or off Liscia Ruja and tender in.

6
Day 6

Porto Cervo → Portisco

Portisco is not a place you sail to for the scenery, and that is fine. After the extravagance of Porto Cervo, this is the workaday stop where you sort the boat out: fuel, water, laundry, a supermarket run before the wilder days ahead in the archipelago. The IGY marina in the Gulf of Cugnana is large, sheltered and well run, with hundreds of berths and easy road access if crew are changing over. Make the passage a lazy one, with a swim stop at Cala Petra Ruja or Romazzino on the way down. Once tied up, there is a decent chandlery and a couple of honest marina restaurants. Eat early, sleep well, and top up the tanks in the morning before pointing north toward Caprera.

Things to do

Full provisioning run before the islands

Swim stop at Cala Petra Ruja

Take on fuel and water at IGY

Casual dinner at a marina trattoria

Mooring tip

IGY Portisco is a large, well-protected marina and rarely full, so it is a safe bet for a fuel and provisioning stop. Book if you need a crew change, since it has road access and parking.

7
Day 7

Portisco → Caprera

This is the day the trip changes gear. You clear the Costa Smeralda and cross into the La Maddalena National Park, roughly a dozen miles of open water with the pink granite islands rising ahead. Caprera is the wildest of them, more forest and rock than town, and forever tied to Giuseppe Garibaldi, who lived out his last years here; his house is now a small museum worth the walk. The prize on the water is Cala Coticcio, the horseshoe of white sand and boulders locals nickname the Tahiti of Sardinia. Access is by tender only and numbers are capped, so it pays to be early. If the wind swings, Porto Palma on the south side is a well-sheltered bay with a scatter of buoys and space to swing.

Things to do

Tender into Cala Coticcio's white sand

Visit Garibaldi's house and tomb

Anchor overnight in sheltered Porto Palma

Snorkel the granite of Cala Brigantina

Mooring tip

Cala Coticcio is a no-anchor zone reached only by dinghy, so overnight in Porto Palma or Cala Portese on the south coast, both with buoys and good sand. Park permits apply throughout the archipelago; carry yours aboard.

8
Day 8

Caprera → La Maddalena

Barely worth raising the mainsail, the leg from Caprera to La Maddalena takes minutes, the two islands linked by the low Moneta causeway. La Maddalena is the one proper town out here, and after a run of empty anchorages the noise is welcome. Its old centre climbs from the harbour in pink-and-ochre terraces, with a market, real shops, and a long waterfront that fills for the evening passeggiata. Tie up in the town marina at Cala Gavetta, right in the middle of things, or anchor off and tender in. Provision hard here, because it is the last decent supermarket before the western islands. Ashore, wander up to the old fortifications for the view, then find a table for spaghetti alle vongole and cold Vermentino as the lights come on across the water.

Things to do

Passeggiata along Cala Gavetta waterfront

Provision at the town market

Climb to the old military fortifications

Spaghetti alle vongole at the harbour

Mooring tip

Cala Gavetta and the adjacent town quays put you in the heart of La Maddalena but fill fast in August, so call ahead. Anchoring is possible off the town, though holding is patchy over weed; set the hook carefully.

9
Day 9

La Maddalena → Spargi

A gentle few miles west drops you at Spargi, and the scenery shifts again. There is nothing on the island but granite, maquis and beaches, no jetty, no bar, no road. Cala Corsara on the south side is the classic anchorage, a broad bay of pale sand and pink boulders with water so clear you can count the links of your chain in twenty metres. It draws day boats, so the early birds get the best of it; by six the fleet thins and the light turns soft. If the wind backs into the west, shift round to Cala Conneri, tucked among rocks and scrub with good protection. This is a day for doing very little: swim, snorkel the granite slabs, walk the shore path, and let the boat swing to her anchor.

Things to do

Anchor in Cala Corsara's pink granite bay

Snorkel over twenty-metre visibility

Shelter in Cala Conneri from westerlies

Walk the empty shoreline paths

Mooring tip

Cala Corsara has buoys plus room to anchor on sand in five to fifteen metres; take a park buoy where one is offered. For a westerly blow, Cala Conneri on the north side gives better cover.

10
Day 10

Spargi → Santa Teresa Gallura

Today you leave the archipelago proper and push northwest to the top corner of Sardinia. Santa Teresa Gallura sits in a narrow inlet, Porto Longone, that gives good all-round shelter and a snug marina to tie up in before the Corsica crossing. Round Capo Testa on the way and you understand why people rave about it: enormous wind-sculpted granite boulders, the Valle della Luna hollow behind, a lighthouse on the point staring straight across the strait. Anchor off Cala Grande under the cape for a swim in shockingly clear water. In town, Rena Bianca is a broad white beach a short walk from the marina, good for a last easy afternoon. Eat well tonight; tomorrow you cross the Bocche di Bonifacio, and that wants a fresh crew.

Things to do

Climb the granite maze at Capo Testa

Swim at Rena Bianca town beach

Explore the Valle della Luna hollow

Anchor under the Capo Testa lighthouse

Mooring tip

Porto Longone marina in Santa Teresa is well sheltered and the sensible place to overnight before the strait, so book in high season. The bays under Capo Testa are fine day anchorages but exposed to any northerly swell.

11
Day 11

Santa Teresa Gallura → Bonifacio

The crossing is the shortest international hop imaginable, under nine miles from Santa Teresa to the Corsican shore, but the Bocche di Bonifacio commands respect. The strait funnels the maestrale, and a wind that is only fresh over the Gulf of Lion arrives here amplified, kicking up short steep seas under gusts that can top forty knots. Check the forecast the night before and go early, before the afternoon builds. On a calm morning it is a delight, with the Lavezzi islands off to starboard. Bonifacio itself is the kind of arrival you remember: a long narrow inlet cut into white limestone cliffs, the medieval citadel teetering on the rim above. Motor slowly up the fjord to the marina, then climb the ramparts of the old town at dusk for the view back down the strait.

Things to do

Cross the strait early before the maestrale

Motor up the fjord-like inlet

Walk the citadel ramparts at dusk

Detour past the Lavezzi islands

Mooring tip

Bonifacio's marina sits deep inside the inlet with excellent shelter but limited space, so radio ahead in season as it fills by early afternoon. Time the crossing for a calm morning and reef early if the maestrale is forecast.

12
Day 12

Bonifacio → Palau

Recross the Bocche while the morning is kind and slip back into Italian waters at Palau. It is a busy little ferry town, the mainland gateway to La Maddalena, with a workmanlike marina and everything you need to restock. The landmark here is the Roccia dell'Orso, a granite outcrop above town weathered into the shape of a crouching bear, visible for miles and worth the short climb for the panorama over the whole archipelago. Above it stands the Fortezza di Monte Altura, a nineteenth-century fort you can tour. If Palau's harbour feels too busy, the anchorages just east at Porto Rafael and around the Isola dei Cavalli are prettier for a swim. Pick up any last provisions tonight, because the run south tomorrow is a long one back toward Tavolara.

Things to do

Climb to the Roccia dell'Orso bear rock

Tour the Fortezza di Monte Altura

Swim off elegant Porto Rafael

Restock at Palau's harbour shops

Mooring tip

Palau's marina is functional and central but exposed to the wash of constant ferry traffic; for a calmer night, anchor east toward Porto Rafael on sand. Watch for the buoyed ferry channel on the approach.

13
Day 13

Palau → Tavolara Island

This is the longest passage of the fortnight, so treat it as a proper sailing day. From Palau you head back east through the archipelago and then turn south, retracing the Costa Smeralda coast with maybe forty miles to cover down to Tavolara. Get the anchor up early and make the most of the morning breeze. If the day runs late or the crew wants a break, there are easy bolt-holes along the way at Porto Cervo or Portisco. Otherwise settle in, hand-steer through the good stretches, and watch the familiar landmarks slide past in reverse. Tavolara reappears late in the afternoon, its grey wall as striking on the way home as it was on day one. Pick up a park buoy on the north shore and toast the last full night aboard.

Things to do

Long downwind run along the Gallura coast

Optional break at Porto Cervo

Return to the Tavolara north-shore buoys

Farewell dinner ashore on Tavolara

Mooring tip

Break this long leg with a lunch anchorage if the crew tires; Cala di Volpe or Liscia Ruja sit roughly halfway. Reach the Tavolara buoy field before evening, as the handful of moorings goes early in season.

14
Day 14

Tavolara Island → Olbia

The last morning is a gentle one. Olbia lies only a few miles southwest across the gulf, so there is no need to rush the coffee. Most charters want the boat back by mid-morning, which leaves time for one final swim off Tavolara before you slip the buoy. Motor or sail in across the flat water of the Gulf of Olbia, past Isola delle Bocche and the long entrance channel that leads to the marinas. Once alongside, there is the familiar routine of stripping beds, settling the fuel and saying goodbye to a boat you have come to know over two weeks. Olbia itself deserves a couple of hours if your flight allows: the Romanesque basilica of San Simplicio and a plate of bottarga pasta make a fitting last taste of Sardinia.

Things to do

Final morning swim off Tavolara

Sail the flat Gulf of Olbia

Visit San Simplicio basilica in town

Last bottarga pasta before flying home

Mooring tip

Charter bases in Olbia usually want the boat alongside by 9 a.m., so leave Tavolara by seven for an easy approach. Follow the marked channel into the gulf, since it shoals outside the buoys.

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