La Maddalena tours from Palau: a practical guide to the port and the boats

La Maddalena tours from Palau are the simplest way to see the archipelago: the marina sits two nautical miles from the main island, and most of the boats sail from here, from hundred-seat motor ships to twelve-passenger catamarans, private motorboats and evening sunset trips.

This page is for readers who have already settled on Palau and want three things: which of the seven boats we compare to choose, where to park without missing the departure, and how the day unfolds hour by hour. For the wider comparison between formats, see our guide to the archipelago tour.

Trips from Palau in brief

Palau harbour: piers, check-in and parking

Palau marina is compact, and you can walk to it from anywhere in the centre in a few minutes. The piers are numbered and the listing tells you which one to look for: the private all-inclusive tour, for example, gives pier 5 according to its GetYourGuide listing.

Check-in happens at the pier or at the kiosk 20 minutes before departure. Show the voucher on your phone, pay any landing contribution in cash, and you are given the number of your boat.

On parking there is one rule: in August the free spaces are gone by 9:30 am. The alternatives are the paid car parks next to the harbour and the multi-storey. With a 10 am departure, be in town by 9:15.

Insider tip: if you are staying outside Palau, arrive an hour before departure and have breakfast on the seafront. Time spent over a coffee costs less than the stress of hunting for a space at 9:50 with the boat warming its engines.

The Palau boat trips compared

Seven products cover every kind of day. Prices and ratings are those on the GetYourGuide listings as we write.

Motor ship: the four-stop trip

The four-stop trip is the large modern boat calling at Spargi, Budelli, Santa Maria and La Maddalena town, which according to GetYourGuide has gathered more than 2,300 reviews at an average of 4.5. It is the choice for the full circuit in its most tested form: lunch on board, free time in town, and a covered deck for anyone who cannot take the sun all day.

Small motor groups: seven stops or seven islands

Two products look alike and differ in the detail. The national park trip makes seven calls in seven hours at €120, with the highest rating on this list, 5.0 from 157 reviews according to GetYourGuide. The speedboat with skipper aims to touch all seven main islands with seven stops; price on the listing, 4.7 from 187 reviews.

Catamaran

The catamaran with lunch is the benchmark out of Palau: twelve guests at most, aperitivo (drinks with snacks before a meal), lunch and wine included, €200 according to GetYourGuide, with more than 2,200 reviews at 4.9. It is the right product for a couple, or for anyone who wants to anchor where the motor ships never go. Every catamaran and sailing alternative is on our page about catamaran and sailing tours.

Hybrid Costa Smeralda and sunset

Two short outings. The hybrid eco trip is a twelve-seat boat that runs five hours towards Porto Cervo and the Costa Smeralda with an aperitivo, at €119 according to GetYourGuide: not an archipelago trip, but a good second day once you have done the islands. The sunset catamaran runs from 5:15 to 8:30 pm at €100. Timings by month are on our page about sunset trips with aperitivo.

Private

The private all-inclusive tour is a skippered motorboat for up to ten people, 9:30 am to 5 pm from pier 5, with fuel, aperitivo and lunch included, rated 4.9 from 25 reviews according to GetYourGuide. The price is per boat, so it starts to beat a motor ship from six passengers up. Comparisons and advice on our page about private boat tours and rentals.

Choosing between the La Maddalena tours from Palau

• First time in the archipelago, watching the budget: the four-stop boat or the €76 vintage motorboat.
• You dislike crowds but will not pay €200: the small group inside the national park at €120.
• A couple, an anniversary, a proper lunch: the catamaran with lunch.
• A family with children under 4, or six to ten friends: the private all-inclusive boat, on your own schedule and free to head back early.
• You have already done the daytime circuit: the sunset trip or the Costa Smeralda run on the hybrid boat.
• The town interests you more than the coves: the ferry, covered further down, and a day in La Maddalena.

When to sail from Palau

The boat season runs from April to the end of October, with daily departures from June to September. June and September give the best balance of sea temperature (20–21 °C in June, 22–23 °C in late September), light and crowds. Between 15 July and 31 August the cheapest products sell out one to two weeks ahead.

The mistral, the north-westerly, is behind almost every cancellation. It is commonest in spring and autumn but can arrive on any day: when it blows hard the operator calls the trip off and offers a refund or a new date. Plan the boat trip for the first days of your holiday.

The day itself, from departure to return

Times are indicative and vary from boat to boat, and the order of the stops depends on the wind.

1. 9:15–9:40 am Park, coffee, check-in at the pier named on the listing.
2. 10 am Departure. The boat leaves the harbour past the Punta Sardegna lighthouse and runs along Santo Stefano, the island between Palau and La Maddalena that housed a US Navy submarine support base from 1972 to 2008.
3. About 10:45 am First swim stop, on many boats at Cala Corsara on Spargi: four pale-sand beaches with shallow water.
4. About 12:30 pm North to Porto della Madonna, the natural pools between Budelli, Razzoli and Santa Maria, passing Spiaggia Rosa, which according to the Parco Nazionale dell’Arcipelago di La Maddalena may only be viewed from the boat.
5. About 1:30 pm Lunch on board where provided, and the long stop at Cala Santa Maria or Spiaggia del Cavaliere on Budelli.
6. About 3:30 pm On the boats that allow it, free time in La Maddalena town: Piazza Garibaldi, Via Garibaldi, an ice cream by the harbour.
7. 5:30–6 pm Back in Palau.

Insider tip: if your boat includes free time in La Maddalena, keep dry clothes in your bag. Walking round town in a wet swimsuit at four in the afternoon, with the windy run home still to come, is the surest way to arrive back in Palau cold.

The route: what the Palau boats see

Compared with departures from Santa Teresa Gallura or Cannigione, the run from Palau is short and leaves more of the day for swimming. The fixed calls are Spargi with Cala Corsara, Budelli with the natural pools and the view of the Pink Beach, and Santa Maria with its long white beach and the Punta Filetto lighthouse. Small groups add Razzoli, the north-western island with its lighthouse on the cliffs facing Corsica, and Santo Stefano with Cala Villamarina.

Profiles of each island, with the coves where boats stop, are in our guide to the islands of the archipelago. Bear in mind that currents between Budelli, Razzoli and Santa Maria are strong and some areas are closed by the park: trust the skipper on where to swim.

How to save on trips from Palau

• Children. Reduced fares for roughly ages 3 to 12 on many listings, with infants free: check the age bracket on the listing itself.
• Book early with free cancellation. The GetYourGuide listings cited here carry “reserve now, pay later” and free cancellation up to 24 hours before. Hold the date at no risk and change it if the forecast turns.
• Seafront kiosks. They sell the evening before or the same morning, sometimes with a cash discount, but with no guaranteed free cancellation and no support in several languages.
• The month. April, May and October cost less, with a higher chance of mistral.
• Not included. Parking, a cash landing contribution on some boats, snorkelling gear that is not always supplied. Read the “Not included” section.

Getting to Palau

By car

From Olbia Costa Smeralda airport it is about 40 km (25 miles) and 45 minutes; the airport has summer flights from several UK airports. From Santa Teresa Gallura it is 25 km, from Cannigione 15 km, from Porto Cervo 30 km. From Alghero, count 170 km and about 2 h 30: there are no direct day trips from Alghero, so the drive to Palau is unavoidable. Directions for the other departure towns are on our page about boat trips from other towns.

By bus

ARST buses connect Olbia to Palau in about 1 h 15 to 1 h 30. For a 10 am departure you need an early-morning service: check the timetable on the ARST site.

The ferry as an alternative to a boat trip

Delcomar and Maddalena Lines cross from Palau in 15–20 minutes, with frequent sailings day and night and cars carried (timetables on Delcomar and Maddalena Lines). It is no substitute for a boat trip, since it does not take you to Spargi, Budelli or Santa Maria, but it is the right call if you want the strada panoramica, the 20 km ring road around La Maddalena island, Caprera and the Compendio Garibaldino across the Passo della Moneta causeway, and the beaches you can drive to.

What to bring on board

• Reef-safe sunscreen, a hat, sunglasses.
• A towel and dry clothes for town and for the run home.
• Water shoes: slippery granite and sea urchins.
• Mask and snorkel, not always provided.
• A dry bag for phone and wallet.
• Cash for the landing contribution, parking and coffee.
• A light sweatshirt for the way back.
• Motion-sickness tablets if you are sensitive.

According to the Parco Nazionale dell’Arcipelago di La Maddalena, taking away sand, shells and pebbles is forbidden, and drones require authorisation from the park.

Roccia dell’Orso: the bonus before or after your trip

On the hill above Palau stands Roccia dell’Orso, the Bear Rock, a granite boulder eroded by the wind into the shape of a bear and already mentioned by the geographer Ptolemy. A short paid walk takes you up, and from the top the whole archipelago opens out, including the route you have sailed or are about to sail. Go up around 6:30 pm for the low light, or early in the morning if your boat leaves at 11.

Insider tip: from Roccia dell’Orso, pick out Spargi, Budelli and Santa Maria before you board. The next day, out at sea, you will always know where you are without asking the skipper.

Booking a La Maddalena boat tour from Palau

Of all the La Maddalena tours from Palau, the answer for most readers is the classic four-stop trip, the boat with the most reviews on GetYourGuide: check availability and prices for the four-stop trip. For fewer people on board, look at the small-group national park trip; for the quietest day of all, the catamaran with lunch. Whichever you pick, book with free cancellation, reach the pier 20 minutes early, and leave the rush in Palau along with the car.