Cala Coticcio: reaching Caprera's Tahiti on foot with a guide or by boat

Cala Coticcio, on the eastern side of Caprera in the La Maddalena Archipelago, is the beach that changed the rules. Sardinia’s “Tahiti” was until recently an open destination taking hundreds of walkers a day; since the summer of 2021 the park has regulated access on foot, with authorised guides and a daily quota. Boats may still stop in the bay. The result is a calmer cove than before, but one you have to organise.

This guide explains how the booking works, what the path is really like, how to arrive by sea, when to go and what not to do.

What Cala Coticcio is, and why “Tahiti”

Two small white-sand beaches divided by a spur of pink granite, at the head of a narrow bay closed in by high rock: the bottom is pale and the water shifts from green to blue within a few metres, with maquis running right down to the sand. The nickname came from the regulars of past decades and needs no explaining once you see the bay from the top of the path.

The cove faces east, towards the open sea and Corsica. That shelters it from the mistral, which makes it one of the few coves in the archipelago usable on north-westerly days, but it is open to easterly and south-easterly wind, when swell rolls in and stirred sand clouds the water.

The rule since 2021: guide, quota, booking

According to the Parco Nazionale dell’Arcipelago di La Maddalena, since the summer of 2021 access on foot to Cala Coticcio has been allowed only with a guide authorised by the park, within a maximum number of visitors per day and with advance booking. The measure followed years of overcrowding, an eroding path and litter: the cove is small, has no facilities and could no longer take an unrestricted flow of walkers.

How to book, in practice:

• Through the park’s site, lamaddalenapark.it, which names the authorised guides and sets out the arrangements for the current season.
• Through an authorised guide, for instance the guided hike listed on GetYourGuide: 3.2 km, 160 m of ascent, an hour and a half of walking, park guide and an aperitivo (drinks with snacks) included, with your own transport to the trailhead on the Caprera road. It rates 4.8 out of 5 from 23 reviews at the time of writing, with the price on the listing. Check the dates early, because in July and August the daily quota goes fast.

We do not quote the exact size of the quota or any access charge, because the park can revise them each season and the official announcement is what counts. The park’s zoning and general rules are set out on our national park page.

Insider tip: book the first slot of the morning. The path is in full sun, the beach heats up quickly and the tour boats reach the bay around the middle of the day, so an early group gets the cove almost to itself and climbs back out before the worst of the heat.

The path: 3 km over rock

The route starts from the Caprera road, where you leave the car on a patch of gravel, and drops towards the coast through maquis and granite slabs. It is not long, roughly 3 km each way, but it is all on rock, with sections where you use your hands, and about 160 m of ascent to repeat on the way back. An hour and a half gets you down; with the guide’s stops and the heat, allow a little more.

What you actually need:

• Closed shoes with a proper tread, compulsory according to the hike listing and sensible in any case, since the final slabs are smooth and downhill.
• At least a litre of water each, plus a hat and sun cream, because there is no shade.
• A light rucksack with a towel, mask and snorkel and a bag for your rubbish.
• No pushchairs and no flip-flops. Children who walk well manage it; the youngest do not.

You reach Caprera by car from La Maddalena over the Passo della Moneta causeway, and La Maddalena from Palau on the Delcomar and Maddalena Lines ferries, which carry vehicles. Everything else about the island, from the Garibaldi museums to the other coves, is on our Caprera page.

By boat: stopping, tours and private RIBs

The bay is still reachable from the sea under park rules, which provide mooring buoys and forbid anchoring on Posidonia seagrass. It is the simplest way to see Cala Coticcio without booking the path, and the options differ:

• Private RIB. The private 8.5 m inflatable, for up to 8 people and with an awning, puts Cala Coticcio on the programme along with Cala Soraya, the natural pool and the town of La Maddalena. It rates 4.9 out of 5 from 9 reviews on GetYourGuide, with the price per boat on the listing. Check availability for your date. Private options are compared on our page about private tours and boat rental.
• Group tours. Some archipelago trips make a swimming or photo stop in the bay, particularly those from Cannigione that follow Caprera’s eastern shore. Boats from Palau, such as the vintage motorboat with its four stops, usually head off towards Spargi and Budelli, so anyone set on Cala Coticcio should read the listing before booking.
• Rental without a licence. Palau and La Maddalena hire out RIBs up to 40 hp with no licence needed. You will want the park permit and a flat sea, since the bay is open to the east.

Arriving from the water you cannot go ashore beyond what the park allows: the beach, like the path and the maquis behind it, sits inside the quota. Your skipper will know what is permitted in the current season.

Snorkelling, and when to go

The seabed is the best part of Cala Coticcio: pale sand in the middle, granite boulders on either side with sea bream, saddled bream and octopus tucked into the cracks, and Posidonia further out. Snorkel from the shore, following the rock spur that divides the two beaches, without straying towards the mouth of the bay, where the open sea brings current.

The best moment is the morning of a calm day, or one with a moderate mistral, between June and September: clear water, a sheltered bay and light from the east coming straight into the cove. With an easterly or a sirocco, visibility drops and the swell makes stopping by boat uncomfortable. In August the quota keeps the crowds off the sand, but the bay fills with boats around midday.

Insider tip: from the granite spur between the two beaches, looking out to sea, the left-hand side has the bigger boulders and the better life below the surface. Get in there with your mask and come back to shore across the sandy middle.

What not to do

• Do not leave the marked path: the shortcuts eroded the slope and are the reason for the restriction.
• Do not take sand, pebbles or shells, which are forbidden and fined by the park across the whole archipelago.
• Do not anchor on Posidonia, or land where the guide or skipper tells you it is not allowed.
• Do not fly a drone without park authorisation.
• Do not leave rubbish: there is no collection at the cove, so everything goes back in the rucksack.
• Do not turn up without a booking and hope for a space, because a guide cannot exceed the quota.

In short

Cala Coticcio earns its nickname, but since 2021 it needs planning: on foot with an authorised guide and a place in the daily quota, or by boat with a stop in the bay under park rules. To arrive along the path, check availability and the price of the guided hike on GetYourGuide before the summer dates fill; for the rest of the coast, start with our guide to the beaches of La Maddalena and the overview of the islands.