Razzoli: the wild island of the archipelago, its lighthouse and Cala Lunga

Most boats look at Razzoli rather than land on it. Roughly 1.5 km² of granite at the far north-western corner of the La Maddalena Archipelago, facing Corsica across open water, it has a lighthouse on the cliffs, one usable inlet, and the currents of the Bocche di Bonifacio (the Strait of Bonifacio) sweeping round it. Nobody lives there. There are no facilities and no maintained paths.

Here is what you actually see, where stopping is allowed, why the wind decides everything, and which tours bring you close.

An island of cliffs facing Corsica

Together with Budelli and Santa Maria, Razzoli closes off the Porto della Madonna basin at its north-western end. The side facing the strait is a wall of sea-hammered granite with nowhere to come alongside; the southern flank opens into narrow inlets where the water is already deep a few metres off the rock. On clear days you can pick out the white cliffs of Bonifacio from the deck, ten miles or so away.

That is the character of the place: landscape, not beach. If what you want is soft sand and shallow water, Santa Maria delivers far more, and it is minutes away. Razzoli is for anyone who wants to see the archipelago as it looked before the tour fleet arrived.

The Razzoli lighthouse

The lighthouse sits on the north-western cliff, above a stretch of coast with no landing anywhere. The tower and the old keepers’ building, now automated, read clearly from the water, and they are the first landmark the Santa Teresa Gallura boats pick up as they finish the crossing. There is no visiting it: no public path reaches the site, and the area falls inside the stretches the park protects most tightly.

Insider tip: on the Santa Teresa boats the lighthouse appears off the starboard bow once the crossing is done. If you want the photograph without a row of heads in it, take up position on the right-hand side before the skipper calls it out, because everyone moves at the same moment.

Cala Lunga, the only anchorage

Cala Lunga is a narrow, deep inlet on the southern flank, sheltered from the mistral, with a small patch of sand on the bottom. It is the one place a boat can settle comfortably, and on calm days the small-group trips make a swim or snorkelling stop there. The granite walls drop away vertically. The water runs colder and darker than in the natural pools, and the seabed rewards a mask far more than it rewards floating about.

In a north-westerly the inlet itself stays calm, but the run out to it does not. That is precisely why Razzoli is the first stop to fall off an itinerary.

Currents, mistral and Zone A

The channel between Sardinia and Corsica accelerates both wind and current, and Razzoli takes the first of it. Even when the sea looks settled, the current around the headlands can move a swimmer without them noticing. Anyone getting into the water at Cala Lunga should stay near the boat and follow the skipper’s instructions. This is not the stop for children or for hesitant swimmers.

According to the Parco Nazionale dell’Arcipelago di La Maddalena, parts of Razzoli fall within Zone A, the integral reserve where access is forbidden. The rest of the island follows the general park rules: no landing outside the permitted spots, no sand or pebbles taken away, no fires and no camping, drones only with authorisation. Anyone sailing their own boat needs the park navigation permit and may not anchor on the Posidonia seagrass. The zone map and the permits are covered on our national park page and on lamaddalenapark.it.

Which tours show you Razzoli

Razzoli is not a standard stop. It turns up on itineraries as a close pass, and as an anchorage only when conditions allow. These are the trips that get nearest, with the figures from their GetYourGuide listings at the time of writing, September 2026.

The Santa Teresa boats are the obvious choice: the harbour sits at the mouth of the channel and Razzoli is the first land of the archipelago they meet. That crossing is also the roughest water anywhere in the area, so if you are prone to seasickness, take the tablets before you board. Departure times, stated itineraries and landing contributions are covered on our page about boat tours from Santa Teresa Gallura. From Palau, alongside the national park trip, the seven-island circuit counts it among its stops. All the formats are compared in our guide to the archipelago tour.

Insider tip: if Razzoli is the reason you are booking, pick a day with a southerly forecast or no wind at all, and check again the evening before. With the mistral forecast, skippers stay inside the Porto della Madonna basin. You will see Budelli and Santa Maria, and of Razzoli only the outline.

What to bring

• Mask and snorkel: at Cala Lunga the seabed is the best part of the stop.
• A layer: the water is colder here and the wind off the strait bites even in July.
• Seasickness tablets for the crossing from Santa Teresa.
• No souvenirs off the ground: sand and pebbles stay where they are, under park rules.

The short version

Razzoli is the wild island of the La Maddalena Archipelago: a lighthouse on the cliffs, Cala Lunga as the only anchorage, Corsica on the horizon and the currents of the Strait of Bonifacio deciding whether you stop or sail past. To see it up close, check availability and prices for the motor ship from Santa Teresa Gallura on GetYourGuide. For the rest of the group, start with the overview of the archipelago islands and the guide to Spiaggia Rosa on Budelli, its neighbour across the pools.