Spargi, La Maddalena: Cala Corsara, wind-carved granite and the boat tours that stop there

Spargi, La Maddalena’s westerly neighbour, is the island almost everyone sees first: about 4.2 km² of uninhabited granite, with Cala Corsara as the opening swimming stop on most boat trips out of Palau. There are no roads, no houses and no ferries. You arrive on a boat and you leave on the same one.

This page covers what to expect at Cala Corsara and the other coves, why the rocks here have those shapes, the story of the Roman ship that went down offshore, and which tours actually stop.

Cala Corsara, the main stop

Cala Corsara sits on the south side of the island, out of the mistral, and is really four small beaches in a row separated by granite spurs. The bottom is pale sand with patches of Posidonia seagrass, the water runs from soft green to blue within a few metres, and the rocks on either side are thick with sea bream and saddled bream: with a mask and snorkel you can see everything in a metre of water.

Boats usually arrive between 10:30 am and midday. Motorboats and smaller craft anchor close in and put passengers on the sand, while the larger motor ships with several dozen seats stay offshore and the swim is off the stern ladder, with the beach a short swim away. If getting ashore matters to you, the size of the boat counts for more than the itinerary.

Insider tip: at Cala Corsara the beach furthest right as you face the island is the first to empty, because it is the longest walk from where the tenders land. Swim across and you will have clear sand even in August.

The other coves: Granara and Connari

Cala Granara, on the north-eastern side, is smaller, with coarser sand and a bottom that shelves away quickly; Cala Connari lies further north. Small-group tours and private boats use them when Corsara is full or when the wind swings round to the south. The rest of Spargi is a granite coastline of little inlets worth stopping at only in a RIB and only on a flat sea.

Anyone hiring a boat needs the park’s navigation permit, bought online, and has to use the buoys in the main coves, because anchoring on Posidonia is forbidden. The permits are summarised on our national park page.

Granite carved by the wind

The landscape of Spargi is rounded rock hollowed out by wind and salt into shapes that every skipper names in his own way: the witch’s head, the face, the tortoise. It is the same granite as the rest of the archipelago, but exposure to the mistral has worked harder here. The best of it shows from the sea along the western flank, which tours follow before or after the stop at Corsara, so keep the camera to hand while under way and not only at anchor.

In a rough sea, though, the west side is the first to become unusable and boats shift round to the south-east or give up altogether. A hard mistral cancels the trip, with a refund or a new date according to the GetYourGuide listings.

The Roman ship of Spargi

Off the island, in a few tens of metres of water, a Roman cargo vessel was found that sank around 120 BC carrying hundreds of amphorae. The wreck was excavated in the 1950s and 1960s, and its cargo, together with a reconstruction of the hull, is displayed at the Museo Archeologico Navale “Nino Lamboglia” in La Maddalena. If your tour includes free time in town, the museum is a few minutes from the harbour and it is the best way to understand what was lying under the boat while you were swimming. Directions are on our page about La Maddalena.

Which boat tours stop at Spargi, La Maddalena

Practically all of them. These are the three we compare most often, with figures from the GetYourGuide listings at the time of writing (September 2026).

The four-stop trip is the most-booked departure from Palau and the most comfortable if you want room on board; the MJ Tours day uses a vintage motorboat, carries fewer passengers and gives the best balance of price and stops; the seven-stop circuit suits anyone who wants to see the lot and accepts shorter swims. Boats from Santa Teresa Gallura and Cannigione also call at Spargi. The full comparison of formats is in our guide to the archipelago boat tour and on the page about trips from Palau.

Insider tip: Spargi is the first stop and people go in cold, half an hour after leaving port. Put your sun cream on before you sail from Palau rather than on board: reflected off white granite, the sun burns shoulders in twenty minutes.

What to bring, and what not to do

• Mask and snorkel: not every tour provides them, and they earn their place here more than anywhere.
• Water shoes: the spurs between the little beaches have sea urchins.
• Hat and water: there is no shade on the island.
• No sand or pebbles as souvenirs, which the park forbids and fines throughout the archipelago.
• Keep to the time given for getting back on board. The next stop, usually Budelli and the natural pools, depends on the minutes saved here. For what follows Spargi, read our guide to Spiaggia Rosa on Budelli.

In short

Spargi, La Maddalena’s granite gateway for anyone arriving by boat: Cala Corsara with its four small beaches, the wind-carved rock, the snorkelling and a Roman ship somewhere under the keel. It has no facilities and no way in other than a tour or a private boat. For the classic day with the Spargi stop and three more, check availability and the price of the four-stop tour from Palau on GetYourGuide; the rest of the chain is in our overview of the islands of the archipelago.