The Maddalena Archipelago: Sardinia's Gentle Granite Islands

Some places ask you to climb for their beauty. The Maddalena Archipelago hands it to you. Off the north-eastern tip of Sardinia, in the strait between the island and Corsica, more than sixty islands and islets of pale granite lie scattered in water so clear that boats seem to hover above their own shadows. Wind and salt have rounded the rocks into shapes that look sculpted on purpose — bears, mushrooms, sleeping animals — and between them the sea shifts from jade to deep indigo in the space of a few metres.

Only two of the islands are inhabited: La Maddalena, with its cheerful little port town, and Caprera, joined to it by a causeway and still mostly wild. The rest belong to the Maddalena Archipelago National Park, created in 1994 as Sardinia's first national park, covering over 20,000 hectares of land and sea. Protection here is taken seriously, which is precisely why the water still looks the way it does.

For travellers over 60 this is one of the kindest nature destinations in the Mediterranean. The great landscapes are seen from a boat seat, a car window or a bench above the harbour. Nothing essential requires a scramble, and the best hours of the day are the slow ones.

A little history

For centuries these islands were the preserve of shepherds, fishermen and smugglers moving quietly between Sardinia and Corsica. Everything changed with the age of sail: the natural harbours here are deep, sheltered and perfectly placed, and Europe's navies noticed.

In 1803 Admiral Horatio Nelson based his fleet in these waters while watching the French, and although he is said never to have set foot in the town, he presented the parish church with silver gifts that are still shown there. Napoleon's forces had probed the archipelago a decade earlier. In 1887 the House of Savoy turned the whole group into a naval base, and from 1973 until 2008 the island of Santo Stefano hosted a NATO base used by American submarines. That long military history explains the handsome grey-and-white Admiralty buildings along the waterfront, the forts crowning the hills, and the fact that a few corners of the islands remain fenced off.

The archipelago's most famous resident arrived for quite different reasons. In 1856 Giuseppe Garibaldi, the soldier who did more than anyone to unite Italy, bought land on Caprera. He farmed it, built a white house there, and died there in 1882. His home and his tomb are now the most visited museum in Sardinia.

The Admiralty building on La Maddalena, a legacy of the islands' long naval history.

What to see

La Maddalena town

The town is small, flat along the water and entirely walkable. Cala Gavetta, the old harbour, is lined with fishing boats and cafés; behind it, pedestrian lanes and shaded squares climb gently inland. An hour of aimless wandering with a coffee stop is about right, and the waterfront promenade is level the whole way.

Caprera and Garibaldi's house

A causeway of a few hundred metres, the Passo della Moneta, carries the road across to Caprera. Garibaldi's Compendio Garibaldino is a cluster of modest buildings among pines: his bedroom left as it was, his boat, his tools, the simple granite tomb in the garden. The visit is mostly on one level with a short gravel approach, and the setting alone — pine shade, sea glittering through the trunks — justifies the trip.

The island drive

A panoramic road loops right around La Maddalena island, never far from the water. You pass coves, pink-granite headlands, and long views north towards Corsica, with laybys where you can simply stop and look. It takes well under an hour without stops, but allow a half day and treat every pull-off as part of the plan.

The outer islands

Spargi, Budelli, Razzoli and Santa Maria are uninhabited and seen from the water. Budelli's Spiaggia Rosa, whose sand is tinted pink by fragments of tiny marine shells, has been strictly protected since 1998: landing, swimming and anchoring are all forbidden, and boats view it from a designated point offshore. It is no less lovely for being out of reach.

Panoramic view over the islands and channels of the Maddalena Archipelago.

Gentle walks and the best viewpoints

This is a place for short walks with large rewards.

• The Cala Gavetta waterfront, La Maddalena: flat, paved, benches, and boats coming and going. The easiest beautiful walk in the archipelago.
• Punta Tegge, at the island's western end: a mostly level stroll on sandy ground to a low headland facing the sunset, with the outer islands laid out in front of you.
• The laybys on the panoramic road: several require no more than a few steps from the car to a complete sea view. Bring a cushion and sit a while.
• Caprera's pine paths around the Garibaldi house: soft, shaded, almost flat, with sea glimpses.
• Monte Tejalone, Caprera's highest point at 212 m: the summit view is the finest in the archipelago, but the climb is steep and stony. Attempt it only if you walk hills confidently, in cool weather, and early in the day.

One honest exclusion: Cala Coticcio on Caprera, often called Sardinia's Tahiti, can now be reached only with an authorised guide and advance booking, and the path is rough and exposed. Admire it from a boat instead.

Barrettinelli di Fuori, one of the small granite islets off La Maddalena.

The most comfortable ways to enjoy the scenery

By boat. The archipelago was made to be seen from the water, and this is also the most comfortable way to see it. Full-day tours from Palau or La Maddalena last roughly six to seven hours and call at three or four islands; shorter half-day trips exist and are often the wiser choice. Ask three questions before booking: how many passengers, is there shade on deck, and is boarding by a proper gangway rather than a ladder. Smaller boats with twenty or thirty guests are calmer and easier to move around than the big ones.

By car. Hiring a car for a day, or a taxi with a driver, turns the island loop into a comfortable sightseeing drive. There is no cable car or scenic railway here — the road is the scenic route.

The ferry itself. The crossing from Palau is only about fifteen to twenty minutes, but it is a genuine little cruise through granite islets. Stay on deck if the weather is kind; the view back towards the Sardinian coast is superb.

The port of La Maddalena, where ferries from Palau and excursion boats come and go.

A day trip nearby: Palau and the Bear Rock

Palau, the mainland ferry town, is more than a departure point. Just east of it, a side road climbs Capo d'Orso to the Roccia dell'Orso — a vast granite outcrop weathered into the shape of a seated bear, used as a landmark by sailors since antiquity.

From the small car park a signed path reaches the rock in fifteen or twenty minutes. It is short but not entirely smooth: wooden steps, some bare granite underfoot, and a steady gentle rise. Closed shoes with grip make all the difference, and the panorama over the whole archipelago to Corsica is one of the great views in Sardinia. If the path looks too uneven on the day, the view from near the car park is already generous.

Further along the coast lie the resorts of the Costa Smeralda — Baja Sardinia, Porto Cervo — pleasant for a drive and a harbour lunch, about 20 to 30 minutes from Palau.

Honest advice for comfortable travel

• Stay in La Maddalena town, near the port. Restaurants, pharmacy, ferry and boat departures are then all within a few level minutes. Accommodation out on the coast road means driving for every meal.
• The town is flat along the water but rises behind it. Streets inland involve slopes and the occasional stepped lane. Nothing long, but choose a hotel on the lower streets.
• Avoid July and August if you can. Heat, crowded ferries and fully booked boats all peak then. Late May to June, and September into early October, are far more pleasant.
• Boats can be bouncy. The strait funnels wind, and the mistral can blow hard. If you are prone to seasickness, pick a morning departure, sit mid-deck, and be ready to swap days.
• Shade is scarce on the rocks and beaches. Hat, long sleeves, water and a seat with a back are worth more here than any guidebook.
• Beaches are granite and sand, not boardwalks. Many are reached by short uneven paths. Spiaggia Bassa Trinita and the coves near Punta Tegge on La Maddalena are among the more straightforward.
• Taxis are few and small buses limited. Arrange transfers through your hotel rather than assuming you will find a car waiting at the quay.
• Bring any medication you need. There is a pharmacy in town, but island supply is not a mainland city's.

What to eat

In La Maddalena the sea writes the menu, and the fishing boats in Cala Gavetta set the day's choices. Expect octopus salad dressed simply with oil and lemon, fregola — Sardinia's little toasted pasta beads — simmered with clams or mussels, and spaghetti with bottarga, the cured and grated mullet roe sometimes called Sardinian caviar. Grilled fish is usually priced by weight and chosen at the counter.

From the Gallura hinterland comes zuppa gallurese, which is not a soup at all but layers of bread, cheese and meat broth baked until golden and savoury — a wonderfully comforting dish on a windy evening. Finish with seadas, warm pastry parcels of fresh cheese drizzled with bitter honey, and drink the local Vermentino di Gallura, crisp and faintly saline, with almost anything that came out of the water.

Meals start late by northern European standards. If you prefer to eat early, aim for the first service and book a table facing the harbour.

Street scene in La Maddalena, the archipelago's only town.

Getting there

Travellers arriving from Corsica can also reach the area by ferry from Bonifacio to Santa Teresa Gallura, about 40 minutes by road west of Palau.

Our verdict

The Maddalena Archipelago gives back far more than it asks. You can spend four days here and walk nothing steeper than a harbour promenade, yet come home with the clearest sea light you have ever seen stored away behind your eyes. The boat tours do the work; the panoramic road does the rest; the town looks after you between times.

Go outside high summer, base yourself within sight of the ferries, treat Monte Tejalone and Cala Coticcio as optional extras rather than obligations, and let the islands set the pace. Few places in the Mediterranean reward unhurried travel so generously — or make sitting still feel so much like an achievement.

“Sixty islands of pale granite, held in water so clear the boats seem to float on light.”

Photo credits

• La Maddalena, panorama 06: Gianni Careddu, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• Ammiragliato La Maddalena, Italy: Benoît Prieur, CC0 via Wikimedia Commons
• La Maddalena, panorama 03: Gianni Careddu, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• La Maddalena - Isolotto di Barrettinelli di Fuori: Gianni Careddu, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• La Maddalena - Il porto 01: Gianni Careddu, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• La Maddalena 03: Gianni Careddu, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons