Palau Boat Trips: Our Top 11

1.From Palau: La Maddalena Archipelago Day Tour by Boat

★★★★★★★★★★4.2 · 2,291 reviews · 7 hours · from $59Our pick

Spend seven hours aboard Motonave Petagus visiting Spargi, Santa Maria, Budelli’s Natural Pools, Rosa Beach, and La Maddalena town. An English- and Italian-speaking crew handles the route, while you swim, walk, take photos, and buy lunch or drinks onboard. Arrive early for an outdoor seat, and bring cash for the landing tax.

“This is an absolutely recommended tour if you are visiting Sardinia even for a day or two. To have the best value for money experience, bring your lunch with you on the day of the trip (and thank me later). ..................... The boat was sized for the number of people. It was well equipped with two toilets (one of them did not work on the day of my travel). There were people allocating seats, that helped to reduce the chaos. The on board restaurant was a good add-on, however, very pricey.”

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2.From Palau: La Maddalena Archipelago 4 Stops Boat Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 1,736 reviews · 1 day · from $65

Spend a full day aboard Lady Luna 3, sailing from Palau to Budelli, Santa Maria, Spargi, and La Maddalena. Swim at Piscine Naturali, see Spiaggia Rosa, relax on sandy beaches, and explore La Maddalena town. A live guide explains the archipelago in English, Italian, French, and Spanish. Bring cash for the €5 park fee.

“Excellent professionals. They explained to us in detail everything we saw in the La Mandalena Archipelago. Very clean boat. 8 hours, we didn't even realize how they passed. Highly recommended.”

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3.From Palau: La Maddalena Archipelago Boat Tour with Pasta

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 1,510 reviews · 7 hours · from $59

Board the red Jasmine 3 at Palau’s Pier G for a seven-hour cruise through La Maddalena Archipelago. Swim at Santa Maria and Cala Corsara, see Budelli’s pink beach and natural pools, eat pasta with mussels and prawns, then stroll La Maddalena town. Maurizio and Luca may be among the friendly crew.

“We had a great time and we enjoyed every second of it.A big thank you to Maurizio who entertained everybody and also cooked a very good pasta.I need to say that it was my first time that I have had pasta with seafood (I don’t like seafood)and I loved it.Everything was great 🙌🙌🙌🙌”

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4.Palau: La Maddalena Archipelago Boat Tour with 4 Stops

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 1,470 reviews · 1 day · from $66

Spend seven hours touring La Maddalena National Park from Palau aboard the 30-metre Corsara. You will stop at Spargi and Santa Maria, swim from the boat near Budelli, view Spiaggia Rosa, and walk through La Maddalena town. The multilingual crew speaks Italian, English, Spanish, and French. Lunch, drinks, and snorkeling gear cost extra.

“We loved the stops and the guide telling us things on the road. We would’ve enjoyed for the water stops to be a bit longer than 60-70 minutes, but overall it was lovely.”

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5.From Palau or La Maddalena: Archipelago Sailing Ship Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 903 reviews · 7 hours · from $77

Spend seven hours aboard a vintage motorsailer with a multilingual crew, including guide Letizia on some departures. See Budelli’s pink beach from the water, swim near Santa Maria, and visit Cala Corsara on Spargi. Bring lunch or buy pasta and drinks aboard. Expect sun, sea spray, beach transfers, and some climbing.

“Definitely worth the money. This tour was 60 per head, its only 10 euro more than the massive ferry style boats. There's space to move around, the staff are very professional. We brought our own lunch but you can buy refreshments at any time on board. My kids really enjoyed it and lived diving off the side of the boat.”

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6.La Maddalena: Full-Day Sailing Trip

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 256 reviews · 7 hours · from $117

Spend seven hours sailing from Porto Pollo through La Maddalena National Park with a professional crew such as Dimitri, Fabio, Eddie, or Enzo. Expect a small group of up to 12, several swim stops, snorkeling, local lunch, and time under sail. The skipper can adjust the route for weather and group preferences.

“We definitely recommend this tour! The boat crew, Eddie and Enzo, were super helpful and gave us notes on the landscape, traditions and food of the archipelago of La Maddalena. We did a total of 6 stops, 2 where Eddie took us on the tender directly to the beaches (in Budelli and Spargi), and 1 where we were able to do some snorkeling with no other boats around. We also stopped to see Porto Rafael, the Pink Beach and Cala di Santa Maria from the boat. Having lunch, snacks and drinks on board is a plus. Doing a tour like this, with a small group, is a much more pleasant…”

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7.From Palau/La Maddalena: All inclusive Yacht Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 191 reviews

Spend seven hours aboard a small yacht with a crew that may include Fabio, Nicholas, or Lello. Swim at Spargi, Budelli, and Santa Maria, enjoy local wine and an aperitif, then sit down to seafood pasta and Sardinian snacks. The boat carries up to 10 participants, with paddleboard and swimming gear available.

“Very attentive and knowledgeable, super friendly and create atmosphere that connects strangers and encourages people to make the most out of the experience. Food and drink was good and plentiful. Euro pop music played onboard may not be to everyone's taste but this was turned down/off at the more tranquil stops (this was advertised in description).”

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8.From Palau: La Maddalena Cruise with Lunch & Drinks

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 186 reviews

Join the Jasmine 1 in Palau for a seven-hour cruise through the La Maddalena Archipelago. Captain Vincenzo and the crew take you to Spargi, Budelli, and Santa Maria for three swim stops, a Sardinian lunch, beach time, and views of Spiaggia Rosa and Capo d'Orso. The small boat, shaded seating, tender, toilet, and onboard snorkeling gear keep the day comfortable.

“We highly recommend the trip. The water is truly beautiful! It was one of our best trips in Sardinie. Note: be on time! We were 5 min late due to traffic and parking and that was already a problem and they almost left without us. There is plenty of food: cheese/sausage/olive platter & tomato pasta. The first beach was the best: the second stop was not a beach but a point in sea they called a natural swimming pool in between 3 points (the water is shallow and you can climb on top of a small island, the 3th stop is indeed really crowded because of the big boats who…”

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9.From Palau: Maddalena National Park Boat tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 65 reviews · from $124Top rated

From Palau, join Roberto and a local skipper for a seven-hour small-group boat tour through La Maddalena National Park. You’ll visit Cala Corsara, Cala Granara, Budelli, Cala Santa Maria, and La Maddalena town, with time for swimming, snorkeling, SUP, lunch, and a glass of prosecco. The route changes with the wind.

“Great day activity from Palau for couples, friends or solo travellers. The spots we stopped by were specially selected to avoid crowds and enjoy the beaches at their best. Roberto was super nice and attentive with the whole group. Really recommend if you want to spend a special day in the ocean and the beach.”

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10.Maddalena Archipelago: Full-Day Sailboat Tour with Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★4.1 · 55 reviews · from $136

Sail aboard the nine-person Bellatrix from Palau or La Maddalena, stopping near Spargi for a swim among clear emerald waters, a pasta lunch, and views of wind-carved granite. Your captain may add a stop at Madonna Port’s natural pools if weather allows. Italian and English are available.

“Everything was perfect, a wonderful experience to be repeated!!!!”

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11.Daily Boat Excursions La Maddalena Archipelago

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 36 reviews · from $56Best value

Spend a full day aboard Riviera di Gallura’s green boat from Palau, visiting Spargi, Budelli, Santa Maria, and La Maddalena. You’ll swim at Cala Corsara and Cavaliere Beach, pass Pink Beach, snorkel in clear water, and have time for the old town. Bring towels, food, snorkeling gear, and sun protection.

“Our whole family had a lot of fun on the boat trip. We were able to see beautiful places thanks to the tour. We also loved the stop where we could go straight from the boat into the water to go snorkeling. The whole crew was very personable and friendly and always helpful. Really great. Just a small note: our tour didn't start until 10:20am. Unfortunately, the description and confirmation email said the start was 9:30am and the meeting point was 9am. So we had to wait unnecessarily long, which was a bit exhausting with small children and the heat at the beginning. But the great crew and the tour…”

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