Sailing North Sardinia
Olbia to Alghero the long way round, through the Maddalena archipelago and across to Bonifacio. Distances, anchorages and prices, from a fortnight sailing the north coast in June.
Sardinia is almost 150 nautical miles from north to south. This guide covers the north of it, which is where most of the charter fleet is based. From Olbia you can be at anchor within the hour, in the Maddalena archipelago on the second day, and tied up under the cliffs of Bonifacio in Corsica on the third. What follows is the route Michal Hrivnák sailed over two weeks in early June, with the distances, the anchorages, and the mooring costs checked against current tariffs.
When to sail
The sea is above 20 degrees from June through to October, and the main season runs 15 June to 15 September. Go at the start of June, as we did, and the water is still noticeably cold. In exchange the anchorages are empty and a berth on the Costa Smeralda costs a fraction of the August price. It is a real trade, and worth making on purpose rather than by accident.
Monohull or catamaran
This is Mediterranean sailing: a great many nights at anchor and very few in town. That argues for a catamaran, for the space and the shallower draught in the coves. But what decides the week is less the hull count than what the boat carries. A solar panel and a watermaker are worth more here than an extra cabin, because they are what let you stay out instead of coming in for water and power.
How far it is
Olbia to Bonifacio by way of the Maddalena archipelago is about 100 nm. Carry on round the top of the island and it is 50 nm from Bonifacio to Isola Piana and another 34 to Alghero, so the full run comes to roughly 185 nm. That is a comfortable fortnight with time to stop, and a hard week if you have to be back on a Saturday.
North Sardinia at a glance
- Sardinia, north to south
- Almost 150 nm
- Olbia to Bonifacio via La Maddalena
- About 100 nm
- Olbia to Alghero, our route
- About 185 nm
- Season
- June to October; main season 15 June to 15 September
- Sea temperature
- Over 20 degrees from June
- La Maddalena national park, 2026
- 3 EUR per metre per day; a seven-day permit for a 12 m boat is 101 EUR, and sailing yachts pay 40 percent less
- Bonifacio, Corsica
- Around 110 EUR a night for a 12 m yacht
- Costa Smeralda in high season
- 300 to 500 EUR a night for a 10 to 12 m yacht
- When we sailed it
- 2 to 16 June
Prices checked September 2026. Sardinian marinas change their tariff several times across the season and the step up on 1 July is a large one, so treat these as orientation and confirm before you book. The distances and the anchorages do not change; the prices do.
Olbia to Bonifacio, stop by stop
Olbia
Almost every charter starts here, and the first thing to know is that Olbia is a working ferry port. The channel out runs about two miles and the ferries using it are large and fast. Motor it, stay to the edge of the buoyed water, and do not plan on hoisting anything until you are clear.
Golfo Aranci and Tavolara
Under five miles from Olbia there is shelter in either direction, which makes this the natural first night while the crew finds its feet. North lies Golfo Aranci. South lies the island of Tavolara, a limestone slab that comes straight up out of the sea, with anchorages under it and at Porto San Paolo on the mainland side.
Cala di Volpe and Porto Cervo
Cala di Volpe is ten miles up the coast, Porto Cervo twelve. This is the Costa Smeralda and the tariff says so, though early in the season it says it a good deal more quietly than it does in August. Check the current rate before you commit to a night, because it changes several times across the season. One night is enough to walk the harbour and look at the boats.
Cannigione and Baja Sardinia
Cannigione sits six miles from Porto Cervo, a small town at the head of a well-sheltered bay. The marina is expensive and there is little reason to take it: the anchorage in front of the harbour holds well in up to eight metres. If you do want a berth, Marina del Orso at Baja Sardinia is the better choice.
The Maddalena archipelago
Seven miles from Porto Cervo, and the reason to sail this coast at all. It is a national park, and entry is charged by boat length: 3 EUR per metre per day in 2026, with 40 percent off for sailing yachts and a seven-day permit for a 12-metre boat at 101 EUR. Allow it more time than you think you need. Every island has two or three anchorages, and you will want to move between them as the wind swings anyway.
La Maddalena town
The one proper town in the archipelago, and a good place to restock, do laundry and eat something you did not cook. It is worth a night alongside even if you have been happily at anchor all week.
Cala Garibaldi
On Caprera, a short hop from the town, and a good example of what the archipelago does well: white sand, clear water and low scrub, with room for a handful of boats and no facilities at all.
Cala Portese
Also on Caprera, on the exposed side, with two beaches back to back so there is usually one of them in the lee. Beautiful in settled weather and no place at all to be when it blows onshore.
Spargi
Only four miles from La Maddalena town, and the picture most people have in their head when they think of this archipelago: rounded granite, a strip of sand and water that shades from white to deep blue in about thirty metres.
Across to Bonifacio
Eighteen miles from La Maddalena to Bonifacio, across the Strait of Bonifacio. It is a short passage and it should not be underestimated. The strait funnels the wind between two islands and builds a sea that is out of all proportion to the distance, so pick your day rather than your date.
Bonifacio
Corsica, and the one stop on this route that everybody remembers. The town stands on a white limestone cliff directly above the water, and the harbour is a narrow inlet cut into it, so you motor in under the houses. A night alongside for a 12-metre yacht runs to around 110 EUR. Go anyway, even if it means a long day to get there and another to get back.
Round the top to Alghero
If you have the time, the north coast turns a there-and-back cruise into a proper passage. It is 50 nm from Bonifacio to Isola Piana at the north-west corner, or 35 nm if you break it at Castelsardo, and then another 34 nm down to Alghero. The coast is emptier, the anchorages are further apart and the sailing feels less like a holiday and more like getting somewhere.
Castelsardo and Isola Piana
Castelsardo sits 35 miles along, a walled town on a headland with a small harbour under it, and it breaks the leg neatly. Isola Piana lies off the north-west corner by Stintino, with anchorages on both sides depending on the wind.
Capo Caccia
The headland that closes the bay of Alghero, and one of the few genuinely dramatic pieces of coast in Sardinia: a sheer wall with a lighthouse on top and the Neptune caves cut into the base of it. You will sail under it on the way in.
Alghero
A very good harbour to finish in: plenty of room, one of the more reasonable places on this coast to spend a night alongside, and the berths are a two-minute walk from the old town rather than a taxi ride out of it. Catalan Alghero has walls straight onto the sea, a long evening passeggiata and, we maintain, the best focaccia on the island.
What a North Sardinia week looks like with Tangreto
A skipper who has sailed it
Michal Hrivnák has been at sea since 2003, has held an international coastal licence (C) since 2007 and the offshore category (B) since 2012, and has sailed Croatia, Greece, Sardinia, Mallorca, Turkey, the Caribbean, the Seychelles and Thailand. He sailed this route himself over two weeks in June.
At anchor, not alongside
The point of North Sardinia is the archipelago, and the archipelago is anchorages. We plan the week around them and take a marina berth when it earns its place, not by default.
Your pace, not a schedule
Ten days is enough for Olbia, the Maddalena and Bonifacio. A fortnight gets you round the top to Alghero. Tell us which one you want and we will build the route to fit the weather when you are there.
Ask about a North Sardinia charter
You can also join us on a regatta, or take the same coast as offshore training miles.
Ask about North Sardinia
Tell us roughly when you want to go, how many of you there are and whether you want the archipelago or the full run to Alghero. We will come back with a boat, a route and a price.
Questions we get asked
When is the best time to sail North Sardinia?
The season runs from 15 June to 15 September, and the sea is over 20 degrees from June to October. Early June is the value window: the water is still cold but the anchorages are empty and a Costa Smeralda berth costs a fraction of the August rate. August is warm, busy and expensive.
How much does a berth cost in North Sardinia?
It depends enormously on where and when. The Costa Smeralda is the expensive end: 300 to 500 EUR a night for a 10 to 12 metre yacht in high season at the exclusive marinas. Bonifacio is around 110 EUR. Cannigione and Alghero are a good deal cheaper, and both drop further outside July and August. Anchoring costs nothing outside the national park.
Do you need a permit for the La Maddalena archipelago?
Yes. It is a national park and entry is charged by boat length. In 2026 that is 3 EUR per metre per day, or 101 EUR for a seven-day permit for a boat of 10 to 14 metres, with 40 percent off for sailing yachts and a further 5 percent for buying online. It is a modest cost, and the archipelago is worth building several days of the trip around.
Can you sail from Sardinia to Corsica?
Yes, and you should. Bonifacio is 18 nautical miles from La Maddalena. It is a short hop but the Strait of Bonifacio funnels the wind between the two islands and can build a steep sea, so choose the day on the forecast rather than on the itinerary.
Monohull or catamaran for North Sardinia?
Either works. A catamaran suits the way this coast is sailed, because you spend most nights at anchor and the shallow draught helps in the coves. What matters more than the hulls is whether the boat has a solar panel and a watermaker, which are what let you stay out instead of coming in for water and power.
How long do you need for Olbia to Alghero?
About 185 nautical miles the way we sailed it, so a fortnight if you want time to stop and a hard week if you do not. Ten days covers Olbia, the Maddalena archipelago and Bonifacio comfortably without the north coast.