La Maddalena by Boat with kids: all you need to know for a day trip you’ll love

La Maddalena by boat – our experience touring the La Maddalena archipelago by boat in summer — how we chose our tour, what the day was like, and why it became one of our favourite days in Sardinia

Last summer, we spent four days in North Eastern Sardinia and spend one of these days on a boat, touring La Maddalena archipelago, a small and stunning cluster of islands immediately off Sardinia’s northern coast.

Our whole vacation in the area was a delight but the day touring La Maddalena was a real highlight for us: some activities truly are popular for a reason, and this is one of them!

La Maddalena is as stunning as its photos suggest, possibly even more. Its waters are crystal clear, with shades of blue going from the lightest, most transparent ones that look like watercolour, to the deep dark hues reminiscent of sapphire.

Its beaches are soft and pristine, its coastline rugged and varied and since La Maddalena is a protected park and you come here by boat, there is no sign of the overcrowding that so many ‘must see beaches’ experience in Sardinia and not only.

A day trip around la Maddalena is a Sardinia bucket list item for many and if this is you, I can tell you: keep it on that list, because it as good as you imagine!

This is my account of our day navigating around La Maddalena by boat. I report back one how we chose a tour, how our experience went, our comments on what worked, what you may want to do differently if your circumstances are different from ours and a space to share real photos and real, first hand commentary of our experience, unfiltered.

In this occasion, like for most of our trips, we went as a family: myself, my husband and our two teenage kids. I hope you enjoy it!

Please note: this post contains affiliate links. Should you make a purchase, we might make a small commission, at no extra cost to you. We paid for our tour in full and received no compensation nor incentive for this post.

Why a boat tour of La Maddalena

There are two main reasons to visit La Maddalena by boat: one is geography (you cannot see large parts of it unless you go by boat!) and one is how amazingly pleasant a day boating here can be.

Let’s look at the geography first.

La Maddalena is the name given to a small cluster of islands in the Straight of Bonifacio, the sea between Northern Sardinia and Corsica.

The archipelago is made of a seven bigger islands, the biggest of all called La Maddalena island, and several smaller ones, that create a varied and interesting geo-marine area, now protected as National Park.

Maddalena island is inhabited and its main towns is really cute too; however, if you want to see beyond what the main island has to offer and truly appreciate what this wonderful corner of the world has to offer, a boat tour is very much the way to go!

If you stay on land, you can access beaches on La Maddalena; by boat, you can also see the very many famous ones on the islands nearby, and I believe they are really worth it as they are all slightly different and you will find picking your favorite, and changing them around in your head, as you go!

The other reason to take a boat tour is that is just a fab experience! La Maddalena archipelago is stunning, it awaken your senses with colors and sounds and silence and it really comes into its own if you can immerse yourself in it, rater than, literally, from the shore.

I highly recommend you stay on La Maddalena and also experience it by boat, not exclusively. But if you are on the fence about also taking a boat tour, my recommendation is: take it! It may well, like us, become your favorite day in Sardinia!

The best boat tours of La Maddalena

I spent ages picking the best boat tour of La Maddalena and eventually realized that tours tend to be very similar to one another when it comes to itinerary and what you see and what mostly changes is the type of boat (and therefore the price point).

So, rather than the best boat tour of La Maddalena, the quest should be for the best Maddalena boat tour for you.

Among the many we studied and got info and recommendations about, we settled on a shortlist of our top 3:

La Maddalena Archipelago Group Tour by Boat KID FRIENDLY – this is the one we took, which we chose because it was budget friendly, covered several stops we were interested in and included long stops to lounge on beaches, rather than just jumping in water from the boat I am going to give a full account of it in the next paragraph.

La Maddalena Archipelago Catamaran Tour from Palau – KID FRIENDLY (but look at the food offering first). This was another strong contender for us, also because it came recommended from friends who had visited last years.

This tour is on a catamaran, so a very different boat that the one above, which was more like a small ferry, it carries fewer passengers and complements the tour with drinks and food (Sardinian apertitivo and lunch). This tour has a bigger focus on the boating experience compared with the one above, which is more about the beach stops.

La Maddalena Sailing Tour – last but not least, another great option if you don’t have small kids (this one only takes kids age 4+), there is this sailing tour, which is by the same provider as the one we too, but on a different vessel with a more luxurious and unique feel. The tour starts from Palau or La Maddalena, and since it covers a very similar itineraty to ours, but on an even nicer boat, I have excellent reasons to believe it is at least as good.

Our day in La Maddalena by boat: what out Maddalena boat tour was actually like

I had planned our stay in Northern Sardinia as divided between two bases: San Teodoro and La Maddalena itself, specifically with the idea of already being on Maddalena for the boat trip. This was an excellent choice and one I recommend you make too, if at all possible.

Day trips to La Maddalena most commonly depart form Palau and from La Maddalena town itself.

Both are good options, and the crossing from one to the other is so short, logistically it doesn’t make any difference where you depart from.

However, La Maddalena is an absolute delight and Palau is less so; therefore staying on La Maddalena is the better choice for all you do before an dafter the tour.

We, for instance, epoxlore the town the evening before, had a fantastic aperitvo with Sardinia beer for myself and my husband and juice of the kids, two excellent dinners both nights, and these two nights there ended up being out favorite of the trip, just because of how pleasant it way!

Also, being in the town, meant that we were able to walk to the port at leisure, making the most of the lower travel time and the later start.

The vessel – Maggior Leggero II

The your we chose was this one, which we picked on several accounts:

>>> The tour came with excellent review, that I can now confirm were accurate and well deserved

>>> The tour was budget friendly

>>> The vessel was kid-friendly: since I write this blog primarily for families with kids, every time I travel I try select tours that cater to families, and this one did, beautifully!

What I didn’t quite realise when I booked the tour is that the boat is nice but rather big and felt more like a small ferry that the boats you see in the fancy photos of the area. This is entirely my fault: I didn’t gauge the size of the boat from the photos and only focusses on the itinerary, so I just had a wrong expectation in mind, it doesn’t reflect at all on the provider.

Despite my ‘disappointment’ when I realised the type of vessel, the vessel itself was excellent: clean, felt safe, with good families and indeed child friendly – many lovely families where on it with kids as young as a few months old!

The boat had two sitting areas, one inside and one on the deck; the deck has shade and several rows of seats on the sides of the boat and the center. The best views are from the side but even central seats are good. Seats are not assigned and you do not keep yours when you leave the boat so if you don’t get one you like, you will be able to change at the next stop.

Our itinerary around La Maddalena by boat

The main reason that made me choose this tour was the itinerary, which was very comprehensive and allowed for a lot of time on the beach, something which my kids love (much more than just jumping in water from the boat, which we also did!).

The itinerary goes from Maddalena port and includes some photo stops, a swimming stop from the boat and two very long and truly delightful beach stops.

The itinerary is subjected to change but ours included:

Photo ops from the boat (as given by the tour, honestly I was more taken by enjoying the day than writing down each stop as they happen! I just remember all were stunning!): Punta Tegge, Cava Francese, Spiaggia Rosa, Cala Corsara, Cala Soraya

Beach stops: Cala Santa Maria and Cala Granara

Swimming stop: Budelli natural pools

Town stop: Maddalena – we stayed here, so for us this was just departure/ arrival point, but if you stay in Palau, they give a lovely amount of time to visit the Maddalena town center. Small and compact, you don’t need a guide for this one, you can just explore at leisure!

The highlight of this tour for me and what makes it particularly suited to families with kids is the beach stops.

The tour covers a lot of ground, so you have lovely moments when you sit down and enjoy the landscape going by with the sea breeze caressing your face, but you are not stuck on a boat all day. The tour stops on two beaches and gibe you plenty of time to sunbathe, swim, play and just relax.

With kids, this is ideal: beaches here are clean and with shallow waters and the sand is soft and clean – much easier with littles than trying to jump in deep waters from the deck!

In both cases, the stop was generous in length but not so long to be boring: the info given about when to get back on board were clear and the boat always stayed nearby, so if you needed to go back on, use the facilities etc, this was always possible.

Good to know: these beaches are natural, wild beaches and have no facilities. There is no restaurants, clubs, deck chairs or ‘chiringuitos’, they are wonderfully unspoiled and this means you need to come prepared with your own towels, sun hat etc. Please also note that it is illegal to collect sand or shells so please tell your kids they they can hunt for treasures, but treasures are to see, not to bring home.

The swimming stop is from the boat: the vessel is equipped with steps so getting in and out of the water doesn’t requite big jumps.

Food, drinks, facilities

The boat is equipped with a cafe / restaurant services serving cold and hot plates (charged separately).

You can avail of the service or you can opt to bring your own. Sine we wanted a big meal later in the day, we opted to bring our own food, from the local supermarket but we saw the menu and seemed simple but nice, including kid-friendly pasta options like pasta with tomato sauce, pesto, and sandwiches.

What to bring on a Maddalena Boat tour

For a boat tour like the one we took, you need to bring:

• Swimsuit, of course,
• Beach towel
• Either food or money to buy refreshments on board
• Sun hat
• Sun shades
• Sun protection

Special notes for families with kids visiting Maddalena by boat

The boat tour we took was suitable for kids: the boat is sturdy and has good facilities including restrooms. Access to the beaches is by a narrow walkaway and there may be uneven terrain to negotiate to get off the boat, therefore I recommend bringing a carrier for babies / toddler rather than a stroller.

The tour lasts about 6 hours and there is no town stop until the end, it is all beaches and water. So I recommend you bring anything you may need: swim diapers, changing bag, drinks, baby food etc. Life jacket are provided as part of the safety equipment of the boat but not handed out, just like on a ferry.

If you have older kids or no kids, then other tour options are also available.

All tour depart form the same port and you will see them one beside the other in the Maddalena town tourist port. Tours of this area are numerous but also very popular so I recommend to book them in advance.

As I mentioned above, my shortlist of best tours of La Maddalena are:

MaggiorLeggero II Group tour > best for: Budget travelers and families with kids

‘Colorado Sailing trip‘ > best for a smaller group tour experience and families with kids 4+

Catamaran tour >>> best for a higher scale experience

I hope this account of our day in La Maddalena by boat helps you plan your own special day in this wonderful part of Sardinia. Safe travels!