Budelli, Spargi and the pink beach
Off the north eastern coast of Sardinia, in the Strait of Bonifacio between Sardinia and Corsica, the La Maddalena archipelago is one of the most beautiful marine landscapes in the Mediterranean: seven main islands and dozens of islets of pink granite, sculpted by the wind into extraordinary shapes, surrounded by a sea of incredible transparency, with colours ranging from turquoise to deep blue. Since 1994 it has been a National Park, which protects both the land and the sea.
The town of La Maddalena, on the island of the same name, is a lively village with colourful houses and a harbour, connected by ferry to Palau. The best way to discover the archipelago is a boat tour among the islands: Spargi, with Cala Corsara and its natural pools; Budelli, famous for the Spiaggia Rosa, the "pink beach", whose sand is coloured by fragments of shells and coral of a microorganism, the Miniacina miniacea, and which since the 1990s has been closed to visitors to protect it, so it can only be seen from the sea; the Piscine Naturali between Budelli, Razzoli and Santa Maria, a stretch of shallow emerald water; Santo Stefano, and Caprera, the island of Garibaldi, connected to La Maddalena by a bridge. The sea floor is ideal for snorkelling and diving.
Tip: many boat tours leave from Palau and La Maddalena, with lunch on board; in summer, some areas of the park have limited access.
Where it is
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