Corsica, Sardinia & La Maddalena
Chalk-white cliffs, pink granite and the Piazzetta — the strait where Corsica's wild south meets Sardinia's glamour coast.
May–OctNearest jet: Olbia (OLB) / Figari (FSC)Turquoise
Two islands and a marine park share eleven miles of water here — Bonifacio's citadel balanced on limestone cliffs on one shore, Porto Cervo's yacht-club glitter on the other, and the pink-and-turquoise maze of the La Maddalena archipelago strung between them. It is the Mediterranean's most photographed strait and its most policed: Posidonia seagrass meadows, national-park permits and buoy-only bays protect the very water that makes the cruising worth doing. The reward is a week that runs from a fortress town of 828 AD to the marina where the Aga Khan invented a coastline in 1962.
“You come for Porto Cervo. You remember the strait.”
The gallery
Signature anchorages
Named coves and bays across both islands — shelter, draft and the scene, in one line each.
- Cala di VolpeSardinia, Costa Smeralda — an 18-buoy managed field to 150m, lagoon-like and Mistral-sheltered, 3-knot speed limit, 24-hour monitoring; the hotel of the same name rises over the water.
- La Maddalena archipelago — general anchoragesSardinia, national park — anchoring only in designated sand/rock zones to protect Posidonia; an online park permit is mandatory for every vessel, fees scaled by length.
- Spargi — Cala CorsaraLa Maddalena archipelago — four linked coves, marine-reserve buoys, deep sandy seabed once used by pirates, and the wreck of a 2nd-century-BC Roman ship; some of the most saturated turquoise in the park.
- Budelli — Spiaggia Rosa (Pink Beach)La Maddalena archipelago — strictly protected since 1998: no landing, no swimming, no anchoring. View only, from a respectful distance or a permitted guided tour.
- Lavezzi archipelagoCorsica, nature reserve since 1982 — free anchoring effectively banned; buoys only in Cala Lazzarina and Cala di u Grecu, under-24m vessels only, seven marked zones, active ranger patrols.
- Bonifacio & the straitCorsica — the citadel town and the crossing point itself: Sardinia visible across the water, the hinge of every itinerary in this dossier.
The scene
Beach clubs, the yacht club, the regattas and the names attached to this coast.
Porto Cervo's Piazzetta
The Costa Smeralda's social centre — Sottopiazza and La Passeggiata lined with Cartier, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Hermès, Prada and Dior.
Billionaire
Opened 1998 by Flavio Briatore in a hillside villa above the coast; cabaret-style shows and an Italian/New-Asian dining room built its global reputation before a 2024 sale to Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio.
Phi Beach, Baja Sardinia
An open-air club built into an old military fortress over the water, famous for its sunset — cocktails and DJ sets as the sun drops, roughly 15–20 minutes from Porto Cervo.
Yacht Club Costa Smeralda
Founded 1967 by the Aga Khan; challenged for the America's Cup with Azzurra in 1983 and 1987, and holds reciprocal privileges with Monaco, New York and the Royal Yacht Squadron.
Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup & Loro Piana Regatta
YCCS's two big dates — the Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta in early June and the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, 6–12 September 2026 — both raced through the La Maddalena archipelago.
Villa Certosa
Silvio Berlusconi's former Porto Rotondo estate — 68 bedrooms, a private theatre — agreed for sale in June 2026 to Qatar's Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim for a reported €350 million.
Table & stay ashore
ConFusion, Porto Cervo
Chef Italo Bassi, the only starred table on the Costa Smeralda, on the Promenade du Port; open 23 April–29 September 2026.
Belvedere, Porto Cervo
Seafood on a panoramic terrace above the coastline, the daily catch built around the view.
Finger's Porto Cervo
Roberto Okabe's Italian-Japanese concept, a fixture of the town's high-end circuit.
Hotel Cala di Volpe
Jacques Couelle's 1962 design for the Aga Khan, restaurants spanning Mediterranean (Le Grand), Japanese (Matsuhisa) and Beefbar.
Hotel Pitrizza
Luigi Vietti's 1963 hillside design, 65 rooms and villas, and a filming location for 1977's The Spy Who Loved Me.
A week, sketched
Bonifacio to the Costa Smeralda, timed around the Mistral in the strait.
Bonifacio
Base in the fjord-like marina beneath the citadel; walk the Haute Ville's ramparts and cliff-top old town before an evening departure window.
Bonifacio to Lavezzi
Short run to the Lavezzi nature reserve; pick up an official buoy at Cala Lazzarina or Cala di u Grecu for a day of swimming over granite and Posidonia.
Lavezzi to La Maddalena (Spargi)
Cross the strait into the national park; anchor off Spargi's Cala Corsara, its deep sand once a pirate hideout, for the best swimming in the archipelago.
La Maddalena to Budelli / Porto Palma
View Budelli's protected Pink Beach from the water, moor at Porto Palma or Cala Portese inside the park.
La Maddalena to Cala di Volpe
Head south to the Costa Smeralda; pick up a buoy in Cala di Volpe's sheltered field, dine at the hotel of the same name.
Porto Cervo
Berth in the Marina di Porto Cervo, the Piazzetta and its boutiques by day, ConFusion or Finger's for dinner, Billionaire or Phi Beach after.
Porto Rotondo, or return to Bonifacio
A quieter last day at Porto Rotondo — or the return crossing to Bonifacio to close the loop, timed around the Mistral forecast for the strait.
The strait, briefly
Bonifacio and the national park alone, never crossing to the Sardinian mainland.
Bonifacio
Base in the marina beneath the citadel; the Haute Ville's ramparts before the afternoon crowds.
Lavezzi — Cala Lazzarina
A short hop to the nature reserve; pick up an official buoy — free anchoring is banned here — for a day over granite and clear water.
La Maddalena — Spargi (Cala Corsara)
Cross into the national park, permit booked online in advance; anchor off Spargi's linked coves, once a pirate hideout, over a 2nd-century-BC wreck.
Santa Maria Island, viewing Budelli
A quieter mooring inside the park, passing Budelli's Pink Beach at a respectful distance — landing there is prohibited.
Return to Bonifacio
Back across the strait — check the Mistral forecast before committing to the timing.
Two islands, one strait
Both nature reserves in full, then the whole Costa Smeralda circuit beyond Porto Cervo.
Bonifacio
Into the marina below the citadel; the old town and ramparts before an evening departure window.
Lavezzi — Cala di u Grecu
The reserve's quieter second bay, an official buoy under its seven-zone ranger patrol.
La Maddalena — Spargi & Santa Maria
Two anchorages inside the park in one day: Cala Corsara's coves, then a calmer mooring off Santa Maria Island.
Budelli & Porto Palma
View the Pink Beach from the water — no landing, swimming or anchoring there — then moor at Porto Palma or Cala Portese for the night.
Cala di Volpe
South to the Costa Smeralda's managed 18-buoy field, a 3-knot limit inside the bay, the hotel rising over the water.
Porto Cervo
Berth in the marina; the Piazzetta by day, dinner at ConFusion or Finger's, then Billionaire or Phi Beach after dark.
Porto Rotondo
A quieter call down the coast; if the dates align, the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup or Loro Piana Regatta fleet may be racing through the archipelago.
Return to Bonifacio
The crossing back across the strait, the Mistral forecast dictating the hour rather than the plan.
The archipelago. Santa Maria Island, inside the La Maddalena park, is profiled in full on our sister site, privateisland.pro.
Pair with
The year, measured
Monthly means at the heart of this water — daily maxima averaged, wind as mean daily peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air, day °C | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 20 | 26 | 30 | 29 | 26 | 22 | 17 | 15 |
| Sea °C | 16 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 18 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 20 | 17 |
| Wind, peak kt | 15 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 16 |
ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo · 2019–2023 means · sea temperature 2022–2023
The yachts that run these waters
Profiles from the record — introductions via the harbour desk.
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