Guide · Beaches

Tavolara beach guide: on the island and facing it

There are two ways to enjoy a Tavolara beach: land on the island's own strip of sand, or lie on the mainland and look at it. Here are the beaches on both sides of the water and how to reach each one.

Check availabilityfrom $87 · free cancellation

Editorial team, tavolaraboattour.comUpdated October 20, 20266-minute read42 sources

The tour for this guide Tavolara boat tour with snorkeling 4.9 (1,145 reviews) 4 hoursFrom the MOYS marina, OlbiaSnorkel gear included from$87per person Check availabilityFree to cancel until 24 hrs before your boat

Quick answer

01On the island: Spalmatore di Terra, the landing, with small beaches beside a little port.¹
02By boat only: Isola dei Cavalli and Isola Piana, small islands with fine sand off Porto San Paolo.² ³
03Facing it, near Olbia: Porto Istana, a bay of four beaches at the foot of Capo Ceraso.⁴
04Facing it, San Teodoro: Cala Brandinchi, almost opposite the island; booking needed in summer.⁵ ⁶
05Longest arch: La Cinta, an arch of fine white dunes facing the island.⁷

Two kinds of beach day

The coast around Tavolara alternates rocky headlands with small beaches tucked between them, and the protected area sorts its beaches into two kinds: pocket beaches closed by rocks at both ends, and longer beaches on old sand bars, often with a lagoon behind.⁸ You will meet both on a boat day and on the mainland.

A beach on the island itself means a boat: there is no bridge, and the landing is reached by ferry or tour. A beach facing the island means a drive or a bus, a towel on the sand and the long grey profile of the island across the water all day. Doing both on different days shows you the island from two sides, and each has its own charm. A morning on the boat and an afternoon on a mainland beach is also an easy combination, since this site's tour from Olbia is back at the marina at 1:30 PM.

Whichever you choose, the water is part of the Tavolara Marine Protected Area, about 15,000 hectares of sea that runs along this coast.⁹ Keep to the reserve's simple rules: take your rubbish home, leave shells, stones and plants where they are, and never anchor a boat over seagrass.¹⁰

Spalmatore di Terra beach and the landing

The island's own sand is at the Spalmatore di Terra beach, where boats land. The regional tourism board describes a little port, places to eat, a small group of houses and small beaches fringed with sea daffodils.¹ The beach faces the Sardinian coast, so the view from your towel is of the mainland and its hills.¹¹

This low point is also where Tavolara's geology shows. A sandy strip called the Passetto joins the last part of the Spalmatore to the main mass of the island.¹² It is one of only two places in the reserve where the rare Centaurea horrida grows, so stay on the paths behind the sand.¹³

You reach it on the shuttle from Porto San Paolo, which runs daily without a booking and leaves at 09:30, 10:30, 11:30, 12:30 and 13:30.¹⁴ Several tours also land: the docking half day from Olbia gives 1 hour of free time at the island's pier, and the San Teodoro grand tour stops for lunch at Cala Tramontana. If you come on the shuttle, pick your return before you leave Porto San Paolo, because the listed returns are at 13:00, 15:30 and 16:30.¹⁴

Beach sizes

How long three of the beaches are

metres

Lengths as the regional tourism board gives them; sources disagree on La Cinta, so it is left out.¹⁵ ¹⁶ ¹⁷

Side by side

Beaches on and around the island

Beach	Where	How to reach it	Good to know
Spalmatore di Terra	On Tavolara	Ferry or tour	Little port, places to eat
Isola dei Cavalli	Off Porto San Paolo	Boat only	Fine, firm sand
Porto Istana	Near Olbia	Car or bus	Four beaches in one bay
Cala Brandinchi	San Teodoro	Car, booked in summer	Almost opposite the island
La Cinta	San Teodoro	On foot from town	Long arch of white dunes

From SardegnaTurismo, the Comune di San Teodoro and the ferry operator, read 2026-10-20.¹ ² ⁴ ¹⁸ ⁵ ⁶ ⁷ ¹⁴

Three beach days

Island, small island or mainland view

Land on the island

Spalmatore di Terra

On Tavolara

Reach: Ferry or tour
Food: At the landing
View: The Sardinian coast

See boat trips

Boat only

Isola dei Cavalli

Off Porto San Paolo

Reach: By boat
Sand: Fine and firm
Water: Clear and shallow

See boat trips

The classic view

Cala Brandinchi

Capo Coda Cavallo

Reach: Car, booked in summer
Sand: Very light
View: Straight at the island

See boat trips

Decision helper

Which beach for your day?

Choose what you want from the sand

I want to stand on Tavolara I want the postcard view I am staying in Olbia I have small children I want a beach without cars

Spalmatore di Terra

Reached by the daily shuttle from Porto San Paolo.¹⁴

Cala Brandinchi

Almost opposite the island; book in summer.⁵ ⁶

Porto Istana

Twenty minutes by car, or by bus from the centre.⁴ ¹⁸

Punta Est

Very shallow water and a Green Flag since 2008.¹⁹

Isola dei Cavalli

Reached only by boat, with shallow clear water.²

The coastal landscape is characterized by an alternation of promontories carved on the rocks of the intrusive basement and small beaches between one promontory and another.

Area Marina Protetta Tavolara Punta Coda CavalloSource 8

Beaches you reach only by boat

The small islands near Porto San Paolo have beaches of their own. The Isola dei Cavalli has a beach of light, fine, firm sand surrounded by Mediterranean scrub, with crystal-clear shallow water around it.² Isola Piana, just east of it, has several little beaches of fine greyish sand with hints of pink and ochre.³

On Molara, the regional tourism board suggests a stop at the little Cala Spagnola on the way round the island.²⁰ Molara is uninhabited, and cows and goats live wild on it, so expect a wild shore rather than a beach bar.²¹ ²² Bring everything you need for the day, from water to shade, and take it all back with you: plan as if there is nothing to buy on these shores.

This site's tour includes a swim at Punta Spalmatore and an hour at Spiaggia del Dottore, a small beach on the coast that several boats use as their first stop. The classic boat from Porto San Paolo also ends with a dip at the Isola dei Cavalli.

Map

Tavolara, Molara and the coast from Olbia to San Teodoro

Where the boats leave from, the islands and their landing places, and the beaches that face them.

Map of the coast of north-east Sardinia from Olbia and Golfo Aranci to San Teodoro, with Tavolara and Molara offshore — Olbia to San Teodoro

Map of Tavolara, Molara, Molarotto and the small islands off Porto San Paolo — Tavolara and Molara

Map of the beaches between Capo Ceraso and La Cinta, facing Tavolara and Molara — The coast facing the islands

1
Olbia marina (MOYS)
This site's tour checks in here at Dock A, Berth A44, and several other boats to the islands leave from the same marina.
In Google Maps ↗
2
Golfo Aranci
A port 20 minutes from Olbia, facing Tavolara, where dolphin trips and some island boats start.²³
In Google Maps ↗
3
Figarolo
A pyramid-shaped limestone islet off Cala Moresca, where the dolphin trips look for a pod of bottlenose dolphins.²⁴
In Google Maps ↗
4
Porto San Paolo
The village opposite the island: the ferry office is in Via Molara, and wooden boats leave from the floating docks.²⁵
In Google Maps ↗
5
Tavolara
A limestone and granite mountain rising from the sea, 560 m high and 4 km long, in Olbia's territory.²⁶ ²⁷
In Google Maps ↗
6
Molara
The second largest island of the protected area, uninhabited, with its pools on the south-west side.²¹ ²⁸
In Google Maps ↗
7
San Teodoro
The harbor where the dinghy tours of the archipelago set off each morning.
In Google Maps ↗
8
Capo Ceraso
A headland passed on the way out from Olbia; a disused military road leads to its old fortifications.²⁹
In Google Maps ↗
9
Spalmatore di Terra
The landing place, with a little port, places to eat, a few houses and the protected area's info point.³⁰ ³¹
In Google Maps ↗
10
Punta Cannone
The summit, reached by a guided trek and a short via ferrata; climbing on the island has been restricted since 2025, so ask the operator first.
In Google Maps ↗
11
Punta Timone
Site of the NATO radio station built in 1961; the protected area's map marks a military area with no entry.³² ³³
In Google Maps ↗
12
Piscine di Molara
Clear pools among granite rocks, with an anchoring zone for boats up to 30 m.²⁸ ³⁴
In Google Maps ↗
13
Molarotto
A small granite rock in the integral reserve, home to a lizard subspecies found nowhere else.³⁵
In Google Maps ↗
14
Isola Piana
An island off Porto San Paolo with little beaches of fine greyish sand.³
In Google Maps ↗
15
Isola dei Cavalli
A small island with a beach of fine, firm sand and shallow water.²
In Google Maps ↗
16
Spiaggia del Dottore
The first swim stop of this site's tour and of several other boats.
In Google Maps ↗
17
Porto Istana
A bay of four beaches at the foot of Capo Ceraso, twenty minutes by car from Olbia.⁴
In Google Maps ↗
18
Porto Taverna
Dunes with a pond behind them, where water birds can be seen.³⁶
In Google Maps ↗
19
Cala Girgolu
Known for the turtle-shaped rock called La Tartaruga.³⁷
In Google Maps ↗
20
Cala Brandinchi
Very light sand and turquoise water almost opposite the island; access is booked from 1 June to 30 September.⁵ ⁶
In Google Maps ↗
21
Lu Impostu
One kilometre of white sand dunes with junipers, the twin of Brandinchi.¹⁷
In Google Maps ↗
22
Capo Coda Cavallo
A strip of granite land sheltered by Tavolara, with Molara and the islet of Proratora in front.³⁸
In Google Maps ↗
23
La Cinta
San Teodoro's most famous beach, an arch of fine white sand facing the island.⁷
In Google Maps ↗

Open the map in Google Maps

Checklist

For a beach day by the island

Bring

Shade: an umbrella or a hat
Plenty of water
A bag for your rubbish

Remember

Book Brandinchi and Lu Impostu in summer
Stay on the paths through the dunes
Leave shells, stones and plants

Video

SARDINIA Porto Istana Beach || Clear turquoise water, soft sand, stunning views of Tavolara Island

Nothing loads from YouTube until you press play.

Porto Istana beach and Porto Taverna

Near Olbia, the bay of Porto Istana sits in the Murta Maria area at the foot of the Capo Ceraso headland, twenty minutes by car from the city, and is made up of four beaches separated by small strips of rock.⁴ It is an easy choice for anyone staying in Olbia who wants the island in view all day.

Getting there is easy: take the SS125 from Olbia towards Siniscola and turn off after kilometre 307, or catch a bus from the centre of Olbia.¹⁸ Arrive early in high summer if you want space near the water, and bring your own shade for the long hours on the sand.

Further south, Porto Taverna has dunes with a pond behind them, where you can watch water birds.³⁶ It is a good place to combine a swim with a walk along the dunes, always on the marked paths that protect the plants holding the sand together. Between Porto Taverna and Brandinchi lies Cala Girgolu, known for the turtle-shaped rock called La Tartaruga, and several boats stop there for a swim among the flat granite slabs.³⁷

Brandinchi, Lu Impostu and La Cinta

Cala Brandinchi, nicknamed Tahiti, lies at Capo Coda Cavallo almost opposite the island, with very light sand and turquoise water much loved by snorkelers.⁵ The view of Tavolara from Cala Brandinchi is a classic picture of this coast: white sand in front, and the island filling the horizon.

Its twin, Lu Impostu, is a kilometre of white sand dunes dotted with junipers and mimosas.¹⁷ Access to both beaches needs a booking from 1 June to 30 September, with at most 6 people per booking for visitors who must pay the fee.⁶ ³⁹ Book before you drive down, or arrive by boat on a tour that stops there. Brandinchi has a kiosk-bar, sunbed and umbrella hire, pedalos, canoes and paddleboards, coin-operated showers and dinghies for hire to visit the protected area; animals are not allowed.⁴⁰

Further south again, La Cinta is San Teodoro's most famous beach, an arch of fine white dunes that faces the island across the protected area.⁷ Back north at Monte Petrosu, near Cala Girgolu, the little Spiaggia delle Vacche is a thirty-metre strip of cream-coloured sand looking out at Tavolara and Molara.¹⁵

Choosing your beach

With children, look at Punta Est on Capo Coda Cavallo: about 600 metres long, with very shallow water, it has held the Green Flag of Italian paediatricians since 2008.¹⁶ ¹⁹ With a boat day planned anyway, choose a tour that lands on the island and spend your free time at the Spalmatore. Older children who swim well will love the boat-only beaches, where every stop feels like a small expedition.

For the view, the mainland wins. Porto Istana from Olbia, Brandinchi and La Cinta from San Teodoro and the first of Golfo Aranci's town beaches all look straight across at the island.⁴ ⁵ ⁷ ⁴¹ For the swimming, the small islands and Molara win, because the boat takes you to water that cars never reach.

Go early in high summer, carry shade and water, and remember that the booked beaches near San Teodoro need planning. Sardinia's summer season for beach concessions runs from 1 April to 31 October, so outside those months expect fewer services on the sand.⁴²

Book your seat