Budelli and Spargi

Budelli and Spargi are the most iconic destinations on daily island tours. Both are reachable by boat from La Maddalena in less than an hour, and both offer an experience radically different from beaches reachable by car. Having a base in La Maddalena - instead of arriving from outside on a fixed day charter - means choosing departure time based on wind and light.

With our apartments in La Maddalena, you can organise your Budelli or Spargi day starting at 7 a.m., when water is still clear and light is side-lit.

Budelli is the most famous and the least accessible. The island is publicly owned and Spiaggia Rosa - the only beach in the world with that coloration - has been protected by decree since 1994: walking on the sand and removing any material are forbidden.

The pink colour is not an optical effect: it comes from microscopic fragments of *Miniacina miniacea*, a foraminifera living in surrounding shallows. In the decades before legal protection, intensive tourist sand removal had already visibly reduced colour intensity. Protection slowed degradation but did not stop it entirely: each year part of the sand is moved by winter currents.

Spiaggia Rosa is viewed from water, at anchor, in silence. It is one of the few places in the world where landscape respect is written law, not implied hope.

Spiaggia del Cavaliere, on Budelli's opposite side, is accessible. Less photographed and less crowded, with gently sloping pale sand bottom. It works best in the afternoon, when Mistral eases and light direction changes.

Spargi is larger and more varied than Budelli, with a jagged profile dividing it into sides with different behaviour.

Cala Corsara is the main beach: wide, pink granite behind, water gradient from transparent pale blue to deep blue. Under Mistral it is sheltered by the island's north-west headland - one of the few archipelago beaches where swimming remains good even in strong wind. Under Libeccio, waves enter and the beach loses calm.

Cala d'Alga, smaller and less accessible, lies on Spargi's northern side. It is almost always empty - few boats can anchor in front. Water here is among the clearest in the entire archipelago.

The Spargi wreck is one of the Mediterranean's most visited dive sites: a Roman ship from the 2nd century BC, sunk with wine amphora cargo, visible at less than ten metres depth on the island's north-west side.

Guided island tours leave La Maddalena every morning, usually between 9 and 10. By booking in advance or arranging directly with the operator, earlier departures are possible - some offer dawn outings for travellers who want beaches before crowds.

Alternatively, with boat rental (licence required for vessels over 40 hp), you can build an independent route: Spargi and Budelli in the morning, return to La Maddalena in late afternoon, after planning your route around wind direction.

From Isola or Lena to Cala Gavetta harbour: 5 minutes by car. From Madda: less than 3 minutes on foot.