Sardinia Private Boat Tour — Charter the Whole Boat

Our featured private charter in the Gulf of Cagliari is around $421 for the whole boat — one price for your group, including the skipper, fuel, snorkeling masks, and an aperitif with Prosecco and a Sardinian platter. Across Sardinia, a crewed private charter in high season typically averages over $1,000 a day; a bareboat rental starts near $274 plus about $100 for a skipper. If you'd rather pay per seat, the shared Cagliari boat tour is $56 per person and shared La Maddalena day trips run from $56 to $224 per person (October 2026 prices). See our full guide to private boat charter costs in Sardinia for the per-person breakdown by group size.

A private charter is a whole boat booked for your group alone — you control the pace, the skipper picks the best coves, and no strangers come aboard. A shared tour puts you on a larger boat with other travellers following a fixed itinerary, for a fraction of the price. Private wins when your group is large or the occasion matters; shared wins when you're a couple watching the budget. Be cautious of cheap tours marketed as 'private' that are really shared seats. Read our honest private vs shared boat tour comparison to decide which suits your group.

Not for any tour on this site — they all come with a qualified skipper who handles the route, the moorings, and the marine-park rules. You only need a boating licence if you rent a boat bareboat and drive it yourself, and even then some small inflatables with engines under 40hp can be driven licence-free. For a worry-free day, a skippered charter is the simplest choice. Our Sardinia boat licence and rental guide explains exactly when a licence is required and which small boats are exempt.

Genuine private charters cluster on the south coast around Cagliari, where the ports are full of small owner-operated boats. Our featured charter leaves from the Su Siccu tourist harbour, a few minutes from the centre. In the north, the high-volume departures (mostly shared) leave from Palau, La Maddalena town, Cannigione, Baia Sardinia, and Porto Cervo for the Maddalena archipelago and Costa Smeralda. See our La Maddalena vs Cagliari boat tour comparison to decide which region suits your trip.

If you're a group, celebrating something, or simply want flexibility and privacy, yes — a private charter gives you the whole boat, a skipper who chases the calmest, clearest water, and the freedom to linger where you like. Our Cagliari charter is rated 5.0/5 by verified guests. If there are just two of you and budget is the priority, a shared archipelago tour delivers the same scenery for far less per person. Our private vs shared boat tour guide breaks down exactly when each option wins.

Yes. The featured Gulf of Cagliari charter has snorkeling masks on board and stops for several swims along the coast toward Poetto Beach, in coves away from the crowds that can only be reached by boat. The shared Cagliari boat tour makes four swim stops chosen by the skipper on the day, among them Cala Mosca, Cala Fighera and the water under the Sella del Diavolo, with a mask and snorkel for each guest. Shared archipelago tours in the north also stop to swim off islands like Spargi.

Yes, if you don't need the boat to yourselves. The Cagliari Boat Tour with 4 Swim Stops, Snorkeling & Prosecco is a shared tour, not a private one: up to 12 guests on an 8-9 metre RIB from Molo Dogana on Via Roma, about three hours, with a mask and snorkel and a glass of Prosecco. It costs $56 per person and is rated 4.9/5 from 2,488 reviews (October 2026 check; a discounted $45 ran until 28 October). For two people that is $112 against $421 for the private gozzo; at six or seven people the private boat costs about the same per head. There is no toilet on the RIB.

The private gozzo charter includes the boat for your group, a professional skipper, fuel, snorkeling masks, an aperitif with a glass of Prosecco and a platter of typical Sardinian products, and a bathroom on board. You'll sail the Gulf of Cagliari and stop to swim and snorkel. Bring a hat, sunscreen, and a beach towel. Free cancellation applies up to 24 hours before departure.

The season runs May to October. July and August are peak — warmest water, liveliest atmosphere, biggest crowds. September is a sweet spot: warm sea, fewer people. South-coast cave swimming around Cagliari is best June to September. On windy days the open Costa Smeralda run can be rough, so the more sheltered La Maddalena route is the smarter choice.

La Maddalena, in the north, is the postcard archipelago — a protected marine park of seven islands with the Natural Pools of Porto della Madonna and Spargi's green coves; its best tours are shared and great value. Cagliari, in the south, is where genuine private charters are easiest to book, with the dramatic Sella del Diavolo headland and quieter coves. Choose north for the famous scenery, south for an affordable private boat. Our full La Maddalena vs Cagliari guide compares scenery, price, and the access rules at the Pink Beach and Cala Goloritzè.

No — Budelli's Spiaggia Rosa (Pink Beach) has been closed to landing since 1994 to protect its rare coral-pink sand. Boats can only cruise past beyond a line of buoys about 70 metres from shore; no one is allowed to walk on the beach or swim there. Any tour promising a walk on the Pink Beach is misleading. You can still admire it from the water on most La Maddalena archipelago tours.

Cala Goloritzè, with its famous rock arch, allows only rowing boats to land — passenger boats and charters cannot drop you on the beach, but they cruise in front and usually stop for a swim in the turquoise water beneath the arch. From summer 2025, landing independently on the Baunei beaches of the Gulf of Orosei requires a booked QR-code permit. A skippered tour handles these rules for you.

Up to seven. The featured Gulf of Cagliari gozzo is booked as one whole-boat price of $421 for a group of up to 7, so it suits couples, friends and small families. Birthdays, proposals, and anniversaries are popular. See how the per-person cost falls as you fill the boat in our private charter cost guide.

Tours run in good conditions; if the sea is unsafe the operator may cancel or reschedule, and free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure protects your booking. On merely breezy days, operators often steer toward more sheltered water — the La Maddalena route has shorter, calmer hops than the exposed Costa Smeralda run. Always check the forecast and confirm the meeting point the day before.