At a glance, if you are in a hurry
The Gulf of Orosei is the one stretch of Sardinian coast where the mountain drops into the sea without leaving room for a road. In practice that means the famous coves cannot be reached by car: you either take a boat or you walk. Cala Gonone is the village almost everything starts from. And several coves have limited access and must be booked in advance, which catches a lot of people out on the day.
| Cove | What it is like | How to get there | Booking needed? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cala Fuili | Small, gravel and rock | By car from Cala Gonone, then steps | No |
| Cala Luna | Wide, with caves behind it | Boat, or on foot from Cala Fuili | Check first, rules vary |
| Cala Sisine | Wide, at the mouth of a canyon | Boat, or off-road and hiking | Yes for landings by sea |
| Cala Biriola | Small and closed in by cliffs | In practice, boat only | Yes for landings by sea |
| Cala Mariolu | White and pink pebbles | Boat, or hiking for the experienced | Yes for landings by sea |
| Cala Goloritzè | The rock arch and the spire | On foot only, no landing | Yes, 250 places, 7 € ticket |
The thing to understand first
Anyone arriving here planning to "drive round the coves" loses a day. Between Cala Fuili and Santa Maria Navarrese, for some fifty kilometres, there is no coast road: there is the Supramonte massif ending vertically in the water. The coves open where the codule reach the sea, the dry canyons that come down from the plateau.
So there are three ways in: the boat, which is what most people do and which lets you see several coves in a day; the trail, which is a serious commitment rather than a walk; or staying at Cala Fuili, the only one normally reachable by car.
Cala Goloritzè: all the rules, in full
It is the most photographed cove on the island, with the rock arch standing in the water and the Punta Caroddi spire behind. It also has the most precise rules, and they are worth knowing in full because every one of them has sent somebody home.
You cannot land from a boat. This is the part that surprises people most: you can see it from the sea, but to set foot on it you walk the trail. Boats must respect the distance limits, and moving closer gives no right of access.
You book online, on the official platform for the Baunei area or through its app. Access is limited to 250 people at a time and the ticket costs 7.00 €. It is free for children up to and including age five and for residents of the Municipality of Baunei, who must still be declared at booking because they occupy a place. Dates open from the third day before, at midnight, and tickets are not refundable.
The trail opens at 7:30 and closes at 14:00; you can stay on the beach until 17:00. There is also an afternoon slot from 12:00 to 17:00 when it is active, with trail entry between 12:00 and 13:30. The official advice is to be at the trailhead by 10:00, and it is sound advice: the route is exposed to the sun and the climb back in the middle of the day is hard.
The route is about 3.5 kilometres with 500 metres of elevation change, an hour and a half down and around two hours back up. Closed shoes with good grip are required, preferably hiking shoes, and you need at least two litres of water each. Dogs may walk the trail but cannot go onto the beach.
One useful detail if you are staying nearby: guests staying in the Municipality of Baunei can ask their accommodation for a hospitality code, if the property is registered and enabled. That code can unlock booking for a fourth day, beyond the three normally available, within a dedicated allocation of 150 places. It does not guarantee a place, but it widens the odds.
The other coves, and why to ask your boat operator
Several coves along the Baunei coast, including Mariolu, Biriola and Sisine, have regulated access during the bathing season, with booking and a contribution for anyone landing by sea. The rules and the amounts change from one season to the next, so we are not giving you figures here that risk being out of date: check the official channel before booking the boat.
In practice, if you book an organised boat trip from Cala Gonone harbour, the operator usually handles the cove tickets. It is worth asking explicitly when you book, because it is not always included and finding out on board is awkward.
Cala Mariolu is made of white and pink pebbles, described in the traditional Sardinian name as snow dust, and is closed in by very high cliffs. Cala Biriola is smaller and more hidden still. Cala Sisine is the widest and opens at the mouth of a canyon: the inland path for walkers starts from there.
Cala Luna and Cala Fuili: the two you can walk to
Cala Fuili closes the coast road south of Cala Gonone. It is the only cove you reach by car, leaving it above and walking down a few dozen steps. It is small, gravel and rock, and in August it fills early, but it is the answer for anyone who does not want to organise anything.
The path to Cala Luna starts here. It is the busiest walk in the gulf and it is not trivial: you walk on rock, you need real shoes, and you must account for the return leg in the afternoon heat. People who would rather not walk both ways go out on foot and come back by boat, but that pickup has to be arranged in advance.
Cala Luna is worth the trip either way: a crescent of pebbles and sand with a row of open caves behind it, which in summer are the only shade of the day.
The Bue Marino cave, and the fallback for rough days
The Bue Marino cave is the best known sea cave in the gulf and takes its name from the monk seal, the bue marino, which lived here until a few decades ago. It is visited with a guide, reached by boat from Cala Gonone harbour, and the entrance ticket is usually separate from the cost of the trip: check when you book.
It is also the answer to a practical problem: when the sea is rough the coves become uncomfortable or unreachable, and a planned day collapses. The cave works anyway, and it is the fallback we suggest to guests when the forecast turns.
Dorgali, Cala Gonone and the road between them
Cala Gonone is the seaside part of Dorgali, which sits above it, inland. Between the two runs a mountain road full of bends that drops to the sea: it is only a few kilometres but it is driven slowly, especially in the evening and especially if you do not know it.
The two choices give you different holidays. Cala Gonone means the harbour below the house, boats in the morning and a village alive in the evening. Dorgali means being inland, with the advantage of quiet and of being close to the Supramonte and the nuraghi, and the disadvantage of twenty minutes of bends every time you go to the sea.
Getting there, and how much time to allow
From Olbia it is about a hundred kilometres and an hour and a half by car. From Cagliari it is over two hundred kilometres and you should allow at least three hours. The useful airports are Olbia to the north and Cagliari to the south; for ferries, Olbia and Arbatax are the handiest ports.
A car is necessary here, and if you plan to go to Baunei for Goloritzè allow another good hour from Cala Gonone, because you go back inland and come down again. For the full picture of connections, see our guide on getting to Sardinia.
If you are working out where to stay, our page on Dorgali and Cala Gonone explains the difference between the two. And if you already have dates, write to us: we will tell you what is free and how to plan the days on the water.
Where the numbers on this page come from
This guide was last updated in August 2026. The figures on Cala Goloritzè come from the official booking platform Heart of Sardinia and from the official tourism site of Baunei. For the other coves the rules change every season and we would rather point you to the source than write a figure that is false in six months. If you find something that no longer adds up, write to us and we will correct it.
