At a glance, if you are in a hurry
Golfo Aranci is the closest thing to a proper seaside village you will find in Gallura: five beaches in a row along the built-up area, all reachable on foot, plus a headland with a cove below it. In practice that means this is the one place around here where you do not need a car to go to the sea. One of the beaches, Cala Sabina, is reached in summer by a train stop.
| Beach | What it is like | Best for | How to get there |
|---|---|---|---|
| First and Second | Near the harbour, easy and well served | Half days, a quick swim | Walk from the village |
| Third | The widest of the group | Families, a full day | Walk from the village |
| Fourth and Fifth | The furthest and quietest | Fewer people | Walk, or a few minutes by car |
| Cala Moresca | Below Capo Figari, facing Figarolo | Landscape, snorkelling | Car park, then walk down |
| Cala Sabina | Small and sheltered, no road | Arriving by train | Summer railway halt |
| Spiaggia Bianca and Baia Caddinas | Pale sand, shallow water | Very young children | Car, towards Olbia |
The numbered beaches, and why it works
The beaches here do not have poetic names: they are called First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth, lined up along the village. It is not laziness, it is what people have always called them, and it still makes sense because they really are one after another and you walk between them.
The First is closest to the harbour and the handiest for a half-hour swim. The Third is the widest and the natural choice for a full day. The Fifth is the furthest and usually the quietest, which in August counts for more than any other feature.
The real point is what this layout allows: a seaside holiday without ever taking the car out. In Gallura that is rare. Almost everywhere else around here, every swim starts with a parking space to be won.
Cala Sabina: the beach with a train stop
This is the detail that makes Golfo Aranci different from everywhere else. Cala Sabina is reached by train: the line is Olbia - Golfo Aranci and the halt of the same name is a short walk from the beach. There is no convenient surfaced road down to it, which is exactly why it stays small and tucked away.
Two practical warnings, both important. First: the service is seasonal and there are few trains, so timetables must be checked with Trenitalia before you go. Second, which follows from the first: look at the return time before you look at the outbound one. Getting it wrong here does not mean waiting twenty minutes, it means being stranded somewhere with no bus.
Anyone who would rather not risk it walks in along the coastal path, but that is a different kind of day and needs preparing.
Cala Moresca, Capo Figari and the island in front
Cala Moresca lies below the Capo Figari headland, with the island of Figarolo directly in front: a hump of rock that looks within swimming distance and is not. You leave the car in the car park at the start of the area and continue downhill on foot: not far, but you feel it with a parasol and a cool box.
It is one of the most beautiful in the area and also one of the most exposed to the sun, so an early morning here is worth double. The surrounding rock makes it a good place for mask and fins.
Above it, the Capo Figari track climbs on gravel through the scrub and opens up the view over the gulf, over Figarolo and, on the other side, over Tavolara. At the top are the remains of old military structures and of the station where Guglielmo Marconi ran radio experiments in the 1930s. This is not a flip-flop walk: you climb in full sun, and you need closed shoes and water.
Spiaggia Bianca and Baia Caddinas: the stretch for small children
Towards Olbia, before you reach the village, are Spiaggia Bianca and Baia Caddinas: pale sand and a seabed that drops away very slowly. They are the right choice with very young children, when what matters is not the scenery but being able to stay in the water without worrying.
You need the car here, but it is only a few minutes. It is also a good compromise for anyone staying between Olbia and Golfo Aranci who does not want to drive into the village every day.
The dolphins, told straight
There is a resident population of bottlenose dolphins in the gulf and trips dedicated to spotting them leave from the harbour. It is worth saying plainly: nobody can guarantee an encounter, and anyone promising one with certainty is selling badly. It is a boat trip with good odds, not a scheduled show.
Operators who do it properly work to defined distances and rules, because this is inside the Tavolara - Punta Coda Cavallo marine protected area. If you are interested, pick the one who explains that before you leave rather than the one who shows you photographs.
Getting there, and why it suits evening flights
From Olbia airport it is about fifteen kilometres, barely twenty minutes. From the centre of Olbia, around fifteen kilometres along the coast road. Golfo Aranci is also a ferry port, so at certain times of year anyone arriving by sea from Livorno or Civitavecchia lands here directly.
The real convenience is for evening arrivals: twenty minutes of road and you are there, without tackling the Costa Smeralda in the dark. For the full picture of connections from the airport see our guide on getting from Olbia airport to the beaches, and for the shoreline halfway there, the one on Pittulongu beach.
If you are working out where to stay, our page on Golfo Aranci describes the area. And if you already have dates, write to us: we will tell you what is free and which numbered beach you would be closest to.
Where the information on this page comes from
This guide was last updated in August 2026. Train times for Cala Sabina are seasonal and change every year: check them with Trenitalia before planning the day, as it is the only source worth looking at. We measured these distances and driving times ourselves. If you find something that no longer adds up, write to us and we will correct it.
