At a glance, if you are in a hurry
Pittulongu is not a single beach: it is a few kilometres of shoreline north of Olbia, divided into stretches with different names and different characters. Three things actually matter here. Parking is free, which is rare in Sardinia. You can get there on a city bus from the centre of Olbia. And the water is so shallow that a day with small children is genuinely relaxed. Facing you, along the whole length of it, is the island of Tavolara.
| Stretch | What it is like | Best for | Parking | ASPO bus 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lo Squalo | First one coming from Olbia, sand and an old kiosk | A quick swim | Free, fills early | Yes |
| Pellicano | Middle stretch, quieter | Space to yourself | Free | Yes |
| Mare Rocce | Sand broken by granite outcrops | Snorkelling | Free | Yes |
| Pittulongu | The central stretch, the best served | Families, a full day | Free, the first to fill | Yes |
| Bados | The northern end, wide and breezy | Late arrivals, long walks | Free and roomier | Yes, end of the line |
The free parking, and why it changes the day
In Sardinia, in summer, going to the beach almost always means paying to park. Not at Pittulongu: you park on the unsurfaced ground beside the road, free of charge, along the whole coast. It is the main reason people from Olbia come here rather than anywhere else, and it is worth knowing before you plan the day.
The constraint is not cost, it is space. In August, after ten in the morning, the spaces near the main access points are full and you end up carrying the parasol a few hundred metres. The rule we give our guests is simple: either before half past nine, or after five. In between, head towards Bados, where the parking areas are larger and hold out much longer.
Getting there without a car: line 4
This is the second thing that makes Pittulongu different from the rest of the Gallura coast: you can reach it on a city bus. ASPO line 4 leaves from the centre of Olbia and runs the entire northern shoreline, stopping at Lo Squalo, Pellicano, Mare Rocce, Pittulongu and Bados. Five beaches served by one line is unusual anywhere.
ASPO fares are these: a single 90-minute ticket at 1.00 €, a day ticket valid 24 hours at 2.80 €, a carnet of 12 journeys at 10.00 €. Buy the ticket before boarding: on board there is a 0.50 € surcharge and you need the exact amount in cash, meaning 1.50 €. If you expect two journeys in a day, the day ticket already makes sense.
You can buy from the ticket machines that run around the clock, from the town info point, from authorised retailers, or through the ASPO app or MooneyGo. One of those machines is at the airport, on the arrivals side: if you land and want to head straight to the sea, buy the ticket before you walk out.
The shallow water, and what it actually means
The sea here enters very gradually. You can walk dozens of metres with the water at waist height, and that changes the kind of day you have: children stay in the water where you can see them, without anyone standing guard. It is why almost all the families we host around Olbia end up treating Pittulongu as their default beach.
The same shallow seabed has an honest downside: the water warms up. In late July and August, in the more sheltered stretches, the sea is as warm as a swimming pool. Anyone looking for cold, deep water will not find it here, and should move towards Bados or further north to Golfo Aranci.
Tavolara, in front of you all day
The shore faces east and south-east, and on that horizon sits the island of Tavolara: a block of limestone rising more than five hundred metres straight out of the sea, with vertical walls. It is not background scenery, it is the thing you look at the whole time you are in the water.
It changes colour through the day: grey and severe in the morning, golden in late afternoon, almost black against the light at sunset. Beside it you can see Molara, lower and rounder, and to the north the outline of Capo Figari. This whole area is part of the Tavolara - Punta Coda Cavallo marine protected area: for swimmers nothing changes, but anyone arriving by boat or planning to dive should read up on the zones and rules first.
Which stretch to choose, and why
Lo Squalo is the first you meet coming from Olbia and takes its name from the long-standing kiosk above it. It suits a short stop or a quick swim on the way somewhere else.
Pittulongu, the central stretch, has the most services: kiosks, parasol hire, toilets. It is also the busiest, so it is the first place where parking runs out.
Pellicano and Mare Rocce sit in between and are the right choice when you want the same sea with fewer people. At Mare Rocce the sand is broken by granite outcrops: awkward to walk on barefoot, excellent for snorkelling, because where there is rock there is life.
Bados closes the coast to the north and is the widest. It catches more wind than the others, which in August is a virtue rather than a flaw, and it has the roomiest parking. If you arrive late in the morning, come straight here instead of circling the other stretches.
From the airport to the sea, without going home first
Costa Smeralda airport is about eight kilometres from this shoreline, barely fifteen minutes by car. It is the closest real beach to the airport, and that opens up something many people do not consider: landing in the morning and swimming before lunch, or spending the last afternoon in the water before an evening flight.
With our guests it often works exactly like that, especially on arrival. If you want the full picture of connections from the airport, we wrote it in the guide on getting from Olbia airport to the beaches.
The things people always ask us
Three, always the same. Whether there are sunbeds: in the main stretches yes, but not everywhere and not all year; from mid-September many kiosks close. Whether you can eat on the beach: the kiosks exist and work well, but do not expect Costa Smeralda dining, this is simple food and it is fine that way. Whether to stay at Pittulongu or in Olbia: it depends on the evenings you want. At Pittulongu you have the sea below the house and quiet nights; in Olbia you have the centre, the restaurants and a ten-minute drive to get here.
If you are working out where to stay, our page on Pittulongu explains what the area is like and what changes between being on the seafront and slightly inland. And if you already have dates, write to us: we will tell you what is free and which stretch of beach you would be closest to.
Where the numbers on this page come from
This guide was last updated in August 2026. Bus fares and routes change, so we would rather tell you where we checked than ask you to trust us: ASPO Olbia for urban transport fares and sales channels, and ASPO's own announcements for the stops on line 4. If you find something that no longer adds up, write to us and we will correct it: we would rather have a page that is right than a page that looks complete.
