Cala Mariolu is a small cove of white and pink pebbles on the Baunei coast of the Gulf of Orosei, in east Sardinia, and almost everyone reaches it by boat. In the 2026 season, landing there by sea cost €2 per person (€3 if your trip stopped at two or more coves) and the cove was capped at 700 sea places from 1 May to 20 October. The shallow, clear water over its pebbly seabed is the reason to go, so pack a mask.
Cala Mariolu, Sardinia: quick facts
- Where: the Baunei coast of the Golfo di Orosei, in the comune of Baunei (Ogliastra).
- Beach: small, round white and pink pebbles mixed with sand.
- Access: by boat from Santa Maria Navarrese, Arbatax or Cala Gonone; on foot only by an experts' trail of about six hours there and back.
- 2026 sea fee: €2 for one cove, €3 for two or more, free for Baunei residents.
- 2026 cap: 700 places for arrivals by sea.
- 2026 season: 1 May to 20 October; landing bookings were no longer required from 12 October.
- Local name: Is Pùligi de Nie, "the snow fleas".
- Facilities: no official source lists any. Bring water, food and shade.
2026 sea access rules: fees, caps and booking
Landings on the Baunei coves are booked through the Costa di Baunei via mare booking platform. It covers four coves: Cala dei Gabbiani, Cala Mariolu, Cala Biriola (spelled Biriala on the platform) and Cala Sisine. Cala Goloritzé runs its own separate booking system.
- Price: €2.00 per person for one cove, €3.00 per person for two or more coves on the same trip.
- Residents: people resident in Baunei pay €0.
- Sea only: the fee applies to arrivals by sea. Walking in, where allowed, is free.
- Cap: the Cala Mariolu booking page lists 700 sea places for 1 May to 20 October 2026.
- Who books: on an organised trip (passenger boat, skippered dinghy or other operator), ask the operator first, because the fee is often included. Self-drive renters and private boat owners book themselves and enter any operator code their rental company gives them.
- When: in 2026, bookings were usually for the same day, from 07:00. If Mariolu showed sold out, the platform advised checking again during the morning, as unused operator quotas could be released.
- On arrival: land only at the cove you booked, use the marked landing point and keep your confirmation.
The platform posted its end-of-season notice in October: from 12 October 2026, landings no longer needed booking. When we checked on 25 October 2026, no dates or prices for 2027 had been published, so treat the 2026 figures as a guide until the comune announces the next season.
How to get there by boat
Boats leave from three harbours: Santa Maria Navarrese and Arbatax to the south, and Cala Gonone to the north. Sardegna Turismo, the regional tourism board, says the cove is more comfortably reached by sea. The booking platform recognises four ways to arrive:
- Passenger boats (motonavi): larger boats that run a fixed route along the coast and stop at several coves. The landing fee is often included.
- Skippered dinghies (NCC): smaller groups, a driver who knows the landing points, more flexible stops.
- Self-drive rental dinghies (gommoni a noleggio): you drive, you book the landing yourself.
- Private boats: same booking rules as rentals.
Can you drive a rental boat without a licence? Under article 39 of Italy's pleasure-boating code, you need a licence to go more than six miles from the coast, to ride a jet ski at any distance, or to use an engine of more than 30 kW (40.8 hp) or above the engine sizes the code lists. Within those limits no licence is required, but the code sets minimum ages: 16 for small craft (natanti) and 18 for larger boats (imbarcazioni). Rental companies can add their own conditions.
At Mariolu itself, a large flat rock called sa perda 'e su saltatori serves as the landing pier, according to Sardegna Turismo.
Walking in: only for experienced hikers
There is a land route, and it is serious. Sardegna Turismo's trekking guide describes it as "decisively more demanding" than the Goloritzé path and says it should be done with guides. The route starts on the Golgo plateau, heads towards the church of San Pietro, climbs to Punta 'e Lattone and then drops to a rock arch above the gulf. Allow about six hours there and back.
The regional Cala Mariolu page calls it a trek "for experts" through dense Mediterranean scrub. For comparison, the trail to Cala Goloritzé is about 3.6 km with roughly 500 m of height difference. If you want a feel for the plateau before committing, read our guide to the Golgo plateau, As Piscinas and Su Sterru.
What to expect on the beach
- Pebbles, not sand. The beach is small round pebbles, white and pink, mixed with sand. Water shoes make the entry into the sea easier.
- Snorkelling. Sardegna Turismo says the shallow seabed "deserves a dive with a mask", and divers with more experience go deeper with tanks. Dolphins are occasionally seen offshore. For other spots, see our snorkelling and diving guide to Sardinia.
- Caves. A small cave opens inside the cove and runs about 10 m inland, and the Grotta del Fico sea cave is nearby.
- Birds. The cliffs are home to peregrine falcons, Eleonora's falcons, shags and golden eagles.
- No facilities you can count on. No official page lists toilets, sunbed hire or shade. One local coast guide reports a small drinks kiosk in summer; treat it as a bonus.
- Leave the pebbles. Sardinia forbids removing, keeping or selling sand, pebbles, stones or shells, with fines of €500 to €3,000.
Where the name comes from
The old local name is Is Pùligi de Nie, "the snow fleas", after the tiny white pebbles. The Italian name has a story attached. According to local tradition, a monk seal kept stealing fish from the nets of fishermen from Ponza. They called it mariolo, "thief", and the name stuck to the cove. The headland of Punta Ispùligi separates Mariolu from Cala dei Gabbiani, and it was once a loading point for charcoal made by the furisteris, charcoal burners who settled in Baunei.
Nearby coves on the Baunei coast
Most boat trips combine Mariolu with its neighbours, which is why the €3 multi-cove fee exists. The 2026 caps below come from the same booking platform, except Goloritzé and Cala Luna.
- Cala dei Gabbiani: just south of Mariolu across Punta Ispùligi; 300 sea places. It ranks 18th on the World's 50 Best Beaches 2026 list.
- Cala Biriola: 300 sea places.
- Cala Sisine: 1,800 sea places, the largest cap on this coast.
- Cala Goloritzé: on foot only, 250 people at a time, €7 ticket; boats may not land. Our Cala Goloritzé booking and trail guide covers the 72-hour booking window.
- Cala Luna: managed by the comune of Dorgali, capped at 900 people at once by boat in 2026. See our Cala Luna guide to caves, hiking and boat access.
When to go and sea conditions
The paid, capped season ran from 1 May to 20 October in 2026. Mariolu was named second on the World's 50 Best Beaches list for 2024, and demand followed. In high summer the 700 places can sell out, so book early in the morning or travel with an operator that holds a quota.
The Baunei coast faces east, and every trip depends on the sea: a rough day can cancel boat trips, so keep a spare day in your plans. Our guide to Sardinia's winds explains which winds bring rough water to which coast.
A protected coast
Cala Mariolu lies inside the Natura 2000 site "Golfo di Orosei" (code ITB020014), protected both as a Special Area of Conservation and as a Special Protection Area for birds. The site's management plan gives it 28,972 hectares, about 16,874 of them in Baunei, the rest in Dorgali, Urzulei and the sea in front. A national park for the Gulf of Orosei and Gennargentu was created on paper in 1998, but a 2005 law made it depend on a new agreement between the State and the Region, and in 2024 it still had no management body. The access rules you meet on the water are set by Baunei.
Local tips: what most guides get wrong
- "A white sand beach." It is pebbles mixed with sand. Bring water shoes.
- "Free to visit." Sea arrivals paid €2 or €3 in 2026. Only walkers paid nothing.
- "An easy walk from Golgo." The official estimate is six hours there and back, with guides. The easy walk on this coast is Goloritzé.
- "Boat tours stop at Goloritzé." They stop offshore. Landing there is not allowed.
- "Booking is always required." In 2026 it stopped being required from 12 October.
- "It is in a national park." It is in a Natura 2000 site. The national park decreed in 1998 has never had a working management body.
Sources: Heart of Sardinia, Cala Mariolu 2026 · Costa di Baunei via mare platform · Heart of Sardinia, Cala Goloritzé · Sardegna Turismo, Cala Mariolu · Sardegna Turismo, trekking guide · Normattiva, D.Lgs. 171/2005 art. 39 · Regione Sardegna, beach rules · ZSC/ZPS Golfo di Orosei management plan · La Nuova Sardegna, Cala Luna cap · World's 50 Best Beaches 2024
Photo credits: The white pebble beach of Cala Mariolu below the wooded limestone cliffs of the Baunei coast, photographed in June 2012 (Roberto Mura, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons); Limestone boulders and clear shallow water at Cala Mariolu, with tour boats waiting offshore (Carlo Pelagalli, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons); Cala dei Gabbiani, Cala Mariolu's southern neighbour, seen from a boat in July 2012 (trolvag, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons); Limestone boulders and glassy shallows at the edge of Cala Mariolu, August 2021 (Daniela M., CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons); Swimmers and snorkellers in the shallows of Cala Mariolu, with boats moored beyond the buoy line, July 2017 (Lddcrs, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons). Fact sheet and chart: Sardinia Blog, from the sources listed above.
Fitting the Gulf of Orosei into a longer trip? Rental12, a holiday-rental company based in Olbia, covers the east coast and Cala Gonone in Best places in Sardinia: 20 destinations. It is a company guide, not independent research.
