Two islands, two countries, one of the most beautiful strips of water in the Mediterranean, and a strait between them that demands respect. A two week Corsica and Sardinia cruise links the granite drama of southern Corsica with the milky shallows of the Maddalena archipelago, and the whole thing turns on getting the Bouches de Bonifacio right. I have done this passage twice, once in a chartered 42-footer out of Ajaccio and once delivering a friend's boat south. Both times the strait was the part I planned hardest and worried about most.
Here is how I would spread two weeks, working south down Corsica, across to Sardinia, and back. Distances are short, so most days are half-day sails with long swimming stops. The hard skill is reading the weather, because the strait funnels wind and the marine reserves on both sides come with rules that bite.
The first week: down the Corsican gulfs
Start in Ajaccio if you are chartering, or Propriano if you want a quieter base. The gulf of Ajaccio is wide and well sheltered, and the city itself, Napoleon's birthplace, is worth a day before you head south.
From there the coast unfolds in a series of deep gulfs:
- Gulf of Ajaccio to the Gulf of Valinco and Propriano, roughly 25 nautical miles, with anchorages at Campomoro on the way.
- Down to the southern anchorages around the Gulf of Roccapina and its lion-shaped rock.
- On to Bonifacio itself, where the harbour cuts a long fjord-like slot into white limestone cliffs.
Bonifacio is the set-piece. Arriving at Bonifacio harbour is unforgettable: you sail towards what looks like a solid cliff and the entrance opens at the last moment into a narrow inlet packed with boats below the medieval citadel. The marina is busy and dear in August, the capitainerie works VHF 09, and the holding outside is poor, so book or arrive early. The clifftop town and its history seen from the sea is reason enough to make this the pivot of the trip.
Crossing the Bouches de Bonifacio
This is the passage that defines the cruise. The Strait of Bonifacio is about 11 km, near 7 nautical miles, wide at its narrowest, and it acts as a venturi: wind accelerates through it, and the current can run 2 to 3 knots. Cross it in settled weather, ideally early morning before the thermal wind builds, and never in a forecast westerly gale. The whole strait area is a protected zone, the Bouches de Bonifacio nature reserve being the largest in mainland France at around 80,000 hectares, so anchoring is regulated and some areas are off limits.
Before the crossing, break the trip with the Lavezzi islands a few miles southeast of Bonifacio. The Lavezzi islands and their moorings sit in a marine reserve of low pink-granite domes and impossibly clear shallows. Pick up a reserve buoy rather than anchoring, swim, and remember there is no water or fuel out here. The passage between Lavezzi and the Sardinian island of Razzoli is only about 3.5 nautical miles, the narrowest gate of the whole route, so it pays to know exactly where the rocks are.
Monitor VHF 16 throughout the strait. Ferry traffic between Bonifacio and Santa Teresa di Gallura crosses your track, and an AIS transponder earns its keep here.
The second week: La Maddalena and back
Once across, the character changes. The Arcipelago di La Maddalena is a cluster of low islands with sandbars and lagoons in turquoise and white, more like the tropics than the Med. Caprera, Spargi, Budelli and the famous pink beach lie within a short hop of each other.
A loose plan for the Sardinian leg:
- Clear into La Maddalena town for fuel, water and provisions, then explore the archipelago at anchor.
- A national park permit is required to navigate and anchor here, bought online or through the marina, so sort it before you go wandering.
- Work the sheltered side of whichever island the wind favours. Spargi and Budelli are the postcard anchorages.
- Drop south to Santa Teresa di Gallura or Palau if you want a livelier night ashore.
When the weather window opens, recross the strait northbound on a calm morning and work your way back up the Corsican coast. If you have time and the forecast holds, extend north past Bonifacio towards Porto-Vecchio and its sandy gulfs, or even round towards the wild west coast. The full corsica circumnavigation in two weeks is a stretch but a tempting one for a fast boat.
Practical notes for visitors
Provisioning on the Corsican side is good in Bonifacio, Propriano and Ajaccio and thin in between, so a guide to Corsica provisioning and water harbours is worth bookmarking. Fuel berths are few and queues long in August. Water is precious on the small islands. The reserves on both sides require you to use moorings rather than anchor over seagrass, and rangers do patrol.
The numbers to fix in your head: the strait is roughly 7 nautical miles wide at the narrows, currents reach 2 to 3 knots, the Lavezzi-Razzoli gate is about 3.5 nautical miles, the reserve covers 80,000 hectares, and the marinas answer VHF 09 while you keep a strait watch on VHF 16.
Timing the fortnight and the weather
The Corsica and Sardinia cruising season runs from late May to early October, but the heart of it is June and September. July and August bring the warmest water and the worst crowds, with Bonifacio and the Maddalena anchorages packed and berths near impossible without a booking weeks ahead. They also bring the strongest thermal winds. In high summer the strait develops a daily cycle: calm at dawn, building westerly through the afternoon, easing again at dusk. That pattern is the single most useful thing to know, because it tells you when to cross. I aim to be through the Bouches before mid-morning every time, and I have never regretted the early alarm.
The wind to fear is the libeccio, a southwesterly that funnels through the strait and kicks up a short, steep sea against the current. When a libeccio is forecast above force 5 or 6, the strait is no place for a small yacht, and the sensible move is to sit it out in Bonifacio or behind one of the Maddalena islands until it passes. Corsica and Sardinia both have good shelter on the lee side of almost any island, so a blow is rarely a crisis if you plan for it. A forecast app and a careful eye on the gradient are worth more here than any amount of bravado.
Costs, permits and provisioning
Budget for this being a dearer cruise than the Atlantic coast. Bonifacio marina in August can charge well over 100 euros a night for a 12-metre boat, and the popular Sardinian harbours are similar. The Maddalena national park permit is a separate cost, bought per day or per period, and it is checked, so do not skip it. Fuel berths are few on both sides and queues are long in season, so refuel whenever you reach a harbour with a free pump rather than waiting until the tank is low.
Provisioning is good in Ajaccio, Bonifacio, Propriano and La Maddalena town, and almost nonexistent on the small islands and reserve anchorages, where there is no water, no fuel and no shop. Stock up properly before you head out to Lavezzi or the Maddalena archipelago, carry plenty of water, and treat the wild islands as places you visit fully self-sufficient. Get the weather right and this is two weeks of the clearest water and the most dramatic granite the Mediterranean can offer. Get it wrong in the strait and you will learn why the locals plan their crossings around dawn.
