Sail Sardinia & Corsica — Self-Launched Version

Fly into Olbia Costa Smeralda (OLB) — Ryanair/easyJet from the UK often land at £30-60 one way if booked early. Take the ASPO bus 2 or the 10-minute train from the airport into the centre (£1-2). Check into a hostel or budget guesthouse near Corso Umberto. Spend the afternoon walking the old town: the Basilica di San Simplicio, the small archaeological museum and the waterfront. In the evening eat cheap and well — pane carasau, malloreddus and a glass of Vermentino at a trattoria off the main drag (£10-15). Use the evening to confirm tomorrow's ferry/bus times and pre-book your Maddalena day trip.

🚌Flight to Olbia (OLB) + airport bus/train to centre (~£1-2)

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse in central Olbia (£20-28 dorm/private budget room)

• →Walk Olbia old town and Basilica di San Simplicio
• →Waterfront stroll and piazza people-watching
• →Book Maddalena and Bonifacio trips for the week

Take the public ferry from Palau to La Maddalena (€8-9 each way, ~20 mins; bus/train from Olbia to Palau ~€4-6, or a 45-minute drive). On the island, hire a bike or use the local bus to reach Cala Coticcio-style coves, or book a small-group boat tour around the archipelago on GetYourGuide/Klook which typically includes swimming stops at Cala Corsara, Cala Granara and Spargi (£40-60 including lunch on some departures). Alternatively, a local fisherman's shared boat from La Maddalena harbour costs less. Return by evening ferry and stay overnight on La Maddalena or back in Palau.

🚌Bus Olbia–Palau (~£4) + return ferry Palau–La Maddalena (~£16)

🛏Guesthouse or hostel on La Maddalena or Palau (£22-30)

• →Ferry to La Maddalena
• →Archipelago boat trip with swimming stops (GetYourGuide/Klook, ~£45)
• →Cycle or bus to Caprera's beaches

Travel up the coast by local bus (ARST/Sardabus Palau–Santa Teresa, ~€4-6, 45 mins) — a scenic run past the granite coast. Check into a hostel or B&b in the small old town. Afternoon: walk the pedestrian lanes around Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, then hike or take a short taxi up to the Capo Testa headland for the weird wind-carved granite formations and views across the strait to Corsica. Cappuccino and gelato by the harbour, sunset over the Bocche di Bonifacio, and dinner at a waterfront restaurant (or supermarket picnic if you're keeping costs down).

🚌ARST bus Palau–Santa Teresa (~£5)

🛏Hostel or budget B&b in Santa Teresa (£22-30)

• →Walk Santa Teresa old town
• →Capo Testa headland walk
• →Sunset over the Strait of Bonifacio

Take the morning ferry across the Bocche di Bonifacio from Santa Teresa to Bonifacio — Moby Lines/Blunavy run it in about 50 minutes for around €20-25 each way; book online in advance in summer. The approach into Bonifacio's limestone fjord is the highlight of the whole route, so stay on deck. Check into a hostel or cheap hotel in the upper town (Haute Ville) — book early, Bonifacio is pricey in high season. Spend the afternoon on the marina promenade and in the caruggi-like alleys of the old town, walk the ramparts and the Escalier du Roi d'Aragon (small fee) for the cliff views. Evening drinks at a harbour bar.

🚌Return-ferry crossing Santa Teresa–Bonifacio (~£20-25 each way)

🛏Hostel or budget hotel in Bonifacio (£26-38; book well ahead)

• →Ferry through the Bonifacio fjord
• →Harbour promenade and old-town alleys
• →Escalier du Roi d'Aragon and ramparts walk

Morning: book a small-group boat excursion to the Îles Lavezzi marine reserve from Bonifacio harbour (£30-45) for swimming in the clear granite-bound bays — this replaces the yacht's Lavezzi swim stop. Back for lunch, then take the local bus or train down the coast to Porto-Vecchio (~€7-10, 45 mins; a few services daily, check CIT/CFC timetables). Check in, then walk the old town's citadel and the marina. Dinner in the backstreets away from the yacht crowd.

🚌Lavezzi boat excursion + local bus Bonifacio–Porto-Vecchio (~£8)

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse in Porto-Vecchio (£26-35)

• →Boat trip to Îles Lavezzi marine reserve
• →Swimming at the Lavezzi granite coves
• →Porto-Vecchio citadel and marina walk

Slow travel day. Morning swim at one of Porto-Vecchio's southern beaches (Plage de Palombaggia — local bus or shared taxi, ~€10). In the afternoon head back to Santa Teresa/Bonifacio for the ferry to Sardinia, then take the bus down to Porto Cervo on the Costa Smeralda (bus/train to Olbia then local bus, ~£10-14 total, or a shared taxi). Porto Cervo is glitzy and expensive — stay in nearby Arzachena or Cannigia where beds are cheaper. Sunset on the coast, and keep an eye out for dolphins from the ferry deck.

🚌Bus to Palombaggia + ferry Bonifacio/Santa Teresa crossing (~£22) + bus to Costa Smeralda (~£12)

🛏Hostel/budget guesthouse in Cannigia or Arzachena (£24-34)

• →Palombaggia beach morning
• →Dolphin spotting from the ferry deck
• →Evening walk in Cannigia harbour

Spend the morning at the beaches around Cannigia or Capo d'Orso, or book a half-day small-boat snorkel trip along the Costa Smeralda (£35-50) if you want one more day on the water. Mid-afternoon bus or train back to Olbia (~£4). Check into a hostel, then enjoy a final dinner in the old town — the same first/last-night ritual as the charter group, but on a traveller's budget. Pick up any last-minute Sardinian foodie souvenirs: bottarga, pane carasau, mirto liqueur.

🚌Local bus/train Cannigia–Olbia (~£4)

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse in Olbia (£20-28)

• →Morning swim at Capo d'Orso / Cannigia beach
• →Optional Costa Smeralda snorkel trip
• →Final dinner in Olbia old town

Breakfast in a pasticceria, a last walk along the Corso, then the bus or train to Olbia airport for your flight home. If your flight is late, the nearby Nuraghe sites or the Giant's Tomb of Su Monte 'e S'Abe are a cheap half-day detour by local bus.

🚌Airport bus/train (~£1-2)

• →Breakfast in Olbia
• →Optional Nuraghe detour