40.24° N · 9.63° E · Gulf of Orosei
From the Cala Gonone quay, the boat drops you at the Grotta del Bue Marino for a guided walking visit and continues to Cala Luna, a beach of pebbles and sand between cliffs that no car can reach. The combined trip costs €42 plus the cave entry and runs from late March to October.
Part of Gulf of Orosei
Who offers it
Independent companies: you book with them, on their terms. Prices are as they publish them and may change.
Step by step
The ticket office is opposite the Cala Gonone quay. Entry to the cave is in shifts and must fit with the boat's departure.
Boat south beneath the cliffs.
Guided walking visit along the walkway in the southern branch.
The boat drops you at the beach and you return on one of the afternoon departures.
The Gulf of Orosei is a limestone wall tens of kilometres long with coves that can only be reached by sea or long trails. This trip combines the two visits closest to Cala Gonone: a sea cave with a walkway and a beach with no road, and lets you choose how long to stay on the sand.
It is a karst cave open to the sea, south of Cala Gonone, in the municipality of Dorgali. Its name, "sea ox", is what the fishermen called the monk seal, which had one of its last Mediterranean refuges here. The guided visit, on foot, follows a walkway through the southern branch, among stalactites and rock chambers. Entry is run by the Dorgali council and is paid separately from the boat.
A beach of sand and pebbles at the foot of a cliff with caves, at the mouth of the Codula di Luna, between Dorgali and Baunei. No road reaches it: you come by boat or on foot along a long trail. The caves at the back give shade by mid-morning.
The boats of the Nuovo Consorzio Trasporti Marittimi Cala Gonone leave the quay every hour, from 9:00 to 17:00, and need a minimum of ten passengers. From Cala Luna there are return trips at 12:30, 15:30, 16:30, 17:30 and 18:30. Times may change depending on the weather and the season, and the ticket office, opposite the quay, announces the day's times. The 2026 fare season runs from 27 March to 31 October.
Children under 3 do not pay for the boat; from age 9 the adult fare is charged.
It is a good family outing: a short boat ride, a cave with a walkway and a beach to stop at for the rest of the day. It is cooler inside the cave than outside. At Cala Luna there is no guaranteed lifeguard: keep an eye on children in the water.
If you want to go further, the mini-cruise to Cala Goloritzé reaches the southern coves. If you would rather take the helm yourself, the no-licence dinghy stops wherever you like, and by paddle, the kayak from Cala Gonone reaches the cave and Cala Luna in a day.
Who it's for
What to bring
More to do
Tips
At 9:00 you will have Cala Luna with fewer people than at midday.
The last boat leaves Cala Luna at 18:30: do not stay on the beach without knowing.
There are more people, even though the boat costs a little less. June and September are quieter.
Questions
The combined boat to the Grotta del Bue Marino and Cala Luna costs €42 per adult and €21 for ages 3 to 8 in 2026. Cave entry is extra: €10.50 in spring and autumn and €12.50 from June to September.
From 27 March to 31 October 2026, with departures every hour from 9:00 to 17:00 if there are at least ten passengers.
Yes. Children under 3 do not pay for the boat and ages 3 to 8 pay a reduced fare.
Entry to the cave is in shifts: buy it together with the boat. In August, do it a day ahead.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/italy/sardinia/gulf-of-orosei/things-to-do/bue-marino-and-cala-luna-by-boat
