4. From Stintino: Asinara Vintage Sailing Boat Tour with Lunch
-09:30 am – The boat trip to the National Park of Asinara starts in Stintino, in Piazzale Guardia Costiera. The journey will allow you to admire the wondrous jagged granite coastlines, and immense green landscapes. -1° Stopover Cala Reale – forty minutes after the departure we will disembark in Cala Reale, location of Asinara National Park which is situated on the northern side of the island, facing towards the South. Here we find a small port that has been an essential landing place over the centuries, and lots of buildings dating back to the period in which the island was a quarantine station (Lazaretto) and hosted a penal colony. In 1995 the wreck of a Roman navis oneraria (a merchant vessel) was found 26 feet (8 mt) under the sea, close to the Lazaretto dock; the vessel, which dates back to the fourth century AD, was primarily employed to carry fish preserves from the Iberian Peninsula to Rome. We will have the opportunity to admire the rarest “white donkey”, one of the most known symbols of the Park and visit the Sea Turtle Recovery Centre. The visit to the Turtle Recovery Center is optional (Ticket price 2,50€) The stopover lasts about an hour and a half. -2nd Stopover Cala Barche – After leaving Cala Reale we will reach Cala Barche Napoletane at about 12:00 PM, where the guests could enjoy a bath in clear and crystalline waters before having lunch. Lunch will consist of a first course flavoured with prawns sauce, wine, water, coffee, digestif, typical Sardinian liqueurs and spirits, and fruits. After lunch, at about 2:30 PM, we will head to Cala d’Oliva. -3rd Stopover Cala d’Oliva – 30 minutes after the departure we will reach Cala d’Oliva, in the very north-east of Asinara island. In Cala d’Oliva we will find the namesake small port, one of the main landings in Asinara together with Cala Reale and Fornelli. This is a very important area for two reasons: the first concerns the two stunning beaches characterised by pure white sand and crystal clear water. Sa Murighessa (or “beach of the prisoners”) lies south of the promontory, while the other one is close to the port and the town, which is the only populated place on the island. The second reason is related to the former penal colony, right behind the town, whose buildings, which are open to the public, now host the Park headquarters: Park Authority and Environmental Education Centre. This stopover lasts about one hour and then we’ll head to Cala del Bianco. -4th Stopover Cala del Bianco – the last stopover includes a refreshing swim in the shimmering waters of Cala del Bianco, where the clear blue and emerald-green sea is caressed by the Mediterranean scrub. Out trip comes to the end and we will get back to Stintino, enjoying the journey which will take about one hour and a half: return is expected at 5:30/6:00 PM.