If your main goal is to catch an early ferry to La Maddalena, staying in Palau removes the biggest variable from the morning. The ferry leaves from Palau itself, and Delcomar’s current timetable includes departures beginning early in the morning and continuing frequently throughout the day and night. Olbia is the more practical base when your itinerary revolves around the airport, its larger city services or an arrival that makes an extra transfer north inconvenient. For a dedicated La Maddalena morning, however, the two towns solve different problems: Palau puts you at the ferry; Olbia puts you near the main transport gateway.
Why Palau is the simplest overnight before the ferry
Palau sits directly opposite the La Maddalena archipelago. The regular vehicle-and-passenger ferry crossing from Palau to La Maddalena takes roughly 15 minutes on Delcomar’s booking system.
The current timetable published by Delcomar shows departures from Palau at 06:30, 07:30, 08:00, 08:30, 09:00 and then frequent services through the day, with additional overnight crossings. Some individual sailings carry timetable notes or restrictions, so travelers should still check the exact date rather than treating every listed departure as identical.
Staying in Palau means you can wake up close to the port instead of calculating a road transfer before boarding. That is particularly useful if you are traveling with a rental car, children or several pieces of luggage.
For a foot passenger, accommodation within walking distance of the ferry terminal can make the morning even simpler. You can leave the car out of the equation completely and cross to La Maddalena with your luggage.
When Olbia makes more sense
Olbia has a different advantage: it is northeast Sardinia’s major arrival hub, with both an international airport and a large ferry port. If your flight lands late, staying in Olbia can be more comfortable than collecting a rental car and immediately continuing north at night.
The regional tourism authority’s Gallura itinerary places Olbia, the Costa Smeralda, Palau and La Maddalena within the same northeastern travel corridor. Its complete scenic route from Olbia through the Costa Smeralda, La Maddalena area and onward to Santa Teresa Gallura covers 99 kilometres, illustrating how these destinations form one connected region rather than separate corners of Sardinia.
Olbia also offers a broader range of urban services. If you need to collect a rental car, shop for supplies or spend an evening in a larger town before heading north, it can be a useful first-night base.
The trade-off is obvious: the next morning you still have to reach Palau before you can board the La Maddalena ferry.
Do not confuse Olbia’s ferry port with the La Maddalena ferry
This is an easy mistake when planning a first trip to Sardinia. Olbia is a major ferry port for routes to mainland Italy, but the short local ferry to La Maddalena departs from Palau.
Booking a hotel beside the Port of Olbia therefore does not put you beside the La Maddalena departure. You still need a road or public-transport transfer north to Palau.
If your itinerary says “morning ferry to La Maddalena,” check which port is printed on the ticket or timetable. For the regular Delcomar island crossing, the mainland terminal is Palau.
How early can you cross?
Delcomar’s current Palau–La Maddalena schedule includes services throughout the night as well as the early morning. The published timetable shows Palau departures at 03:30 and 04:30, followed by a specially noted 05:30 service on specified days, then regular morning departures beginning at 06:30.
This means an overnight in Palau gives travelers considerable flexibility. You do not necessarily need to target one single sailing in the way you might with a long-distance ferry.
Still, check the timetable shortly before travel. Some sailings are marked for particular days, essential services during strikes or the transport of dangerous goods, which can affect normal passenger capacity.
Taking a car to La Maddalena
Delcomar accepts vehicles on the Palau–La Maddalena crossing and its booking system allows passengers to enter vehicle details when purchasing a ticket.
Whether you need to take the car across is a separate question. If you plan to explore La Maddalena and Caprera independently, a car can be convenient. If you are staying centrally and mainly taking a boat excursion, walking and local transport may be enough.
In high season, bringing a car also means thinking about parking and traffic on the islands rather than only the ferry crossing.
One important detail from Delcomar’s booking information is that the time shown during purchase does not necessarily constitute a reservation for that specific departure. Read the ticket conditions carefully rather than assuming that buying online always guarantees a place on one exact sailing.
What if you are arriving at Olbia Airport?
If your flight arrives during the day and you have a rental car, continuing to Palau can make sense when La Maddalena is the next morning’s priority. You wake up where you need to board and avoid adding road time to an already early start.
If the flight lands late, the calculation changes. Collecting luggage, dealing with the rental desk and then driving unfamiliar roads at night may not be worth the convenience of sleeping beside the ferry. An Olbia overnight can provide a more relaxed transition, followed by a morning departure for Palau.
Travelers without a car should check the current regional public-transport journey planner before booking accommodation. Bus schedules are seasonal and should not be assumed from an old summer timetable.
Palau as more than a ferry stop
Staying in Palau does not mean sacrificing the evening before your island trip. The town has its own waterfront, restaurants and views toward the archipelago, and it is close to some of Gallura’s best-known granite landscapes.
It also works well if your itinerary continues west toward Santa Teresa Gallura after La Maddalena rather than returning south to Olbia.
For travelers spending several days around northern Gallura, Palau can therefore function as a base rather than merely a place to sleep before boarding.
Olbia as a broader northeast Sardinia base
Olbia works better when La Maddalena is only one part of a wider itinerary. The city is well positioned for the airport, mainland ferry connections and drives toward the Costa Smeralda, San Teodoro and other parts of northeastern Sardinia.
If you are staying several nights and taking just one day trip to La Maddalena, changing hotels solely to sleep in Palau may not be necessary. Leaving Olbia early and treating Palau as the departure point for the day can be reasonable when you have a car and do not mind the extra morning journey.
For a very early crossing, though, that convenience becomes less compelling because every minute of road travel comes before breakfast and before boarding.
A practical way to choose
Book Palau when La Maddalena is the focus of the next day, especially if you want one of the first morning ferries, are traveling with a vehicle or prefer to remove road delays from the boarding plan.
Book Olbia when you land late at the airport, need the services of a larger city, or are using one hotel as a base for several different parts of northeast Sardinia and do not mind driving to Palau on the excursion day.
There is also a useful compromise: spend your arrival night in Olbia if necessary, then move to Palau before the La Maddalena portion of the trip. That avoids forcing a late-night transfer while still giving you an easy ferry morning.
The key planning fact is simple. La Maddalena may feel closely connected to the entire Costa Smeralda region, but the regular short ferry leaves from Palau. If your alarm is set for an early island crossing, sleeping close to that quay is the most straightforward way to start the day.
