Carloforte San Pietro Island Italy
Italy

4 Cruises availables At departure or passage at this port

SeaDream Yacht Club (2 Cruises)

Star Clippers (2 Cruises)


Frequently Asked Questions

Tenders land passengers on the waterfront, facing the coloured facades that made the town's reputation. Everything after that is on foot: the carugi, the narrow lanes, climb gently to the higher ground just behind the quays.
On the island of San Pietro, about seven kilometres off Sardinia's south-west coast. It is the island's only town, and it resembles no other Sardinian village.
Because in 1738 Genoese fishing families settled in Tabarka, Tunisia, came here to found the town. The elders still speak tabarchino, a Ligurian dialect. Not quite Sardinia, not really Liguria: an island that speaks its own language.
The town first: the carugi, the small squares, the remains of the fortifications, the municipal museum which takes under an hour. Then a meal in a trattoria in the centre. If time remains, head for the west coast coves or take a boat tour around the island.
Every spring, bluefin tuna pass the island on migration, and fishermen catch them using the ancestral tonnara technique, a system of fixed nets set offshore. The Girotonno festival celebrates the king fish each May.
The history of the tuna industry, maritime traditions and the Galanzieri, the boatmen who once ran the harbour's connections. It explains how such a small community built its identity between Liguria, Sardinia and North Africa. An hour is enough.
Casca, the island cousin of couscous brought from Tunisia by the first settlers; pasta and pesto looking toward Genoa; fish straight from the surrounding waters. Three shores in a single sitting, in generous portions.
San Pietro's west coast lines up cliffs and wild coves, including Cala Fico, wedged between high walls of pale rock. For snorkelling, Punta Nera offers clear water and rich marine life, reachable without a boat.
The euro. Italian, tabarchino and some English in the waterfront businesses. Keep cash: it is a small island and cards are not accepted everywhere, particularly in small shops and at markets.
Yes, it is an anchorage with tender landing, off south-western Sardinia. In strong winds the transfer can be compromised. That is the price for a call that is becoming rare.