Boat tours off the cruise ship

Can you do a boat tour from the Cagliari cruise port?

Yes. Most boat tours in Cagliari leave from the city harbor, the same water the cruise ships use, and three of them say on their listings that you can walk there from the cruise terminal.

The trips round the Devil's Saddle (Sella del Diavolo) are built for exactly this: 2 to 3 hours on the water, swim stops in the coves, back in town by lunch or for the evening. What the listings say about the walk:

• The boat tour with 4 swim stops: "Reach us in just a few minutes' walk from the city center & cruise ship terminal." Meeting point Molo Dogana 1.
• The catamaran tour: leaves from the tourist port in the center, "easily accessible on foot from the cruise terminal". Lungomare New York 11 Settembre 327.
• The sunset boat tour: "approximately 10 minutes on foot from the cruise terminal". Lungomare New York 11 Settembre 396.

That is the short answer to the most common worry on a port day. You do not need a ship excursion to get on the sea here.

Sources: GetYourGuide listings.

How do you get from the Cagliari cruise port to the city center?

Take the free shuttle bus from the ship to the port gate, then walk. Global Ports Holding, which runs the terminal, puts the city center 800 m from the berth.

What the port itself publishes:

• Where the ships berth: Molo Rinascita. Global Ports Holding lists two docks of 480 m and 450 m, a 630 m² terminal and a bus capacity of 75.
• The free shuttle: Cagliari Cruise Port says passengers are usually required to take a free shuttle from the ship to the port gates, because walking freely inside the port area is not allowed.
• Buses and trains: city buses link the port with the center, and the ARST regional buses and Trenitalia trains leave from Piazza Matteotti, a short walk from the port.
• Taxis: available around the clock. The port names Radiotaxi 4 Mori and Radiotaxi Cagliari Rossoblu, and private transfers can be booked ahead.

Once you are through the gate, the boats are closer than the old town.

Sources: Global Ports Holding, Cagliari Cruise Port page; Cagliari Cruise Port, guest information.

Can you walk from the cruise ship to Cagliari?

From the port gate, yes. Inside the port you ride the free shuttle; outside it, the Via Roma waterfront, the Marina district and the boat piers are all on foot.

Cagliari is a compact city by the water. The flat part runs along Via Roma and the harbor, and the Castello district sits above it on its limestone hill, so the walk up is steeper than it looks on a map. For a boat tour you stay on the flat: every pier in the table below except Marina Piccola lies along the harbor front.

• Tourist office: Cagliari Turismo runs it on the ground floor of the Town Hall at Via Roma 145, open every day from April to October, with free maps.
• Our tip: walk the waterfront to your pier first, find it, then spend the spare time in Marina behind the arcades. Finding a boat 5 minutes before departure is no fun.

Sources: Cagliari Turismo, Tourist Office; Italia.it, Cagliari.

Which boat tours can you walk to from the cruise terminal?

The boat tour with 4 swim stops from Molo Dogana, the catamaran and the sunset trip from Su Siccu, and the sailboat from Via Calata della Fiera. The rubber boat and the rental leave from Marina Piccola, at the far end of town.

Pier by pier, with only the walking notes the listings give:

The 8-hour full day is a whole port day on its own, so check it against your ship's times before you look at it seriously. For most cruise passengers the choice is between the 4 swim stops, the catamaran and the zodiac.

Sources: GetYourGuide listings.

Three hours along the Devil's Saddle from Molo Dogana, with four swim stops, a mask and snorkel, water and a glass of prosecco.

★ 4.9 · 3 hours · from $61

Explore the boat tour with 4 swim stops → Tour details

How do you time a boat tour on a cruise port day?

Count 3 hours on the water, plus 20 minutes at the pier before departure, plus the shuttle and the walk. The 2-hour zodiac is the shortest trip if your day is tight.

A simple way to plan it:

1. Check your all-aboard time and work backwards. The boat will not wait for the ship, and the ship will not wait for the boat.
2. Be at the pier 20 minutes early. The 4-stop listing asks every passenger to arrive 20 minutes before departure to fill in the contracts with your ID, and says it cannot postpone the departure for anyone. The zodiac listing asks for 20 minutes too.
3. Bring a passport or ID card. The 4-stop trip lists it under what to bring, along with a sun hat, a towel and sunscreen. Luggage and large bags are not allowed.
4. Pick the length. The zodiac tour sails for 2 hours with 3 to 4 swim stops, from $44. The others run 3 hours.
5. Leave a buffer of an hour or more between landing and all-aboard. Coffee in Marina is a better way to spend spare time than a sprint along the quay.

Every trip here cancels free up to 24 hours before, which helps if your itinerary changes. The start times for your date are on each live calendar.

Sources: GetYourGuide listings.

Can cruise passengers reach the Marina Piccola boats?

Yes, by taxi or city bus. Marina Piccola is at the Poetto end of town, beyond the easy walking range of a port day, so add travel time each way.

Two trips start there, from Blue Rent on Via S. Caboto:

• The Devil's Saddle rubber boat: 3 hours with a skipper and guide, swim stops in the coves, a spritz and chips, from $61.
• The boat rental: your own boat for up to 5 people, priced per boat, from $193. The listing gives 9:00 to 13:00, fuel extra from a EUR 250 cash deposit, drivers 18+.

Taxis run around the clock from the port area, per Cagliari Cruise Port. The walking path up the Devil's Saddle also starts from Calamosca or Marina Piccola, per Italia.it, which is why this end of town suits travelers staying a few nights better than a short port call.

Sources: GetYourGuide listings; Cagliari Cruise Port, guest information; Italia.it, Sella del Diavolo.

How busy is the Cagliari cruise port in 2026?

Record busy. Shipping Italy reported 181 calls and over 600,000 passengers expected for 2026, and on 28 October four ships brought about 11,200 passengers in one day, per the port authority.

The figures behind it:

• 181 calls in 2026, up from 163 in 2025, and over 600,000 passengers, up 26% from about 478,000 (Shipping Italy, 25 February 2026).
• The season ran from 27 January to 27 December 2026, with October the record month at 34 scheduled calls.
• One October day: the Costa Smeralda, the MSC Splendida, the Viking Saturn and the Star Flyer together, with about 11,200 passengers, per the AdSP del Mare di Sardegna press release of 28 October 2026.

What it means for you: on a multi-ship day thousands of passengers land at once, and the small boats carry about 12 each. Book before you sail, keep the free cancellation, and the seat is yours. More on the numbers in our post on the 2026 record year.

Sources: Shipping Italy, 25 February 2026; Global Ports Holding, 2026 season release; AdSP del Mare di Sardegna, 28 October 2026.

What else can you see in Cagliari on a port day?

Castello and its bastions on the hill, the cathedral, the Marina district by the harbor, Poetto beach and the flamingos of Molentargius. A morning on the boat leaves the afternoon for the old town.

What Cagliari is known for, per the official tourism sites:

• Castello: the historic district on a limestone hill, fortified with bastions by the Pisans, with the Cathedral of Santa Maria, per Italia.it. The Bastione di Saint Remy is the classic viewpoint.
• Poetto: the city beach, about 8 km of sand from the Devil's Saddle towards Quartu Sant'Elena. From the boat you see the whole of it.
• Molentargius: the salt-pan park behind Poetto. Its park authority calls the lagoon the most important flamingo nesting site in the Mediterranean in recent years.
• The Devil's Saddle: the headland whose legend gave the Golfo degli Angeli its name, covered in our Devil's Saddle by boat guide.

Izabela, on the boat tour with 4 swim stops: "The tour was super well-organized." (Oct 2026) A full plan with a boat in the morning is in our one day in Cagliari post.

Sources: Italia.it, Cagliari; Sardegna Turismo, Poetto; Molentargius-Saline Regional Natural Park; GetYourGuide listing.

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