How to reach the Costa Smeralda, by plane, helicopter and sea

There are three ways to reach the Costa Smeralda, and each leaves a different first impression: the warm breeze across the tarmac at Olbia, the sound of rotor blades over pink granite, or the wake of a ferry gliding into the gulf at first light. Here are the practical details to plan your arrival: times, distances, ports. We will take care of the rest.

Flying into Olbia airport

OLB code, Geasar management, three kilometres from central Olbia

The main gateway is Olbia Costa Smeralda airport, IATA code OLB, managed by Geasar and around three kilometres from the centre of Olbia. It is the natural entry point for every part of the coast, from Porto Cervo to Porto Rotondo and out to the countryside of Santa Teresina.

Eccelsa Aviation for private flights

Anyone arriving by private flight does not pass through the commercial terminal: general aviation has its own dedicated building, Eccelsa Aviation, open every day of the year from 7 to 22, with private lounges, on-site customs and police checks, refuelling and free car parking. The airport concierge arranges transfers by helicopter and limousine to villas and resorts: the shortest distance between the aircraft steps and the gates of your villa.

Seasonal passenger volumes

In July and August, passenger numbers at the airport exceed 600,000 each month, compared with 35,000 during the winter months. The coast breathes to the rhythm of the airport: around mid-August, the roads require a little extra time. If you are still choosing your weeks, we discuss each month in When to visit the Costa Smeralda, month by month.

By helicopter

Elicompany and flight times

Elicompany serves the coast from the Porto Cervo heliport, just minutes from the marina. Olbia is a ten-minute flight away, Bonifacio ten, and Rome Fiumicino around seventy-five. The company is certified to land on yacht decks.

Helitaly, domestic charters and yacht landings

Helitaly connects Sardinia and Corsica with numerous Italian and French destinations, including flights from Rome to Olbia and Porto Cervo that depart from its Ponte Galeria helipad. It provides transfers with direct landings on yachts, villas and resorts, and also serves Cavallo and Figari.

Villa La Contra helipad, ICAO code LIES

Just outside Porto Cervo, in the same area as VLV02, the Villa La Contra Helipad carries the ICAO code LIES and is certified for night flights. It welcomes helicopters of every size, offering flight assistance, Jet A1 refuelling, parking in a fenced and video-monitored area, crew accommodation and free Wi-Fi. From here, Smeralda International Service runs air taxi and charter flights twenty-four hours a day to Italy, Corsica and the Côte d’Azur.

Scenic flights across the archipelago

Helicopters are not only for arriving. Elicompany suggests scenic flights over the Maddalena archipelago with a lunch stop at the restaurant La Casitta on the island of Santa Maria; Helitaly designs a scenic route flying over the Spiaggia del Principe. Sardegna Luxury Helicopter Tours, based in Arzachena and San Pantaleo, flies from June to September with twenty to sixty-minute tours over the Costa Smeralda, La Maddalena, Cannigione and southern Corsica aboard Airbus H125 and H130 helicopters.

By sea

The port of Olbia and the Isola Bianca quays

The port of Olbia is the main gateway to the Costa Smeralda, with over three million passenger arrivals a year and ten quays at Isola Bianca, served by Grandi Navi Veloci, Grimaldi Lines, Moby and Tirrenia. It is the route for those bringing their car.

Marina di Porto Cervo

Managed by IGY Marinas, Marina di Porto Cervo has seven hundred berths in a sheltered bay, with one hundred moorings for superyachts up to 120 metres and a maximum draught of 8 metres. It offers floating pontoons, high-speed refuelling, an on-site boatyard, customs and immigration, a ship chandler and security, with VHF watch on channel 09. From here, the village can be reached on foot, and with it APC02.

Marina di Porto Rotondo

The Marina di Porto Rotondo has over 650 berths, 312 of which are reserved for sailing, and accommodates vessels up to 90 metres with a maximum draught of 5.5 metres. It provides fuel, electricity, Wi-Fi, video surveillance, a diver service and a hydraulic trailer moving hulls up to 45 metres to storage sheds, with VHF watch on channel 9. Village life centres around this marina, and those looking down over it from above, as at VPR02, still walk down to the private beach at Marina Piccola.

Marina dell’Orso at Poltu Quatu

The Marina dell’Orso Poltu Quatu occupies the natural fjord of Poltu Quatu, between Liscia di Vacca and Baja Sardinia, facing Caprera. There are 305 berths for craft from 8 to 35 metres, with twenty-four hour mooring assistance, a fuel pump, a thirty-tonne crane, a diver, night security and VHF channel 9 monitoring. In summer the office opens every day from 8:30 to 20:30.

The Sailing Centre at Yacht Club Costa Smeralda

The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, founded in 1967, has its clubhouse on via della Marina in Porto Cervo. Its Sailing Centre and Marina is reserved for members and offers fourteen berths for hulls up to 20 metres: a small haven within the wider port.

Distances to keep in mind

From the ports and the airport to the Gulf of Pevero

The Pevero Golf is a useful benchmark, sitting two kilometres from the centre of Porto Cervo. Published distances from there are 30 kilometres from Olbia airport, 28 from Olbia, 30 from the port of Olbia, 32 from the port of Golfo Aranci, 34 from the port of Palau, 24 from Porto Rotondo, 12 from Arzachena and 8 from Baja Sardinia. On the same coastline as VR01, the historic hotel at Romazzino gives a thirty-minute drive from the airport and fifteen from Porto Cervo.

From Olbia to Arzachena along the SS 125

Driving from Olbia, follow the SS 125 Orientale Sarda towards Arzachena, which is around 25 kilometres away. It is wise to allow a few extra minutes during the central weeks of summer.

Getting around once you arrive

Summer routes with Lu Pustali

The Lu Pustali public bus service runs from 15 June to 15 September 2026. The Smeralda and Rosa lines connect Arzachena, Cannigione, Monticanaglia, Santa Teresina, Abbiadori, Porto Cervo, Liscia di Vacca, Poltu Quatu and Baja Sardinia, with beach stops in the gulf of Cala di Volpe at Liscia Ruja and Capriccioli. Starting from the first of August, a night bus runs every Saturday, including Ferragosto.

Council parking areas

In the Arzachena council parking areas, pay parking operates from June to October 2026, starting on 3 June. This applies to beaches and tourist villages alike, giving one more reason to have someone drive you.

Private transfers and concierge

A car waiting at the terminal, a tender ready at the quay, a helicopter booked for your departure. Our Concierge is there for this and for everything that follows, from a table at a Michelin-starred restaurant to welcoming international guests.

From your front door onwards

Homes with private moorings or helipads minutes away

Some homes shorten that last stretch. VPR03 slopes down to the coast towards a stone-paved sun terrace with a private jetty for small craft: you arrive by boat and walk straight up into the garden. VLV02 sits sheer above the sea over Hotel Pitrizza, in the area home to the Villa La Contra helipad. APC02 places the marina a few steps from the front door.

Speak to an advisor

Tell us where you are departing from, how many you are and how you prefer to travel that last leg. We will build our selection of homes and your arrival schedule around that.