The La Maddalena archipelago comprises seven principal islands and fifty-five smaller islets scattered across twenty kilometers of the Bocche di Bonifacio strait, a granite fragment of the Corso-Sardinian massif that separated from the mainland six million years ago. Designated a national park in 1994 and recognized by UNESCO as a future reserve in 1996, the archipelago's 180 square kilometers of protected waters host endemic Posidonia meadows, Audouin's gull colonies, and over forty species of reef fish. The main island, Maddalena, has sheltered naval fleets since Roman times—Pliny the Elder's Naturalis Historia records it as Ilva—and served as the French and Italian navies' Mediterranean anchor point through two centuries. Today, excursions departing from Olbia's Molo Brin traverse the northeastern approach to the park, a twenty-nautical-mile corridor threading Tavolara's limestone promontory, the Molara marine reserve, and the pink-granite headlands of Caprera. Full-day itineraries originating in Olbia typically allocate two to three hours for anchored swimming in sheltered bays—Cala Coticcio on Caprera, Spiaggia Rosa's protected perimeter on Budelli, and the tidal pools of Spargi—before rounding Razzoli's northern cape. The archipelago's signature rose-hued sand, a calcified blend of coral fragments and Miniacina miniacea shell deposits, is now protected under Law 431/1985; visitors may observe but not collect samples. Tavolara, a separate marine reserve six miles east of Olbia, rises 565 meters from sea level in a single dolomitic ridge and hosts a resident population of fewer than fifteen individuals, descendants of the self-proclaimed Kingdom of Tavolara established in 1836. Maritime traffic within the park is capped at 120 vessels daily during high season, enforced by the Ente Parco Nazionale since 2007. Operators departing Olbia hold annual permits issued by the Sardinian regional authority and are required to use mooring buoys rather than anchors in Posidonia zones. Most itineraries include a 5-euro landing fee, collected in cash at boarding to fund marine conservation programs and maintain the network of thirty submerged buoys installed between 2018 and 2023. Dolphin-watching routes concentrate in the shallow continental shelf northeast of Figarolo, where bottlenose pods of eight to twelve individuals forage between April and October. Hydrophone surveys conducted by the Tethys Research Institute recorded 142 dolphin sightings in this zone during the 2025 season.