The village of San Paolo was and still is a fishing center, which however has experienced an unusual development, thanks to the beaches and its daily connections with the island of Tavolara. Beyond the charming village is the entrance to Don Diego Beach, while on the border with the municipality of San Teodoro, near the hamlet of Vaccileddi, is the Porto Taverna Beach. Tavolara, despite its slender dimensions, is five kilometers long by one wide, its maximum height is 565 meters at Punta Cannone, in the western part of the island, with walls often overlooking the sea. Also in the part extending towards the Sardinian coast is the long beach called Spalmatore di Terra, a wonderful beach with a truly unique panorama: Sardinia.
Nearby are the few houses on the island, where the former king of Tavolara Bertoleoni once resided. In the eastern part of the island there is the Arch of Ulysses, a natural rock arch fifty meters high and also the Pope’s Grotto, easily identifiable due to a rock with the appearance of a man and with the papal tiara in head, the cave is very important because of the Neolithic finds and some interesting cave paintings that have been found in it.
Molara
It is a few hundred meters from Tavolara, of which it looks like the younger sister, yet the nature of the two islands is completely different. Molara is a granite island, therefore forming part of the rocky base on which Sardinia rests. In the Middle Ages, the village of Gurguray was founded on the island, of which the ruins remain.
The vegetation cover of Molara is composed of the Mediterranean scrub, on which olive trees stand out; near the Cala di Chiesa, on the north side, there are two perennial springs and from here a path leads to discover the enchanted hinterland.
Further east of Cala di Chiesa, following the coast, there is the rock of the dinosaur, a natural sculpture of considerable grandeur. To the southeast of the island are the ruins of a medieval fortress, resting on the top of Monte Castello, with 150-meter walls overlooking the sea.
Marina Area
The Protected Marine Area of Tavolara Punta Coda Cavallo, established in 1997 by decree of the Ministry of the Environment, includes about 15,000 hectares of sea and the coastal areas of the municipalities of Olbia, Loiri Porto S. Paolo and San Teodoro. It is managed by a consortium between the three municipalities, which has obtained EMAS certification. In addition, in 2007 the AMP obtained the prestigious recognition of the ASPIM Area (Specially Protected Area of Mediterranean Importance).
Its naturalistic features and its enchanting landscape, as well as the historical events, make it one of the most interesting sites in the Mediterranean. For this reason, in accordance with its institutional purposes, the Marine Protected Area offers training agencies some Environmental Education courses, designed to offer an experience full of stimuli and suggestions. The important and fruitful collaboration with the I.CI.MAR (Istituto Civiltà del Mare) of S. Teodoro, offers the opportunity to visit the Museum of the Sea, which houses a small, but interesting exhibition of archaeological finds and tells the story of this corner of Gallura.
Further information here
Useful contacts:
Tourist Information: 0789 40466
Police Station: 0789 41106
Green Cross: 330 318686
Tourist First-Aid Station: 0789 40510
