For Cala Coticcio on Caprera, arrange a guided excursion before travelling to the trail. The National Park of the La Maddalena Archipelago says the protected land zones around Cala Coticcio and Cala Brigantina are not freely accessible. Visiting with an environmental hiking guide is part of the regulated access process.
That does not establish one reservation rule for every beach in the archipelago. Start with the exact destination and how you intend to reach it. A ferry journey to La Maddalena, a boat excursion and a guided walk to Cala Coticcio are different bookings.
What changed in 2026?
The Park’s notice of 18 June 2026 introduced a new online authorisation procedure for guides from 22 June. It states that each turn can authorise a maximum of 15 visitors and one guide, with applications handled in order of arrival.
For the guide, requests must be submitted between seven and thirty days before the excursion. A guide who has obtained authorisation may add participants through the system until the day before, within the permitted number. These are the guide’s administrative arrangements, not a promise that visitors can always obtain a last-minute place.
The underlying restriction is older. A separate May 2026 Park notice about access controls refers to the disciplinary rules approved on 4 June 2022. It would therefore be inaccurate to describe guided access as a wholly new rule introduced for every La Maddalena beach in 2026.
Book the guide first
Use the guide list linked from the Park’s Cala Coticcio and Cala Brigantina visitor information. Contact a guide with your preferred date, party size and any relevant walking requirements. Confirm the excursion price and whether a place is available within the authorised visit.
The published procedure makes the guide responsible for requesting authorisation from the Park. Ask whether the authorisation has been obtained before treating an enquiry or provisional arrangement as a confirmed outing.
Also request the meeting point, start time, expected duration and return plan. Give the guide the ages of any children and explain anything that could affect your group’s ability to follow the walk. A beach photograph does not describe the effort required to reach it.
The €3 contribution is not the excursion price
After booking the excursion and agreeing the private guide’s fee, the Park’s visitor page instructs each visitor to pay a separate €3 environmental contribution through pagoPA. Children up to age 12 are exempt according to that page.
The payment reference must identify the excursion, date and time. Keep proof for inspection. The Park says the contribution is valid for the specified day and is not refundable if unused. The guide’s service has its own price and arrangements, which you should clarify separately.
Do not pay a generic contribution and assume it creates an independent right to walk the trail. The practical order is to confirm the guided visit and then follow the relevant payment instructions. No current guide price or available slot has been verified for your dates here.
Plan the rest of the journey around the confirmed visit
Allow time for getting to the meeting point and ask what transport, if any, is included. Do not assume a guide booking includes a ferry, transfer or parking. Confirm those details before building a tight schedule around another excursion or your departure from the island.
Ask the guide what happens if conditions require cancellation or a change. The park contribution and the private service are separate, so one refund policy should not be assumed to cover both. Recheck local notices close to departure.
If your preferred date is unavailable, ask about another authorised outing. Cala Brigantina is subject to regulated guided access too, so it should not be treated as an unrestricted fallback. Nor should a description of another trail be taken as proof that it is currently permitted.
For any other La Maddalena beach, check its own access information and the applicable rules for your arrival method. A clear destination, a confirmed guide and the correct payment record are the useful preparations for Cala Coticcio; they are more reliable than an archipelago-wide “book every beach” headline.
