Seeing the Sardinia sea caves by SUP is one of the quietest ways to meet the Gulf of Orosei, and in late October it is quieter still. The tour boats out of Cala Gonone have mostly finished for the year, the limestone walls of the Supramonte drop straight into clear water, and on a still morning you can paddle under an arch without a single wake behind you. The catch is that caves magnify every bit of swell. A cave that feels like a chapel on a flat day turns into a washing machine when the sea is moving.
Whether you set off from a boat at anchor or from the beach at Cala Gonone, the plan has three parts: choose the day first, carry the right kit, and treat the way out as part of the route.
Pick the day, not the cave
The gulf faces east, and that matters more than any cave you have marked on the chart. Wind from the east or south east sends swell straight into the cliffs and up into the cave mouths, and the swell can arrive before the wind does. The maestrale from the north west works the other way. Under the cliffs the water looks glassy, but the wind is blowing off the land and will push a paddle board out to sea faster than most people can paddle back.
So the morning you want has little wind from any direction and no leftover swell. Watch the base of the cliffs before anyone gets on a board. If you can see the water rising and falling against the rock, or hear a cave booming, leave it for another day. Late in the year the light also goes early, so start in the morning and plan to be back aboard, or back on the sand, well before the afternoon fades.
Gear for paddling under rock
One of our stable all-round paddle boards is the right tool here, not a narrow touring board. The Minta 10’6” SUP Paddle Board measures 320 x 80 x 15 cm inflated, wide enough to kneel on comfortably when the ceiling drops, and it rolls into a bag that lives in a locker between outings. The Luna 10’6” SUP Paddle Board shares the size and the drop-stitch build with reinforced PVC, and its front bungee and D-rings are handy for a small dry bag with a torch, a phone and a spare layer. A pair of boards lets you paddle with a buddy, which is the only sensible way to do this.
Add a coiled leash for each paddler, a buoyancy aid, and a light helmet of the kind sea kayakers wear. That last item sounds excessive until you are kneeling under a low ceiling and a small surge lifts the board towards the rock. The sea cools quickly once November arrives, so a thin wetsuit or a long-sleeved top is worth more than it looks from the deck. If you are launching from a yacht, read the safe use advice in our buying guide first, and keep the engines and thrusters off while anyone is in the water.
Inside, and out again
Some caves along this coast are visited by tour boats or have their own access rules. The Grotta del Bue Marino, named after the monk seals that once bred inside it, is a managed site with guided visits. Check locally before you go into any cave, respect a rope or a sign at the entrance, and then take it one step at a time.
- Look before you commit. Hold off the entrance and watch several sets come through. If the water inside surges or sucks back, stay outside.
- Go in one at a time. One paddler enters while the other waits outside, in sight of the entrance and ready to help.
- Kneel early. Drop to your knees before the ceiling drops. Kneeling lowers your centre of gravity and keeps your head clear of the rock.
- Use short strokes. There is little room inside for a full stroke. Short pulls close to the rail keep the paddle off the walls.
- Keep the exit in view. Never paddle so deep that you lose the light from the mouth behind you.
- Turn back at the first sign of swell. A new set, a change in the sound, a slap against the walls: any of these is your signal to leave, calmly and by the way you came in.
Once you are out, paddle well clear of the cliff before you stop to talk about it. Back on the beach or the swim platform, rinse both boards with fresh water and let them dry before they go back in their bags. The cave will still be there on the next flat morning.
