Grotta del Bue Marino

Location

Cala Gonone
Italy
40° 14' 48.6204" N, 9° 37' 23.0844" E
IT
General info: 

The Bue Marino Grottos are considered some of the most beautiful grottos in all of Italy, with kilometers of galleries, rivers and subterranean lakes, stalactites and stalagmites, fossils and Neolithic graffiti.
The caves are among the biggest in Sardinia with total length of about 5km. On a guided tour only about 900m meters is visited however. The visitors follow the way the sea penetrates into the mountain creating a salt lake of more than 1squarekilometer of surface. The place is very rich of stalactites and stalagmites. Only underwater speleologists may go further from here.
The name of the cave comes from the presence of Monaca seal, the extremely rare Mediterranean seal (that local people call private://sea oxprivate://, Bue Marino), which till to the '80ies came to grow its puppies in this cave.

Getting there: 

In the harbour of Cala Gonone, there are several companies offering boat trips to the destinations along the coastline, including Grotta del Bue Marino (Bue Marine Cave).

Costs: 

There are many companies but here one price example: Bue Marino: round-trip from Cala Gonone €17, ages 6-12 €10. Bue Marino and Cala Luna: €24, ages 6-12 €16. Ferry fees include guided tour.

Interesting places nearby

The ski resort Meiringen-Hasliberg, situated between 1080 and 2344 meters of altitude, is especially suitable for families. You will mainly find slopes of moderate difficulty here.

The elegant town of Merano / Meran is linked by two-stage cable car to its own extensive ski area and is also on the 265km Ortler ski pass, which brings in another ten neighbouring centres.

Meribel (1,450m), a firm British favourite, is also known as ‘Little England upon the Alps’.

Right on the Swiss border and serving six traditional villages in the locality, this is a year-round multi-sports resort. There is a snowpark for boarders and night-skiing is possible several evenings per week.

Located four kilometres (two-and-a-half miles) from the village of Mijanès, on the sides of Canrusc mountain between 1500 and 2000 meters high, the winter ski resort of Mijanès - Donezan is a real alternative to the next big resorts.

Great skiing offered by the resort's 50 modern lifts and more than 100 km of slopes, perfectly prepared from December to April, thanks to an advanced snow-making system.