Grotte di Nettuno


Useful Information

photography
Grotte di Nettuno, Sardinia. Public Domain.
Location: Sassari, near Capo Caccia, northwest Sardegna.
By boot from Alghero. From Alghero SS127bis to Maristella, SP55 to Piscina Salida, continue on SP55 to the end, parking lot. By foot, 700 steps from the cliff down to the cave.
(40°33'48.69"N, 8°9'48.28"E)
Open: OCT to MAR daily 10-15.
APR to SEP daily 9-19.
Closed in case of bad weather.
Closed 25-DEC.
[2023]
Fee: Adults EUR 14, Children (7-14) EUR 10, Children (0-6) free, Residents of Alghero EUR 10, Disabled free.
Adults EUR 10, School Pupils (7-14) EUR 8.
[2023]
Classification: SpeleologyKarst Cave
Light: LightIncandescent
Dimension:
Guided tours: L=600 m, VR=10 m, D=30 min.
Escala del Cabirol: St=656.
V=180,000/a [2000] V=170,000/a [2008]
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography: Elena Piano, Daniela Cinus, Giuseppe Nicolosi, Antonello Cossu, Pierpaolo Duce, Marco Isaia (2022): Towards a sustainable touristic use of show caves: a case study from Sardinia
Address: Grotte di Nettuno, I-07041 Alghero - Sassari, Tel: +39-079-979054, Fax: +39-079-974881
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

16th century cave discovered by fishermen.
1870 cave tours by boat started.
1954 stairs to the entrance built.

Description

photography
Grotte di Nettuno, Sardinia. Public Domain.
photography
Grotte di Nettuno, Sardinia. Public Domain.

The Grotte di Nettuno is located on the top of a peninsula in the northwest of Sardinia. At the end of the road is a trail uphill to a lighthouse, which is located almost above the cave entrance. The entrance, in the middle of the vertical cliff is reached on a narrow footpath, which was cut into the soft limestone. The trail is called escala del cabirol (goat staircase) and was built in 1954. But the cave had been open to the public for a century before, it was visited by boat through the sea entrance.

The cave was discovered in the 18th century from the sea by a local fisherman. He was fishing off the peninsula, when he spottet an entrance in the cliff face. The entrance is above the water level and not easy to reach. Only during storms the seawater splashes into the cave entrance.

One of the highlights of this cave is the 120 m long cave lake. It is connected with the sea and contains salt water.

There is also a site named Frecce delle Grotte di Antonio Piccinnu

As there are basically two possibilities to visit the caves with three independent operators, it is a little difficult to book tickets. If you arrive by boat you can buy your cave tickets at the cave entrance, if you arrive by car you can buy the tickets for the staircase and the cave at the parking lot. There are people who only want to walk the staircase for the view and omit the cave tour. Additional problems are lots of visitors during the season and the corona pandemic restriction, which should be over by now. Nevertheless, you should either book the ticket for the staircase plus the ticket for the cave or the ticket for the boat trip plus the ticket for the cave online before you go. Boat tours are only possible if the weather conditions are good enough, and they are offered only between April and November.