Portovesme to Carloforte ferry: the Delcomar car ferry to San Pietro island, 15 sailings a weekday

Carloforte owes its name to a king. In 1738 Carlo Emanuele III gave a community of Ligurian fishing families, who had been living on the Tunisian island of Tabarka, permission to settle San Pietro, then uninhabited, and the new town was named after him. Its everyday link with Sardinia today is the Delcomar car ferry to Portovesme, part of the regional government's island service: between 1 September 2026 and 30 June 2027 it makes 15 departures each way on working days and 13 on Sundays and holidays.

The first boat leaves Carloforte at 05:05 every day and the last at 21:10, while from Portovesme sailings run from 06:10 on weekdays, or 06:15 on holidays, until 22:30. A foot passenger pays €5.00 one way until the end of May, and anyone landing on the island adds the council's landing charge, €1.50 from November to March.

First boat 05:05 from the island, last one 22:30 from the mainland

Delcomar timetable in force from 1 September 2026 to 30 June 2027, feriale (working day) and festivo (Sunday and public holiday) columns. Checked 30 October 2026.   Delcomar – Orari Carloforte – Portovesme · 2026-10-30

Ticket, car and landing charge are three separate amounts

Delcomar's tourist fare sheet for the line, dated 1 January 2024 and still the one linked from its fares page, has a winter column for 1 October to 31 May and a summer one for June to September. Over the winter an adult on foot pays €5.00 one way or €9.50 return. A car up to 4 metres long costs €12.80 one way and a longer one €14.80; the people inside it appear on separate passenger lines of the fare sheet.

Visitors also pay Carloforte's landing charge, which the council sets and the ferry company collects together with the ticket: €1.50 per person from November to March and €2.50 in April and May. Residents, children up to the age of six and people living in Calasetta, Portoscuso or Sant'Antioco are among those exempt.

Delcomar ordinary fares, edition of 1 January 2024 (rev. 03), winter rates 1 October – 31 May; Carloforte landing charge set by the town council (resolution 161/2022). Checked 30 October 2026.   Delcomar – Tariffe in vigore dal 01/01/2024 Carloforte-Portovesme REV.03 (PDF) · 2026-10-30

Finding the boat at Portovesme and at Carloforte harbour

Drivers take their own car up the ramp into the garage deck, and the crew, not your place in the queue, decides the loading order. Anyone who is not driving boards on foot through the passenger entrance, as Delcomar's conditions of carriage require.

Across the strait from the Sulcis coast

Portovesme lies on the south-west coast of Sardinia, in the Sulcis area; Carloforte, facing it, is the only town on San Pietro. Delcomar does not state a crossing time and its table shows departures only, so if you have a bus to catch after landing at Portovesme, ask on the free number 800 195 344.

Useful to know for visitors heading to San Pietro

• Rough sea: boats switch to Calasetta

  When conditions stop the ferries using Portovesme, all Carloforte traffic moves to Calasetta on Sant'Antioco island under a back-up plan written into the regional contract. Some sailings are diverted there and others are cancelled; Delcomar posts that timetable on a separate page.

• Taking a hire car

  Both boats on the line carry cars. Declare an LPG-fuelled vehicle when you buy the ticket, and give the right length: Delcomar may refuse a car whose size does not match the booking.

• Buying the ticket

  Delcomar's website links to its own online booking system, and there are ticket offices at the ports. Keep the ticket for the whole trip: anyone found without one, or using a discount they are not entitled to, must buy a further full-fare ticket with a 200% surcharge.

• Luggage and pets

  Personal luggage goes free, with no published size or weight limit. Small pets in a carrier up to 40×40×40 cm are free too; larger dogs pay, need a lead and a muzzle, and may be asked for a vaccination certificate.

• Reduced mobility

  For special assistance Delcomar asks for 48 hours' notice and for you to be at the port 60 minutes before departure. Nando Murrau and Anna Mur have a lift from the car deck to the passenger lounge.

• Summer costs more

  From June the adult single rises to €5.40, and the landing charge to €4.00 in June, July and September and €5.00 in August.

Carloforte's Genoese roots and the second crossing from Calasetta

According to the Sardinian regional tourist board, the Tabarka settlers came originally from Pegli, near Genoa, and some forty years after Carloforte they also founded Calasetta on neighbouring Sant'Antioco. Delcomar runs a separate Calasetta – Carloforte ferry with its own timetable and fares, and that harbour becomes the only way in when rough sea closes Portovesme.

On Carloforte's seafront stands a marble group of 1786 with Carlo Emanuele III at its centre. For onward buses from either port, Delcomar points passengers to the Sardegna Mobilità journey planner. If you return in summer, expect both costs to rise: the adult single becomes €5.40 and the landing charge reaches €5.00 in August.

The two ferries in the timetable

Carloforte ferry: questions from first-time visitors