Sardinia.... best place to stay in the north?

Both have great beaches near the town. Near Santa Teresa I like the beaches at Capo Testa, including the Cala Luna. Near Stintino La Pelosa beach is the most famous, busy in summer though. Both places have restaurants, although S.Teresa being 4 times more populous and having probably more visitors, will have a few more. However I don’t think you can find boat tours to Maddalena from Stintino, it’s way too far. They do have boats going to the Asinara island, but for the Maddalena you need to go to Santa Teresa. I certainly recommend a boat tours to Maddalena. But of course there are many more all around, just minutes away by car. From S.Teresa you can also visit Corsica by car ferry (50 min each way). There is a ferry from to Bonifacio a few times a day. If you just intend to visit Bonifacio, you don’t need to take the car. If you also plan to venture somewhere else in Corsica, like Porto Vecchio or nearby beaches, then a car is necessary.

I just planned a trip to a different part of the island, but I can make some overarching comments that will hopefully help!
Those two options are two hours apart, so consider your transport (you’ll need two cars) and first determine what boat trips you want/what beaches and then select the base. Stintino seems too remote if you plan to go to La Maddelena. Maybe check Palau?
Second, accommodations in Sardinia are somewhat different from the mainland, where it’s frankly like shooting fish in a barrel to find something perfect. In Sardinia there are very very expensive and very cheap accommodations, and it took me a lot of searching to find what I wanted. I would go immediately to Booking.com and start searching, as that will help guide you to the place and types of accommodations that work best for you.

Hi Kara,

Combining Sicily and Sardinia is a great idea. But keep in mind that the ferry from Palermo to Cagliari operates once a week, typically on Sundays. That said, the ferry is scheduled to depart on Sunday, August 3rd, not the 4th. You can find out more here: https://www.ferryhopper.com/en/ferry-routes/direct/palermo-cagliari

As far as location goes, I think Santa Teresa Gallura is a great choice as it's close to Palau for day trips to La Maddalena, it's walkable, lively and it has nice beaches nearby (ex: Rena Bianca).

Stintino is a smaller and quieter than Santa Teresa and not quite as well connected to boat tours.

Another town which you can check out is Alghero, it's on the northwest coast and closer to the ferry arrival in Cagliari. While it’s a bit farther from La Maddalena, it makes up for it with nearby beaches and day-trip options like Neptune’s Grotto.

This is great information, for me as well!
There are flights from Catania to Sardinia, to Cagliari.

If you are planning on going this year you need to get your accommodation sorted. Sardinia is extremely popular in August which is high season