A GROUP of islands just a few hours from the UK are still a secret to most Brits - despite being compared to the Caribbean. La Maddalena is an archipelago in Italy with the main route to the islands from Sardinia. The islands are only slowly becoming a tourist attraction, as most of their income came from a large NATO naval base based there.
However, this closed in 2008 - and more holidaymakers have been flocking there ever since. The collection of islands is also home to one inhabited town, also called La Maddalena, which serves traditional Italian food and fresh seafood, pulled from the seas surrounding the islands. What's more, a lot of the people serving the delicacies speak great English, thanks to their history of dealing with American naval workers from the NATO base.
Among its highest rated beaches are the likes of Spiaggia di Cala Coticcio, which people claim has "three shades of blue" in the clear seas lapping at its shores. There is also Cala Coticcio although that can also get quite busy. Conde Nast Traveller called them La Maddalena the "secret islands" of Sardinia, even comparing them to the Caribbean.
They wrote: "In the translucent seas of the La Maddalena archipelago, you're in another world. It doesn't feel like the Mediterranean here. "It feels like a more rugged version of the Caribbean.
" Tourists have raved about the islands too, with them saying there are "all kinds of blue". One wrote on TripAdvisor: "Look at the water. The first thing you will notice a.