Day 21: Moby lines to Livorno

Unlike our Tirrenia lines ferry experience, Moby lines was more like a six hour Mediterranean pleasure cruise. We arrived at the port of Olbia, Sardegna, in a bit of a confused rush. Lunch took longer than expected, and when we got to the third and final checkpoint before driving onboard, the staff noticed our ticket was for the previous day! With only half an hour to spare before boarding was completed, we managed to change our ticket, skirt the maze like network of roads at the port (by driving the wrong way down a one-way street) and board with less than ten minutes to spare.

While Civitavecchia was an exercise in patience, Olbia was a model of efficiency. Moby lines deck plans did not have us drive deep into the bowels of the cargo hold to park the car. Instead, we parked on the main deck, which also made disembarkation a much more straightforward process. Additionally, as it is not high season, vehicle passengers normally forced to embark separately, were allowed to accompany me in the car driving directly onto the main deck of the ferry.

Public spaces on board the ferry Moby Wonder are designed with customer comfort in mind. Thousands of chairs are situated in various restaurant, cafe, and lounge space, designed to to accommodate a maximum passenger load of 2,200 in peak season. For us, there was plenty of room to stretch out, so we claimed a table in the corner of one of the cafes where we had an unobstructed view of the sea through a massive picture window, and an electrical outlet for watching movies on our MacBook. The bar was open for the duration, and we began our journey sipping an Aperol Spritz as we sailed out the Gulf of Olbia and into the Tyrrhenian Sea.

For the duration of the crossing, which was scheduled for 6 hours, we enjoyed simply relaxing, ship watching, strolling the upper deck, and breathing fresh sea air. As evening approached, we made our way to the self service restaurant where we were very impressed with the cafeteria style choices available, all fresh and delicious, and not overpriced considering we were a captive audience.

As we approached the port city of Livorno, we enjoyed a spectacular sunset over the sea as we sailed by the Tuscan archipelago islands of Elba and Capraia, with the mountains of Corsica in the distance, and finally the Island of Gorgona. A flotilla of sailboats on some sort of display were making their way into the sunset as we sailed into the harbor for an early arrival.

It was a great way to end our Sardegna trip, and a very relaxing mode of transportation. Leave the driving to Moby lines, not like you have any other option but by boat to get back to the mainland!