The term Costa Smeralda is a coastal stretch of the north-eastern Sardinia (Gallura). The holiday region, included in the municipality of Arzachena, covers a coastline of about twenty kilometers. The coast is characterized by the presence of numerous bays, small beaches and not far from numerous islands including the archipelago of la Maddalena. The area was mostly uninhabited until the first half of the 20th century up to the birth, in 1962, of the Costa Smeralda Consortium at the hands of the Ishmaelites Prince Karim Aga Khan. This soon became a place of election of the Jet set. The heart of the Costa Smeralda is Porto Cervo where all services and numerous other commercial and residential areas as Romazzino, Cala di Volpe, Piccolo Pevero, Pantogia, Pevero Golf and SAN PANTALEO. In the waters of the Costa Smeralda, the International Agency for research on dolphins Bottlenose Dolphin Research Institute performs its research, conservation and education. The area is served, including for the purpose of remarkable tourist transit, from the nearby airport of Olbia.