This is the best well known town of the Ogliastra area, thanks partly to the presence of the commercial and tourist port and thanks also to its rather intriguing name: it derives from an Arabic word meaning "fourteenth tower", for the Saracen tower which overlooks the seafront. Arbatax was born as a village of fishermen, many of whom came from the nearby island of Ponza, and it is from fishing that it earned its biggest fortunes, thanks to the significant variety of fish and crustaceans in the area.

Arbatax is placed on the headland of Bellavista, and is surrounded by a natural scenery of bays and inlets which make it completely unique and fascinating.

Starting from the Rocce Rosse (Red Rocks), famous throughout the world for their particular colour of porphyry, then the splendid Cala Moresca, on the eastern side of the town, and continuing towards the Telis, the Bay of Portofrailis and San Gemiliano - now residential areas built up using some interesting architecture - it is possible to admire different colours and landscapes, all both striking and enchanting.