 Santa Maria Navarrese has a typical maquis shrubland seascape.Although it is part of the municipality of Baunei, it can be regarded as a separate town in some respects, mainly because Santa Maria Navarrese lies at 9,1 km (12 minutes by car) from Baunei and has a typical seaside landscape and an increasingly tourist economy, while Baunei is located inland and is mostly a mountainous town.Santa Maria Navarrese is also contiguous to Tancau sul Mare frazione of Lotzorai and is part of a strip of Ogliastra's coastal settlements that stretches southwards to Tortolì and Arbatax.