What do you know about Sardinia, also called Sardegna? Did you already know that it is the region with the lowest birth rate in whole Italy and that if you move there, you get a 15k Euro support in establishing yourself and buying a house? When we found out about it, my best friend and I seriously considered this for a second, because as I will prove to you: This island is BEAUTIFUL. and more easily accessible (and cheaper!) than you might think. So here come all logistics and organizational recommendations for your perfect one-week road trip Sardinia:
Mode of transport
Why did we choose the car? As simple as that, for us it was the economically most friendly option and definitely the most flexible one. And we got to experience the very unique ferry from Genova, Liguria to Olbia, Sardinia (which I can only half hearted recommend to everyone but it is definitely and experience!). Also I have my own car, which decreased the cost even further. There are still buses and trains on the island by which you can get around, however, they do not go everywhere and most distances are too far to walk.
Further, taking the car allowed us to bring our camping equipment. This made the whole trip cheaper as well, as many accomodations on Sardegna are really expensive. On the island you can also find many camping places, which we used once a while for a cheaper night stop.
So the bottom line is: If you manage to get a car, either drive down from Germany or wherever you come or fly down to Olbia or Cagliari and rent a car there.
Duration of the stay:
We had one full week (7 full days & 6 nights) on the island + 1 day each to travel there and back respectively. This is a great duration to get a first glimpse of the island, move around a bit and explore beaches in the South, West, North and even also West.
Olbia region is the most expensive area of Sardinia, with Costa S’Meralda as the crown of luxury. Cagliari region is more affordable, the same accounts for the Western part of the island.
I will list the things we did and visited, however, I will also add some other suggestions and divide everything by region, as it is incredibly easy to extend your stay up to two weeks.
Ferry
In case you take the ferry, I recommend to book it as early as possibly as like with trains and flights – it only gets more expensive over time/the closer to the date it gets.
There are two main ferry carriers: Moby Lines and Grimaldi. Both offer a day and an overnight ferry respectively (I STRONGLY recommend the overnight ferry, as I am seriously wondering what you will do otherwise the whole time on the boat) which go to Livorno. Moby Lines also offers the ferry to Genova/Genua, which is the one we took, as it was the closest to go to for us.
The ferry is kind of funny, it is a big mess, but you can bring your car and even book a little room. If the room is too expensive for you, it is easy to do it like we did it: Bring a mattress and put it somewhere on the ferry floor hahahahah. That is what we did, as weird as that sounds.
Accommodation websites with the best offers:
- Airbnb
- bedandbreakfast.it (almost everywhere around the island you will find accomodation for about 100 Euros a night, which was still out of our budget, but definitely reasonable in pricing).
- agriturismo.it
Different regions
I think overall its the best to check out the beaches and the restaurants – I promise it will be mind blowingly beautiful.
Southern Sardinia/Area of Cagliari
Cagliari:
The newer parts of Cagliari are not as pretty, however, it is worth to take a little stroll around the old town. You can also find a lot of nightlife around the area. We went to Sax/Tagoo Beach Club, which is free entry. We didn’t like the music that night, but if they play different music, it might get more fun, because it is directly located on the beach.
Villasimius:
The area of Villasimius is also supposed to be beautiful, with a lot of younger people hanging around and cheap camping places, like
Here, check out the beaches of Crabonaxa and Spiaggia di Porto Giunco.
Santa Margherita di Pula up to Teulada:
This is A MUST DO. Beautiful beaches on the way, however, also the most beautiful coastline to drive by. So, if you want to enjoy a great selection of beaches, make yourself ready for a daytrip here.
Sidenote: We did not find any affordable accomodation, so we did not stay here but obviously would have loved to otherwise.
So yes, just drive along and here are some good beaches, I will highlight my favorite one:
- Su Giudeu Beach
- Spiaggia di Cala Cipolla
- Walk to the light tower of Capo Spartivento
- Cala de Sa Perda Longa
- Spiaggia di Tuerredda (very touristy, but so beautiful to view from the street)
- Capo Malfatano Beach | Noleggio Gommoni | Escursioni | Campo Boe | Tuerredda | CHIA |: Hands down one of the best beaches ever. The sand is not the best, but the whole beach is so chill, the water so calm and there is a beach bar (Riccio Bianco Ristorante e Cocktail), which serves lunch until 3pm but paninis and coffee and drinks all day long. Parking is free and it is perfect for a relaxing day at the beach.
- Stabilimento Balneare Porto Tramatzu
- Portu Pirastru
South West: Sant’Antioco
Sant’Antioco is an island of the island Sardinia and easily accessible by car, as there is a road connecting the two. It is a great place to stay for a day or more, we just opted for one night, but mainly due to time constraints.
Airbnb:
I can highly recommend the following Airbnb: https://www.airbnb.de/rooms/944228131154577958?source_impression_id=p3_1693557689_sbJhFHvWnKEaxA%2FY
Beaches/Swimming spots:
Our Airbnb Host clearly recommended us to go on the West side of the island to find the best swimming spots: Just consider, that when it is super windy, waves might be too high and there are less sand beaches, but the water is beautiful and you find caves and stone cliffs.
The coolest place to see if Arco die Baci – Is Praneddas.
Park around here: 38°59’39.6″N 8°23’21.3″E and walk down, the last 5 minutes it is more climbing than walking.
On the East side, which is a bit calmer, go check out the beaches of Portixeddu, which has beautiful water to swim in, can get a bit busier through during high season.
Around there, you can also find a fairly cheap beach bar: Bar II Chiosco L’Oasi, which is possibly one of the only ones letting you play card games on the table.
Restaurants:
- Pizzeria Ristorante Dolly: Simple pizzeria, super super good though, also fairly cheap
- Magazzino dello Spirito
- Ristorante Pizzeria Renzo e Rita
- La Gabbia dei Matti
Additional remark:
If you have more time to spare than we did, definitely also take the ferry from Porto Turistico di Calasetta/Noleggio gommoni and go to the Isola di San Pietro. Carloforte and the beaches of Spiaggia Lucaise/Lucchese and Spiaggia la Bobba are supposed to be beautiful.
West of Sardinia:
The west of Sardinia also is sooo beautiful (I mean which part is not hahah). If you are coming from the south, enjoy the drive along the coast, I promise it will not disappoint. There are so many hidden beautiful beaches along the coast, so just opt for exploring, the ones I will be listing here will not even closely sum up all beautiful spots that are there.
Some of the first beaches you will encounter on your drive up include:
Spiaggia di Cala Domestica, which is introducing the most beautiful part of the drive.
An especially beautiful area is definitely the Costa Verde.
You will find amazing beaches and the best Airbnb / B&B host ever!
B&B Arbus Il Quinto Moro. The host is so so nice and the hotel is located in a tiny little town somewhat up the mountains. It is perfectly suitable for a 1 or max 2 night stay.
Going further up from there, you can find the Is Arutas Beach: Also amazingly beautiful and perfect to swim.
So let’s move on with the other regions, as you will not be disappointed in any of them! I have explored the other ones the most, so here I will just mention a few spots that are worth to check out.
North and Northeast of Sardegna:
- Argentiera: great area for more (surprise) beaches
- Spiaggia La Pelosa: beautiful beach in the very North of Sardegna
- The best sunset spot: View sunset lounge bar: Soooo beautiful
- Spiaggia Rena Majori: Amazing beach, beautiful water to swim in and a nice beach bar
- La Maddalena: You can easily bring your car onto the ferry and its not even that expensive! it is a small island in the north east and supposed to be amazingly beautiful. Accommodation is fairly difficult but there are many camping spots as well – and if you don’t want that, just go for a day trip! (Example camping spot: Camping Maddalena) and beaches around: Cala Serena and Spargi La Maddalena SS (Spiaggia di Cala Corsara)
- You might have heard about Costa Smeralda, which is THE MOST EXPENSIVE place on Sardegna hahah. So if you have money to spend, it is probably fun to go and see the rich thriving and vibing, not a place for me though.
- San Teodoro: A place in rather eastern Sardegna, claiming to be the cheaper version of Costa Smeralda, and offers some clubs – we went to one, definitely not the best club night of my life, but if you still want to go out on a budget, it’s definitely an option. (We went to Ambra night). And there is a good pizzeria: IL DIAMANTE (So cheesy the name I am aware hahah)
East of Sardegna
And if you have more time (and hopefully me too the next time I go) do not miss out on the east of the island!
There are many cool places from which you can rent e.g. a boat and go with to the most remote beaches.
Places you probably should not miss out on:
Conclusion
So, overall: Sardinia is a really amazing place to go to! We went in August 2023 and even though this really is the high season of the year, it was still the absolutely right choice! So in case you are considering to go, I hope I made the choice easier for you!
So, I hope you enjoyed the itinerary inspiration, I would be happy to read your comments and get feedback!
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