Sardinia, Italy

[wild_turkey 3182]

Anyone been? I searched and saw a single post from sidis.

 

Thinking about going for the week leading up to Labor Day. Would plan to stay 7-8 nights and split in between 2 locations, probably up north around Costa Smeralda and then down south by Cagliari.

 

We did something very similar in Corsica last summer and loved it. We’re thinking Sardinia is essentially the Italian version of that, which seems pretty close to perfect.

 

Goals are to visit gorgeous beaches, eat delicious food, drink all the wine, and spend some time on a boat. Appreciate any recs along those lines.

[sidis 9832]

On 4/30/2023 at 3:25 PM, wild_turkey said:

Goals are to visit gorgeous beaches, eat delicious food, drink all the wine, and spend some time on a boat. Appreciate any recs along those lines.

Those are ideal goals to align with a trip to sardinia.  It is unbelievably beautiful.  There are some inconveniences that are exacerbated moreso regarding typical infrastructure needs relative to even corsica but if you are there with the right goals and attitude, you will find very few places better.

one thing to keep in mind is that it is comparable to east texas or alabama in terms of incest on the island.  though it is a larger island than most people think it is.  there are a ton of festivals throughout the year...basically like every other day and i would not limit yourself to beaches entirely.  there are a lot of great places inland but public transport isn't a reliable option like on the mainland.

[wild_turkey 3182]

We would have a car to get around.

We often like to charter a boat with a captain to take us around for a day. I assume we’ll attempt that for one day, but I see that renting the inflatable Zodiac boats is a common practice so we may do it that one day as well. Any experience with either of those?

The eastern coastline looks gorgeous. Corsica was insanely beautiful.

Thanks for the advice.

[sidis 9832]

2 hours ago, wild_turkey said:

We would have a car to get around.

We often like to charter a boat with a captain to take us around for a day. I assume we’ll attempt that for one day, but I see that renting the inflatable Zodiac boats is a common practice so we may do it that one day as well. Any experience with either of those?

The eastern coastline looks gorgeous. Corsica was insanely beautiful.

Thanks for the advice.

yeah, there's lots of rib boat rental places.  you would probably be fine but it depends on what you are looking for in terms of time and how much you want to see by water.  if you want to do a series of eastern/northeastern coastal beaches, you're gonna need something more substantial than a rib/zodiac.  i recommend the idea of chartering with a local captain because 1) there is more to navigate there than most think and 2) better local knowledge.  that said, there are some pretty good deals out there for doing it yourself.  it just depends on the horsepower in terms of whether you can rent it yourself.  the rib boats are obviously for anyone to rent.

we did it ourselves and got a boat in villasmius...to be honest, it has been a while but i believe we got it through https://www.pickandboat.com/en/home-english/

assuming you are starting in cagliari, it will be easy.

there isn't a coastline part of sardinia that isn't incredible.  the gulf of orosei is hard to beat.  cala goloritze on the south end of the gulf was my favorite beach.  i never wanted to leave.  it's a perfect mix of tahiti (for water), kauai (for dramatic surroundings), and the cote d'azur (for vibe) as weird as it is to say.  everyone knows costa smerelda and for good reason.  you won't be disappointed but trust me on cala goloritze...worth the effort.  don't sleep on the northwest and west part of the island as well.  more remote, fewer people, and fucking unbelievable shit man.  look in to is aruttas on the sinis peninsula and la pelosa if you are up for a trip.  pure heaven...especially if you have a boat.

it will be a great trip. 

[wild_turkey 3182]

I was thinking one day on a charter boat with a captain and I’m open to ideas for which part of the island to focus on.

I was also thinking a separate day on a zodiac boat that we cruise around ourselves. It looks like those boats are easy to get in the Gulf of Orosei, then Cala Goloritze is reachable from there. It has been at the top of my list since we first started thinking about Sardinia.

I’m not a fan of any type of shared group tour so those activities are off the list.

Also bought some Cannonau vino to help with the planning.

[dieucla98 2942]

Very curious to hear the trip report from this vacation. We're throwing around taking the kids to Italy next summer and Rome -> Sardinia is one of the options.

[sidis 9832]

17 hours ago, wild_turkey said:

I was thinking one day on a charter boat with a captain and I’m open to ideas for which part of the island to focus on.

I was also thinking a separate day on a zodiac boat that we cruise around ourselves. It looks like those boats are easy to get in the Gulf of Orosei, then Cala Goloritze is reachable from there. It has been at the top of my list since we first started thinking about Sardinia.

I’m not a fan of any type of shared group tour so those activities are off the list.

Also bought some Cannonau vino to help with the planning.

i think i misconstrued something earlier.  that's the right plan.  assuming you start in cagliari, i would spend a day there, then take a day to drive to orosei (which takes like an hour and a half max straight but there are solid stops along the way) and spend a couple of days boating there.  cala goloritze, cala fuili, cala luna.  if you want a change of pace, i would drive to the northwest and base out of sassari and check out the parks and beaches up there as well.  sassari will feel a little bit closer to being on mainland italy.  beautiful piazze everywhere and probably the best and most native food experience on the island.  very close to la pelosa which is worth checking out as a contrast to orosei and for people watching.  depending on what time of year though, it can get a bit packed.  in my opinion, a stop at san giovanni di sinis on the way back south is worth it as well.

 

1 hour ago, dieucla98 said:

Very curious to hear the trip report from this vacation. We're throwing around taking the kids to Italy next summer and Rome -> Sardinia is one of the options.

if your kids are not at least teenagers, i would leave them at home.

[texasdago 7580]

So, have not been to Sardegna even though my cousin has an apartment there that he has offered up before.  It looks amazing and we eventually need to take him up on it.  For context, this is the area below.  Now, you would think, "wait, dago, why haven't you gone there in the summer?  Look at that water".  Well, yes, we would have a place to stay but everything else can be painfully expensive at the beach.   One of these days we'll do it.  The water is incredible.  

Oh... for those who say there are no sandy beaches in Italy, here is Exhibit #262

 

[sidis 9832]

@wild_turkey, i was talking to someone about sardinia this morning and it made me think of this thread...did you book your trip for september?

[tigol 2404]

I think Bourdain’s ex wife is from there. There was an episode about it if you can find it.

[wild_turkey 3182]

[mention=173]wild_turkey[/mention], i was talking to someone about sardinia this morning and it made me think of this thread...did you book your trip for september?

Yeah, somewhat. I booked 2 hotels, one in Alghero in the northwest and one in Porto Rotondo near Costa Smeralda.

We decided to skip Cagliari and the southern part of the island due to only having a week, and we are most interested in the eastern coast with its dramatic cliffs and various beaches. We can hopefully charter a boat up the the Maddalena archipelago as well.

I need to quit procrastinating and book flights.

[wild_turkey 3182]

I think Bourdain’s ex wife is from there. There was an episode about it if you can find it.

Yes, we did watch it. It gives a glimpse of the food culture but his specific recommendations are now out of date. Still a little helpful though. Love Bourdain so I’ll take any advice he ever gave.

[wild_turkey 3182]

So, recently got back from Sardegna/Sardinia and overall loved it. Thanks to sidis for the planning advice. We flew DFW to Paris, stayed one night there, had a nice dinner at Frenchie, then a short flight the following day from Paris to Olbia (Costa Smeralda).

For the first 2 nights, we drove from Olbia over to Alghero, about a 2 hour drive but mostly scenic and easy. The hotel we picked for Alghero was not great. Bare minimum amenities and an extremely hard bed, even by Euro standards. We picked it last minute when options were slim, so perhaps it was the best thing remaining, but at least it was only 2 nights.

There is some cool stuff near Alghero, and the old town of Alghero is a medieval city now filled with restaurants and shops, similar to Dubrovnik or Bonifacio. We enjoyed walking around there and we had an excellent dinner at a place called La Saletta that we thought was deserving of a Michelin star.



We also visited a tiny little beach called Dragunara, where apparently there was an unwritten rule that bikini tops were prohibited, and the little cafe served good casual Italian fare. Nice place to sit and drink Ichnusa and Vermentino, go snorkeling, and let the wife even out her tan lines.



We hit a small rough patch after that. As we made the drive back to the east side of the island, we made plans to visit Spiaggia La Pelosa which looks incredible in pictures. Had to purchase tickets in advance because they cap the number of daily visitors. On that day, the weather turned cooler and it became extremely windy, so the beach was not great. We snapped a couple of pics and then left.




We drove on to Castelsardo which was described as being similar to Positano. Long drive to get there, and to put it politely, we did not feel that comparison is fair to Positano. So we left. Spent a lot of time in the car that day with bad weather. Kind of the low point.

Things greatly improved from that point onward. Second hotel was fantastic - Sulia House Porto Rotondo. Part of the Hilton Curio collection which gave us pause because we normally avoid chain hotels, but this was a really great boutique hotel with great staff, a bar, spa, gym, pool, etc. Nice rooms, comfy beds, and good views.

Beaches on the east side of the island are plentiful, water is beautiful, calm, turquoise and clear. This was the view from Spiaggia Dottore, but the coastline is covered in similar spots. Some have no facilities so pack your own stuff, others have beach clubs and bars/cafes.





The highlight for me was the day we drove down to Cala Gonone and rented a boat. There are lots of companies that will rent you a 5-6m rib boat, no license required. You can then take it down the coast and see various beaches that are only accessible by boat, with the 2 standouts being Cala Goloritze and Cala Luna. There’s essentially a zone along the coast where these boats are allowed, and the outfitters have people out there making sure everyone is okay. Surprisingly easy and the beaches and geography of the Baunei Coast are unlike any I’ve been to.







And finally, we went up north to Palau where we booked a private boat tour of the La Maddalena archipelago, a group of tiny islands located between Sardinia and Corsica. We used a company called Sardinia Island Tours which I highly recommend. The main island of La Maddalena has a small town on it which seems like a fun place to kill a couple of days. We walked around town eating gelato and drinking wine before getting back on the boat.





If you’re interested in going to Sardinia, just keep in mind that it is somewhat different from mainland Italy. Traditional Italian pasta is available but does not fill out the average menu. They have a local pasta called fregola, they serve a fair amount of risotto and gnocchi, lots of seafood, and lots of cured meats. Their predominant wines are Cannonau (grenache) and Vermentino, and their digestive is Mirto in place of limoncello, which I found enjoyable. The local beer is Ichnusa, and even though I prefer IPAs, it was rather drinkable.

I would be remiss if I didn’t recommend an agriturismo for dinner. Think of it as a hyper local farm-to-table dining establishment. We had no idea what to expect, but at the recommendation of our hotel concierge, we went to Lu Branu. When we arrived and were seated, there was already bread and a pitcher of Cannonau wine on the table waiting for us. There was no menu, but we were bombarded with an assortment of meats, cheeses, olives, beans, multiple pastas, more meats, salad, more wine, desserts, coffee, and liquor - mirto and goat’s milk liquor. It was fantastic, more food than we would normally eat at Thanksgiving, and a grand total of 80 Euro for both of us. It was a bucket list experience I didn’t know I had.

Finally, we discovered that Sardinia is one of the world’s five Blue Zones, regions where there are longer life expectancies and higher rates of people living to be 100 years old. This is multifactorial but can be attributed to physical activity, eating a diet that is mostly plant-based (although not entirely vegetarian), high amounts of olive oil (6 tbsp per day), and drinking Cannonau wine. Apparently, the Grenache grape grown in Sardinia has a thicker skin that produces a wine with significantly higher antioxidants than most red wines, which they drink 2 glasses a day on average and is credited with helping their longevity. I struggle with the plant-based diet, but I can easily get behind the daily Cannonau lifestyle.

We intend to return sooner rather than later. We loved Sardinia this year, we loved Corsica last year, there is plenty more to do on both islands, and the next logical step is to plan a return trip that splits time between the two. I now have a boat guy who can shuttle us back and forth.

[texasdago 7580]

Really need to go there at some point.  We have access to a small apartment on the Costa Smeralda through my family.  Don't think we would have to pay for it but just haven't pulled the trigger on it, yet, because four of us in that little place might be a bit maddening.  Not sure.  The pictures they post always look amazing... expensive but amazing!  That water... I could swim in it all day.  How was the water temperature? 

[sidis 9832]

On 9/9/2023 at 1:11 AM, wild_turkey said:

So, recently got back from Sardegna/Sardinia and overall loved it. Thanks to sidis for the planning advice. We flew DFW to Paris, stayed one night there, had a nice dinner at Frenchie, then a short flight the following day from Paris to Olbia (Costa Smeralda).

For the first 2 nights, we drove from Olbia over to Alghero, about a 2 hour drive but mostly scenic and easy. The hotel we picked for Alghero was not great. Bare minimum amenities and an extremely hard bed, even by Euro standards. We picked it last minute when options were slim, so perhaps it was the best thing remaining, but at least it was only 2 nights.

There is some cool stuff near Alghero, and the old town of Alghero is a medieval city now filled with restaurants and shops, similar to Dubrovnik or Bonifacio. We enjoyed walking around there and we had an excellent dinner at a place called La Saletta that we thought was deserving of a Michelin star.



We also visited a tiny little beach called Dragunara, where apparently there was an unwritten rule that bikini tops were prohibited, and the little cafe served good casual Italian fare. Nice place to sit and drink Ichnusa and Vermentino, go snorkeling, and let the wife even out her tan lines.



We hit a small rough patch after that. As we made the drive back to the east side of the island, we made plans to visit Spiaggia La Pelosa which looks incredible in pictures. Had to purchase tickets in advance because they cap the number of daily visitors. On that day, the weather turned cooler and it became extremely windy, so the beach was not great. We snapped a couple of pics and then left.




We drove on to Castelsardo which was described as being similar to Positano. Long drive to get there, and to put it politely, we did not feel that comparison is fair to Positano. So we left. Spent a lot of time in the car that day with bad weather. Kind of the low point.

Things greatly improved from that point onward. Second hotel was fantastic - Sulia House Porto Rotondo. Part of the Hilton Curio collection which gave us pause because we normally avoid chain hotels, but this was a really great boutique hotel with great staff, a bar, spa, gym, pool, etc. Nice rooms, comfy beds, and good views.

Beaches on the east side of the island are plentiful, water is beautiful, calm, turquoise and clear. This was the view from Spiaggia Dottore, but the coastline is covered in similar spots. Some have no facilities so pack your own stuff, others have beach clubs and bars/cafes.





The highlight for me was the day we drove down to Cala Gonone and rented a boat. There are lots of companies that will rent you a 5-6m rib boat, no license required. You can then take it down the coast and see various beaches that are only accessible by boat, with the 2 standouts being Cala Goloritze and Cala Luna. There’s essentially a zone along the coast where these boats are allowed, and the outfitters have people out there making sure everyone is okay. Surprisingly easy and the beaches and geography of the Baunei Coast are unlike any I’ve been to.







And finally, we went up north to Palau where we booked a private boat tour of the La Maddalena archipelago, a group of tiny islands located between Sardinia and Corsica. We used a company called Sardinia Island Tours which I highly recommend. The main island of La Maddalena has a small town on it which seems like a fun place to kill a couple of days. We walked around town eating gelato and drinking wine before getting back on the boat.





If you’re interested in going to Sardinia, just keep in mind that it is somewhat different from mainland Italy. Traditional Italian pasta is available but does not fill out the average menu. They have a local pasta called fregola, they serve a fair amount of risotto and gnocchi, lots of seafood, and lots of cured meats. Their predominant wines are Cannonau (grenache) and Vermentino, and their digestive is Mirto in place of limoncello, which I found enjoyable. The local beer is Ichnusa, and even though I prefer IPAs, it was rather drinkable.

I would be remiss if I didn’t recommend an agriturismo for dinner. Think of it as a hyper local farm-to-table dining establishment. We had no idea what to expect, but at the recommendation of our hotel concierge, we went to Lu Branu. When we arrived and were seated, there was already bread and a pitcher of Cannonau wine on the table waiting for us. There was no menu, but we were bombarded with an assortment of meats, cheeses, olives, beans, multiple pastas, more meats, salad, more wine, desserts, coffee, and liquor - mirto and goat’s milk liquor. It was fantastic, more food than we would normally eat at Thanksgiving, and a grand total of 80 Euro for both of us. It was a bucket list experience I didn’t know I had.

Finally, we discovered that Sardinia is one of the world’s five Blue Zones, regions where there are longer life expectancies and higher rates of people living to be 100 years old. This is multifactorial but can be attributed to physical activity, eating a diet that is mostly plant-based (although not entirely vegetarian), high amounts of olive oil (6 tbsp per day), and drinking Cannonau wine. Apparently, the Grenache grape grown in Sardinia has a thicker skin that produces a wine with significantly higher antioxidants than most red wines, which they drink 2 glasses a day on average and is credited with helping their longevity. I struggle with the plant-based diet, but I can easily get behind the daily Cannonau lifestyle.

We intend to return sooner rather than later. We loved Sardinia this year, we loved Corsica last year, there is plenty more to do on both islands, and the next logical step is to plan a return trip that splits time between the two. I now have a boat guy who can shuttle us back and forth.

god damnit, how the hell did i miss this post for four months?

great trip report.  very disappointed to hear that la pelosa was a miss that day...it's usually quite nice and we loved it when we were there.  but not surprised at all to hear you enjoyed cala goloritze and cala luna...and the overall east side/northeast side.  as i said above, never wanted to leave the east side cale.  they are extraordinary.  thanks for posting the follow up.

Edited January 17 by sidis