People say Sardinia is Europe’s Maldives. I can’t confirm nor deny, since I’ve never visited the latter place. But I can definitely assure you I saw the most beautiful European beaches in Sardinia. Trust me, throughout my life; I’ve seen a lot of them. This trip to Sardinia was slightly different – less driving and sightseeing, more lazily laying on various beaches. After all, Sardinia is about crystal clear sea and sun, right? And after spending a week there, I can say – I loved Sardinia, and I would like to go back again. Much left unseen and unexplored!
Best time to travel to Sardinia
The tourism peak season in Sardinia is in August. There is that phenomenon that states all Italians go on vacation in the same summer month and scatter throughout the country looking for the perfect beaches. On top of that, add all the foreign tourists dreaming of seeing the European version of the Maldives with their own eyes… You see where I am going. In August, and in general, in summer months, Sardinia is crowded, and prices are crazy. Therefore, it is best to visit in September when the tourist season is fading away but the sea is still warm.
Our trip to Sardinia started in mid-September and lasted for 8 full days, plus two traveling days. To be entirely fair, the weather wasn’t perfect all the time. There were some cloudy and very windy days, but that didn’t stop us from going from one beach to another. The daytime temperature was about 23-25 C (75F for our American readers), and towards the end of our stay, it rose over 30 C (86F). On some evenings, we needed to put on a light sweater.
Sardinia is the second biggest Mediterranean island, and it was tough to make a travel itinerary. There are just too many things to see there! Once I understood that it would be impossible to see the whole island in one week, I shifted my focus to Sardinia’s Eastside.
Day 1: Villasimius
On our first morning, we took our rental car from Cagliari-Elmas airport (car rental company “Noleggiare“). Our first stop was at a…shopping mall. We grabbed some snacks, a bunch of water, and a beach umbrella from Decathlon for 15 eur. When renting two beach chairs and an umbrella usually costs somewhere between 30-40 eur per day, we decided to save some money in this way, and then we hit the road.
We arrived at the Porto Giunco parking lot (5 eur fee per day) and took a short walk to our first beach. It was cloudy; therefore, we didn’t even bring our swimsuits and beach towels. Instead, we took a short hike up the hill towards the Tower of Porto Giunco. From there, we could see a splendid panorama and primarily empty beaches.
Later we checked into a cute hotel called “I Lentischi” just 700 meters away from another beach. We ended our evening in the restaurant “Su Forreddu” eating a terrific seafood salad and pasta, accompanied by a glass of excellent Italian house wine.
Day 2: Cala Goloritzé and Nuoro
Cala Goloritzé
Cala Goloritzé is a breathtaking (literally and figuratively) beach not far from the town of Brunei. This place is accessible via a 3 km hike one way. We parked our car, paid the 6 eur per person entrance fee, and started hiking down the hill. Keep in mind that the number of people allowed on that beach is limited. Therefore it is best to book your entrance in advance via a mobile app. We didn’t know that before arrival, but we were lucky to access it anyway since there were fewer tourists in September.
It is obligatory to wear closed shoes. Hiking shoes would be the best, but my simple Nike sneakers did the trick. The terrain was highly uneven, and we had to move extremely cautiously. Despite being careful, I still managed to trip twice. Once, I slightly twisted my ankle (no big deal). The second time, to stop me from rolling down the hill, I knelt on my right knee. It was decorated with an enormous bruise for the rest of the holiday. So yeah, good shoes are a must. And water. Lots of water.
Our hike down took just a bit more than 1 hour, but on the way back, it took more than 2. Going up the hill was very exhausting, and we took multiple complaint breaks. On top of that, several mountain goats were quickly jumping from one rock to another, just reminding us how badly we were out of shape.
About the Cala Goloritzé itself, there is not much to say. Pictures speak for themselves. Once there, don’t stop on the main beach where all the people gather. Turn left, and you may find a tiny empty private beach that we claimed for ourselves.
Nuoro
Nuoro is the 6th largest city in Sardinia, with a population of 36k. We didn’t have big plans for this place. Just spend a night in the “Hotel Sandalia” have a nice dinner, walk down the main street of Corso Garibaldi where the nightlife is boiling and taste filindeu – one of the rarest types of pasta in the world.
I did my homework and found three restaurants where they serve filindeu. Even though it is a specialty of Nuoro, not all places serve it. Long story short: we went to the restaurant “Il Rifugio,” but we couldn’t get a table. On top of that, the staff was very rude, so we decided to go somewhere else. Luckily, we got a restaurant recommendation from a random Lithuanian who we met right on the street. This is how we ended up in “Latteria Zia Marianna” which opened in 1936. And that was an excellent experience.
For starters, we ordered a small local cheese and salami tray with green olives. For the main course, one of us chose filindeu, and another one minestra’e merca – their traditional cheese soup, adding some wine, of course. Eating filindeu felt nothing like traditional Italian cuisine. Although it is considered a type of pasta, it is instead a soup with pasta thinner than angel hair (a type of pasta in the US). I firmly believe that Italians suck in preparing soups but that minestra’e merca was great. Overall, I could say that it wasn’t the most delicious Italian dish I ever had, but it is something to try at least once. No regrets.
Day 3: San Teodoro
On our third day in the morning, we went to Spiaggia La Cinta – another beautiful sandy beach with crystal clear and shallow water. The first 30 minutes were gorgeous. It was sunny, and after setting up our umbrella and towels, we jumped straight into the water. And then clouds came, and the wind kicked up. One strong wind gust pulled out our umbrella and blew it away. I chased it, praying that it wouldn’t hurt anyone. Finally, our naughty umbrella stopped when it hit a random couple chilling on their beach chairs. I apologized a million times and decided that it was about time to leave this beach.
Just 10 km away from Spiaggia La Cinta, there was “Hotel Don Diego.” The fanciest stay during our time in Sardinia. This hotel occupied an extensive territory, had its own private beach, pool, restaurant, bar, and spa. But most importantly, the weather there was great! Right after check-in, we hurried to the private beach and enjoyed the rest of our day.
In the evening we had a traditional Sardinian dinner in their restaurant. For 52 eur per person (a bottle of wine included), we had an opportunity to try multiple starters, pasta, main course (baked baby pig already chopped in pieces), and sweets. I couldn’t say that it was a mind-blowing dinner. The environment and staff were great, though. I give it 7/10.
Day 4: Spiaggia Capriccioli and Palau
Another day, another beach. This time we drove to Spiaggia Capriccioli, which was on the way to our final destination – the port city of Palau. Spiaggia Capriccioli was so beautiful, but the day was so windy (although still sunny) that we could barely hear each other if we stood more than 2 meters apart. The worst part was that the waves were too big, and I swim like a rock. We stayed there for an hour and took the scenic route to Palau.
We checked into our next accommodation, “Grand Hotel Palau” rested a bit, and went to explore this small town. Then we took a stroll by the coast, stopped in some jewelry stores to check traditional Sardinian jewelry, and finished our evening at “Ristorante Pasta e Vino.” We ordered typical Sardinian food called fregola (small pasta balls with seafood) and a very greasy pasta with sausage that we couldn’t finish.
Day 5: The Maddalena Archipelago
We booked our boat tour to Maddalena islands with “Elena Tour Navigazioni.” It was 45 eur per person. It is possible to order the same tour on TripAdvisor, but the price is slightly higher. Also, tourists can have lunch on board (ordering online with a boat tour ticket or simply buying on tour day). There was also a minibar with light alcoholic drinks, soft drinks, and snacks.
Boarding started at 09:30 am, but we arrived there earlier and did not regret it. Since we arrived there just after 9 am, we occupied great seats on the second floor of the boat. Seats were not assigned, so everything worked on a “first come, first served” basis. People who arrived later had trouble finding good spots. Anyway, it was a hop-on-of-off tour, so every time we came back to the boat, we needed to fight for good seats again.
We left the port of Palau at 10 am and in 10 minutes reached our first stop – the town of La Maddalena on the island of the same name. We spent 90 min walking around the tiny old town and checking local souvenir shops—nothing exceptional, in fact.
Our second stop was on the island of Spargi. We anchored near Corsara beach for a bit more than 1 hour of beach time. The beach was a bit crowded but gorgeous. A lot of visitors were snorkeling.
Our third stop was just 30 minutes in the natural pools near Budelli island. The crew took out ladders and lowered them straight into the water so people could easily access these natural pools. As mentioned above, I am a terrible swimmer, so I decided to stay on board. However, seeing enthusiastic people diving in the most transparent water I’ve seen in my life made me a bit sad. But oh well, at least I could enjoy fantastic views.
Our last stop was at the island of Santa Maria. We spent 2 hours at the beach there, which was also cute. Many tourists were lying on their beach towels. However, the beach didn’t seem overcrowded. If you’re lucky enough to disembark one of the first boats, you’ll get a prime spot on the beach.
At 5:30 pm, we came back to Palau. In conclusion, I can say that the whole day trip, for 45 eur, was a good deal. Because of Covid-19, the passenger capacity was reduced by nearly 50%, and we didn’t feel like Sardinian sardines in a can. Of course, you can always choose a private or small boat tour to Maddalena islands, but we’re talking about much higher prices if you go this route.
Day 6: Castelsardo
On our way to Castelsardo, we stopped at Baia Delle Mimose beach. It is a roughly 20 km long sandy stretch divided into several different beaches. The story was almost the same as on our 3rd day of the trip. It was a warm sunny day, but the wind was just too strong. Our beach umbrella was carried away again. This time, luckily, it stopped itself without hitting anyone. We spent roughly 3 hours in Baia Delle Mimose and drove straight to Castelsardo.
The small town of Castelsardo was my favorite city-like place in Sardinia. It easily trumped Nuoro, Pula, Sassari, or even the capital of Sardinia – Cagliari. We stayed at the “Meli Hotel” right next to the sea. The hotel had a lovely terrace with tables and even beach chairs from where we could see a beautiful view of the town.
We took our time and slowly walked around this beautiful place. The castle of Doria sits upon the hill, but it is definitely worth the climb. There we wandered in an Italian-like maze of narrow streets until we bumped into the Cathedral of Sant’Antonio Abate. We had a die-for risotto at the trattoria “Ajo” in the evening, and we ended our evening with a glass of Sardinian spritz (which was super bitter!) at the lounge bar “View.”
Day 7: Spiaggia La Pelosa and Sassari
Spiaggia La Pelosa
OK, this one was a bit of a tricky location. We arrived at Pelosa beach and immediately noticed how popular it was. If everywhere parking lots near beaches were maybe halfway full, that place was nearly filled. The parking price was 1,5 eur/h. In the summertime, this price increases to 2,5 eur/h.
When we arrived at this beach entrance, we learned that we first needed to go to the visitors center and buy a ticket for 3,5 eur per person. Additionally, tourists were not allowed to lay their beach towels directly on the sand. Everyone must purchase a bamboo-like mat to place it under a towel. There were tons of Africans selling these mats on the spot. The average price was 5 eur for one. So, in the end, a person needed to pay 8,5 eur just to enter that super-mega-extra famous beach.
For some unknown reason, we decided not to do that. 8,5 eur wasn’t something overpriced, but we got somehow annoyed with the fact that there is so much hassle to enter another Sardinian beach. So we decided to find another place, and oh boy did we find it! Just a few hundred meters away, there was La Pelosetta beach. Not less beautiful, just smaller and almost empty. We rented two beach chairs, with an umbrella, for 15 eur daily. What a deal! I could barely believe that and felt like I won the lottery.
What did not feel like winning the lottery was the weather. Again, it was sunny and super hot away from the water, but once we were on the beach, the wind was crazy intense. We had a couple of hours of our tanning time and hit the road to Sassari.
Sassari
In Sassari, we stayed in the “Hotel Grazia Deledda,” not too far from the city center. To be completely honest, Sassari caused me zero emotions. Yeah, there was a beautiful cathedral, like thousands of others in Italy, some narrow streets to wander around, but that was it. In the evening, when we needed to walk back from a restaurant to our hotel, I felt an unexplainable uneasy feeling. No, no one attacked or harassed us there, but it just didn’t felt right. I traveled all over Italy multiple times and that time in Sassari was the first time I felt this way.
In the evening we had dinner in a newish restaurant a bit out of the city center called Sobremesa. There weren’t a lot of reviews about it, but I got seduced by a 20% discount for the whole check (including drinks!) on TheFork website, so we decided to take this risk. And we didn’t regret it. The food was delicious. The variety of seafood appetizers and a grilled octopus brightened my evening.
Day 8: Cagliari
We spent our last day in Cagliari. What to say about it? Well… It was OK. Bastione of Saint Remy is certainly a highlight of this Sardinian city. Then we strolled around the old town, visited Elephant Tower (Torre dell’Elefante), and got some gelato. Walking in Cagliari made me think that it’s true that Sardinia is about nature, not about cities.
In the evening we ate in the all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant “Kyoto“. If you also like to put yourself into a food coma, this is an optimal place to accomplish your objective. For 26 eur per person, you can eat sushi and all kinds of raw fish, salad, and much more. My friend and I overestimated the level of our hunger and the size of our stomachs. Swallowing the last bites of food was almost torture.
Best things to do in Sardinia in a nutshell
We spent 8 full days in Sardinia, plus 2 traveling days in mid-September. Our primary goal was to visit marvelous beaches; therefore, we skipped all museums and other historic-archeologic places. A rental car is the best way to travel around the island. The gas prices are high there. In that period, it varied from 1,62 eur/l all the way to 1,79 eur/l. It is a good idea to rent a small, maneuverable car. In 8 days, we drove nearly 1000 km, and we needed two full gas tanks of fuel for our small Renault Clio.
Sardinia’s beauty hides in its nature, not cities. So my advice would be not to spend too much time in urban areas. It would be too difficult to choose my personal TOP 3 of the visited beaches. All of them were stunning in their own way. Well, but if you insist… It would be Cala Goloritzé, natural pools near Budelli island, and La Pelosa.
I hope you love seafood as much as we do because this is the main thing to eat there. Don’t forget to try filindeu if you’ll be around Nuoro and their traditional fregola, which you can find everywhere.
I know how much people love numbers. This time I calculated all our expenses. We spent around 1000 eur per person, including plane tickets, accommodation, car rental and gas, food and other small personal expenses. I think it was a pretty good deal for 8 days in fantastic Sardinia!
