What's In This Article
WHEN & HOW GETTING THERE
When to go: the best time to visit Sardinia is the shoulder months of April to May and September to October. It’s still warm enough to swim in the sea and infinitely better for taking to the country’s biking and hiking trails.
How getting here: you can fly into the island’s capital, Cagliari, and land at the Aeroporto-Cagliari-Elmas, four miles from the city center (from Italy you can book a ferry and bring your own car). The best way to get around Sardinia is by car. It’s the easiest way to hit the places on your itinerary, though it’s not the cheapest option. Using public transportation will save you some cash, but the trains and buses aren’t the most reliable or efficient ways of traveling around the island.
CAGLIARI
The best places to see in Cagliari have been built and lived by Phoenicians, Romans, Pisans, and Spanish as well as Piedmont population. The main points of interest are located at a short distance from each other and can be visited in just a weekend spent in South Sardinia.
Don’t miss the Molentargius Park or Molentargius Saline Natural Regional Park. It covers a surface of 1600 hectares where live different species of birds and plants. The guest star of the park is the famous pink flamingo!
Poetto is the Cagliari’s main beach, a coastline of 8 Km. It starts from Marina Piccola (a touristic port and promenade) to the town of Quartu S.Elena. The beach is characterized by the Sella del Diavolo (Devil’s Saddle), a uniquely-shaped cliff that hangs over it. Poetto is a kind of unofficial district where locals usually go throughout the year for outdoor sports, swimming and spend their summer evenings.
VILLASIMIUS & CAPO CARBONARA
Villasimius is the ‘pearl’ of the south, the kind of tourist resort every vacationer dreams of, with a crown of beaches interspersed with inlets and the Capo Carbonara promontory. Along the panoramic road starting at Capo Boi, the southernmost point of the protected Marine Area, are the wonderful beaches of Porto sa Ruxi, Campus and Campulongu, all blessed with gorgeous blue seas and white sandy beaches framed by Mediterranean brush. Not far from town is the unusual spiaggia del Riso beach, remarkable for its rice-shaped sand. On the eastern side are other breathtaking gems of the seashore, starting with Porto Giunco, and behind it the stagno di Notteri marshes where pink flamingos and other rare species of wild birds nest. From high up on the promontory that looks out over it, home to an Aragonese tower built by Spaniards, is an amazing panorama with will linger in your mind, your heart and your pictures for ever. Further north are the beaches of Simius and Traias, followed by Rio Trottu and Manunzas. From Capo Boi to the Island of Serpentara, the isola dei Cavoli and shoals that are the resting places of shipwrecks from all eras, the Capo Carbonara marine reserve is rich in underwater treasures: dense schools of fish move like weightless clouds over meadows of gently waving sea grass, over bastions, into valleys and channels coloured yellow by sea daisies and red by sea fans.
Back on land you can go shopping, enjoy delicious seafood, visit museums and pick over archaeological sites. Go see remains dating to the Nuragic age, tour the Accu Is Traias (I century BCE – III century CE) and Cruccuris (I-II CE) necropoles near the roman baths of Santa Maria, and the Cuccureddus site, an early Phoenician-Punic settlement later taken over by the Romans. And don’t miss the archaeological museum, with displays about the treasures that lie at the bottom of the sea. One of these, the statue of the Virgin of the Sea, lies on the bottom near Cavoli island. It was sculpted by Pinuccio Sciola and every year in late July they have the Festa della Madonna del Naufrago to commemorate those who lost their lives at sea with a procession that leads to the water’s edge.
CHIA
The turquoise sea and peach coloured sand is famous around here and a big reason to visit. There are sand dunes too, dotted with juniper trees. Chia Beach is also famed for its wildlife spotting opportunities, is perfect for families with children. Behind the beach, you’ll find a picturesque lagoon where pink flamingos come to breed. Sometimes, dolphins head to Chia Beach and can be seen swimming out to sea. And there’s more. The Torre di Chia is a fabulous viewpoint worth the walk, and ideal for some souvenir photos. You can also walk out to the island at Su Giudeu from this bay and enjoy the beach.
TEULADA & PORTO PINO
Teulada may not be as popular as other cities in Italy, but don’t let that fool you. Teulada is a smaller but beautiful upcoming tourist destination that is worth a visit. You will be surprised by some of the unique things to do and places you can explore at this hidden destination.
You might wish to revisit it someday again, to take a break and relax at Teulada.
You can start your trip visiting the Church of Santa Catalina, a historic building dating from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In addition to being a religious building, it was also built and used as a fortress to safeguard and give shelter to the Teuladians in the event of a pirate invasion. The building consists of two different parts, the primitive or original (sixteenth century) and the other extensions that the church suffered during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, mainly. The primitive part of the building consists of a single-nave temple that faces east and has four sections, is formed by altars between buttresses and a large semicircular vault. The first of its extensions, dating from the 17th century, it is shaped as a Latin cross; the altar is oriented towards the west.Â
In the village are narrow streets leading upwards and into squares adorned with sculptures, the legacy of the international artistic symposium ‘Scultura e Pietra’ (‘Sculpture and Stone’). Held in August is the Su Sonatori, a fair dedicated to folk instruments. The artisan tradition lives on, from embroidered garments and carpets to ceramic, leather and cork products. Rising up in the town is the parish church of the Beata Vergine del Carmelo (17th century), where an art museum has been established. The patron saint is celebrated in mid-July, along with Sagra del Pescatore (fisherman’s food fair) with a procession by the sea, tastings and shows. To be admired before the neoclassical façade of the church is the 17th-century baronial house of the Sanjust feudal lords of the town, today the exhibition hall and home to the August Sagra di Pane e Formaggio (bread and cheese festival). Also worth visiting is the late-Gothic church of San Francesco.
We rent a boat from Porto Tramatzu and visited all the beaches that are not reachable by land (located in a military zone that is not always accessible). Nearby Porto Tramatzu is the beautiful s’Ottixeddu (called ‘degli americani’ – ‘of the Americans’), which a limited number of visitors may explore during the summer. Portu Pirastu and Porto Scudo are amazing..the water and peace is incredible! Another corner of paradise inside the military base is Cala Zafferano, accessible by sea in July and August. The north-west is yet another gem, is Arenas Biancas, in the southern part of Porto Pino – along the rest of Sant’Anna Arresi – whose dunes are accessible by a road inside the polygon.Â
SANT’ ANTIOCO
Sant’Antioco is quite a big and windy island and offers a big variety of beaches and hidden coves. Depending on the winds, you would learn what side of the island to choose to enjoy your day at the beach. I would recommend Maladroxia beach and Coaquaddus (second beach). Even Portixeddu is sheltered from this wind. If Sirocco, choose Calasetta side, Spiaggia Grande, Le Saline and even Sotto Torre are sheltered by this wind.
WHERE TO SLEEP
COSTIERA SORRENTINA & AMALFITANA
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