Sardinia travel guide: everything you need to know — Times Travel (2024)

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Decorated with a garland of golden sand, Italy’s second-largest island is a beach paradise with options for every sunseeker. While flashy resorts attract superyachts and poolside posturing, there’s still enough space to find quiet corners and marine parks suitable for snorkelling and scuba dives. Exotic in look and feel, the coastline is awash with colour: waters swirl with shades of indigo and skies are streaked by coral sunsets and flocks of resident pink flamingos that nest in salty lagoons.

Although often overlooked, inland areas are equally intriguing. Roads spiral through mountain villages, juniper forests and limestone gorges, laced by hiking trails and mountain-bike routes. These cliffs and valleys provided a haven for early civilisations, reputed to be some of the oldest in this part of the world. A strategic crossroads floating almost in the middle of the Med, Sardinia was visited by Romans, Phoenicians and megalithic people, whose tombs and temples remain.

Even today, mystery surrounds an ageing population of centenarians, who make up one of the world’s five Blue Zones. Fiercely independent and patriotic, “Sardos” still stage traditional and religious festivals. Their slower, time-warped pace of life is difficult to resist.

Main photo: Bosa, Sardinia (Getty Images)

Waters swirl with shades of indigo and skies are streaked by coral sunsets

There are more than 200 beautiful beaches to choose from in Sardinia, ranging from hidden coves to boulder-strewn bays and strips of silky, soft white sand. Highlights include Stintino’s jewel-like La Pelosa on the west coast and Cagliari’s 9km-long Poetto beach in the south.

Rivalling the Indian Ocean with its turquoise colours, the northeast coast is especially scenic. Take a boat ride around the Maddalena* archipelago’s geomarine national park, cruising past Budelli’s protected pink-sand beach (now off-limits to visitors) and wild island Caprera, where Garibaldi retired. Further south on the Costa Smeralda, luxury yachts bring A-listers to the resort towns of Porto Rotondo and Porto Cervo, where swimwear is strictly reserved for showing off rather than getting wet.

Beyond her dazzling coastline, Sardinia’s rugged, mountainous interior presents excellent hiking opportunities. Monte Nieddu*, inland from San Teodoro, rewards walkers with a series of natural pools and waterfalls, while serious climbers should tackle the Gola su Gorropu, one of the deepest gorges in Europe.

This part of the island provided refuge for ancient civilisations, whose presence can be traced back more than 5,000 years. Mystifying and unexplained ruins are found all over the island, including the Unesco world heritage centre Su Nuraxi di Barumini*, a complex of Bronze Age conical stone watchtowers known as “nuraghi”. An even older archaeological site worth seeking out is Pranu Mutteddu, near Goni, in the south of the island, where tombs known as fairy houses are hidden in the cork forests. Also down south, Sant’Antioco island has a unique network of Christian catacombs.

There’s a range of accommodation options on this beautiful island to match all pockets and preferences — from classy riviera-style resorts along the Costa Smeralda, to family-run mountain village guesthouses and rural agriturismo.

Modern laws make it impossible to build new properties directly on the precious coastline, giving rise to a super league of historic hotels that have withstood the test of time. A celebrity magnet since the 1960s, Cala di Volpe* in Puerto Cuervo claims the crown, along with the footballer favourite and sporting academy Forte Village*, close to island capital, Cagliari, in the south of Sardinia.

Harnessing the restorative power of the Mediterranean Sea, thalassotherapy spas are often attached to hotels; find a high concentration in the northeast Gallura region, including the five family-run Delphina properties. It is worth noting that most seaside resorts are seasonal, closing from November to April/May.

Inland, affordable guest houses, family hotels and agriturismo are the best options. Many serve home-cooked food in their restaurants and stays give an insight into local living. In touristic towns and cities such as Alghero and Cagliari, short-let self-catering apartments are also popular. For something a little special, splash out on one of the island’s superlative private villas, many of which have their own pools.

While the Sardinian flag, known as the Four Moors, proudly flies from most households, every village on the island has a distinct identity, largely defined by its cuisine. Halfway between a small pasta and giant couscous, fregola is served all over, often with clams and a saffron sauce — testimony to the island’s Middle Eastern influences. Culurgiones, a pasta dumpling filled with cheese, mint and potato, is popular in the Ogliastra region, while neighbouring Nouro lays claim to the “rarest pasta in the world”. Painstakingly slow to make, angel-haired filindeu pasta has a recipe that is shared by only a handful of elderly women.

The best seafood is served at restaurants in Alghero, the only truly traditional fishing town, in the northwest; try lobster, seafood or speciality “bottarga” — salted roe from grey mullet fish. Surprisingly, most traditional dishes have their roots inland, where most people originally settled. Heavy dishes suited to the higher altitudes include “porceddu” (roasted suckling piglet), “pecorino” (sheep’s cheese) and “salsiccia sarda” (cured sausage), rounded off with a desert of “seadas” – cheese pastries fried in olive oil and glazed with honey.

This diet is one of the explanations given for the high number of centenarians in Sardinia, who also swear by a daily glass of local full-bodied cannonau red wine. Other homemade tipples include white wine vermentino, fragrant berry liqueur mirto and Ichnusa beer — patriotically enjoyed all day.

Their diet is one of the explanations given for the high number of centenarians in Sardinia

Entry to many archaeological sites is cash only and many smaller villages don’t have bank machines. During hot summer months shops close in the afternoons for siestas and reopen until midnight; inland, only bars stay open late.

Beach life is easygoing and topless bathing is acceptable, although smoking on the sand is banned. Like everywhere in Italy, families are sacred, meaning children are welcome almost everywhere. And even if elderly inhabitants might seem suspicious of outsiders, a polite “buongiorno” always breaks the ice.

Take me there

Inspired to visit Sardinia but yet to book your trip? Here are the best packages from Tui* and British Airways*.

• Discover holidays to Cagliari*
• Discover holidays to Costa Smeralda*
• Discover holidays to Alghero*
• Discover tours in Sardinia*