Sardinia Destination Guide

One Island, And The Costa Smeralda Is Only Fifty Kilometers Of It

Sardinia is the second largest island in the Mediterranean, roughly two hundred and seventy kilometers from top to bottom, and most of what is written about it describes a short stretch of the northeast coast. The Costa Smeralda was created deliberately from 1962 by a consortium led by the Aga Khan, who bought empty scrubland and built Porto Cervo and its resorts under strict architectural rules. It worked. It is also completely unrepresentative of the rest of the island, which is granite mountains, empty dune coast, a Catalan speaking town in the northwest, shepherd villages inland and thousands of Bronze Age stone towers. Knowing which Sardinia you are booking is the entire planning problem.

The planning decision: northeast, south, or the interior

The northeast is the Costa Smeralda and the Maddalena archipelago, with the highest concentration of hotels, marinas and money. The south, around Chia, Pula and Villasimius, has better sand, a longer beach coastline, far less social pressure and Cagliari as a real city forty minutes away. The east coast holds the Golfo di Orosei, a wall of limestone cliff with coves you can only reach by boat, and it is the most beautiful water on the island. The northwest gives you Alghero, Catalan in its street names and its food, plus the Capo Caccia cliffs. The interior, the Barbagia around Nuoro and Orgosolo, is the oldest and least visited part of Sardinia and is where the nuraghi are. Pick one coast and one inland day; do not attempt the loop.

Porto Cervo in August, and what the rest of the year looks like

The season is short. Most hotels open around late April or May and close in early October, and outside that window the coast is genuinely shut. June and September are the strongest months: warm water, open everything and a manageable crowd. July is busy and August is a specific phenomenon rather than simply a busy month. Porto Cervo in August is a social season, with the marina full of very large yachts, the clubs running properly and the pricing across the northeast reflecting all of it. If that is what you want, it is the best version of it in the Mediterranean. If it is not, be somewhere else on the island in August, because the effect is local and the south barely notices. Water stays swimmable into October, which is why late September is the quiet answer.

Airports, drives and how to route the week

Olbia serves the northeast and has heavy seasonal European service that thins out sharply in winter. Cagliari in the south operates year round and is the practical entry for the southern coast. Alghero covers the northwest. Ferries from Civitavecchia, Livorno and Genoa carry cars overnight if you want your own vehicle. Distances are the thing people underestimate: Olbia to Chia is close to four hours by road, and Olbia to Cagliari is not a day trip. A car is essential everywhere except a resort stay in the northeast, where you can survive on hotel boats and drivers. Corsica is a short ferry hop north from Santa Teresa Gallura if you want two islands.

Stay strategy on both ends of the island

In the northeast, Hotel Cala di Volpe is the original and still the reference, with Hotel Romazzino and Hotel Pitrizza on the same bays and Cervo Hotel in Porto Cervo itself at the center of the social side. 7Pines Sardinia sits further out with a quieter position, and Petra Segreta is the small inland option above San Pantaleo. In the south, Forte Village at Santa Margherita di Pula is a large multi hotel complex built for families and is exceptionally good at that job, while Conrad Chia Laguna sits above the best beach on the island. Inland, Su Gologone near Oliena is an art filled family run hotel at the foot of the Supramonte and is the best introduction to the other Sardinia. Villa rentals with staff exist around Porto Cervo and Porto Rotondo.

When to begin

Six months for June and September, and eight to ten for August in the northeast, where the best rooms and the villas are committed extremely early. Yacht and boat charters for the summer weeks are the earliest decision of all and should be started the previous autumn. Flights are the hidden constraint: seasonal routes into Olbia sell out and the schedule changes year to year, so it should be confirmed for your dates before hotels are held.

Four experiences worth building the days around

• A boat day into the Golfo di Orosei to Cala Goloritze and Cala Mariolu, which have no road access and no crowd on the water.
• The Maddalena archipelago by private boat, working between the islands and anchoring off the sandbars.
• Su Nuraxi at Barumini, the best preserved of the nuraghi, followed by lunch in a Barbagia village where nobody is on holiday.
• Alghero's walled old town in the evening and the cliff road out to Capo Caccia, which is the least Italian corner of Italy.

Who this trip suits

Sardinia suits anyone whose priority is the water itself, because the clarity here is the equal of anywhere in the Mediterranean. It suits sailors and charter groups. It suits families, particularly in the south. And it suits travelers who want a beach week attached to a mainland city, since Rome and Milan are both short flights away. Our concierge and on trip support is worth having for the boat side of it.

When another plan may fit better

If you want art, architecture and dense history, this island has less of it than Sicily, which is the better cultural choice by a distance. If you want hills, villages and a shorter transfer from a city, Mallorca does that well. And if your only dates are in May or October, check openings carefully, because a closed coast is a real risk here.

Plan it with one accountable advisor

Tell us your month, the group and whether the week is social or quiet, and we will put you on the correct end of the island before anything is held. Our luxury leisure travel planning covers the hotels, the villas and the charters together.