My partner and I are planning a week in Sardinia at the end of August with our 10 month old baby. We posted on another message board and someone advised that Sardinia is not a suitable vacation spot for infants due to lack of services and poor roads. I was wondering is anyone else could share their opinions? We are happy to change our plans if it’s not a good idea to go. We’d just like to be prepared. We are renting a car and an AirBnB in the north of the island near Santa Teresa Gallura. Should we be concerned about road travel? Are there amenities (groceries and pharmacies)?
Posted by
Long Beach, Ca, usa
1394 posts
nina.jkv,
Well, I don't know much about Sardinia, except that Whoopie Goldberg has a home there and visits often. So I assume there are pharmacies, grocery stores, and probably some medical facilities. The population, though mostly rural, is about 1.5 million. Depending on where you are staying, facilities may vary. Cagliari, the capital has about 150,000 people. If you haven't already, try posting your question in the Italy section of the forum. You will likely get better answers than mine. Though mostly rural, what I found in a quick Google search led me to believe that Sardinia would be a fine place to vacation, with or without a baby. And the north section has more services due to being the more touristed area. So go and enjoy!
Posted by
Colorado Mountains, USA
8009 posts
We had a week and a half in Sardinia two months ago, and many parents were pushing strollers, with infants and toddlers, so it’s working for them (even on cobbled streets in old towns). We had an Airbnb in Sant Antioco, on the southern end of Sardinia, and shopped at the big Conad supermarket. We also visited smaller shops there for specialty foods.
Bosa, on the western coast, is a small town with three pharmacies that our hotel pointed out. We went to one Farmacia one morning, and they closed for three hours in early afternoon, but reopened at 4:00 PM for another stop.
We also had an Airbnb in Cagliari, and visited a CRAI grocery that was open until 10:00 PM. We didn’t go farther north than Bosa.
We had a rental car. Roads along the coasts were often twisty, and there were sometimes up-and-down hills, but the road surfaces were paved, good, and smooth. There was one place with road construction happening, but they take care of their roads and roundabouts. Many were smaller highways, one lane in each direction, but the E25/SS131 was a modern, multi-lane highway. Some of the on-ramps were surprisingly short, so my husband had to watch for approaching traffic, then floor it to merge onto the highway.