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Sardinia

I'm interested in venturing to a gorgeous Mediterranean island off of the Tuscan coast, and Sardinia looks to be the perfect place. Traveling from Sienna to Sardinia, spending a few days, then heading to Rome is my current plan. I'd love to hear suggestions about charming towns and small hotels. (A chain hotel near the airport is the opposite of what I have in mind.)

Posted by
16344 posts

Sardinia is certainly a gorgeous island, but I'm not sure most people would refer to it as an "island off the Tuscan coast". Before you make a decision I need to give you some information. Sardinia is not that close to Tuscany, or at least not as close as the seven islands in the Tuscan Archipelago (Elba, Isola del Giglio, Capraia, Montecristo, Pianosa, Giannutri, Gorgona). To reach Sardinia by ferry, you need to go to Civitavecchia and take a Ferry from there to Olbia or Golfo Aranci. The ferry journey is about 5 hours. A faster way to go is by air. During the summer there are flights from both Florence and Pisa to Olbia airport (Meridiana Fly). Sardinia is also very big, almost as big as Sicily (basically as big as Massachusetts). A complete loop of the island by car will take you all day from early morning to night (if you drive without ever stopping). If you go, you need to rent a car (if you fly, which I recommend, you can rent at Olbia airport). I've spent a few vacations in Sardinia, but always in the Gallura (which is the northernmost tip of the Island), in or near Santa Teresa di Gallura to be exact. I love that area. There are plenty of other small resort towns in the Costa Smeralda (Emerald Coast), but most are new developments that are rather too fancy for my wallet (Berlusconi and most Italian billionaires have their vacation home there). If you have just a few days (less than 5) I suggest you might want to consider one of the smaller islands in the Tuscan Archipelago.
In the Tuscan archipelago, Elba is very worth it, however a car is advisable (ferry from Piombino). Another alternative is the Isola del Giglio (where you can still see the capsized Costa Concordia). It's smaller and reachable from Porto Santo Stefano.

Posted by
931 posts

We took the overnight ferry (with our rental car) from Livorno to Golfo Aranci, Sardinia, and spent 9 nites exploring the island. Then we flew back to Rome out of Cagliari. Roberto makes a good point: it is a large island and you cannot see much in a few days. I agree with Roberto; the NE corner is too "rich" for me. We did love the very North, and spend time in an awesome simple mountain agritourisimo that had fantastic home-cooked meals. (Agri. Stazzi la China) We used it as a base to explore the North. We also did one night in Algero, a neat little town. Then we drove down the Eastern seaboard, until we found a beachside rental just outside Cagliari. Find special places to stay at Karen Brown.com, and Alistar Sawdays sites. We also perused TripAdvisor for rental ideas, and used the Lonely Planet guidebook to plan our trip and check transportation options. Livorno is a two hour trip from Sienna, but we made it a day by stopping in Pisa.

Posted by
191 posts

You might consider a trip to the Cinque Terre instead of Sardinia.

Posted by
5 posts

We spent two weeks at a lovely apartment we found in Cagliari about 1/2 km from the beach at the end of May 2010. It is one of our families most favorite vacations. The gelato was amazing, food at the grocery and at the restaurants was so cheap and good and the people were friendly. Sardinia is still an island which hasn't been touched by that much tourism and so getting from our airport in the north to Cagliari was one of those travel tales that could've easily turned into a horror story trying to use the Italian bus system and a bus that never arrived. Not many people speak English or German or anything else if you're in the countryside... but for us that made it all the better. The water was so clear and the wind kicked up just right late morning for windsurfing. The pizza ninjas were phenomenal... it took us longer to decide which pizza to order than for them to make 4 pizzas and get them to us! Hoping to get to Elba this summer as we travel from Florence to Naples, but we would take a ferry back to Sardinia in a heartbeat. If you have the time, it's worth it.

Posted by
43 posts

This is wonderfully helpful info. I will probably only have 3 days, so it sounds like I should settle into one wonderful location and enjoy that region rather than try to explore the whole island. (I know...more is better, but I'll take what I can get.) I will look into Elba, too. I thought it would be too crowded, but those of you who have been there recommend it. It would be closer/more convenient for the rest of my itinerary. Loving the idea of an exotic, remote location where I can drop off the grid for a few days!

Posted by
931 posts

Debora..shhhhhh! Don't tell everyone how neat the area is surrounding Cagliari. We loved driving to the different beaches to sunbathe/ swim. And the wonderful lo-cost restarants were superb! And my wife went "nuts" buying lo-cost Italian made Valleverde shoes there. ( This caused me to go over the weight limit on our Ryan Air flight back to Rome; a story in itself!)

Posted by
1 posts

We lived in Sardinia for two years 1999-2001. If what you are looking for is no hustle or bustle, mingling with the locals, beach beauty and inner island vistas then you have found your vacation. Agree with Roberto, Santa Theresa area is beautiful but you will not be disappointed with any of your choices. La Maddelena, Cannigionie and or a drive to Castelsardo. Enjoy it all!.