Sardinia for active seniors

The rub for most people (who go in thinking that all they need is a few days as a side-trip from their trip to Italy) is how long you can manage to stay. Sardinia is big, there's a LOT to see and do, it takes time to get around, and all it's best stuff is inconveniently scattered around the island. With a short trip, you could concentrate on one corner, but picking the "best" is going to be a challenge, and there's so much more good stuff just beyond your reach.

I think Sardinia is worth a dedicated trip of its own, and deserves an absolute minimum of two weeks, three weeks or longer would be better (and necessary if you want to get all the way around the island, to its interior, and see the best of its attractions).

When we went, we had about 19 full days and while we did make it all the way around, we were moving fast, and had to blow past places that looked very worthwhile, and we skipped the interior entirely. I left wishing we had had four full weeks to spend there.

You will definitely need a car, unless you stick to a very limited area.

As mentioned above, Sardinia is a large island and the highlight is the coast with incredibly beautiful beaches and sea although towns/cities like Cagliari, Alghero, Sassari are worth visiting too.
Decide how long you can stay. Bear in mind it might already be hot in June. Are you planning on beach time?
If for example you have a fortnight you could concentrate on north or south. It's best to rent a car.
Here's our trip report from May in the north. We stayed three weeks, but could have done more ...
https://slowtravelitalyspain.blogspot.com/2025/07/sardinia-in-may-2025-trip-report.html?m=1

We have found Sardinia to be a fascinating place, full of history, beautiful terrain and very friendly people. We have done two three weeks in the last two years, each in May. We like to hike, see historical sites and stay in small villages which give ample opportunity for interacting with locals.

We especially liked Sassari, Nuoro and Seulo. Sassari has several small museums including one dedicated to artifacts of bronze age. Between Sassari and Nuoro is Santu Antine, one of the best Nuragi sites on the island and easily accessible. Nuoro, which is considered the literary capital of the island, has the Museum of Man which is dedicated to art of the island and capturing its people, the home of Grazia Deleda's who won the Nobel Prize for literature, a walking tour of Salvatore Satta's story, The Day of Judgement. Back on the west cost near Oristano are the giant statues at the Mont'e Prama in Calbras near Oristano. They were only recently found, are fascinating. In Seulo we stayed at an agriturismo, Agriturismo S'Armidda, and enjoyed the company of wonderful hosts. Other places we visited were Inglesia, Caloforte and Cagliari.

A good resource for Sardinia is Jeff Biggers' book, In Sardinia, an Unexpected Journey in Italy. Another resource I found to be useful is Claudia Tavani's website, Strictly Sardinia, she gives great insights into the culture, activities and life of the island. Have a great trip!

How much time do you have available? Do you have eager drivers in the group? When you say active, do you want to hike or more water sports?
I would want no fewer than 10-12 days, and that would be for just one targeted area. I think the best strategy is to flip through a guide book (or web photos if that's more your style) and see if the Alghero, Olbia, or Cagliari region interests you the most and plan out from there. There is no best--I am sure I could have planned an equally great trip in any area I chose, but the wild dramatic east coast with its hiking and beaches stood out the most to me--I agree some time in the mountains is really worth it to include if you can. For archaeology fans, it's a great place to explore. We flew to Olbia and headed south to Cala Gonone, then Nuoro, then north to be near Olbia for departure.
Late May was not crowded and in June the sea will be warmer. Note some of the hikes require permits. There are also easy day hikes in abundance.

I've been only on the north side.
Some recommendations I have given in the past are below:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/sardinia-a4b6bf34-12f0-4f41-aa46-cc7c08ab1f7f

I'd say a couple of weeks is good. Or at least 10 days. It's the largest island in the Med after Sicily.

You will need a rental car (or 2 cars for that many people).
check pricing on www.autoeurope.com, a broker that I use every year.
2 cars are usually cheaper than a minivan. 5 people need room also for the luggage, don't forget.

Most roads along the coast are two lane highways. There are 4 lane freeways but mostly connecting the major cities and they tend to be in the interior.

You will need an International Driving Permit, which is basically a translation of your home license. You can obtain one at your local AAA in minutes and it costs $20 + $9 for the two passport photos, unless you provide them. The IDP must be carried along with your State license. Although the car rental agency rarely asks to see it, if you get pulled over by police you must show it or the fine is a minimum of €408.

Learn the European signs
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_signs_in_Italy

They are mostly self explanatory symbols.

Just keep an eye on the ZTL sign (zona traffico limitato) in historical centers. Those areas are permitted only to residents with permit and service vehicles.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limited_traffic_zone

Other than that, not a big deal to drive in Sardinia. You will be largely on country roads with not heavy traffic unless you go there in July and August when lots of tourists are there, or near Cagliari, the largest city. There will be occasional speed cameras, so keep an eye on the speed limits too. Speed is enforced by cameras and just because you don’t see a cop, it doesn’t mean the cops can’t see you.
Use Waze navigator, which warns about upcoming speed cameras and police checks. GoogleMaps is now integrated with Waze (which is owned by Google) so you should get similar info from the Google Maps navigator as well.

https://www.waze.com/wiki/UnitedKingdom/Speed_Cameras

Other than that, not a big deal to drive in Sardinia
That made me laugh Roberto--wellll, I guess it depends, I was gripping for dear life on the Orientale Sarda, but I will never forget those views. Even worse were the random one-lane mountain roads my husband would take up-up-up, with no guarantee that we would be able to get down-down-down, but it all worked out (we had some kind of Sardinian saint on our shoulders). The good thing is that now I know driving on the Amalfi coast would be a snap (if not for the traffic and buses).
But other than the rough areas that were still surprisingly accessible all things considered, roads were exceedingly well maintained. You could definitely avoid stressful driving if you wanted to.
It is unfortunate you have five, sorry to say, as it's a pain to have to have two cars. I think four or definitely three could make it work with a smaller size SUV and smart packing. I know Tinac has made some good suggestions regarding the Alghero area without a car if it came to that.

The Orientale Sarda is curvy but easy to drive, with two lanes.

Driving on the Sardinian coast is like driving California 1 along the central coast. Just no shoulders on the side. But equally beautiful views.