Two-night Trip to Sardinia?

I don’t think it would be worth the travel time and expense for such a short stay. I’ve been trying to get there for years but will spend at least ten days when I do.
There are also ferries, but of course one needs even more time for that.

If you utilize the search box above, you will be able to find several posts asking about Sardinia. Most comments are from me, since I’ve been there multiple times, albeit only on the north side (therefore ai always utilized Olbia airport).
Sardinia is a huge island, approximately almost 3 times the size of the Big Island in Hawaii. I’ve been to the Big Island, and I wouldn’t bother to go there for just 2 days, therefore I wouldn’t waste my time and money to go to Sardinia for just two days. Even a week is too short. First of all you need a rental car because public transportation is really scant. With just a week you can probably concentrate on a portion of the island. The Costa Smeralda is beautiful but also very expensive. It’s the favorite destination of the European jet set (and their humongous yachts). But overall lots of places are worth seeing, including the Maddalena Archipelago National Reserve that you mentioned. The greatest thing about Sardinia is the beautiful sea, so it’s truly a scuba diver and snorkeler paradise. Not many Americans go there. The only ones I saw over my visits were US Navy personnel (all scuba divers) serving in the NATO bases in the island (Sardinia used to host the largest nuclear submarine base in the Med, right at the Maddalena archipelago).

Based on what I wrote above, my suggestion would be to visit at a time when you can spare at the very least a week in the island. I would also suggest to go a little later in the season since in early May the water is a bit too cold to fully enjoy swimming in that beautiful turquoise sea. June would be better in that respect July and August have even warmer waters but the place gets crowded with tourists and super expensive. September is good too.

Hi, American here, been travelling to Italy from the UK every year for the last six. There's no point in rushing around Sardinia, I wouldn't be going there for just two nights though. Olbia and the nearby Maddalena is amazing, but you want to relax, not rush around. Three days is a minimum. Cagliari can be "done" in two days but you won't really be able to enjoy yourself. Happy to consult about how best to spend your time ... Four weeks is a nice long visit, but it all depends on what you want to achieve. I have been all over the island and you can have many different holidays depending on what you enjoy.

Many thanks to those who provided immediate input to my question.

Based on the input that I have received so far, I have drawn the following conclusions:

• Best to skip Sardinia until we have at least a week or two to explore. Maybe combine a trip to Sicily and the islands with Sardinia.
• Arrange for a rental car to get around the island - for our trip to Italy this spring I found a great book (used the French version for our recent trip to France) called "Italy's Best Trips" from Lonely Planet. It lists 40 great road trips with 3 trips to Sardinia alone.
• Since we're adverse to large crowds and tourists, best to avoid early to mid-summer. It seems like visiting in early to mid September (after most kids back in school) makes a lot of sense.

Looks like more exploring in Campania (maybe Ischia and Procida) could be interesting since we have already been to Capri.

Thanks again!
Phil

PS More comments are always welcome...

Yes, I was going to suggest visiting Ischia since you will be in Campania. The Cilento coast is also nice, but if only two days I would stick to the nearby islands.

I agree with everyone above. I think the island deserves at minimum 10 days to 2 weeks. We were only there for 5 nights and it was definitely too short to see everything we wanted to. We also limited our days to the south and eastern part of the island. The beaches are beautiful, the drive is stunning, and pretty cool caves to discover. We went in early/mid September and weather was quite hot and the water was warm.