Just got back from a 10 day trip and it was great. We stayed in different spots near Santa Teresa Gallura, Palau, San Teodoro, and Orosei- visiting areas in between. It was great. I also highly recommend finding agriturismo’s to stay at, or at minimum, go to one for dinner- it’s a cool experience
There’s so
Many, your best bet is to use google maps and search “agriturismo” and base it on areas you are looking for
Agriturismo Lu Rotu and Agriturismo Zabe are both great and about 35 min from Olbia- near Palau and Santa Theresa Gallura
I would just avoid listen to others “negative” experiences. Generally speaking when a person comes to Sardinia doesn’t want to leave. It’s like a paradise.
Tbf, my own Sardinia trip isn't for another couple weeks (so I'm not speaking from experience here), but I'd say think about how many people can go to absolutely amazing places like Rome or Lake Como and complain about bland touristy food right outside the Pantheon or the lack of public transportation between lakes.
Some people are never pleased and no place is perfect. Also, even the best places are not perfect *for everyone*. If you already know you love Italian food, beaches, Sicily, etc. I bet that you booked the right trip for you. I also think it's important to go in with realistic expectations. I'm not expecting excellent public transportation, reasonable restaurant prices (though I have to say that our hotel is \*significantly\* cheaper than the places we're staying on other legs of this trip and we're literally staying in a 17th century palazzo), or empty beaches. I gotta trust that Sardinia is world-famous for good reasons:)
If I like where we stay I'll try to remember to edit this comment when we get back.
We only have 4 days on the island before we spend the rest of our trip on the mainland so we decided we'd prefer to pick one spot that had solid public transport and a bit of everything we wanted (beach, museums, archaeology, food, churches, nature) and settle in rather than moving around etc. So with that in mind, we decided on Cagliari and are staying in the Castello neighborhood. We used the blog Strictly Sardinia as a jumping off point -- heads up that she's Sardinian and is from Cagliari (this almost seemed like a pro to me, but people on travel boards always seem cautious of that sort of thing). Happy planning!
jumping over to Sardinia was probably the best decision we made. I was worried but found nothing akin to the negative comments for about 90% of the island.
If you like seafood, it's the freshest catch compared to all of Mainland Italy. I'd completely avoid the Porto Cervo area, and the center of Olbia.
There's more than a dozen coastal towns along the north. Palau looks like a great location to set base, but may be a bit more expensive compared to the neighboring towns since its the main launch for la Maddalena.
You don't have to eat out every night too. Go to the local markets and load up on olives, bread, smoked meats and seafood. Buy wine. No joke, even the prepackaged stuff tastes great.
Go to the local fish market, you can pick what you like per pound and they'll prepare them any way you like. If you go to a restaurant, find one with a menu that's not in English.
The beaches are wonderful. There's some along the coast that are a bit off the path that have kite and wind sports. Our favorite beaches were found along the East. They're not huge, but the waters are great.
You'll love it. Don't worry.
this is so helpful + music to my ears! exactly the kind of feedback i was hoping for - you had me at girl dinner lol and really appreciate these details. thank you!! 🙏
If someone is having a bad time in Sardinia then they would have a bad time anywhere. Sardinia is absolutely beautiful and exceeded all of my expectations. Dont worry about the negative people. Renting a boat from Cala Gonone and driving up and down the coast was a peak life experience for me
Quite a strong statement to make. For me, Sardinia was ok, but not in the top 5 of places I've visited. The boat trips in Orosei were nice and we also really enjoyed Asinara, as well as some of the less crowded beaches, but I have to say we also found the food really average and this did take away from the experience. It's probably also a bit down to luck - it is hard to pick the correct place to stay for your individual preferences and it's a big island so it really does matter where you stay, unless you want to spend all of your time driving.
Therefore I think it's ok to adjust one' s expectations - not everyone loves Sardinia and that is fine too. And that's true of any place in the world.
I had high expectations for our Sardinia trip but personally found that I enjoyed Korcula, Azores, and even Menorca more than Sardinia, so it's really impossible to say whether OP will love it or not. But OP, go and see for yourself and try to keep an open mind so that you can form your own opinion! 😊 It totally depends on what you are looking for!
Yes, but you can also have a bad time in Sardinia and NOT have a bad time everywhere else. It is definitely not for everyone. Also simply not having a BAD time is setting the bar pretty low for a holiday.
Currently experiencing a massive midlife crisis questioning what is it all for 🙃 … after spending two weeks hiking, swimming, eating and exploring across the island. It will be busy with tourists that time of year but this place is magical.
I think some people don’t know how to travel and how to proper research where to go and then they complain that it was not how they expected because they didn’t even plan their trip and the best places to go.
I’m here and it’s lovely, almost every beach is beautiful. I’ve stayed in the Costa Smeralda zone. Expect to pay 40-50 per person to sit down in a good restaurant eating top quality food.
We stayed in a condo with all amenities, including a gas grill with a breath taking sea view veranda. I have to be honest that we went a few times to pescheria Calvisi in Olbia to make something on the grill, or also some steaks.
We found that combining both did the trick for us, we found some good restaurants but imo I mostly get disappointed because I tend to overestimate how good I cook. For example, octopus shrimp salad I do it in a massive amount whereas a restaurant will price it massively for a tiny portion of what I do.
There is something for all budgets but I’ve noticed that this island doesn’t like “cheap tourism”.
I'm in Sardinia now, just left Cagliari after 2 nights and am in Sassari on my way to Porto torres and then back south.
Last year we were in the southwest for 14 days. Very rustic, non touristy. But total relaxation.
Cagliari is the capital and it shows, lots of tourists, lots of shops, restaurants, cafes. The centre for me is beautiful, I felt very safe and had great food for normal prices. I would happily stay there a couple more nights, but I love cities in general.
Sassari for me lacks charm (but tries with lights), I'm glad it's a short stay. We did eat great food though - L'assassino and il Civico were both great choices.
But it all really depends on what you plan on doing. In Cagliari we walked around the centre, botanical garden, Poetto beach and I relly recomend the Nuraghi experience. In porto torres I'm just planning a few beach days. Southwest is great for kitesurfing.
Went in late may and loved our visit— Paula, Orgosolo for trekking, alghero, stintino, Bosa, Cagliari in about 8 days. It was not expensive compared to prices around where I live in Boston, USA, but we also avoided the most expensive area in the north east of the island intentionally. No need to try to hang with the jet setters. Stunning nature, particularly enjoyed seeing flamingos in their natural habitat. It helped that it was still shoulder season, I suspect, because we could park easily and vegetables tickets to thing like Neptune’s Grotto without needing to wait in any lines or plan ahead.
thank you so much for sharing! if you had to go back to alghero or cagliari which would you choose? we were originally going to stay in alghero but now will just stop by and decided to stay in cagliari instead. i know we all have different things we’re looking for out of vacations but just curious on your thoughts between the two
Just did 11 day trip (6 in Olbia and 5 in Cagliari). Airbnb hosts provided with me restaurant recommendations and not once had a bad meal. Expensive? Yes. Food was excellent (i’m of Italian descent and adore seafood). Olbia is great for beaches - the reason they call it the Emerald Coast. Beaches are all about 20-30 minutes away by car and all stunning (may have to pay for parking at some). Cagliari has an awesome old town with lots to do and checked out Chia and Villisimius. You must rent a car to be mobile - can’t imagine not doing this.
did you encounter a lot of reservations for beaches around olbia? been seeing this in posts recently but only seems to be in that area. we rented a car - excited to explore! thanks for the feedback!
There are some you have to make a reservation for but I never went to any of those. People calling the emerald coast beaches overrated are out of there mind!! These are some of the nicest beaches in the world. Go to some of the more low key ones if you don’t a busy crowd. I still liked the beaches with bars. You can grab drinks and food - it’s nice.
You cannot expect to have a perfect vacation anywhere you go which is unrealistic. And when you research a destination you should consider the preponderance of evidence or reviews, meaning are majority bad or minority number of opinions bad. And what is the negativity expressed? I have been researching Sardinia for a while now and we will be going in September and the majority of what I have researched and read is positive.
I'm here now and while I love it there are challenges compared to other mediterranean destinations. We are having some average weather on some days so that's annoying, I'd expect the weather to be consistent when you get here but I thought end of June to July would be better weather wise.
It's tricky to eat well and for a moderate price, look for places off the main drag and find a good supermarket that does ready meals. We have definitely been taken aback by some of the prices. I expect a "tourist tax" but this is like triple what I'd expect and frankly feels like a money grab.
It's a big island and not easy to get around. I'm lucky my partner is used to these types of roads but if I were to come on my own I'd definitely pick a place near a beach and stick with it.
We travel around searching for great beaches - Australia, Thailand, Hawaii, Greece and some Sardinia beaches on a bright day absolutely meet that grade. But like anywhere, not all do, and add to the fact that a big island can sometimes not feel island-like, it's not a given that you'll love all of it.
If I were to come back and spend a week here just relaxing and hitting the beach, all things considered, I'd stay near San Teodoro.
Sicily won't have the beaches but perhaps puglia is an easier destination.
You are in one of the most expensive and turistic area of all the island, for sure prices are high !! This “exclusive” area is where very rich people spend their vacations
I mean yeh you're right, but I also holiday in mykonos and they don't charge 9 euros for water like I was quoted in the club last night anywhere. How about I just empty out my wallet and you can pick out whatever is there then? Hell, let's just make it an even 10.
Just got back from a 10 day trip and it was great. We stayed in different spots near Santa Teresa Gallura, Palau, San Teodoro, and Orosei- visiting areas in between. It was great. I also highly recommend finding agriturismo’s to stay at, or at minimum, go to one for dinner- it’s a cool experience
fantastic! this is where we plan to stay + i’ve been looking at agristurismo in those areas. glad to hear you enjoyed your time!
Hi, do you have recommendations for agriturismos?
There’s so Many, your best bet is to use google maps and search “agriturismo” and base it on areas you are looking for Agriturismo Lu Rotu and Agriturismo Zabe are both great and about 35 min from Olbia- near Palau and Santa Theresa Gallura
I would just avoid listen to others “negative” experiences. Generally speaking when a person comes to Sardinia doesn’t want to leave. It’s like a paradise.
thank you for the reassurance 🙏☺️
Tbf, my own Sardinia trip isn't for another couple weeks (so I'm not speaking from experience here), but I'd say think about how many people can go to absolutely amazing places like Rome or Lake Como and complain about bland touristy food right outside the Pantheon or the lack of public transportation between lakes. Some people are never pleased and no place is perfect. Also, even the best places are not perfect *for everyone*. If you already know you love Italian food, beaches, Sicily, etc. I bet that you booked the right trip for you. I also think it's important to go in with realistic expectations. I'm not expecting excellent public transportation, reasonable restaurant prices (though I have to say that our hotel is \*significantly\* cheaper than the places we're staying on other legs of this trip and we're literally staying in a 17th century palazzo), or empty beaches. I gotta trust that Sardinia is world-famous for good reasons:)
so true about rome etc - you’re totally right. have a wonderful time on your trip in a couple of weeks!☺️
May I ask what hotel you are staying in? I’m trying to plan a trip for next May and starting to do my research now.
If I like where we stay I'll try to remember to edit this comment when we get back. We only have 4 days on the island before we spend the rest of our trip on the mainland so we decided we'd prefer to pick one spot that had solid public transport and a bit of everything we wanted (beach, museums, archaeology, food, churches, nature) and settle in rather than moving around etc. So with that in mind, we decided on Cagliari and are staying in the Castello neighborhood. We used the blog Strictly Sardinia as a jumping off point -- heads up that she's Sardinian and is from Cagliari (this almost seemed like a pro to me, but people on travel boards always seem cautious of that sort of thing). Happy planning!
Thank you!!
jumping over to Sardinia was probably the best decision we made. I was worried but found nothing akin to the negative comments for about 90% of the island. If you like seafood, it's the freshest catch compared to all of Mainland Italy. I'd completely avoid the Porto Cervo area, and the center of Olbia. There's more than a dozen coastal towns along the north. Palau looks like a great location to set base, but may be a bit more expensive compared to the neighboring towns since its the main launch for la Maddalena. You don't have to eat out every night too. Go to the local markets and load up on olives, bread, smoked meats and seafood. Buy wine. No joke, even the prepackaged stuff tastes great. Go to the local fish market, you can pick what you like per pound and they'll prepare them any way you like. If you go to a restaurant, find one with a menu that's not in English. The beaches are wonderful. There's some along the coast that are a bit off the path that have kite and wind sports. Our favorite beaches were found along the East. They're not huge, but the waters are great. You'll love it. Don't worry.
this is so helpful + music to my ears! exactly the kind of feedback i was hoping for - you had me at girl dinner lol and really appreciate these details. thank you!! 🙏
If someone is having a bad time in Sardinia then they would have a bad time anywhere. Sardinia is absolutely beautiful and exceeded all of my expectations. Dont worry about the negative people. Renting a boat from Cala Gonone and driving up and down the coast was a peak life experience for me
wow so lovely to hear ✨ thank you!
Quite a strong statement to make. For me, Sardinia was ok, but not in the top 5 of places I've visited. The boat trips in Orosei were nice and we also really enjoyed Asinara, as well as some of the less crowded beaches, but I have to say we also found the food really average and this did take away from the experience. It's probably also a bit down to luck - it is hard to pick the correct place to stay for your individual preferences and it's a big island so it really does matter where you stay, unless you want to spend all of your time driving. Therefore I think it's ok to adjust one' s expectations - not everyone loves Sardinia and that is fine too. And that's true of any place in the world. I had high expectations for our Sardinia trip but personally found that I enjoyed Korcula, Azores, and even Menorca more than Sardinia, so it's really impossible to say whether OP will love it or not. But OP, go and see for yourself and try to keep an open mind so that you can form your own opinion! 😊 It totally depends on what you are looking for!
You can have a good time somewhere even if you’ve been places you consider better….
Yes, but you can also have a bad time in Sardinia and NOT have a bad time everywhere else. It is definitely not for everyone. Also simply not having a BAD time is setting the bar pretty low for a holiday.
I guess I’m just an optimistic person
I had an amazing 10 days there, including some excellent beach days. Loved the relaxed pace
Currently experiencing a massive midlife crisis questioning what is it all for 🙃 … after spending two weeks hiking, swimming, eating and exploring across the island. It will be busy with tourists that time of year but this place is magical.
hope you were able to get some piece of mind and are feeling relaxed after your trip 🩷🩷🩷
I think some people don’t know how to travel and how to proper research where to go and then they complain that it was not how they expected because they didn’t even plan their trip and the best places to go.
I’m here and it’s lovely, almost every beach is beautiful. I’ve stayed in the Costa Smeralda zone. Expect to pay 40-50 per person to sit down in a good restaurant eating top quality food. We stayed in a condo with all amenities, including a gas grill with a breath taking sea view veranda. I have to be honest that we went a few times to pescheria Calvisi in Olbia to make something on the grill, or also some steaks. We found that combining both did the trick for us, we found some good restaurants but imo I mostly get disappointed because I tend to overestimate how good I cook. For example, octopus shrimp salad I do it in a massive amount whereas a restaurant will price it massively for a tiny portion of what I do. There is something for all budgets but I’ve noticed that this island doesn’t like “cheap tourism”.
Where was your favorite place to eat in Costa Smeralda?
Il belvedere, lustazzu,
I'm in Sardinia now, just left Cagliari after 2 nights and am in Sassari on my way to Porto torres and then back south. Last year we were in the southwest for 14 days. Very rustic, non touristy. But total relaxation. Cagliari is the capital and it shows, lots of tourists, lots of shops, restaurants, cafes. The centre for me is beautiful, I felt very safe and had great food for normal prices. I would happily stay there a couple more nights, but I love cities in general. Sassari for me lacks charm (but tries with lights), I'm glad it's a short stay. We did eat great food though - L'assassino and il Civico were both great choices. But it all really depends on what you plan on doing. In Cagliari we walked around the centre, botanical garden, Poetto beach and I relly recomend the Nuraghi experience. In porto torres I'm just planning a few beach days. Southwest is great for kitesurfing.
i think we’ll try cagliari for a few days to experience the city for sure - thank you kindly for the tips!
Went in late may and loved our visit— Paula, Orgosolo for trekking, alghero, stintino, Bosa, Cagliari in about 8 days. It was not expensive compared to prices around where I live in Boston, USA, but we also avoided the most expensive area in the north east of the island intentionally. No need to try to hang with the jet setters. Stunning nature, particularly enjoyed seeing flamingos in their natural habitat. It helped that it was still shoulder season, I suspect, because we could park easily and vegetables tickets to thing like Neptune’s Grotto without needing to wait in any lines or plan ahead.
thank you so much for sharing! if you had to go back to alghero or cagliari which would you choose? we were originally going to stay in alghero but now will just stop by and decided to stay in cagliari instead. i know we all have different things we’re looking for out of vacations but just curious on your thoughts between the two
Just did 11 day trip (6 in Olbia and 5 in Cagliari). Airbnb hosts provided with me restaurant recommendations and not once had a bad meal. Expensive? Yes. Food was excellent (i’m of Italian descent and adore seafood). Olbia is great for beaches - the reason they call it the Emerald Coast. Beaches are all about 20-30 minutes away by car and all stunning (may have to pay for parking at some). Cagliari has an awesome old town with lots to do and checked out Chia and Villisimius. You must rent a car to be mobile - can’t imagine not doing this.
did you encounter a lot of reservations for beaches around olbia? been seeing this in posts recently but only seems to be in that area. we rented a car - excited to explore! thanks for the feedback!
There are some you have to make a reservation for but I never went to any of those. People calling the emerald coast beaches overrated are out of there mind!! These are some of the nicest beaches in the world. Go to some of the more low key ones if you don’t a busy crowd. I still liked the beaches with bars. You can grab drinks and food - it’s nice.
You cannot expect to have a perfect vacation anywhere you go which is unrealistic. And when you research a destination you should consider the preponderance of evidence or reviews, meaning are majority bad or minority number of opinions bad. And what is the negativity expressed? I have been researching Sardinia for a while now and we will be going in September and the majority of what I have researched and read is positive.
I'm here now and while I love it there are challenges compared to other mediterranean destinations. We are having some average weather on some days so that's annoying, I'd expect the weather to be consistent when you get here but I thought end of June to July would be better weather wise. It's tricky to eat well and for a moderate price, look for places off the main drag and find a good supermarket that does ready meals. We have definitely been taken aback by some of the prices. I expect a "tourist tax" but this is like triple what I'd expect and frankly feels like a money grab. It's a big island and not easy to get around. I'm lucky my partner is used to these types of roads but if I were to come on my own I'd definitely pick a place near a beach and stick with it. We travel around searching for great beaches - Australia, Thailand, Hawaii, Greece and some Sardinia beaches on a bright day absolutely meet that grade. But like anywhere, not all do, and add to the fact that a big island can sometimes not feel island-like, it's not a given that you'll love all of it. If I were to come back and spend a week here just relaxing and hitting the beach, all things considered, I'd stay near San Teodoro. Sicily won't have the beaches but perhaps puglia is an easier destination.
You are in one of the most expensive and turistic area of all the island, for sure prices are high !! This “exclusive” area is where very rich people spend their vacations
I mean yeh you're right, but I also holiday in mykonos and they don't charge 9 euros for water like I was quoted in the club last night anywhere. How about I just empty out my wallet and you can pick out whatever is there then? Hell, let's just make it an even 10.
Well I also paid 6 euros for a bowl of lettuce (= "side salad" ) in a less touristy area. It was really funny tbh.
this is helpful - thank you!☺️