Summer bliss in Sardinia
One of the most beautiful destinations I've ever visited was most definitely the island of Sardinia, which offers the perfect balance between gorgeous beaches with clear blue water, the most delicious Italian food, glitz & glam and calm, serene villages. Sardinia offers it all, and I fell in love with this island straight away.
When my boyfriend and I went to Sardinia, we went for only four days, and even though we'd have loved to stay for some more days, we felt like it was doable to see the best of Sardinia in just a couple of days, and that we'd love to come back another long weekend to experience even more of this Italian gem.
You can arrive either in the south of the island through Cagliari airport, or in the north of the island at Olbia airport. I'd say the nicest part of Sardinia with the most things to see and do is most definitely the northern part of the island.
We landed at Olbia airport and we stayed at a holiday rental about 10 minute drive from the city centre of Olbia. I'd most definitely recommend renting a car to get around, it will offer you freedom to go wherever you want, without having to count on public transport, and will allow you to find little hidden gems you'd never access otherwise.
Spiaggia del Principe
A beach you must visit is the Spiaggia del Principe on the Costa Smeralda. The sea has the amazingly clear water in the most beautiful shades of turquoise, and is a wonderful spot to wind down and relax on the beach. It's quite a small beach that's hidden from the public eye; when we went in July it was not too crowded, so I'd definitely recommend this beach!
Another, bigger beach you absolutely can't miss is Porto Istana with its sparkling white sand, crystal clear water and most picturesque views. This beach can absolutely compete with the Caribbean islands! This beach is bigger and more popular than Spiaggia del Principe, so do expect a more crowded beach and don't arrive too late.
One of the highlights of our trip to Sardinia for me was discovering the stunning and vibrant village of San Teodoro. In the evening this place really came to life and was nicely crowded; the festive mood definitely was there.
Is Arutas
There was so much to do and to see in the northern part of the island, that we only ventured out to another area of Sardinia one: we drove to the beautiful beach of Is Arutas. The smooth, little, white pebbles that look like grains of rice make this a really unique beach. Those little pebbles were used in aquariums before this became forbidden in order to preserve the beach of Is Arutas. This beach was a nice discovery, and the water was as beautiful and crystal clear as on the rest of the island.
Porto Istana
Another, bigger beach you absolutely can't miss is Porto Istana with its sparkling white sand, crystal clear water and most picturesque views. This beach can absolutely compete with the Caribbean islands! This beach is bigger and more popular than Spiaggia del Principe, so do expect a more crowded beach and don't arrive too late.
Porto Cervo
If you want glitz and glamour, Porto Cervo is the place to be for you. With its luxury boutiques, yacht-dotted marina and pricey restaurants, this place is completely different from all the other cities we visited on Sardinia. We absolutely felt the Saint-Tropez vibes, and I do recommend a trip to Porto Cervo to experience this too. Everything is much more expensive than anywhere else on the island though, so I'd say half a day would be enough here.
We had lunch at a restaurant called Renato Pedrinelli, service was great, the setting amazing and the location was right in the city centre as well! Also the prices were very correct compared to other, much more expensive places there, so I'd definitely recommend stopping at Renato Pedrinelli for a lasagna or a delicious plate of pasta.
San Teodoro
One of the highlights of our trip to Sardinia for me was discovering the stunning and vibrant village of San Teodoro. In the evening this place really came to life and was nicely crowded; the festive mood definitely was there.
We spent our morning at Bal Harbour, which is a restaurant and beach bar with a pool. I discovered through a travel guide that you can rent a sunbed here to enjoy a relaxing morning or afternoon and access their pool for a refreshing swim. It was amazing to enjoy a good cocktail on our sunbed, enjoying the Italian sun, good music and freshen up with a dip in the pool.
For dinner I absolutely recommend La Taverna degli Artisti: you might need to have patience in order to get a table, but their food is without any doubt worth the wait. Their plates of fresh pasta were absolutely amazing, and the setting near the beach absolutely incredible! If you go to San Teodoro, dinner or lunch at La Taverna degli Artisti is an absolute must that you can't forget about.
There was so much to do and to see in the northern part of the island, that we only ventured out to another area of Sardinia one: we drove to the beautiful beach of Is Arutas. The smooth, little, white pebbles that look like grains of rice make this a really unique beach. Those little pebbles were used in aquariums before this became forbidden in order to preserve the beach of Is Arutas. This beach was a nice discovery, and the water was as beautiful and crystal clear as on the rest of the island.
Photo credit Is Arutas - @sardinia360.it
