kelseygabrielle

Hi all,

We are planning on heading to Sardinia with our 5 year old in June. We will rent a car for the duration. We are looking for a relaxing beach vacation in historical towns that we can explore by foot in the evenings. We want to keep it simple and get to know each location and will be looking at apartment rentals so we can make some meals. We are ok driving to beaches that are nearby but not into spending the day in the car driving. We are also eager to do boat trips to explore from the water. Hopefully this gives you a good sense of what we are looking for.

Through all my research to date, this is the itinerary that I thinking...

Alghero - 5 nights

Daytrip to Asinara National Park & Bosa
La Maddalena - 5 nights

Santa Maria Navarrese - 5 nights

*Little Green Train (Mandas-Arbatax Line)

Do these places line up with what we are looking for?
Is there another place we should consider?

Eager for your advice. Thanks in advance.

massimop

I only know Alghero & it is an extremely pleasant relaxed town once you step outside the zone of intense cruise ship tourism -- which is quite easy to do. Most of the buildings & shops of historic interest are within the small tourist core, but Alghero is so cheerful wherever you go, you're likely to find it interesting & congenial. You might want to ask your landlord for tips about nice beaches that don't require driving through traffic jams to reach.

That said, I would be tempted to consider Bosa itself as your "base", and visit Alghero as a day trip. From Bosa you would find it easy to reach Flussio, which would amuse your 5 year old, and Tresnuraghes, which is charming, plus lots of unspoiled beaches.

massimop

my mistake: the town that I think would amuse your child is Tinnura, up the road from Flussio (which might also be interesting to a child for its basketmaking)

https://epicurienne.co.uk/2009/08/26...nly-have-ears/

BritishCaicos

It may be an idea to spend day 2 nights in Alghero and then base yourself in the NE coast, Santa Teresa is a laid back tourist town with a good choice a restaurants. It's well located for trips to Corsica, La Maddelena and the Costa Smerald.

Staying in La Maddelana can be frustrating as you are tied to the return ferry for day trips to the mainland.

We have twice stayed in Conca Verde, which is a small protected bay near Santa Teresa. There's many reasonable villa rentals and a good beach.

Most our our 6 trips to Sardinia were when our son was a similar age to your child. He loved just messing about on the beaches which are some of the most beautiful and safest in Europe.

I'm not sure of your boating experience or whether your reference was to organised boat trips or private hire. There are many RIB boat rental companies on the NE coast. The operations we encountered were very safety counscious and wouldn't rent out on days when the weather wasn't suitable. The rates can be expensive but these rentals allow access to some beautiful isolated locations. You'll need some previous boating experience, I've sailed in many location around the world, Sardinia has some very demanding sea conditions which can change locally very quickly.

On a positive note, I'd say June is the best month to visit.

The summer businesses have opening, the Italian public has yet to start its annual pilgrimage to the beaches and the weather should be just perfect. Due to its island climate, the regulating nature of the sea rarely alllows temperatures to exceed 35oC.

kelseygabrielle

Thank you all very much for your suggestions.

It sounds like Alghero for 5 days is a bit much. I like your suggestions of the Santa Theresa/Conca Verde region to see La Maddalenna and surrounding beaches. We are definitely looking for easy and relaxing with a five year old.

We do have boating experience and would be comfortable renting our own little boat for the day but also open to tours, especially of La Maddalenna.

How does Santa Theresa differ from the Santa Maria Navarrese landscape?

Want to make sure they are different enough to warrant going to both locations.

Is there another authentic/historical town that we should consider instead?

Thanks in advance.

BritishCaicos

Hi KG

There's many small villa developments around Capo Falcone to the North of ST and the bays to the south. There's very little at Conca Verde other than about 50 villas, a good small beach, lots of wild boar and an up market hotel which is very beautiful but very mixed for food. The view from some of the villas is stunning, over two headliands and then over to the Maddelana islands.

We've sailied all over the world and have had many memorable days exploring La Maddelena islands. Again just a word of warning about the winds then can be very, very strong at times. Obviously just take local advice.

We have used Immobilsarda (villa agency) twice in the past.

The rates out of high season are much lower.

It's a short car ride (about 10 minutes) into the town of ST with numerous restaurants and a large supermarket.

All the main day trips are at the most an hours drive away

Arzarcena market
Costa Smerelda
Palau for the ferry to the islands
ST for the ferry to Corsica which is well worth a visit to the cliff top town of Binifacio
Combine with with the daily competition of who can find the best beach

Our favourite out of season is Cala di Volpe which is lovely out of season, they queue for a place on the beach in June.

If you do choose this area try La Saltara farm for a night out. It offers a multi course tasting menu which is an accurate representation of Sardinian country cooking. It's a grand affair.

The Costa Smerelda get bad press due to the very high end set who gravitate their in high season. It's frequently a playground for $100m yachts and $1m super cars and It is quite sad to see the hoards trying to see a Hollywood star in Porto Cervo.
However, the stretch of coast has some beautiful views and stunning beaches

If you want cheap lunch time meal the Pizza restaurant , just past Hotel Cala di Volpe is great and reasonable.

All in all, this area is perfect to have a relaxing break with a young child, mainly because the small sheltered, shallow bays are perfect and safe for swimming.

massimop

H KG,

Just wondering how important it is to you to be in contact with Sardegnan culture/owns that are not primarily concerned with tourism/beach/water. A good amount of Sardegna is really focused on providing a comfortably generic family holiday in the Med for families in need of sunshine, without much connection to the historic side of Sardinia, which is more than just one history.

With a 5 year old there are excellent reasons to slip into the areas devoted to holiday fun. Also, Sardegna in general does not have a lot of large & perfectly preserved historic towns, so finding one for an extended stay of "exploration" isn't easy.

But what is easy is to go to Sardegna and never really connect with the still-living legacy of Sardegnan culture independent of exploiting its natural coastal beauty, a culture that has retained its integrity. Again, Nothing wrong with having a blissfully beauiful holiday in azure waters, but was wondering if you were initially drawn to Sardegna -- as opposed to the many other Mediterranean options for azure waters -- because its unique culture intrigued you.

Dai

We enjoyed Alghero very much. We also loved Castelsardo for the scenic sea side beauty, the beautiful, rocky, centro storico, the day of relaxing in the teeny tiny little bay across from our hotel, the delicious food, and the friendly town.

I'd also recommend trying to spend the day at La Pelosa beach in Stintino. Simply gorgeous beach with the clearest waters in so many shades of blue and green.

Lucky you!!

Dai

I forgot to mention that we stayed three nights in La Maddalena and enjoyed the excursion to other beaches so much. It's going to be so memorable for you. Buon viaggio!

MyriamC

We really liked Alghero. Have also stayed in Cagliari, Cala Gonone and Arzachena but Alghero was our favourite. Alghero was a bit more lively in June than the other places. From Alghero we visited Castelsardo and Bosa.
Arzachena was our second favourite location. Very quiet and relaxing. From here we visited the Costa Smeralda, the huge granite rocks in Capo Testa and sailed in la Maddalena (from Palau).

Tip: when in Santa Maria Navarrese, do visit the Rocce Rosse (red rocks) in Arbatax.

ekscrunchy

saving for future

BritishCaicos

Myriam

What struck you about Arzachena? Other than the market I didn't see it as a highlight.

Agree about the Rocce Rosse, stunning in the early morning light.

MyriamC

We liked Arzachena because 1) our hotel (Tenuto Pilastru) was more than quiet and 2) enough to see and do within 30-40 kms. We could also have stayed in Palau, but I was glad we didn't. Palau didn't appeal to us at all.

BritishCaicos

Palau suffers from being a ferry town.

Many such towns have a similar transient feel.