meland18

Hi,
I'm travelling to Sardinia in mid Aug for 18 days. I'll be travelling (30 yr old), with my two parents, travelling between places by car. At this stage we haven't purchased flights into Sardinia as I wanted to confirm the itinerary before doing so.
Our interests are wanting to find the traditional Sardinia, basing ourselves in 3-4 locations and using the car to travel and explore beaches, the interior landscape. The must-haves for us on the trip are; good food options, want to visit a winery (or stay on a winery), access to good quality beaches but not the touristy / resort vibe beaches, quaint villages, visiting local speciality producers such as dairy / cheese farms, olive oil production, walking hikes (I'd love to do a via ferrata!) etc. To give you an idea of previous locations we've fallen in love with across our travels would be Sifnos (Greece), Region of Puglia in Italy, Azores islands Portugal.
Current plan is:

• Fly into Alghero (arrival around 10am with the flights being considered)
• 4 nights Alghero or Brosa any recommendations? If we base ourselves in Alghero I would use the location to travel both north and south on day trips. Whereas if I'm in Brosa I will head inland and down south.
• 4 nights Pula or another location if you can recommend. Interested in the southern beaches here, visiting Carloforte, San Pietro, Porto Flavia, Chia, maybe some hikes?
• 5 nights in either Cala Gonone or Santa Maria Navaresse - use to explore mountains, beaches, caves, wineries (?), via ferrata
• 5 nights in Santa Teresa Gallura - base to explore La Maddelena, North beaches, San Pantaleo

Your comments and recommendations will be greatly appreciated!

neckervd

August is top high season and the "good qualitiy beaches" will all be full.
The best beaches in the South are around Villasimius, in the North between Marinella and Porto Puddu.
Hotel beaches (like Cormoran) are less crowded, although all but empties.
For strenuous hikes, go to CalA Gonone.

meland18

Thanks neckervd . Do you think the bases are manageable given travel times and peak season in August? Or will we be in the car for too long?
My other option was to skip the South and instead travel from Alghero upwards and focus on the North and East of the island.

Are the areas of Villasimius full of massive resorts? I wanted to avoid those areas as it's not something we're interested in. Plus the drive from Alghero to Villasimius would be quite long. I suppose the alternate would be to move from Alghero > Santa Teresa Gallura > Cala Gonone > Villasimius > Fly out of Cagliari.

neckervd

As you want to go to Sta Maria Navarrese (Arbatax) anyway, the drive to Villasimius isnt' much longer.
There are 2 good sandy beaches at Fertilia (Alghero airport):
Platja dell Lazzaret (free acces for everybody, only few sunbeds aand umbrellas)
Platja delle Bombarde: beach of one of the cheapest beach hotels in Sardiniatill available in August (double with breakfast 400 EUR/night)
Only few beaches in Sardinia are dominated by big beach hotels.
You find no big beach hotels north of Villasimius or between Marinella and Capriccioli.
People who go to these beaches stay in the hinterland and reach the beaches with thier own car.

If youn plan to end your Sardinia holidays in Sta Maria Navarrese, it might not be a bad idea to go from there (Arbatax) by overnight ferry to Civitavecchia and to fly home froim Rome Fiumicino.

Jean

The biggest summer holiday in Italy is Aug. 15th, and August is the month most Italian families take their vacations. I would look first at finding lodging for the period several days/a week before and after the 15th. If you arrive just before Aug. 15th, confirm your car rental as soon as you book your flights.

You should also try to find info on the dates and places for the many festivals that are held in August, either to avoid them or to enjoy them.

Some Sardinian beaches now require reservations as a way to limit the crowds, so do your research and book where required once you know your plans.

italychronicles1530

Stay in Alghero. It's bigger and nicer than Bosa. Great base to explore northwestern Sardinia. The coastal road south to Bosa is Italy's version of Route 1 and an awsome drive. Enjoy

meland18

italychronicles1530 thanks for your recommendation!