Have made basic plans for the Corsica and Sardinia driving trip segment of our next summer's trip to Europe. I'd appreciate comments particularly on the hotels before we confirm them if anyone has any personal knowledge. For the record, we are not good at relaxing -- so we are not interested in staying at a beach resort or out in the country. Our favorite thing is strolling busy marinas, markets, and seafronts looking for interesting restaurants, cafes, and bars. Between cities we'd like to do a little hiking or exploring. <BR>Arrive by fast ferry from Nice on July 9 in Bastia. <BR>2 nights Castel Brando in Erbalunga <BR>2 nights at St. Christophe Hotel in Calvi <BR>2 nights at Hotel du Golfe in Ajaccio <BR>1 night at the rustic Bellevue in Propiano <BR>2 nights at Roi d'Aragon in Sardinia <BR>take ferry to Sardinia <BR>3 nights at Luci di la Muntagna in Porto Cervo. <BR>3 nights at Hotel Catalunya in Alghero <BR>2 nights at Regina Margarita in Cagliari. <BR>Take overnight ferry to Palermo.

I spent fifteen days on Sardinia (of which five days in each of Alghero and Cagliari) last July, so I can comment on that portion of your planned itinerary. The Hotel Catalunya in Alghero is very convenient to the marina and port area, as well as to the Centro Storico and the intracity buses. However, it is not a particularly inspiring hotel (I toured its lobby), and a women I talked to who was staying there was not terribly enthusiastic about the property. I stayed at the Carlos V and also felt very lukewarm (that's a different story altogether). Both these hotels cater to tour groups. However, I visited the Villa Las Tronas, which is on a very private promontory along the waterfront, about a 15 minute walk from the Centro Storico (if you are driving, the distance would not be an issue). My wife and I both agreed overwhelmingly that we would want to stay here the next time we visit Alghero. It is a gated property, and has the best sea views in town, with a beautiful swimming pool along the coastline. I would ask for a room with a sea view, worth the extra cost. Expect to pay an extra $75 per day over the cost of the Catalunya. The hotel lobby is very refined and quiet, and the staff at the reception especially cordial. King Vittorio Emanuele III would stay here during his visits to Alghero. Alghero was not quite everything I had hoped for, though I did enjoy the town and would go back. The Hotel Regina Margherita in Cagliari is the best choice in town. It stands where the old torn-down Jolly Hotel used to be, on Viale Regina Margherita, about 300 meters from the seafront on Via Roma, and 200 meters from the Umberto I staircase which leads to the panoramic city terraces. It resembles an American Holiday Inn, fully functional but with no personality. There are numerous excellent fish restaurants nearby in the narrow alleys behind Via Roma, between Viale Margherita and Largo Carlo Felice. This is were most tourists stroll after dark. Cagliari is an interesting and very relaxed town, not touristy at all. The area around the Cathedral is very interesting to tour on foot. Too bad you're not flying into the city: planes approach the airport by flying directly over the port area, giving passengers a bird's eye view of the Castello District at the top of the hill. The port area reserved for passenger ferries is very clean and safe. The overnight trip to Palermo should be very pleasant.

GAC, thanks for the help (again, like Lipari). Your comments are interesting especially about Alghero. I looked at the web site for Villa Las Tronas, but they quoted me a minimum in July of 235 Euros, with no guarantee of what kind of room only that they would request a sea view room dependent upon availability (although it would appear that all would have nice views). The Catalunya has quoted me a price of 158 Euros for their top rooms, a junior suite on the top floor with large balcony to the sea (although I could get a standard room sea view for 102 Euros). The Las Tronas sounds closer to town from what you describe than I thought it would be, but I'm still not into driving "into town" at night for dinner, finding a place to park (is that difficult in Alghero?) and driving back. Do you still think I'm making a mistake? We would never use the pool, and it the Las Tronas still seems out of the way. <BR>I especially appreciate your comments about the area surrounding Regina Margherita in Cagliari. The hotel looked OK enough on the web site, but I questioned any area near the port. It sounds like what we'd like.

patrick, <BR> <BR>we spent time in alghero this past summer, however we were there the last week of june into the first week of july, so prices were still tame. if you can swing it, i, too, would recommend villa las tronas. we didn't stay there, we stayed a bit farther away from town, but rented a car. parking was never a problem, but if you don't want to rent a car i think the location is pretty good. if you don't stay there, just be sure your hotel is close enough to town to get there easily, as everything is in the center. if you are not a beach lover, i would not suggest spending more than a day or day and a half there. alghero was a nice city as there were lots of people out and about at night, even a market along the waterfront in the evenings, and plenty of shops and restaurants, but i think it's easily do-able in a day or so. one thing we also found was that the better restaurants (on price and taste) were a bit outside of the city center since most of the ones right in town were heavily geared for tourists. one more thing-we found the food in general, to be very disappointing. others we spoke to agreed-perhaps it's the island thing, but even basic dishes were pretty sub par. we did best sticking with salads and pizza by the meter. we had a great time, so i don't want to give you the wrong impression---it was very relaxing and we soaked up the culture...just wanted you to have a sense of things we didn't know before we got there.

one last thing-on our way to the airport we were told about a tour we could've taken at a local olive oil grove. wish we had known about that-you might find it interesting.

Patrick: the rate being quoted by the Villa Las Tronas seems a bit steep, unless it is for half pension (mezza pensione). I recall that the rate for summer 2001 was 357,000 lire B/B, or roughly 180 euros per night. Mezza Pensione would add 90,000 lire for two people, or about 45 euros. So I would want to double-check the rates. Moreover, hotels will never quote you a good rate so far in advance; you are likely to get a better rate for July 2002 much later (although the Villa Las Tronas, having so few rooms (fewer still with sea views), may be an exception). If you do end up there, you can walk to the Citta' Vecchia (Centro Storico) in 15 minutes, and during the hot summer months, it is quite a pleasant stroll. My only disappointment was the large number of street vendors who line the Lungomare beginning at dusk, selling trinkets and other cheap goods; I found that this cheapened considerably the ambiance of the area (you won't find this in Cagliari, which is not a tourist town). Thankfully, the line of vendors didn't go down as far as the Villa Las Tronas, which spared the area around the hotel from this minor outrage. A penthouse suite at the Catalunya facing the port would be an alternative worth seriously considering, a mere 5 minutes away from the Centro Storico. However, I found the hotel lobby itself to be seriously disappointing. Moreover, the woman I spoke with complained that the Catalunya turned off the a/c in the morning and afternoon (making afternoon siestas rather uncomfortable; this was also the practice at the Carlos V where I stayed). The concierge at the Villa Las Tronas assured me that this was NOT the practice there. Parking in Alghero is a problem only in the area surrounding the Centro Storico. From the Villa Las Tronas south, the area is residential and parking, though not easy, is doable (the Villa has its own gated parking). If you can get a sea view, I personally would splurge for two or three days and stay at the Las Tronas. Without a sea view, I might choose the Catalunya with sea view. F.Y.I., the 60-minute drive from Alghero to Bosa to the south is extremely rewarding, and the boat trip to the Neptune Grotto at Capo Caccia should not be missed. The Ristorante La Lepanto at the southern end of the Centro Storico is very good and not particularly expensive.

patrick, <BR> <BR>with all due respect to GAC, i think, as always, a lot of this depends on personal perspective. regarding parking: we truly never had a problem, and were really happy to have the car to check out the area as the touristy center gets a bit old hat after the first look round. and as for the evening market-we actually enjoyed it. i thought it was interesting to see what they were selling. didn't buy any of it, but hardly found it offensive. this is a place where many mainland italians go on holiday and it was a part of their vacation culture in this area. we certainly felt to see the market once was enough, but i wouldn 't say it 'cheapened' the area any more than the rest of the tourist shops in town.

I view of Amy's comments, I feel the need to qualify a few of my previous statements concerning my perception of the "cheapening" of the Lungomare of Alghero by the itinerant street vendors. I agree that one might display a certain natural curiosity to gaze upon the merchandise on sale (and also agree that there was nothing particularly worth purchasing), but I nevertheless would have preferred a different "element" than the one I witnessed: roudy men and women drinking at a popular bar along the Lungomare Dante, loud rock music, a considerable quantity of broken bottles and other rubbish littering the rocky coastline directly below the street, and a certain bohemian element characterizing the surroundings after dusk. How awful, I felt, that these outsiders do not treat beautiful Alghero (and Mother Nature) with greater respect! Fortunately, this spectacle does not repeat itself in the rest of the city, which is by and large very enjoyable and family-oriented. I would also disagree to place the street vendors on a par with the tourist shops in the city center: while there certainly are several "cheap" shops (as there are in every tourist city in Europe and the U.S.), there are also many merchants selling quality goods. However, I would certainly not let this minor eyesore (in my personal opinion, and I fully recognize that others may disagree) deter any prospective tourist from visiting this charming and in some ways unique resort town. Having said this, I would also strongly suggest that tourists should also visit more remote areas of Sardinia, particularly in the hinderland, and other towns (such as Bosa and Oristano) which are more representative of the island than is touristy and trendy Alghero.