Any help wrt to hotels/beaches in Sardinia is appreciated! The books at the bookstores don't have much information.

I'm planning a surprise 7-day trip to Sardinia for my husband and I the last week of May / 1st week of June. We will be in Rome, so I thought we could fly there easily. Any airline recommendations - is Meridiana OK?

We like smaller hotels that ideally would be within walking distance to a nice beach, and also within walking distance to a few good (ie., good food/wine and relaxing) restaurants. Larger hotels with a small hotel feel or ambience are OK, but we don't care for high rises, business/conference hotels, etc. A pool is a plus, but we aren't interested in golf, tennis and other recreation. (Although I'm not sure if we'd find them there anyway).

We can rent a car and like to explore, so I'm not sure if we should stay in 2 or 3 places, or find 1 base for the week. Also, I would feel better if we had advance reservations, but are they needed in early June?

Thanks!

Check out my trip report from last August:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34526714

Book reccs: Lonely Planet Sardinia
Eyewitness Travel Guide Sardinia

I really enjoyed Alghero where you can walk to the stores & restaurants. The beaches nearby aren't so great though.

My favorite hotel (and location) on the island was at Hotel Rocce Sarde in San Pantoleo. The beaches are about a 5 minute drive away. It's in the Costa Smeralda vicinity, but not near the ugly, built-up parts. The hotel's website:

http://www.roccesarde.it/

The next time I go to Sardinia, I would definitely stay at this hotel:

http://www.sugologone.it/

This is an area of the island that I didn't get to.

I stayed at Le Meridien and the rooms are lovely. http://www.lemeridien.com/ The private beach that the hotel has was gorgeous. Free shuttle is available throughout the day to take you there.

I flew Alitalia to get there from Rome. It was fine. About US$300-400 roundtrip.

Thank you for the advice - any other additional suggestions for hotels/beaches are welcome!

AP6380, your trip report is absolutely wonderful! You've convinced me that Sardinia is a good choice - sounds just like what I'm looking for: beaches, scenery and small towns.

You said you flew Meridiana from Sardinia to Naples. I had never heard of this airline, but the fares are more than $100 less than Alitalia. Is Meridiana a safe, reliable airline?

I only flew Meridiana that one time, and I had no issues. Probably if type "Meridiana" into the search box you will find some postings on it.

Thank you very much, AP6380. I was able to find the guide books you suggested, and with the help of your postings and those of GAC, I have been able to plan most of our trip. I am having trouble planning accomodations for our last night, and was wondering if anyone has suggestions.

I have hotels booked as follows:

Is Morus Relais - 2 nights
Su Gologone - 2 nights
Villa Las Tronas - 2 nights

My plan was to drive from Villa Las Tronas to Hotel Le Dune for the last night. Then we have a late afternoon flight out of Cagliari the following day. Unfortunately, Hotel Le Dune has no rooms.

The Costa Verde sounds so wonderful. Is there another nice hotel in the area between Costa Verde and Cagliari on the beach where we could stay? Or would we be better off to book a room in Cagliari for the last day? If our best bet is to stay in Cagliari, where should we stay, and should we turn the car in at the airport, then take a taxi/bus to the hotel, then another taxi/bus to the airport the following day? (I don't know what the parking situation is there.)

Any recommendations are greatly appreciated!

Can you do Su Gologone 1st, then Villa Las Tronas, then Ismorus? Then spend an extra night at Ismorus and drive to Cagliari for your flight, it's not that far. Or maybe the point was to experience Cagliari a bit?

We drove into Cagliari every night for dinner and had no problems parking in the public lot in front of the Rinascimento Department Store on the main road (I forget the name right now!)

If you do end up staying in Cagliari I would keep the car, but maybe doublecheck with the hotel to confirm that parking won't be an issue. I was there in August, and I think the city quiets down a lot at that time. Maybe that's why I didn't have a problem with parking?

Here's an old post I dug up by GAC:

Author: GAC
Date: 07/13/2004, 03:09 pm
AP: here's another excellent hotel resort to choose near Cagliari (opened within the past year):

Sighientu Village Hotel in Marina di Capitana, on the road to Villasimius.
Much, much nicer and larger than the Calamosca, though pricey in August. You can reach the hotel from downtown Cagliari in less than 20 minutes by rental car.

Thank you again, AP - I'll check into these suggestions!