Sardinia or Sicily?
 

Hello everyone! I'm having trouble deciding between Sardinia and Sicily for our upcoming family vacation in August. I know August is probably the worst time to go, but because of school and another family event in London, we can only go in August. I know it'll be packed wherever we go, but I'd rather go than not go at all :)
Anyway so the Fodor'a community was amazing as always and helped me figure out some really nice places to stay in Sardinia, but I'm having trouble finding accommodations. Someone suggested looking into Sicily, so I did and found some really nice villas by the beach. There are TOO many options! I need help deciding which towns are best for toddlers. We have 3 kids--17, 2, and 10 months old. I'm sure the 17yr old will want to be around some kind of nightlife. For the kiddos I'd like to be close to a beach and I would also prefer restaurants/piazzas/walkable town etc. Any recommendations on nice little towns with pretty beaches?
Or I could just stick to Sardinia and settle for a mediocre rental/hotel. Any advice on that?
Thank you so much for any advice you can offer, it's much appreciated :)

Hi Maggie

I've been to both a number of times, give me a budget and I'll post links for some options.

Very generally, I think the decision should be based on how much you want to relax. Sardinia is very laid back with stunning coastal landscapes, very safe beaches with Sicily offering some of the best food, architecture and historical sites in Europe. They are very different destinations.

Hello maggiemay32

Maybe you would like to go to Cefalu in Sicily. It is possible to have an apartment there, or you can find resorts. There is a nice beach and there is enough for a teenager to do.

How much time do you have? Sicily really warrants 2 or 3 weeks....

It might help if we know more about your interests and why you considered Sardinia, as it would seem that you have many, MANY alternatives.

I have difficulty imagining that your only lodging options in Sardinia are "mediocre." How are you searching? Are you using booking.com?

In Sicily I stayed at Avola. It is a small town, not touristy at all, very peculiar with it's hexagonal form, by the beach. Live music at night in the big central square, with people from all ages: kids running, teens flirting, moms and dads talking a lot, senior people eating all kind of sweets (besides cannolis and icecream there are dozens of sweet things, and sicilians really like to eat them all!) Is served by the airport of Catânia. I stayed at an apartment and met a Grandma (it is really how people treat her, by "Nonna") who as a villa with a pool for rent, but not in Avola, 5 kms away in the mountains. But I saw some nice villas in Avola, you may try to search through airbnb or trypadvisor.

Thank you for all your replies! We have about a week or so. And since we have two little ones, we're not looking to do any sightseeing or anything, just relax by the beach and eat yummy food! I'm also vegetarian (husband isn't), so from doing some research online, it seemed like Sicily might have more options for me? Food is a big part of our vacations so Sicily seemed more appealing. But the beaches in Sardinia do look stunning! Gah I'm so confused!! And I'm using Booking.com, vrbo, Airbnb, and Expedia. I was looking primarily in Golfo aranci and Pula, and all the nice villas (private pool, close to beach etc) are either sold out or require lengthy stays!
Does Sardinia have good vegetarian options? I can happily survive on pizza and gelato for a week :) SO to sum it up, we'd like two things out of our trip--relax by the beach and EAT!

In six words:
Sicily for culture, Sardinia for beaches.

Sicily has some very nice beaches.
In the north: San Vito Lo Capo, Castellammare del Golfo upto (roughly) Trappeto, Mondello, Campofelice, Cefalù (the town is lovely, too).

...or the Vendicari beaches. But those of Sardinia are just nicer.

You will NEVER find beaches anywhere as lovely as those in Sardinia.

Agreed, Vendicari has really good shallow shelving swimming beaches, particualry near the old tuna factory.

Waldo

You may want to qualify that with " anywhere in Europe" (I agree).

Ever been to The Exumas?

Maggie, between us all, we can give you some very appropriate suggestions for rentals and hotels but bearing in mind both locations in August attract prices of anywhere between £50 and £5000 a night, we need some direction.

Haha I was gonna say, the Bahamas and Caribbean beaches are pretty spectacular! I'm so sorry I forgot to mention our budget! We comfortable spending up to $5000-$6000 (max!). We've been going to Europe twice every year for 10 years now, but since the kids were born we have only been twice. So we're longing for the European streets and the culture and the food and the peiple and all the other wonderful things! So I even though Sardinia has gorgeous beaches, will it have all of the above as well? Cuz I'll settle for a so-so beach with a piazza and cobblestone streets nearby, rather than go to a gorgeous beach with lots of hotels and what not.
Also, I apologize for being so annoying haha...I just wanna make sure we're getting the most out of our first Europe trip in 3 years (wow how spoiled do I sound ��)

maggiemay32,

Sardegna is not good for vegetarians. Sicily is better. Sardegna is very beautiful, and if you have little children and want to relax, there are many beautiful hotels and apartments. You can find a few towns with nice streets that are old with history. but Sicilia has more. Some parts of Sicily are poor and now I think maybe Cefalu is too big for you and too much like a city. But there are other beautiful towns with nice beaches but also with piazze and fun in the summer. For a vegetarian, there are more vegetables dishes to eat in summer. In Sardegna, by the beach, there is only cheese for vegetarians and the tomatoes for the pasta are not as good as in Sicilia. There are nuts and bread, and good pizza made with good grains.

Sardegna is very beautiful and if you want to go you will have a beautiful vaction with your family. But Sicilia is very special. It has more complications than the beaches with resorts in Sardegna, but if you if it is not necessary to have "perfect", and maybe sometimes you see some poor people or something dirty, it is a place you don't forget and want to understand better and return.

So, you are flying from the U.S. for one week in August? In that case, I'll go off the board and suggest San Sebastian -- it would be easier to get to, won't be as miserably hot, and has all the things you seem to be seeking. Just a thought!

Massimop, thank you!! I had a feeling Sardinia won't have much vegetarian food, and I'm a self proclaimed foodie so eating is a big part of our vacations! And kja we'll be in London for a family event, so we'll be flying in and out of there. Also, we've been to San Sebastián and absolutely loved it!

<<So we're longing for the European streets and the culture and the food and the peiple and all the other wonderful things!>>
Sicily. No doubt.
Sardinia is beautiful but it's all about beaches and nature. Sicily has much more to offer in terms of culture and food. And you will find more than enough nice beaches.

Sardina for the stunnng beaches and relaxation but Sicily is more "interesting" with options for sightseeing. I also think you would get more for your money in Sicily...Sardina while it can be done for less caters to people with lots of money...at least the areas with the best beaches...ie your accommodations unless paying really expensive rates for August will not be that great and wall to wall on the beaches. I would opt for Sicily. Food is better...period.

Food in Sardegna is good! But not if you go to the beach resorts or places by the cruise ships like Alghero. The good food in Sardegna is in the mountains. Everything is home made. In the mountains it is even possible to be a vegetarian and have good food. But it is more difficult at the sea, because everybody eats fish. In Sicily, they eat lots of vegetables. Also good gelato and milk that you make with nuts. Food is very cheap.

I don't know what a vegetarian diet involves, but the main food in Sardinia is sea food, and FRESH. Is that consistent with vegetarian, since it's not meat?

No, I am sorry, but the main food in Sardegna is meat, pecorino cheese, egg and bread. In the past times everybody lived in the hills and raised sheep or had the mines. They did not live by the sea because it was too dangerous. It is only later that people come to live near the sea and most of them are Romans who have the money to buy another house. If you like eels it is excellent to eat them in Cagliari, or snails. There are lots of nice mussles and lobsters in north Sardegna. But the cooks in the restaurants many times are not from Sardegna or even Italian. If you want the true food of Sardegna, it is best to go the mountains.

I don't profess to know what they eat in the mountains. However, I've been going to Golfo Aranci for many, many years, and believe me, the staple in Golfo is sea food. One year, my brother in law and I helped a fisherman friend if his unloading the day's catch. The fisherman has been supplying my brother in law for years with fresh octopus, calamari, bass, and the best of all SEPIA, which is Italian for cuttlefish. It is great. It's in the calamari family, but better than calamari (which we used to call squid when I lived in New York).

Yes, of course if you go to stay by the sea in Sardegna you will eat sea food. But it is not a long time that people live by the sea in Sardegna. Golfo Aranci is 200 years old, and people live in Sardegna for 2000 years. In past times, they lived in the mountains, not by the sea. It was too dangerous to live by the sea. That is why I say that the true food of the people of Sardegna is the shepherds food from the mountains. Later people came to live by the sea when it was safer, after the wars were over and there were not so many pirates. And now come the tourists, who like to eat fresh seafood so that is what all the restaurants serve. For a long time, local people in Sardegna ate fish in salt and dried fish eggs. Even today they eat that. It is very nice to eat the fresh fish by the sea in Sardegna. But the best food in Sardegna is in the mountains.

<But the best food in Sardegna is in the mountains.>
Which is only YOUR personal opinion. I personally rather eat fish. I hardly eat any meat, so I loved the fish we ate in Alghero, in Cala Gonone, in Bosa, in ... you name it. An pecorino cheese is available all over the island, as is pane carasau.

No, it is not my opinion that the best food of Sardegna is in the mountains. This is the true food of the island. It is what the people ate for thousands of years. If you want to taste the food of Sardegna, the best place to go to eat it is the mountains. You love to eat fish so you should go to the sea. But this is not the best food of Sardegna.

You can buy the pecorino cheese and pane carasau in Rome. Why go to Sardegna to eat the food of Sardegna? Because the people of Sardegna know their plates and how to cook them. This their culture. If you want to experience the true culture of Sardegna, it is in the mountains, not by the sea. Food is important part of culture everywhere in Italy.

The person who asked the question is vegetarian. Sardegna is not the best place to go in Italy to eat vegetarian food. The first cookbook of vegetarian food in Italy was written in Sicilia. The vegetarian food is better in Sicilia.

My friend read what I wrote and she says this is the way to explain this for Americans:

I am making a trip to Houston. I ask people: "What is the best food to eat?" They have said to me: "Eat the bbq and the Mexican food. This is the best food because in Texas the main food business is cows and before it was America this land is part of Mexico. That is why the bbq and the Mexican food is good."

But if I say to them I don't like meat, they will say to me: "Then you should to to the Vietnam restaurants. Now in Houston many people come from Vietnam to live, and they fish in the sea, and they make the best dishes with fish. It is not the tipical food of Texas, but if you like fish, it is better because than the tipical food of Texas.

It is like that with Sardegna. The tipical food of Sardegna is meat, because for a thousand years everybody in Sardegna eats meat. or maybe fish kept in salt. But now there are people who come to live by the sea in Sardegna or the tourists and these people like to eat the fish fresh. So you can find lots of fish and it is very nice to eat it. I like it! When I go to the beach in Sardegna I eat fish, not meat. But I know this is not the tipical food of the people of Sardegna, except maybe in Cagliari or Alghero. A few places that are very old by the sea.

I see your point. The <b>typical</b> food is meat but therefore it's not what I like. That is just a personal opinion.

Massimo, sorry to disagree but the worst meals I had were in Foni and in Gavoy !

First I didn't know what you are writing about but then I realize you mean Fonni and Gavoi.

I am not promising that everywhere you go in Sardegna or in Italy that you will always eat the best food just because you go there. Some cooks are better than other cooks! And if you don't like the food of Sardegna, that is ok. There are parts of Italy where I don't like the food (I am not telling where it is) so it doesn't matter if it is the best cook or the best food.

I am going to Texas and I know Italians who go there to sell wine to Italian restaurants, and they give me a list of all the places to get Italian food and espresso. I have to decide what to do! Some people don't like bbq or Mexican food. They think it the "worst" meal to have.

Why was it dangerous to live on coasts. Because of raiding tribes?

I tried some salumi in Sardegna, seemed comparable to those in other regions.

Cagliari seemed run down, not as renovated as places like Noto or Ortigia. But then you go up to the NE coast which caters to the jet set and there were luxury boutiques. And some of the resorts seem to offer private beaches.

I'm sure in those places, they offer whatever kind of food you want, even if not authentic to the island.

Taormina has beaches. Certainly a beautiful locale, even if crowded. Good food too.

yes, it was dangerous because of pirates. In many places in Italy people did not live by the coast before because it was safer to live up in the hills. Also it had more disease by the sea. It is cleaner to live in the mountains.

Cagliari is not a rich city and it is very busy with the port. If you go up to the old historic part of the city it is renovated in many places. Very beautiful. When people come in cruise ships they don't walk up to see the beautiful part. They stay by the port, which is ugly.

In Noto for many years it was completely ruined. Everything was fallen down. It was a shame for Sicily and they fixed it. But not long ago it was terrible.

In Ortygia and Siracusa the tourists have brought lots of money so it is easier to have everything look nice. Taormina is totally for tourists but even a very long time ago the ancient people went to Taormina to be tourists.

I hope people understand that sometimes you need to talk about what is best from a place because it is the culture. It is why this thing exists. In Italy for a very long time it was not possible to eat only what you like. You had to eat what was from the place. You didn't have a car to drive to go to another place to get different food. Children in a family all learn to cook the same food that is the product of where they live. There is a lot of knowledge about this food and if you want to taste the best recipe, you will find it where people know about how to cook it.

I went to Japan and the sushi there is the best. I like to eat sushi in the US (it is not good in Italy) but when I visited Japan it was possible to taste the difference. The cooks in Japan know the fish, and how to cut each piece depending on the fish. Even if the cook moves to New York, he has to learn new fish. So I think it is interesting to eat the best food of Japan when I am there.

You go to Venice and you will see most tourists eat pizza and gelato. That is what they like and maybe some of it is good pizza and good gelato, but it is not the best food of Venice. It has nothing to do with Venice. Maybe if they ate the best food of Venice they would say it is the worst food in the world because they don't like it. But it doesn't mean they are right. Just that they are only interested in what they like and don't like to eat. They go sightseeing to learn about culture but when they sit down to eat, they are not interested in to learn more culture. Many words about food, in Italian and English, have the word culture in them. So if you eat the best food of the culture that people learned to make from where they live that is as important as what they used to make their buildings.

I hope I find interesting food in Houston!

I only realize now that I never answered MyriamC.

If you go to some place with an ancient culture, don't you want to see the typical palaces or the typical churches? If I take you to Tuscany and I show you the best typical hill town, are you going to say to me: "I don't like that. I don't care if this is the best. I want to see the kind of town I like better".

In Italy, for many many places, the town exists because people found food there. Or they could make food there. The food is older than the church or the houses. First they found the food and they lived in caves. Slowly they made the castle and a church and houses.

Everybody likes to go places sometimes and not think about history or learning. I like to go to lakes to relax. But many people also like to visit places to learn the history. They like to ask "Why is this town here? Why is it different from where I live?" Otherwise, you just stay home.

In Sardegna the fish restaurants are there because tourists like to eat fish. If you would like to know how the people of Sardegna survived for thousands of years, then you look for other places. So this has nothing to do with your personal opinion or what you like and don't like. It's ok you like to go to the beach and eat fish. That is now how many people in Sardegna are surviving, having hotels and preparing fish for tourists. The beaches of Sardegna are very beautiful and it is nice you enjoy them.

I thought maybe the duomos in Sicily were restored with some EU funds.

As far as authentic food and people traveling for it, it's a relatively recent phenomenon.

In the US, just 50 years ago, Italian cuisine was Chef Boy R Dee and spaghetti and meatballs. That slowly changed with things like the slow food movement and the emphasis on fresh ingredients.

Italy picked up on that and the marketing of fancy olive oils and wine accelerated in the last couple of decades. Americans were not seeking out imported olive oils in the '80s, at least not to the extent they are now.

Agriturismi is also relatively recent as well. That's fine, I like "authentic" foods to but up to a point. Not being a foodie, dining in big name restaurants is not my highest priority when I travel.

I like Italian food a lot but I have no interest in trying out pigeon or tripe dishes, for example.

Very interesting Massimo. Sometimes our food choices are dictated by the fact that we cannot eat what we want to. In my family growing up we ate beef and pork about 5 nights out of 7. Now as an adult, I eat less and less red meat because it is not healthy for me.

So, sometimes we choose foods for reasons that are beyond the obvious.

But I like your explanation of why food traditions are so important to Italians, and others I'm sure as well. I've always found it quite curious that Italians like their dishes the same way they have always been, while cultures where food traditions are not so entrenched are much more experimental in their preparation.

This thread has gotten a little off track though! :)