Sardinia Road Trip- Feedback??
Sep 8th, 2018, 03:51 PM
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Sardinia Road Trip- Feedback??
Hi all!
I wanted to run my short Sardinia road trip (planned for mid-May 2019) by you all and get feedback from anyone who has been. For background, it will be me and my sister and the time frame is not negotiable unfortunately, I need to be in Rome to meet my husband on the last day and have a wedding obligation that prevents me from flying out earlier from Washington, DC. Both my sister and I enjoy seeing as much as we can and don't mind long days. She has been to Italy several times but not Sardinia and I have never been to the country. She lives in Europe so she travels around frequently; I make it over there about once a year. While I am a fan of museums, my sister is not so I haven't looked into them. We both enjoy wandering cities and towns, admiring architecture, ancient sites, and beaches/outdoors. We're mainly looking to just see the cities/towns and relax on a beach or two.
Here's my ideal road trip:
Monday: Arrive in Cagliari
Tuesday: Morning ruins at Nora, rest of day exploring Cagliari
Wednesday Morning: Leave early for Sinis peninsula, see ruins at Tharros and some beach time
Wednesday Afternoon: Drive to Bosa, explore and stay the night
Thursday Morning: Head early to Spiaggia la Pelosa for beach time
Thursday Afternoon: Drive to Castelsardo
Friday: Explore Castelsardo, head to Palau in the evening
Saturday: Ferry to Maddalena Islands (day trip), drive to Olbia in evening
Sunday: Leave Olbia for Rome
The drive times look to be under 2 hours for each leg which is doable. As Americans, we're pretty used to driving 10+ hours on vacations so I am not concerned about that. I am really interested in Bosa and Castelsardo and want to preserve this piece of the itinerary, along with the Maddalena Islands. Am I trying to do too much? Too little? Or just right? I'd love to see the other side of the island and the national park but with the time constraints that will not be possible this trip. After this, I'll be headed to Rome for a day and a half then on to Positano for a relaxing vacation so the Sardinia leg can be a little hectic, I'll be ending on a more relaxed note
Thank you for any insight you might have!
Jess
I wanted to run my short Sardinia road trip (planned for mid-May 2019) by you all and get feedback from anyone who has been. For background, it will be me and my sister and the time frame is not negotiable unfortunately, I need to be in Rome to meet my husband on the last day and have a wedding obligation that prevents me from flying out earlier from Washington, DC. Both my sister and I enjoy seeing as much as we can and don't mind long days. She has been to Italy several times but not Sardinia and I have never been to the country. She lives in Europe so she travels around frequently; I make it over there about once a year. While I am a fan of museums, my sister is not so I haven't looked into them. We both enjoy wandering cities and towns, admiring architecture, ancient sites, and beaches/outdoors. We're mainly looking to just see the cities/towns and relax on a beach or two.
Here's my ideal road trip:
Monday: Arrive in Cagliari
Tuesday: Morning ruins at Nora, rest of day exploring Cagliari
Wednesday Morning: Leave early for Sinis peninsula, see ruins at Tharros and some beach time
Wednesday Afternoon: Drive to Bosa, explore and stay the night
Thursday Morning: Head early to Spiaggia la Pelosa for beach time
Thursday Afternoon: Drive to Castelsardo
Friday: Explore Castelsardo, head to Palau in the evening
Saturday: Ferry to Maddalena Islands (day trip), drive to Olbia in evening
Sunday: Leave Olbia for Rome
The drive times look to be under 2 hours for each leg which is doable. As Americans, we're pretty used to driving 10+ hours on vacations so I am not concerned about that. I am really interested in Bosa and Castelsardo and want to preserve this piece of the itinerary, along with the Maddalena Islands. Am I trying to do too much? Too little? Or just right? I'd love to see the other side of the island and the national park but with the time constraints that will not be possible this trip. After this, I'll be headed to Rome for a day and a half then on to Positano for a relaxing vacation so the Sardinia leg can be a little hectic, I'll be ending on a more relaxed note
Thank you for any insight you might have!
Jess
Sep 10th, 2018, 09:20 AM
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I have covered most of what you are suggesting over six trips of one and two week durations.
This itinerary is doable but I’m not sure what you want to achieve. Personally, I’d fly into Oblia and spent the time in the North of the island with well paced trips to Castelsardo, La Maddalena and Bonifacio on Corsica.
I’ve visited Nora and Tharros. Both have stunning sea locations but there is very little standing at either location.
Sardinia has the best beaches in Europe but compared to those in the Caribbean and some of the US coast you are going to think that they are fairly average.
This itinerary is doable but I’m not sure what you want to achieve. Personally, I’d fly into Oblia and spent the time in the North of the island with well paced trips to Castelsardo, La Maddalena and Bonifacio on Corsica.
I’ve visited Nora and Tharros. Both have stunning sea locations but there is very little standing at either location.
Sardinia has the best beaches in Europe but compared to those in the Caribbean and some of the US coast you are going to think that they are fairly average.
Sep 10th, 2018, 01:24 PM
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Thanks for the tips, BritishCaicos!
I think I'll map up an itinerary close to what you're suggesting as well so I can compare them. It is a lot of ground to cover but I don't get many opportunities to be in Europe and tend to try to see as much as I can when I'm there. Sometimes this goes really well and other times not so much As for Maddalena, did you take one of those boating tours that stop various places? Or the general ferry? Or a private boat? I'm wondering what the best options might be. I don't love a huge crowd but spending tons of money on a private option probably isn't in the cards this trip.
I think I'll map up an itinerary close to what you're suggesting as well so I can compare them. It is a lot of ground to cover but I don't get many opportunities to be in Europe and tend to try to see as much as I can when I'm there. Sometimes this goes really well and other times not so much
As for Maddalena, did you take one of those boating tours that stop various places? Or the general ferry? Or a private boat? I'm wondering what the best options might be. I don't love a huge crowd but spending tons of money on a private option probably isn't in the cards this trip.
Sep 10th, 2018, 03:55 PM
#4
I don't know what your idea of "beach" weather is, but you may need to keep your plans flexible and work around the weather/temps. I'm not sure you're going to see huge crowds in mid-May outside of the cruise ports.
You should decide on what you want to get out of your day on La Maddalena. There is a car ferry which would give you the option to see more of the island by car, although you can't drive the coast all of the way around. I don't know where the boat tours stop, so you'd have to compare what you could see by boat tour with what you could see by car.
You should decide on what you want to get out of your day on La Maddalena. There is a car ferry which would give you the option to see more of the island by car, although you can't drive the coast all of the way around. I don't know where the boat tours stop, so you'd have to compare what you could see by boat tour with what you could see by car.
Sep 11th, 2018, 05:16 PM
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Hi Jean!
Beach weather for me just means "can I sit comfortably on a beach". If it's warm enough for sun bathing and swimming that's an added bonus, I just enjoy listening to the water. But excellent point about being flexible in regard to weather, thank you!
I'll check into Maddalena more, I hadn't considered the driving option for the main island. Thanks for pointing that out.
Beach weather for me just means "can I sit comfortably on a beach". If it's warm enough for sun bathing and swimming that's an added bonus, I just enjoy listening to the water. But excellent point about being flexible in regard to weather, thank you!
I'll check into Maddalena more, I hadn't considered the driving option for the main island. Thanks for pointing that out.
