mikewalsh

Armed with my usual guidebook and online sources, I've come up with the following (partially developed) itinerary and welcome your feedback:

Cagliari (Hotel Miramare), 3 nights. Rent car.
Oristano (Duomo Albergo), 2 nights
Santu Lussurgiu (Antica Dimore del Gruccione), 2 nights
Bosa (Hotel Sa Pischedda), 2 nights
Alghero (no hotel yet), 3 nights
Rome (Trilussa Palace Hotel), 1 night (required in order to make sure we catch flight out)

Thanks,

Mike

Jean

Just me, but I wouldn't switch hotels as often. Some of your destinations are less than an hour apart.

But, having said that, I would spend some time on the eastern side of Sardinia near Gennargentu National Park so you can visit a little of the wildest parts of the island. There's a rather charming narrow-gauge tourist train ("Trenino Verde") that runs between Mandas and Arbatax and through a small section of the Gennargentu NP. (One of four routes.)

http://www.treninoverde.com/Le%20Linee.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3SgN-OlfY4

(Why do people put such strange music to their Youtube postings?)

mikewalsh

thanks Jean, I'll look into it.

I hear that a lot (why so many hotels?), but we love the 'discovery' of our new hotel rooms, walking (not driving) to restaurants, and don't like driving longer distances to attractions on day trips chewing up our precious vacation time.

Jean

I understand. Just consider how much time is lost to unpacking/packing/unpacking, checking in/out/in, finding the hotels/parking. This is what I resent "chewing up precious vacation time," not the driving which includes the scenery.

To each his/her own...

Pvoyageuse

Just curious. Why Santu Lussurgiu? It is a very small place.
Very interesting folk museum though.

mikewalsh

Good question Pvoyageuse. Was hoping others had been, amd might conform this choice or talk me out of it. I guess I read it in bot Lonely Planet and Rough Guide as being a neat place with two small hotels that offer excellent food. And it's on the way to Bosa from Oristano. Wonder if I should stay just one day and stay the extra day in Bosa.

Jean, I hear what you're sayng, that could also chew up time, but we sort of live out of our suitcases and use GPS. I learned the hard way not to 'wing it' when it comes to finding places!

Pvoyageuse

It is not really on the way to Bosa from Oristano, it is quite a detour (small winding road). It is indeed a nice and non touristy place but it is very small. If I remember well, there is a "radioactive" spring somewhere near. Had lunch at restaurant Bella Vista and yes, it was very good and typical. You may want to search the 3 trip reports I wrote on Sardinia, it would give you an idea of distance and time between towns. There is a lot to see between Cagliari and Alghero and it seems to me that you'll miss a lot.

mikewalsh

Hi Pvoyageuse, I read your 'Sardinia Again' report which was great, focused on the East Coast. I could not find your other two reports, can you point them out to me?

Jean

I think these are the other two trip reports:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ch-4-to-11.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...t-sardinia.cfm

mikewalsh

Jean, thank you!

mikewalsh

Hi Pvoyageuse, I don't want to visit Santu Lussurgiu if there are better options. It is 25 miles from Oristano, and 30 miles from Bosa, so distance shouldn't be a problem even with the windy roads. Can you suggest another town to visit?

On a different note, we are looking forward to what I understand is wonderful food, but after reading your trip reports, it seems that meals are quite expensive, even without factoring in the weak dollar. Did you find this to be the case in general?

Pvoyageuse

It is not a bad option, it all depends on what you are looking for. You didn't say when you are going. If you want beaches and touristy places, Santu Lussurgiu is not for you. If you want to relax in a rural and hilly setting, it is fine and very different from coastal areas. Since you are spending 2 nights in Oristano, don't miss the Sinis Peninsula and the Phoenician ruins in Tharros.

Yes, it is difficult to pay less than €20/25 for a 3 course meal, a bottle of water and a coffee - I'm talking restaurants, not pizzerias or sandwich places. Fortunately there are other options especially in Alghero and Cagliari. In Alghero "Foccacia Milese" via Garibaldi (facing the sea near the old town) sells delicious and very filling "faccacie" for €3/4. In Cagliari, lots of restaurants offer fixed price menus for less than €15 at lunch time (via Sardegna especially).

mikewalsh

Thanks Pvoyageuse. We will be there early September. We like a mix: big city (Cagliari, Alghero), mid-sized (Oristano, Bosa) with small town (SL). Like the coast and inland. Hope I didn't short-change any of them in terms of number of days.

We like the 3-course meal, acqua con gas, could skip the coffee, but not the wine, so we're looking at an even higher tab. I will definitely do my homework on them, but the restaurant homework comes after the travel arrangements, hotels and sites, but before the shopping piece. Thanks for the recommendations.

Mike