Blog Sardinia

Here we are, the three of us plus my cousin, who invited us to her summer house in Costa Rei, and her 3 months old baby girl, departing Cagliari with a C3 car.

Two pushchairs do not fit in the boot..should we have hired a bigger car??
First step: do we take the panoramic road, driving on the cliffs, facing blind bends and enjoying the stunning views, or should we take the new, fast road? As we are now family and we are not sure if babies can get car sick, we decide to go for the new road.

We left Cagliari towards Villassimius, but at the crucial point, Paolo started to cry,  we got anxious and confused so we turned into the wrong exit, which goes straight back to Cagliari! Impossible to turn back, we had to drive until we found an exit and start again!

That costed us 20 minutes, but eventually we got back on track. After Torre delle Stelle and just before Solans, we took the new 125 road and that was fine, although this eventually joint the old road and we drove for 20 minutes on the older and bendy road along the cost. Like in the old times, when I was the child, we stopped for a cry and a rest, fed Paolo, looked at the amazing endless sea. It took us ninety minutes to get to Monte Nai, the village where my cousin’s house is.

Monte Nai is a pretty summer village where many people from Cagliari and nearby villages have got their summer houses. There are grocery shops, a proper fish monger, some pizzerias, and a little square where people go out for a walk and a chat at night. The square was not as busy as it used to be, and it seemed that there is no more such a crazy night life as I remembered, with clubs and bars or shops open until late. We found it so calm, but just fine for us.

We staid in a beautiful villa with garden, as most of them are. It was hot but we slept on the ground floor where it was cooler. We would wake up early and have a nice cappuccino and a croissant at the local bar, then go to the beach by the ex Escargot Club. We had our parasols, but if we had not had them, there were some for hire together with deck-chairs in a beach further down.

The water was as crystal clean as I could recall and it was just beautiful. We did not stay too long because of the babies, so we went back to the villa for lunch, then had a nap. The day was so beautiful and hot that we went back to the beach at 7PM when it was warm but pleasant, and had a swim with the babies! We stayed until 8.30 in the evening then back. We went for a nice pizza later. Lovely!

Day after was a completely different story. It got very windy with the Maestrale wind, which I hate. Whenever it is windy in Sardinia and you want to go to the beach, you have to think as the Sardinians do.  First, what kind of wind is it? Where does it come from? Once you know that, you have to choose a beach or better a bay, where having taken into consideration the direction of the wind and the position of the beach, it is less likely that the wind will blow the sand. For us, that day, there was only one choice, Cala Pira – 15 minutes drive away going south.

This spot, was once totally wild and known only by the locals. Not that day. The wind was so exceptionally strong, that it was really crowded and unpleasant anyway. As if this was not enough, there was a ban to park nearby the beach. We should have had parked and walked 15 minutes to get there, with prams, babies, bags and parasols, which you can not hire in Cala Pira. Luckily my cousin dropped us nearby, and then he went to park. After only an hour, we left. We had lunch and relaxed in the villa before driving back to Cagliari. Not the best day, but we were still sad to leave such a beautiful spot!

So, yes, Costa Rei is beautiful and a good place for families, but forget about wild beaches and mind the bends!

Manuela

Do not expect to reach it too easily though…you need to make a little bit of an effort to get to this paradise, located in an area of Sardinia called Ogliastra and considered as “the island in the island” for the difficult accessibility (although nowdays this was very much improved) and unspoilt beauty of its coastline and mountains.

The nearest airport is Arbatax, which is very close but very little so unless you are lucky to get a flight for it, you will have to fly to Cagliari or Olbia and drive from there. It may look like easy at first but Sardinian roads are always a surprise and the 160 Kms that divide Olbia from Tortoli can easily turn in 4 hours journey on a very bendy road. Great to take pictures of this fab coastline but your kids may not like it! On the other side, there is now a brand-new fast road that from Cagliari goes very near to Tortoli ( and to Tortoli itself once completed). We used it two summers ago and we got to Tortoli in 90 minutes. If you are planning to reach Sardinia form Italy mainland, you could also take a boat to Arbatax’s pier.

Well, once you have reached Tortoli.. relax. Take your time and enjoy the beautiful beaches. One of the local and my favorite beach  is “la spiaggia di Orri” very well known for the gold sparkling effects of its sand and its crystal waters.

Very famous are also the red rocks of Arbatax, which did not do much to me but are still something you have to see if you are around. Going further north do not miss Santa Maria Navarrese beach, which is also stunning. Going South, Barisardo is one of the best.

Apart from the coast, the woods and the wine of the inside area are also a must see and must taste! The Cannonau of Jerzu is one of my favorite wines (very good with red meats and very strong..) and places like Ulassai with its beautiful waterfalls are great to see in the springtime. So here you are, ready to go?

If you are thinking to visit the south west of Sardinia, this is really the place you can not miss.

A place, which beauty is so amazing to look like surreal. This is Masua, a tiny hidden beach where I left my heart last summer. A sandy beach surrounded by the mountains and overlooking the white rock/islet of Pan di Zucchero emerging from the deep blue waters. You only seam to miss a ship pf pirates in the picture..

To get to Masua is really easy. From Cagliari you should take the 130 road towards Iglesias for about 40 minutes. You go always straight until you find directions to turn right for Nebida. Follow that. You will drive for about six kms. This road is very bendy and runs over cliffs but the views are spectacular and this journey is really part of the whole experience. You may want to stop to take some beautiful pics.

When you see directions for Masua, you will start to go down towards the beach and there you are!

Enjoy!

Manuela

PS: a bar, canoa hire and toilets are available. Parking can be limited on a week-end in August and sometimes in July as it can get busy so try to go early.

It is a beautiful, big and sandy bay with crystal waters that stretches up to the Lido di Orri’.

It is very well served with bars where to eat and hiring of sport equipments, parasols, deck chairs etc. If I well recall there is also a Beach Volley field.

The bay is dominated by a Spanish tower that was built during the Spanish domination in the XV century to fight the Arab incursions.You can reach it from the beach if you wish to visit it and enjoy a faboulous view from there.

To get to San Gemiliano beach from Arbatax take the Via San Gemiliano then turn into Via D’Annunzio and follow the street up to the beach. You are there!!

The Costa Verde, is on the south-east side of Sardinia. My favorite place here is Piscinas, located at about 25 KM from Arbus. What it is so special about it are the huge dunes of unbelievable thin amber sand that dominate this side of the coast, together with the usual stunning crystal waters of the sea. It is such a powerful and spectacular view that made Piscinas one of the Unesco world heritage sites. It is not so easy to get here (do not worry, we will give you directions!) which means no crowds (yes!) but also not bars or toilets..

This area of Sardinia used to be full of mines, then dismissed, which have being turned into fascinating geo-mineral parks open to visitors in recent times. If you visit Montevecchio, you will have the chance to explore the mines galleries and some of the historic villas that were built by the owners of the mines. Montevecchio is surrunded by woods and if you love trekking you may be lucky and see a some of the beautiful Sardinian deers or wild boars!

Other interesting places to visit are Ingortosu (ex miners village), Fluminimaggiore & Gonnosfanadiga (archeaology) and Guspini. There are many activities that you can take in the Costa Verde: trekking, horse riding, snorkeling, diving, excursions by Quad..and apparently you can take a tour on carriages pulled by donkeys (never tried this last one but let us know if you do!!).

If you want to spend some days in Arbus try clicking on our Hotel category on the right.

Enjoy!

Manuela

PS. Be aware that there are two places called Picinas in Sardinia!

Again, a piece of paradise on earth.. a place of rock and crystal water

Cala Gonone is a little fishermen village located in the Gulf of Orosei. It looks over a stretch of cost where you will find some of the most beautiful beaches in the med. Some are wilder, such as Cala Luna & Cala Mariolu, others also suitable for families such Palmasera, or even Centrale. The nearest airport is Olbia.

Apart from the incredible beaches, it is also a great destination for those who love trekking or even free climbing and bungee jumping (not my case!). Su Gorroppu, S’Abba Durche, Cala Fuili – Cala Luna are all enchanting and very popular itineraries for the trekking lovers.

Finally, you can take a boat excursion to the grottoes of del Bue Marino or visit some of the nearby archaeological sites like Tiscali (yep…this is where your broadband name comes from!). To visit the Bue Marino’s grottoes you will need to visit the information point in Cala Gonone’s pier.

Actually I forgot the food! Superb! Do not miss the local gnocchi: “anzellottos”

Manu
Now, I can not wait to go there again !

Am I in the Caribbean islands?

This is what you will wonder if you go to beach of Tuerredda (the little tower) on the South cost of Sardinia and at only an hour drive from Cagliari.

One of my favorite: an amazing bay, crystal waters, clear sandy beach and a little Spanish tower overlooking it all.

There is a kiosk bar and some deckchair and parasol hiring facilities as well, even if last summer, I found the bar very overpriced and the barman not the most pleasant person..

For the rest.. it is paradise on earth.. but if it gets very busy in August and late July!

Manuela

Here’s a post from Glenn, a friend that has been in Sardinia few times. I am wondering if the pictures were taken from his terrazza! Thanks Glenn. Anyone that feels like writing something about Sardinia can email us.

By Glenn Read the rest of this entry »

How many times we hired a car in Sardinia and drove from Cagliari to Villasimius Luca? Many..but many times we did not even reach it..

There are too many others beautiful places in between.. the journey in itself is spectacular if you can relax and enjoy the views. ..as I normally do. Off course, if you are driving, you must focus on the many narrow bends up and down this road.. as normally Luca does..

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Hi everybody, I would like to introduce a small paradise in Cagliari. Some pictures:

The area called Cala Mosca has few beaches, still has the fine white sand that use to be in all Poetto (Cagliari’s beach). Cala Mosca was never busy in the past, mostly due to the Military Bases that were just there, so the area was partly off limit. Another reason was the “popular “neighborhood nearby (we will talk about it in another post).

As soon as you arrive to the first beach of the bay (at the end of this article a link wit directions), you can park the car in front of the old base and go down few steps. This first spot is the only one with sand so nowadays it can get quite busy. Looking at the sea from the sandy beach you have on your right plenty of room to swim (I can assure the water is amazing); on your left there is a hotel with a restaurant, which is not actually very good to see, but if you go there at night to have dinner, they have a very nice terrazza overlooking the bay……

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