I'm sitting at a coffee bar at a gym in Cagliari in Sardinia, this is a place famous for the supercentenarians (the folks that live over 100), it is one of the largest lifespan communities on the planet. I drink a protein shake after a workout, and of course it's Italy, so they also have espresso there which I drink after. Me and the barista make some good conversation, and I have to ask... "So how do the people here live so long?" She gives a playful laugh and looks at me as she puts her hands up and does a 360 as if showing me the whole island from inside the café, "Haha, look at this place!". And with that simple answer, I knew she was right.
I knew from my research and friends that had been there that I wanted this to be a trip when it was warm, but I also wanted to avoid the peak of summer season. So the end of September seemed like the perfect time. Which it definitely was, but I also definitely still ran into some pretty crowded places that I cant imagine being there in the summer! I also wanted to see the whole island, or at least a lot of it. Some people like to travel slow, some like to do it more like a sampler of a little of everything. For me it really depends on the place, my schedule, etc. With that in mind, I decided to do the best of both worlds, hitting small towns and rural areas for a day or two, while I spend more time in the capital city of Cagliari. My trip looked like this:
-Cagliari 3 nights
-Alghero 2 nights with a stop to Bosa on the way
-Costa Smeralda 1 night
-Villasimius 1 night
-Cagliari 2 more nights
It could not have been better, but I will note, some of the days definitely started early to hit the road for the next town. Here's my quick tips for each place I visited:
Cagliari
- The most likely place you will fly into, best for exploring the south, but the drive to Alghero is only 3 hours that included my stop in Bosa, stay as long as you like there of course. We will get to that.
- At the start and end of the trip I stayed in Corso Vittorio Emanuale II. This was a great area for nightlife, bars, dining, any shopping that was needed, and really all access to the areas of the city I visited. I never took a train other than to the airport. Very walkable, safe at night, and fun.
- Bastion San Remy, Centro Storico, and the Port were definitely fun, but the best highlight was day 1....
- I highly recommend booking a day out on the boats, I did mine on Airbnb, sailing around the area, stopping at great swim holes, and of course local wine, and snacks. Best part of the Cagliari leg!
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| Arrived! |
- Next was the road trip to Alghero, and I wanted to stop somewhere on the way to break up the monotony of the road. Bosa seemed like a beautiful place to check out. I didn't drive along the coast, so I will note the drive was fairly uneventful. I hit the road early with a goal of spending a couple of hours exploring Bosa, and being in Alghero while day light was still up.
Quick stop exploring the alleys of Bosa - Bosa is a beautiful little town to explore for a day or two. I arrived and parked outside the old city, which is a golden rule for driving into any old city. I made my way on foot to the river crossing into the city.
- Getting up to the top to check out Castle Serravalle was well worth it. Excellent views, and a great castle to visit.
- The drive went as planned and I arrived in Alghero around 3/4pm. After driving through I can safely say the old city is no doubt where you want to be as is the case with a lot of parts of Italy. The closer to the water, the better.
- The plan was to visit Neptune's Grotto one day, and explore beaches the next, but as travelers I always say we must plan on things not going as planned. Neptune's Grotto was closed due to high waves. I read this the morning I was set to go, and still drove there in hopes of change. When it didn't change I decided to spend the day exploring beaches. I would love to tell you I remember where I went, but I just played with the map, and went where it looked like it would make sense. I will say, some of these places... I may have gone off road a bit with the rental! Proceed with caution as this may not be allowed by the companies you rent from!
- A quick gelato at the end of the day to celebrate a recovered mission
- The drive for this morning was going to be about two hours, but I decided to start having fun before checking into the hotel so I stopped at a town called Santa Teresa di Gallura for a full day tour by sea of Maddalena Archipelago.
- The Boat tour! Just like Cagliari, this was the best way to see the coast, we stopped at multiple islands, this tour was long! Almost 8 hours or so, but well worth it. It included a full lunch, and of course drinks and refreshments. The water here was certainly the crystal blue waters I imagined when I booked the trip.
- I read a lot about La Costa Smeralda, in particular how it was the one of the most expensive parts of Europe synonymous with millionaires, tycoons, CEO's, celebrities, etc. Luckily I was at the end of the season and didn't have any issue with this. I will also note, I didn't go to any fancy restaurants, or any night clubs. Prices may have been a little higher than the other cities, but certainly nothing that broke the bank.
- I stayed at the Dolce Vita Hotel, which was easy to access nearby beaches on the coast, it also had a hot tub on the roof with a view of the sea, which after a long day on the boat was an epic ending to the night there.
- As beautiful as the water is, and the beaches, I will note, if you come in summer and prices are crazy, I felt the same beauty in all the other beaches I had seen in Alghero and Cagliari, but of course happy I got to spend some time here.
- The next day I had left open, I knew I wanted to check out the east coast to see more of the island, but I didn't know if I wanted to head back to Cagliari on a long driving day or stop somewhere on the way. With the magic of last minute google searches I found Villasimius.
- This was the longest drive, about 4 hours. But I did route it on coast which certainly had some nice spots to pull over and enjoy the view.
- My main interest in this last minute spot was scuba diving! I decided I had fun on the two boats rides, and beach days, it was time to see Italy underwater. My first dive in Europe. Certainly not the best dive I had ever done, but we met some nice Italian fish down there, and it was a cool and different thing to do. I had left super early to make it there for a 2pm ish dive.
- I will also note this was where one of my best meals were. But as many non-professional travel bloggers, I can't recall the name of the restaurant so it will have to be in my heart only unless I ever go back and find it again.
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