We spent 10 wonderful days in Sardinia, the second greatest island in the Mediterranean Sea.
Day1: We have started to explore the Emerald Coast right after arriving to Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport (OLB). If you think that this name has some ostentation inside, then you are right on the one hand and you are not on the other hand.
Emerald Coast was named after its mesmerizing green flora. The vegetation is surprisingly rich and colorful even in the hottest months (July and August) in spite of the totally dry weather. Due to this the North-eastern area has been extremely popular since times immemorial. On our walk we just came upon the luxury holiday house of the ex-prime minister of Italy. But he is not the only one who guarantees that Italian called Costa Smeralda is full with jewelry in the property owners bedroom. There are countless glamorous stars, like Alain Prost or Flavio Briatore from the Formula One series who own a house or business in Sardinia.
Porto Cervo is a most preferred destination of international elite tourism. The other residential and commercial areas, as Cala di Volpe, Capriccioli, Pantogia, Romazzino, Pevero, and Liscia di Vacca complete this “luxury” part of Sardinia. The centre is built around the harbour – which also houses the “Yacht Club Costa Smeralda” – with its famous square, shops, restaurants, nightclubs, hotels and villas surrounded by greenery, occupying the low surrounding hills and the coastline nearby, with stunning sea views.
Day2: As we are near the northern cap, we decided to have a look at Corsica through the sea from the top of a rock. Before we show you the Island of Beauty which is only 50 km away but belongs to France instead of Italy, have a look down at the bay of Santa Teresa Gallura! We would be satisfied even if there were no other place to swim on the island. But there is, we show you later!
After a short swim we decided to catch the ferry and visit Bonifacio, the town built on 110 meter high rock-wall above the weaving sea. This day trip worth all the time and money, you can’t see this anywhere else in the world. The location is absolutely unique! We have taken part in a 1 hour long boat trip with bird show included. We thought that this day would be hard to exceed!
Day3: We embarked to an other ferry in the morning, heading to Maddalena island which has a charming small capital to have a pizza for dinner.
COMPARE AND FIND THE BEST PRICES ON THE ISLAND:
| {source}[[strong]]<script src=”https://sbhc.portalhc.com/172152/SearchBox/410359″></script>[[/strong]]{/source} |
The top attractions are the beautiful small bays around the island and the cultural memorial located on Caprera island: The house of Guiseppe Garibaldi.
Day4: We switched our base to the southern part of Sardegna and travelled to Villasimius 320 kilometres away. We suggest you to have a walk on the Giara terrace and visit the Wild Horse Reservoir. After a light lunch an Unesco World Heritage site, the Su Nuraxi nuraghe complex waited for us to explore. The island is easy to identify from pictures because it is full with this remarkable form of prehistoric architecture, but Su Nuraxi is the most complete among all.
Day5: This day was about local culture. We started our morning in Cagliari, the capital of Sardinia which is an autonomic area of Italy. The town is full with several highlights as expected anywhere in the whole country. We have walked in the ancient city center, visited the Archeological Museum and the Gothic Saint Mary Cathedral. The Elephant Tower, Bonaria Basilica and the Jewish quarter are also worth seeing. What else could be the city-highlight then the Citadel in the sunset and night? Wait until the evening and find a place to have a real Italian dinner!
Day6: We have been so lucky not only to look at the elegant sailboats in the harbor but also to take part in a sailboat tour around the greenest coasts of Villasimius. Our lunch served on the deck was good enough for the day-trip, thanks a lot to Carlo who acted as the main chef. Grazie mille! We spent our time with snorkeling and with a half an hour walk on the uninhabited island of Cavoli (Isola dei Cavoli) which is home of an extraordinary insectivorous plant.
Day7: We know that Italian vines are famous and it was a pleasure to visit a vineyard close to Tanka Village but the best was to see the olive factory inside! In the afternoon and night we spent our time together with locals and we had fun, singing and dancing together with them for live music. As official program we have listened to traditional Sardinian instruments like euniddasz, bagpipe, accordion and guitar.
Day8: Back to the northern part of Sardinia! Alghero is the other city with an international airport so the island is quite easy to reach. There are several flights from Europe to Olbia and Cagliari as well. On the way we stopped in Bosa. There are no words to describe it, look at this:
This wonderful small town is located next to the Temo river and it is known for its colorful cottages, the Malaspina Fortress and vine of Malvasia.
Day9: Alghero is the starting point of the boat tour to the 170m high rock of Capo Caccia and to the unbelievable Neptun Cave which can be accessed from the seaside only. If you want to go inside from the main road, you have to climb thousands of stairs down the sea level. The cave tour takes around 50 minutes so be prepared for that!
Local fishermans collecting red corals around the deep blue bay. You can meet the products made from this corals in all souvenir shops on the island.
Day10: After an early wake-up we attacked and occupied one of the most beautiful beaches in Europe: Stintino. This is an absolutely must to see destination, not only in Sardinia but in Europe as well. This kind of colors can be found nearest on Maldives.
After our lazy day on our favorite beach we drove by car to Castelsardo. This lovely, romantic town was built below a castle, as you can hear from its name as well. We can’t imagine better place on the island to celebrate for example a wedding anniversary. The night view from the castle, the traditional architecture give some special feeling to us and we believe that all the other visitors as well.
Grazie mille, special thanks to Emese and Sardinia Travel for this memorable journey around the island of longest living people in the world.
