📍 Attractions
Login to addOld Square Irish Pub
In fairness, I only know of the Old Square pub because it was the ONLY place on the Island that showed the Rugby World Cup Semi-Final! For some reason, everyone else thought Serie A was more important! I had to drive in, find parking outside the Old Town, and then walk 20 minutes (which was brilliant, the Old Town at night is stunning!) before finding the pub. Inside, it's a pretty typical Irish Sports Pub; Plenty of TVs, British beer, good staff, and great banter. Seating is at a premium, though, so if you're heading there and want to eat, make sure to book in advance.
Grotte is Zudas
The cave system is extensive, with some marvelous examples of Stalactites, Stalicmites, and aragonite crystals. There are regular tours in English, which can be booked through the Website. https://www.grotteiszuddas.com/ Tours take roughly an hour along a 1/2 kilometer long route, descending about 50 meters below ground. Some areas are quite narrow and have low ceilings, but some of the caverns are massive! The temperature year-round is 16 degrees once you're underground, so bring something warm along.
Beaches
I don't really have the space here to write about every beach we visited, but suffice to say, all of the beaches on Sardinia are stunning. They're also clean, and not as busy as you might imagine (though we were there at the end of the season, so we can't speak for the Summer months!) What I will say is that the West Coast beaches had a much heavier swell, while the East Coast was calmer - therefore easier to swim in. And, as it's worth mentioning, Spiaggia di Punta Molentis was (for me) the best beach we visited. Situated on a narrow bridge of land, it's a fun beach with calm, shallow waters and plenty of exploring to do around it if you're not swimming. Asia's favourite beach was Spiaggia di Cea, just South of Arbatax, where we spent a couple of hours after I'd finished the Gorropu hike.
Sighientu Hotel
I don't normally write about hotels, but we had an awesome stay at Sighientu, and it's well worth highlighting that. Private pool (large one), with a private beach too (quite dirty with seaweed though). Excellent meals, food always seemed fresh, and wide selection of salads. Very friendly staff, especially Francesca at the front desk. Sofia's favourite attraction was Cream, the tawny cat that had made the Hotel its home. Constantly present at mealtimes, Sofia was more than happy to keep him well fed!
Gorropu Gorge
Starting at Passo Ghenna Silana, at an altitude of just about 1000m, the Gorropu Gorge walk takes you 700m back down along a 4km trail. It's a beautiful walk down, all along the edge of a large massif and through some sparse forest, with the last few hundred meters being particularly steep. Once you reach the base, the gorge rises up all around you, though to continue further into and up the gorge, it appears that you need to go along with a guided tour. I evidently didn't take this option. Unfortunately, I didn't have too long to stay and admire the view, as I'd left Asia and Sofia at the top of the mountain. So I headed back. Hard. I almost died. Turns out, a speedy 700m ascent is much harder than a speedy 700m descent! I did, eventually, make it back in just over an hour and 15 minutes, though I wish I'd known about the Land Rover option for getting back up the mountain a bit earlier!