Sardinia

October 2023. 23 years after my last (and first) visit to Sardinia, we finally made it back. I'd been talking for years about how I'd love to return to Sardinia and Corsica, but it always seemed pretty expensive to get there.

However, thanks to some judicious spending on the AMEX for a new kitchen, we ended up with a couple of free flights with British Airways, and it turned into the perfect opportunity!

Exploring one of the many beaches

The trip from Aberdeen, while only taking 14 or so hours, involved a couple of flights and an airport change in London (including 6 hours overnighting in Gatwick... at least Sofia got some sleep!) Needless to say, the first day in Sardinia, after picking up the car at the airport, was not very active!

We had decided to stay just outside Cagliari, in the port village of Capitana, with the idea that having the car would allow us to explore the Southern half of the island.

On my last stay on Sardinia, we'd been based on the very North coast, and hadn't travelled further than an hour or so away from the camp in the short time we were here.

Now, there's a couple of things I'm going to mention first up, for anyone considering visiting Sardinia:

  1. Italian drivers are terrible! maybe it's the culture, or maybe it's pretty cheap to buy a license, but there is no respect for any basic rules of the road. You'll realise eventually that the best way to get by is to follow their example!
  2. The speed limits on Sardinian roads make absolutely no sense. In town, speed varies from 30-70km/h, for no apparent reason other than someone ran out of more useful number signs. On the main roads it's even worse, with the max speed we acheived being 110km/h, for a whole 150m, before it reverted to 90, and then 70, and then 50km/h again. Crazy.
Flamingos

Crazy drivers and stupid speed-limits aside, we were in the rental car every day, and we did manage to explore a large chunk of South Sardinia. And I can tell you, it's just as beautiful as I remember.

From dramatic coastlines dotted with pristine white beaches to quite intimidating mountains with massive gorges and hundreds of caves, this island has so much to discover. We visited a new beach pretty much every day, as Asia and Sofia were mad about swimming in the Sea, but we also managed to visit one of the many caves, which was quite a highlight, and I even completed the Gorropu Gorge hike (which almost killed me!).

Unfortunately some of the attractions we tried to see were closed (out of season), but that didn't detract from what was, ultimately, a wonderful break away at the end of Summer.

And that's a good point to make now too - October weather in the Mediterranean area is pretty balmy - we had about 27 degrees C every day of our holiday - what more could you ask for!

Additionally, we'd paid slightly more for a half-board hotel (as opposed to Self-catering), and this is probably the best decision we made when planning. Having Breakfast and Dinner available for you at the hotel is such a time & effort saver, and allows much more time for drinking beer and swimming in the sea!

Date of last visit : October 2023

Hiking down to Gorropu Gorge

Sardinia Attractions

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!


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!


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 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.

Spaggia di Punto Molentis

And, as it's worth mentioning, Spaggia 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 Spaggia di Cea, just South of Arbatax, where we spent a couple of hours after I'd finished the Gorropu hike.


Grotte Is Zuddas


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

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.


Old Square (Irish pub)


In fairness, I only know of the Old Square pub as it was the ONLY place on the Island that had the Rugby World Cup Semi-Final showing! 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 get yourself a booking in advance.


Grotta Azzurra


Travelled to the West coast for this.

Boat tours start from Porto Flavia.

Out of season, so we missed out, but looks amazing.


Comments

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Comments

Asia
Write more about the beaches - the one we visited after the Gorropu hike was amazing! And more about the Villasimus beaches, especially the one with the sea on both sides 🥰
2023-10-28

yann
Nice blog. Nice page. It sounds like a worthwhile destination:)
2023-10-28

Norma
Great holiday, wish I could have been with you,
2023-10-28

Rita
Made me want to visit Sardinia - sounds like a fab place to visit!
2023-10-28