Sardinia

A real paradise on earth

This was a very short and exciting trip in June 2010. The trip to Sardinia island, the second-largest island in the Mediterranean, lasted only 4 days. However, considering that the sun is shining all day long in Sardinia, the sea is beautiful, and nature pampers everybody with warm evenings – even two weeks may be too short to enjoy all this beauty. Sardinia could be a place to return to again and again.

Arrival to Sardinia

We arrived at Alghero Airport on a Ryanair flight from Frankfurt. At the airport, we immediately picked up a pre-booked car to continue our journey to the opposite part of Sardinia Island. This time we hired the car from myCarHire.co.uk, which offered good prices (for a 3-day rental we had to pay £84). This company has a large network of partners throughout mainland Europe and on many islands, so there is a lot to choose from.

Costa Smeralda

Late in the afternoon, we arrived at Al Saraceno Residence, located in the famous Costa Smeralda resort. Sardinia is an attractive island and the way to the hotel was exciting; we observed beautiful landscapes, mountains, cliffs and cork forests. The hotel itself was amazing – a large landscaped area with separate cottages on the top of a coastal hill, a 10-minute walk from the beach.

All four of us settled into a spacious two-bedroom apartment, which also had a kitchen and a spacious terrace. Have to note that finding the hotel was not that easy; Costa Smeralda consists of many small coastal villages. Luckily, we had the reception’s phone number and the hotel staff met and greeted us outside the hotel (the last couple of kilometres we drove according to their detailed instructions).

Yacht trip into open sea

Since starting to plan the trip, we had a desire to have a ride in the open sea. Early in the morning, we went to the village of Baja Sardinia, where Valieri Valentina’s sailing boat was waiting for us. This boat is equipped with a powerful engine and its crew offers to spend the whole day out on the sea. During the day, we visited several islands in the La Maddalena Archipelago National Park (Parco Nazionale Arcipelago di La Maddalena).

The archipelago surrounding Sardinia Island consists of seven islands: La Maddalena, Caprera, Spargi, Santo Stefano, Santa Maria, Budelli and Razzoli. During this trip, everything was just great – water, waves, boat, sandy beaches, sun, great travel companions, professional crew, excellent lunch on deck, chilled white wine, Italian dessert, coffee and wonderful scenery throughout the whole journey!

Around the Sardinia island

The next day was not planned. We decided to go to Olbia; Olbia is the largest town in the vicinity. Going more to the south, there is Dorgali, which is famous for its beaches with rocky shores.

After driving about two-thirds of the route, we needed a bit of rest. Following signs on the roadside, we arrived at the local rural tourism farm Iloghe, and had a coffee and a bit of rest. The owners were very kind and after a quick bargain, we agreed to return to Dorgali for dinner; the owners offered us to slaughter the piglet and prepare all sorts of dishes in the local Sardinian style.

We continued driving to our destination and spent a beautiful day in Dorgali hiring a motorboat and relaxing on a remote beach accessible only from the sea (more about this below). It should be noted that the dinner on the way back was perfect. After about four hours we enjoyed a variety of local dishes and somewhere around midnight went back to the hotel.

The route from the village of Liscia di Vacca, where we stayed, to Dorgali was about 130 kilometres; approximately half of it was a highway, and the other half had to be driven on paved local roads. The surrounding landscapes were beautiful and changing.

Beaches near Dorgali

After arrival in Dorgali, we immediately went to the pier of the village Cala Ganone to rent a motorboat. The main reason was to observe the rocky shores of the island. As it turned out, it was worth doing this – for more than four hours we admired the picturesque shores, where sandy beaches alternated with steep rock walls.

We found a small and very beautiful beach and stopped there for a while. Swimming in the sea and enjoying the sun on a miniature beach between the rocks was such a nice and relaxing experience.

Return to Alghero

Our short holidays were coming to an end. The next day we packed our suitcases and headed back to Alghero Airport. On the way back, we managed to get around the northern end of Sardinia island, which was different from the Costa Smeralda area. On the way back home landed again at Frankfurt Hahn airport and had to spend the night in a hotel near the airport for an early morning flight bringing us back home.

In total, we were less than 3 days in Sardinia (two full and two half days), however, during this time we had many unforgettable experiences. As I wrote at the beginning, this is a place where we hope to return, although it is also true that it is never possible to repeat emotions you have had somewhere being there for the first time. However, it is also true that there are values that never change – the sea, the sun, and the rocks that can be rediscovered over and over again.