Lonely Planet Sardinia , livre ebook

Sardinia

Contents

Plan Your Trip

Welcome to Sardinia
Sardinia's Top 15
Need to Know
If You Like
Month by Month
Itineraries
Getting Around
Activities
Travel with Children
Regions at a Glance

On The Road

Cagliari & the Sarrabus
Cagliari
Sights
Activities
Courses
Tours
Festivals & Events
Eating
Drinking & Nightlife
Entertainment
Shopping
The Sarrabus
Iglesias & the Southwest
Iglesias & the Southwest Highlights
Iglesias
The Iglesiente
Southern Iglesiente Coast
Buggerru & Portixeddu
Costa Verde
Sulcis
Carbonia
Tratalias
Santadi
Isola di San Pietro
Isola di Sant'Antioco
Porto Pino & Around
Costa del Sud
Pula & Around
La Marmilla
Barumini & Nuraghe Su Nuraxi
La Giara di Gesturi
Villanovaforru & Nuraghe Genna Maria
Sardara
Sanluri
Oristano & the West
Oristano
Santa Giusta
Arborea
Marceddi
Cabras
Marina di Torregrande
San Salvatore
Tharros & San Giovanni di Sinis
Santu Lussurgiu & Around
Cuglieri
Santa Caterina di Pittinuri
Seneghe
Milis
Alghero & the Northwest
Alghero
Fertilia
Around Fertilia
Porto Conte & Capo Caccia
Stintino & Isola dell'Asinara
Porto Torres
Castelsardo
Ozieri
Sennori, Sorso & the Sassari Riviera
Valle dei Nuraghi
Olbia, the Costa Smeralda & Gallura
Olbia
Porto San Paolo & Isola Tavolara
San Teodoro
Porto Cervo
Poltu Quatu
Baia Sardinia
Cannigione
Arzachena
San Pantaleo
Santa Teresa di Gallura
Palau
Arcipelago di La Maddalena
Porto Pollo & Isola Dei Gabbiani
Tempio Pausania
Aggius
Berchidda & Monti
Nuoro & the East
Nuoro
Orgosolo
Mamoiada
Gavoi
Fonni
Aritzo
Laconi
South of Laconi
Cala Gonone
Orosei
Galtelli
Oliena
Dorgali & Around
Baunei & the Altopiano del Golgo
Tortoli & Arbatax
North of Tortoli & Arbatax
Inland Ogliastra
Accommodation
Where to Stay
Pricing
Cagliari
The Sarrabus
Iglesias & the Southwest
The Iglesiente
Sulcis
La Marmilla
Oristano & the West
Oristano
Arborea
Sinis Peninsula
Montiferru
Inland Oristano Province
Bosa
Alghero & the Northwest
Alghero
Castelsardo
Riviera del Corallo
Stintino & Isola dell'Asinara
Sassari
Valle dei Nuraghi
Olbia, the Costa Smeralda & Gallura
Olbia
Golfo Aranci
Porto San Paolo & Isola Tavolara
San Teodoro
Costa Smeralda
Northern Gallura Coast
The Interior
Nuoro & the East
Nuoro
Barbagia
Golfo di Orosei
Supramonte
Ogliastra

Understand

Understand Sardinia
Sardinia Today
History
The Sardinian Way of Life
The Arts
The Sardinian Kitchen

Survive

Directory AZ
Customs Regulations
Climate
Discount Cards
Electricity
Embassies & Consulates
Food & Drink
Gay & Lesbian Travellers
Health
Insurance
Internet Access
Legal Matters
Maps
Money
Opening Hours
Post
Public Holidays
Safe Travel
Telephone
Time
Toilets
Tourist Information
Travellers with Disabilities
Visas
Volunteering
Women Travellers
Work
Transport
Getting There & Away
Getting Around
Language
Behind the Scenes
Our Writers
Welcome to Sardinia

Sardinia captivates with its wild hinterland, out-of-this-world beaches and endearing eccentricities. Here coastal drives thrill, prehistory puzzles and four million sheep rule the roads.

Masua, west coast | STEFANO GARAU / SHUTTERSTOCK ©


Beach Beauties
Sardinia has some of the dreamiest beaches you’ll find without stepping off European shores. Yes, the sand really is that white, and the sea the bluest blue. Imagine dropping anchor in Costa Smeralda’s scalloped bays, where celebrities and supermodels frolic in emerald waters; playing castaway on the Golfo di Orosei’s coves, where sheer cliffs ensure seclusion; or sailing to La Maddalena’s cluster of granite islands. Whether you're walking barefoot across the dunes on the wave-lashed Costa Verde or lounging on the Costa del Sud’s silky smooth bays, unroll your beach towel and you’ll never want to leave.

Outdoor Adventures
Whether you go slow or fast, choose coast or country, Sardinia is one of Europe’s last great island adventures. Hike through the lush, silent interior to the twilight of Tiscali’s nuraghic ruins. Walk the vertiginous coastal path to the crescent-shaped bay of Cala Luna, where climbers spider up the limestone cliffs. Or ramble through holm oak forests to the mighty boulder-strewn canyon of Gola Su Gorropu. The sea’s allure is irresistible to windsurfers on the north coast, while divers wax lyrical about shipwrecks off Cagliari’s coast, the underwater Nereo Cave and Nora’s submerged Roman ruins.

Island of Idiosyncrasies
As DH Lawrence so succinctly put it: ‘Sardinia is different’. Indeed, where else but here can you go from near-alpine forests to snow-white beaches, or find wildlife oddities such as the blue-eyed albino donkeys on the Isola dell’Asinara and the wild horses that shyly roam Giara di Gesturi. The island is also a culinary one-off, with distinct takes on pasta, bread and dolci, its own wines (Vermentino whites, Cannonau reds) and cheeses – including maggoty casu marzu pecorino, stashed away in barns in the mountainous interior. In every way we can think of Sardinia is different, and all the more loveable for it.

Time Travel
Sardinia has been polished like a pebble by the waves of its history and heritage. The island is scattered with 7000 nuraghi, Bronze Age towers and settlements, tombe dei giganti ('giant's grave' tombs) and domus de janas ('fairy house' tombs). Down every country lane and in every 10-man, 100-sheep hamlet, these remnants of prehistory are waiting to be pieced together like the most puzzling of jigsaw puzzles. Sardinia is also an island of fabulously eccentric festivals, from Barbagia’s carnival parade of ghoulish mamuthones, said to banish winter demons, to the death-defying S’Ardia horse race in Sedilo.


Why I Love Sardinia
By Kerry Christiani, Writer
Sardinia was love at first sight for me. No matter how often I return, I find new coastal trails to explore and mountains to climb, hidden bays to kayak to and little-known agriturismi tucked away in the silent hinterland. The island is deceptive – it looks small on paper, but unravel it and it is huge. It's like a continent in miniature, shaped by its own language and fierce traditions, its own cuisine and culture, its own history and the mystery that hangs over it like a shroud. Sardinians are proud of their island, and so they should be.
Sardinia's Top 15

Golfo di Orosei
We can wax lyrical about sparkling aquamarine waters, blindingly white sands and sheer limestone cliffs but, trust us, seeing is believing when it comes to the Golfo di Orosei. Where the mountains collide spectacularly with the sea, this huge, sweeping crescent forms the seaward section of the Parco Nazionale del Golfo di Orosei e del Gennargentu . Set your spirits soaring by hiking its clifftop trails, exploring its sea grottoes in a kayak, or boating along the gulf to hidden coves – each more mind-blowingly beautiful than the last.

ZAKAZ86 / SHUTTERSTOCK ©


Top Experiences
Tiscali
Held hostage in the twilight of a collapsed limestone cave, the archaeological site of Tiscali is an enigma. Though only skeletal ruins remain, with a little imagination you can picture this nuraghic village as it was back in the Bronze Age. Every bit as enchanting as Tiscali itself is the trail through the lush green valley that takes you there – mighty rock faces loom above you, birds of prey wheel overhead and only the sound of your footsteps interrupts the overwhelming sense of calm that blankets this valley.

ZAKAZ86 / SHUTTERSTOCK ©


Top Experiences
Il Castello, Cagliari
Perched on a rocky peak, Cagliari’s Il Castello is never more captivating than at dusk on a warm summer’s evening. Rimmed by imposing ramparts, this hilltop neighbourhood spells out the Sardinian capital's history in artefacts. As the softening light paints the sky purple-pink, the citadel’s walls, palazzi and Pisan towers glow gold. Capture the moment by heading to the laid-back terrace of a bar on the ramparts, where sundowners are served with dress-circle views of the illuminated city.

ELISA LOCCI / SHUTTERSTOCK ©


Top Experiences
Costa Smeralda
Believe the hype: the Costa Smeralda is stunning. Here the Gallura’s wind-whipped granite mountains tumble down to fjordlike inlets, and an emerald sea fringes a coast that is necklaced with bays like the Aga Khan’s favourite, Spiaggia del Principe – a perfect crescent of frost-white sand smoothed by gin-clear water. Play paparazzi, eyeing up the mega-yachts in millionaires' playground resorts, or eschew the high life to seek out secluded coves, embedded in fragrant macchia (Mediterranean scrubland), where the views are simply priceless.

ELISALOCCI / SHUTTERSTOCK ©


Top Experiences
Alghero
To see Alghero at its most atmospheric, come in the early evening when crowds fill its maze of dark, medieval lanes and people-watch from the grand cafe terraces on Piazza Civica. Tables are set up along the honey-coloured ramparts, softly lit by lanterns, for alfresco dining with uninterrupted views of the sea and stars. Never mind the expense, you must try Alghero’s famous aragosta alla catalana (lobster with tomato and onion), a lingering taste of the city’s past as a Catalan colony.

JANA LAND / SHUTTERSTOCK ©


Top Experiences
Gola Su Gorropu
The first glimpse of Gola Su Gorropu on the scenic hike down from the Genna ‘e Silana pass is mesmerising. Dubbed Europe’s Grand Canyon, this mighty ravine is for explorers, with 400m-high rock walls and enormous boulders scattered like a giant’s marbles. At its narrowest point – just 4m wide – the gorge seems to swallow you up, blocking out the sun and silencing the world outside. Were it not for the occasional fellow trekker or climber, the chasm would have the eerie effect of seeming total