SALTY DAYS IN SARDINIA

Ahhh Europe... truly a world of it's own. There's a good reason it's so high on everyone's bucket list. From the history, architecture, culture, insane landscapes, oh and of-course the food.. I think we can all agree it's a place that needs to be experienced to understand it. There's endless countries to get lost wandering through ~ but my travels have left one place in particular lingering in my mind and that is Sardinia. The crazy thing is, I was a travel agent (in Australia) for nearly 3 years and had never had anybody enquire about this Mediterranean paradise. And I had only heard of it a couple of times myself but really knew nothing about it. So if you're in the same boat and you're a little curious right now, let me enlighten you...

NEVER HEARD OF IT ?

Well, it’s a large island in the middle of the Mediterranean and is actually a part of Italy so you can definitely expect that amazing Italian hospitality and cuisine. It's very easy to get to with 3 main airports including Olbia, Alghero and Cagliari. You can snag really cheap flights from plenty of airports in Europe but it all depends on the season and exactly when you choose to go (so have a good look at all of your options if you're looking to save).

CHOOSING HOW TO GET AROUND

I was bit of a space cadet when I first booked my flights and unrealistically thought I could hire a bike or scooter and cruise around the island at my leisure... until I actually had a look at a map. Woah, turns out it's a bloody big island ! So car hire is the way to go. It's hot in summer so having a comfy, air-conditioned space to cruise around in from point to point is absolutely necessary.

NOTE: Make sure you have a credit card in your name and you're the right age to hire a car or your options will only get more expensive.

YOUR STYLE OF TRAVEL

The way I like to travel is focused around adventure and exploring ~ so I’d booked my flights not knowing what I was doing or what to expect. Other than seeing a couple of photos of some beaches I still knew nothing about this island wilderness. When I arrived I had a backpack with the essentials (hammock, bikinis, etc), a small Fiat Panda to drive around and my girl-friend from Germany by my side. The adventure started there !

How would you travel though ? If you hired a car you could always book some little Air BnB’s along the way.. Or if you’d prefer to stay in one area you can find some amazing resort escapes or traditional guest houses.. There’s also the option to do a bit of sailing - this is popular in the north around La Maddalena. You could even backpack your way around if that’s what you prefer. I felt really safe wherever we went, even being 2 girls traveling around alone with no plan.

THE ADVENTURE BEGAN

Our flight had departed super early from Venice so our first direction was 'let's find the nearest cafe'. We opened Google maps while sipping our soy lattes and decided that north was the best option. Here's a handy hint: All I look for on Google maps is the bluest water and I simply go there.

We were both craving a swim but WOW, we did not expect what was over the hill as we approached our first destination.. La Pelosa, what a dream. Some of the clearest, most pristine water I have ever seen. Those shades of blue will never leave my memory (and this was just day 1). I can't stress enough how perfect this island is to get your mermaid on ! If you're dreaming of beach hopping while you're in Europe then consider Sardinia.. but give yourself a few days. I was there for nearly 2 weeks and could've stayed the whole summer. And on a quick note, I would recommend bringing an umbrella to the beach because it does get really hot.

The landscape is so diverse and can change within an hour of driving. Wild, rocky outcrops in the north, walking trails that wind along the mountains in the east, untamed sand dunes in the south and an ocean drive with awesome views on the west. There's walking trails through the forests, caves and sea caves, waterfalls, ancient ruins, hiking trails overlooking the sparkling sea, farms growing fresh produce, smaller islands to sail around, flowers everywhere and even a beach made from tumbled quartz sand. Generally it is a pretty wild place with lots of open space. That's what I really loved about Sardinia..it felt a little more off-the-beaten-track then the European mainland.

CROSSING THE NORTH

By the first afternoon, we had driven a good portion of the north coast and wound up in a little holiday spot named 'Costa Paradiso' ~ sounds beautiful right ? It's tucked away off the main highway so it felt quite secluded. You can find lots of options for accommodation, cafes, restaurants and most importantly amazing swimming ! This area in the north is mainly formed by rocky outcrops that meet the sea.. perfect to dive from ! (Just watch out for the sea urchins). There is a stunning, hidden beach (still popular though) named 'Spiaggia di Li Cossi'.

It's perfect for relaxing, sunbathing, exploring, rock climbing and catching a sunset.. If you decide to find accommodation in the area, make sure you wake up early to watch the sunrise at Spiaggia di Li Cossi. It's truly worth it to see it rise over the rocky hills and transform the colour of the sea into a dazzling blue ! You might even get the beach to yourself for a morning swim..

After a refreshing morning swim, we set off on day 2 of our ladies road-trip around the island. A little more research and we were headed for Capo Testa (and by research, I mean zooming in on the map looking for lovely locations). This location was rather unexpected and quite random ~ we parked our little Fiat Panda in the sunshine and began to follow the pathway to our next slice of mermaid paradise. A few metres in, a sign read something like "Commune Valle della Luna". Even with my very vague Italian vocabulary I could still understand what that meant..a commune in a valley up ahead. Very curious, we followed the path into the valley of the moon. We were greeted by a group of scruffy strangers who were indeed living there. Once again the landscape was formed from rock which was protruding from the earth in different directions and boulders of all sizes were scattered around the place. It's such a beautiful place ! The residents had even built themselves little cave-like shelters within the rocks. Some had hammocks and judging by the cardboard boxes full of fruits, they seemed to be well fed. We enjoyed a heavenly swim and decided to stick to our schedule and explore a little further (even though they offered to cook us dinner as we were leaving haha).

Some local advice lead us to Porto Pollo for the rest of the day. This spot is perfect for anyone who loves those wind/water sports like wind-surfing and kite-surfing etc. Instructors from all over the world flock to this area to spend the summer teaching others ~ and I can understand why. There's a really nice vibe around the area..the people are relaxed, there's beach bars with amazing food (and hammocks), a bit of night-life, more clear water and lots of activities.

There's plenty of choice for accommodation too which I highly recommend, because it's close to Palau. From Palau you can join sailing adventures around the close-by islands of La Maddalena and Caprera (stunning !!). Or you can just catch the ferry across.

We chose the ferry to La Maddalena the next day (once again I found a patch of blue on google maps and we just had to go). We thought we would quickly hire a scooter and cruise from the ferry terminal to Isola Giardinelli, but they wanted 50 EURO for 5 hours hire..we only needed to drive about 10 minutes so it wasn't worth the money. Instead we walked and it took about 45 minutes. Not bad anyway ! We spent our day perched on a rock, surrounded by the most exquisite shade of blue. It was a repeated process of sun-bathing, diving in, sun-bathing, diving in... just perfect ! Cannot recommend enough.

HEADING EAST

It was really hard to leave the north but the next day we continued on our journey and dotted along a few of the beaches down the east coast (around Olbia), but we found that they were really crowded and we just weren't feeling it so we moved on.

This is why having a car was really important to us, so we had the ability to move around whenever/wherever we felt. There was just one beach on my mind at this point.. I had seen it in a photo while I was doing a bit of research a couple of days before. Cala Fuili.. it just looked epic and I can absolutely confirm that it is. The view is just so incredible !

It took us a couple of hours to get there which was fine because our road-trip involved 2 chicks in a tiny car, windows down and music pumping. So much fun ! We even stopped for a freshwater swim in 'Lago del Cedrino' (a beautiful river).

We arrived at Cala Fuili around sunset and were greeted by pastel skies and the full-moon rise. I set up my hammock in the bushes by the beach and slept under the stars (pack warm clothes, even in June because the nights get cooler). And next morning we witnessed another majestic sunrise.

This was definitely my favourite beach on the island ~ you can actually complete a pretty extensive hiking trail along the coast-line. It's supposed to be tough, but absolutely stunning. It begins at Cala Fuili and reaches Cala Luna. Just make sure you're prepared.. We opted out of this one because of our schedule but I will definitely be conquering that trail if I ever return. You can enjoy a nice morning coffee with beach views (and even find accommodation) at Cala Gonone. It's just so lovely because it's a small town, hidden over the other side of a mountain.

HEADING SOUTH

We sort of rushed the next part of the journey and skipped the entire section between Cala Fuili and Cagliari so I can't give any info about that area.. but our next exciting find was in the south near a tiny town called Porto Pino. I could see on the map what looked like a big sand dune (and I love sand dunes, if you haven't read my post about Fraser Island). This was really cool because I just love it when the wind artistically carves out beautiful formations in the sand.

A few points though, you must pay to park here, the beach is pretty crowded and not that spectacular to be honest and you're not actually allowed on the sand dune.. So we just walked a very long way to the end of the beach and sort of slipped out of sight of the lifeguard to explore the dunes. If you're not so sand obsessed then I wouldn't go out of your way to reach this destination.

HEADING UP THE WEST COAST

The following day, we reached a really stunning beach that we'd been recommended called Is Arutas. It's extremely popular because of it's unique composition.. something that I've never seen before and it completely blew my mind. The sand is actually made from tiny tumbled quartz !

It's incredible to walk on ~ we just laid out a towel and started to pick it up by the handful and play with it. You can literally put it in your hair and it doesn't matter because it falls straight out. And the swimming is divine ~ the white coloration of the quartz makes the water a beautiful blue. After our morning here, we jumped back in the little Fiat and headed north up the western side of the island. My researching skills had proven to be successful so far but surely our journey couldn't get better could it ?? Well yes it could.

I'm not quite sure how to explain our next location because I still freak out about it's beauty even today.. Even more impressive than the waters at Isola Giardinelli or the views at Cala Fuili. This heavenly location that I'm talking about is called S'Archittu ~ a rock (maybe limestone) formation that stretches along the coast and into the sea. The most impressive part about it is the natural arch that's been carved out by the sea over time.

You can even hire a kayak and paddle your way under the arch and around the rest of the rock where there's a beautiful sea cave to be discovered. Or if you're brave you can jump from the arch into the sparkly liquid below (be careful !). I'll never forget this day ~ I hope these photos do some justice. I would even recommend staying for sunset.

If you follow our steps on a map, you can definitely see that we've completed a full circle of the island and stuck specifically to the coast ~ this was exactly how we wanted our journey to be.. but there is so much more to be discovered. Make sure you do your research for forests, waterfalls or ancient ruins because there is plenty to explore.

It just depends on the type of getaway that you're after. And if you get the chance, try and interact with the locals because the hospitality in Sardinia is so great ! I had a couple of days to myself towards the end of the trip so I visited some friends from Cabras who hosted me for the night (I had met them in Australia). They were just so excited and almost couldn't process that I was actually there in their home-town. I shared a home-cooked meal, drank home-made wine and ate home-grown olives fresh from the tree. It was so warm and welcoming that I actually cried when I had to leave. Such an experience..

I also had a full day to myself where I drove to a small town, found a secret dirt road on Google maps and followed it down towards a beach.. this spot is super random and I’m honestly not sure of the name because it was so spontaneous. But check out some of this gorgeous scenery ! The most spectacular place in Sardinia for me. The water was so clear and deep.. and such a beautiful moment of solitude to wind down after a wild adventure. This afternoon I slept somewhere along the west coast.

It was my last day on the island so I headed towards Alghero (for my flight) and decided to fit in one last scenic adventure. The Grotta di Nettuno is a cave system in the peninsula just west of Alghero ~ I didn't purchase a ticket for this though because I had read some reviews that said it wasn't worth the money (in-fact I didn't even see an office or anything).

Instead I hiked a small trail up the peninsula to catch some incredible views and enjoyed a few beaches around the area.

One last sunset in the city of Alghero and my journey was completo ! I returned the trusted Fiat Panda and jumped on my flight back to Venice. The view of Sardinia from the plane was gorgeous.. the sunset created a golden blanket over the calm Mediterranean seas. And from the air I could see a few of the beaches that we had spent time adventuring to. Part of my soul was left on that island.

Sardinia is definitely my idea of paradise and I'll be forever dreaming of those days that passed where we soaked in as many sunrises and sunsets as we could, playing like mermaids in every bit of shimmery, turquoise sea we could find. The perfect European summer vacation destination. I hope you’ve enjoyed the mermaid pics throughout this blog ~ they should give you some "I need to get my butt there" inspiration...

And here's a little re-cap of my favourite locations on the island ~ but please, if you do visit just show respect for the land and the locals and leave no trace. - S'Archittu - Cala Fuili - La Maddalena - Porto Pollo (great for kite-surfing) - Capo Testa - La Pelosa - Capo Caccia - Is Arutas - Dune of Porto Pino - Costa Paradiso

Thanks for reading. I hope beautiful Sardinia has now been popped onto your list of must-visits. Much love guys !

Lexie