Thank you for stopping by!
I’m currently working (very hard, trust me!) on the Sardinia section and this page will be available soon. In the meantime, you can subscribe to my Sardinia newsletter to get notified when the pages and the articles will be fully uploaded!
IN THE MEANTIME… READ MY OTHER SARDINIA ARTICLES!
- Where To stay in Sardinia for Couples: A Local’s guide!
- One week in Sardinia: the Best Itinerary For you!
- Best Sardinia Beaches You can’t miss on Your Trip
- Fabulous reason to Visit Sardinia in Low Season
- Amazing Things To Do In Sardinia in Summer
- Unique Things To Discover in Sardinia During Winter
- Best Costa Smeralda Beaches With Map
- Sardinia By Car: The Ultimate Guide on How To Get Around the Island!
- Sardinia Photos: My 15 favorite Instagram Pictures!
- Sardinia Travel Guide: Unmissable Places To See and Things To Do!
- Sardinia Holidays for Families: Where To Stay with your kids!
- Sardinia Solo Travel: A Backpackers guide by a Local!
- Sardinia Camping: Your Guide (By a Local)
- Sardinia Travel Guides
- Sardinia in 2 weeks: Best Itinerary
- Sardinia in 3 weeks: Best Itinerary
I really appreciate your patience, thanks! 🙂
Comments
Hello,
we want to visit Sardinia this summer. Unfortunately, we only have a holiday in the high season. We would like to fly to the airport in Olbia and depart from the airport in Cagliari. We would like to go along the east coast day after day. We have 14 days to do it and we would like to travel on a scooter. Unfortunately, I can’t find a rental company anywhere that would rent scooters with a different place of pick up and drop off. Do you know where we can rent scooter ?
Thank you !!
Have a nice day
Hi Michaela,
Traveling with a scooter is a lovely idea … unfortunately I don’t know personally any company renting them. We usually travel by car in Sardinia, did you try to the normal local rental agencies to see if they have something available? I’m sorry I can’t be of much help here!
Hi Celia, my boyfriend and I just booked a 5-day holiday to Sardinia. Our main stay will be in Olbia and would like to know your thoughts about renting a car versus taking public transportation when going around the area? My boyfriend is not really keen on driving due to road conditions in Sardinia. Any thoughts? Much love xxx
Hi Joelle
I will try to reply as soon as I’m back from Australia in 3 weeks (now I’m under a massive jet lag so I’m lucky to remember my name!) If you want you can open a new comment with your dates and more details and I’ll, try to help!
Cheers
Clelia (yayyy I remember my name!) 😀
Hello Celia :), my boyfriend and I are planning a week vacation in Sardinia. We are very excited about it and I am like every day reading tips in your blog. Very useful! As many others, we do not have a car either. I have a question: is it possible to go around on bikes? We are planning to use the public transport actually, but just in case, I want to know if there is any chance to reach some destinations by bike? thanks for the info 🙂
Hey Guina! Thanks for your comment 🙂 For your question, it really depends where you want to go (in one week you can barely see one area anyway as Sardinia is bigger then many people think! For the biking around… here is the thing: My brother is a biker and loves to discover places in his spare time so he is really the expert in here 😀 but to reach the point of starting exploring by bike, he still needs a car for most places. M suggestion for you is this:
1) decide the area you want your base to be (without a car you will have limited options unfortunately, as the public transport is not ideal in Sardinia), and from there, you can certainly explore the surrounding areas and beaches by bike. depending on your fitness level you can go quite far too, otherwise just checking out the surrounding areas is still good!. The best places to do so are the Villasimis area (reachable by public transport), Chia, San Teodoro, and Santa Teresa di Gallura town to name the most popular ones!
Hope it helps!
Cheers
Clelia
Hi Celia,
This is Sayan from Manchester UK. I found you are doing a great job. I need help on a 1 week trip planner covering south and North Sardinia. We are (me & my wife) reaching Sardinia (Cagliari) on 19th May and leaving from Alhegro on 26th May. I am planning to stay 19,20,21st in Cagliari area and 22nd to 26th in Alhegro or North area.
Could you please tell me which beaches shall we select for the stay both in north and southern part. Please note we want peaceful area and not looking for partying or clubs or pubs. Please consider we will be using public transport
I have another question for you, as I am an Indian Citizen I have Indian driving license. Do you have any idea on whether I can drive in Sardinia with my Indian license.
I would request your reply on this please. Do please keep this article alive, this excellent and really very very helpful for people like us.
With Regards
Sayan
Hi Sayan! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
I would start with the question regarding the driving license: You can use it to drive in Sardinia (or in general in Italy) during your vacations. All you need to do is a valid translation of it (you should ask your local authorities about it). I did it when I went traveling in Asia, I got a document for a few bucks and I took it with me and had no issues).
I actually strongly recommend you rent a car instead of using public transport because the train and buses schedule is not exactly ideal in Sardinia. Yes, you can use them but you will be limited to only a few touristy locations that are well served by public transport and you are going to miss the best beaches that can only be reached by car.
If you still don’t want to rent a car, given your itinerary idea I’d say that if you stay in Cagliari you can take the local buses to move around, go to the main city beach Poetto and you can take the bus to visit Villasimius on a day trip. I wouldn’t recommend using the bus to go to the southwest beaches in Sardinia, especially NOT Chia Su Giudeu (one of the best), because the bus stops in the main road and then you would have to walk for miles under the sun to reach the beach.
From Cagliari you can take the train + bus (see the map below) but as you can see it takes at least 4 and a half hours and you’ll need to change and walk a bit too. Doable but not ideal! From Alghero, there are local buses that will take you to the marvelous beach La Pelosa in Stintino.
I hope this helps!
Cheers
Clelia
Wow! This very helpful.
Thank you so much. Now I am more excited to visit Sardinia. My boyfriend and I will be in Italy for more than 3 weeks but we will stay in Sardina for 1 week:
Thank you.
Kristine
Hello,
Can you help me how to use the public transport from Cagliari to alghero then we fly out from Olbia. We want to stay in the beach and try the local food.
You will be a great help. We will be there in september.
Thank you,
Kristine
Hi Kristine, thanks for your comment! To Reach Alghero from Cagliari by public transport is a bit tricky but not impossible, there are no direct trains but you can use GoEuro website which will show you the best routes and prices. I check it out and there is a solution for around 17 euros with 2 stops: 1 in Chilivani (where usually most of the trains on that route let the passengers out the train/buses to catch the 2 train to Sassari and from there finally the last leg from Sassari to Alghero).
From Alghero there are local buses mainly managed by Sardabus to reach the main places nearby like the beautiful spiaggia la Pelosa in Stintino. Unfortunately the website is really basic (and not translated in English) but you can ask your hotel and they surely will help you in finding the bus stop. You won’t need to book in advance and you’ll pay the driver when getting on the bus.
To get from Alghero to Olbia airport, you should use the bus company “Sunlines”.
As you can see, it is possible to move around but you need to know how and in Sardinia we are not exactly super organized when it comes to public transports that’s why I almost always suggest to rent a car whenever possible to avoid any additional stress.
I hope this will help you!
Cheers
Clelia
Hi Clelia!
I will be visiting Sardinia at the beginning of July, and my friend and I will be flying into Cagliari airport. We would like to visit San Tedoro and the beaches around there but we’ve realised as we don’t have a car it might be difficult to get to the other side of the island. Do you know if there is public transport/a train to and from Cagliari airport to San Tedoro/Olbia? Also – would you recommend any places to stay that are close to beaches, and also close to nightlife?
Thank you so much – I love your blog, it’s so helpful!
Hi Michaela!
Well, when I was younger (sigh!! ahahah) I had the same “issue”: No car and I so wanted to go to San Teodoro! So the good news is that there are direct connections from Cagliari to San Teodoro by Bus (It takes around 3 hrs if I remember correctly but it wasn’t that bad, very relaxing trip and I remember looking outside the window was super nice).
From San Teodoro to Olbia is super easy as well, they are very close and well served by public transport so you shouldn’t have any issue.
As for the accommodation, it depends on your budget really! If you are young and adventurous your best shot is Camping at la Cinta, exactly what me and my friends did, and this way you will also find it super easy to make friends who perhaps have a car or want to rent one and they will bring you to the other beaches.
For the night life, I remember it wasn’t difficult to get to the center by foot and in there you will find anything you need. Now every year they open a new fancy club so I can’t give you the names, but I’m 100% sure you will find plenty of places to choose from!
If you have a higher budget you could rent a small house in there but given that we are already at the end of May, it might be difficult to find good deals near to the beach or in the center. Usually people start booking for Sardinia in january! But you can always try. I put some links on my Sardinian articles for san Teodoro, have a look in there and maybe you will still find something but hurry up!
Have fun!!
Cheers
Clelia
Thanks this was really helpful! I am loving your blog!
Hi there, thanks for such a helpful blog!
I plan on visiting Sardinia in September with my boyfriend. Unfortunately neither of us have a drivers licence (only learners licence) and we are interested in your ITINERARY #1 – north east Sardinia. What is the best way to get around? is it do-able? Can we rent scooters in sardinia with a learners licence?
Hey, Radhika, the scooter doesn’t need a license (not the basic models) and if I had to choose a way to move around, I’d go for the scooter rather than public transport, as you are not tied to timetables and places you just can’t reach.
Obviously, from the airport to your accommodation point, you will have to rely on public transport but that’s usually not an issue as there are buses that connect the main touristic cities, but to move around and discover the scooter looks perfect for someone who doesn’t have the license but still know how to drive 😉
Hi Clelia!
I am currently studying abroad in Florence and a few friends and I will be taking a trip to San Teodoro the last weekend of April. We, unfortunately, won’t have a car, so I know that limits our options a bit. But I wanted to reach out to you to see what your favorite things to do in San Teodoro are/ask about any recommendations you may have. We are trying to do a canyoning trip one day, but that’s all we’ve really planned. We will be there for 3 nights and (as college students) are trying not to spend too much money. I’d really appreciate any advice or recommendations you might have.
Thanks so much!!
Hey Molly
I really do hope you’ll be lucky with the weather as right now it was still quite cold (so my family told me) and it was pretty unusual, but by the end of the month you should have better chances to have more sunny and warm days! As for what to do, I’d say, given the short time you have in San Teodoro, firstly enjoy the beach all for yourself! It is an experience not many people who visit Sardinia have, trust me 🙂 If you can make it, rent a car or a scooter and visit Cala Brandinchi, another stunning beach nearby. Other than that, the night life in April won’t probably be super animated but San Teodoro has some very nice cocktail bars and restaurants where you can relax and eat typical Sardinian dishes!
Hope it helps!
Have a fabulous time 🙂
Cheers
Clelia
Hi Clelia,
We are a couple, looking to explore Sardinia as much as possible without a car for around 10 days. We cannot drive, but I have driven a scooter a couple of times whilst travelling! I wanted to ask how is scooter hire in the larger towns of sardinia, we wouldn’t be able to travel from city to city with one because of our luggage, but one would be good for a few days to explore costa smerelda or golfo di orsei. So we were thinking of hiring as we went along. I understand public transport from city to city is fairly doable, it’s just exploring the smaller parts where the trouble lies. Also would you recommend anywhere where there is a small town for a good base, that has some beautiful beaches and coves that are can be covered on push bikes? We are open to all suggestions!
Where would you recommend for 10 days, flights are all very flexible and cheap from London, so we can fly in and out of any airport really. Should we stay north and east for best beaches, or is the south east and west of cagliari just as beautiful?
This blog is fantastic by the way, thank you so much!!
Cheers,
Amy
Hey Amy, Thanks for stopping by! Regarding your question, if you can’t drive I’d say that renting a scooter is your best option indeed. Biking is also great but not as much as the scooter as you can only use it within the villages unless you are trained or willing to bike for kilometers! For the suggestion on the location, ah well, it’s always the most difficult one as each part of Sardinia is unique and beautiful. The east-northern part probably has a bit more to offer in terms of wild nature and culture other than fabulous beaches.
The south is more about long sand beaches and beautiful sea (with the exception of Tuerredda near Chia and Punta Molentis near Villasimius where there is a bit of a scenic route). The north east coast is a mix of mountains, rocks, cliffs and beautiful coves, but the best ones can only be reached by boat or hiking a bit, so as you can see it really depends on what you are expecting to do on vacation (more relaxing on the beach or more active?).
My family is from South Sardinia so I know the area super well and I love it, but somehow my personal preference goes to the east coast, maybe because I am super used to the beaches near my town and I like the change of scenery.
If you decide to go to the north east, I recommend as a base either Cala Gonone, which is a bit touristy but at least you don’t have to use the scooter all the time to go out for drinks and meals. If you like to stay in a more traditional village, Dorgali or Orosei are also good options but they are not directly on the sea so, without a car it might not be ideal.
For the South I’d recommend Villasimius as a base, nice village and great beaches and coves nearby easy to reach by scooter!
Hope this helps! have a fantastic time in Sardinia 🙂
Thanks much for you long reply, all super useful to us! 🙂
One last question – how easy is it rent a scooter in Sardinia? Or a quad/ATV, do most towns have places that you can hire from, is it difficult or expensive process? Lots of questions really, not just one – Sorry!
Thanks again,
Amy
Hey Amy, as for when renting a car, the process is pretty easy. And since you will be landing at the airport (near big cities like Cagliari, Olbia or Alghero), you can either check out what they have available at the airport or in the city. Plenty of options. Expensive? not that much, but they usually request a deposit up front of course, the renting itself is not expensive especially if you share the costs.
Have a great Holiday 🙂
Clelia
Hello
Im.going next september to sardinia-olbia but without a car. If possible visite good beaches without a car at la maddalena? Thanks
Kamila
Hey Kamila, La Maddalena is a small island so it is not super difficult to get around, but the best beaches are not at La Maddalena (at least not the jaw-dropping beaches). But if you are based in there, depending how many days you stay, you will be able to still enjoy them by taking a boat trip to the Arcipelago. That boat trip is my second favorite of the Island and is a must if you are at La Maddalena.Alternatively, without a car it is also easier to explore the San Teodoro Area because of its proximity to the airport and good public/bus transport. There are not many options to see amazing beaches without the car but you can still enjoy the ones reachable by bus.
Also, When I was still a student and no car, I remember camping in the Cannigione Area near the Costa Smeralda and I was able to get around by bus and see Porto Cervo, San Teodoro, take the boat trip to the Arcipelago Della Maddalena and some small beaches nearby Cannigione and Arzachena. That area is well covered by bus (much better than other areas in Sardinia) so it is a good choice!
Hi Clelia, My husband and I will be camping in Alghero in September. We are a mature couple with a car but don’t wish to be driving too much and would prefer using public trasport. What are your suggestions?
Kind Regards
Hi Gladys,
It really depends on what you want to do..I guess the camping is on the beach, right? it depends on where it is located. Alghero has a few public buses that will take you to the nearby villages and to La Pelosa beach in Stintino but I would still recommend renting a car for at least one or 2 days. It would be such a pity to miss out on great places that are not covered by public transport!
Hi Clelia!
Thanks for the many tips you’re giving in your blog, it’s amazing! I’m traveling alone to Sardinia the second week of September for 5 days and I’m thinking about staying in the east part, exactly in Cala Gonone, cause I’m really interested in hiking (maybe going to Gola di Gorropu), climbing and visiting the beaches like Cala Mariolu or Cala Goloritze. I figure i’d have to fly to the Olbia airport. The thing is I don’t think I’m gonna rent a car but I read that transportation is hard, how difficult would it be to go from the airport to the cala gonone area, get around the area to the places I want to go without a car?? And are there cheap nice places I could stay there?? I’d really appreciate it if you could help me. Thank you so much!
Kind regards,
Carolina
Hi Carolina, I just replied to a very similar message (same area, same issue of not wanting to rent the car) 🙂
What I say is that it’s difficult to move around without the car. Yes, there is the boat trip you can join and the day excursions to Su Gorropu, but to really enjoy the beauty of the area in full, you’d need the car. It’s such a shame that in Sardinia the public transport is pretty bad. Yes we have some buses but they usually go from one village to the other and they don’t stop near the best touristic places or beaches. From Obia airport to Cala Gonone you shouldn’t have a problem, the real issue starts when you are in Cala Gonone, as your options are a bit limited, but having only 5 days, one or 2 days are spent on the boat (that is a must!) and other 2 days paying for a day trip to hike and discover the wilderness around.
It can be done, but surely renting your own car definitely gives you a lot more of flexibility.
I hope you’ll have a great time in Sardinia!
Cheers
Clelia
Thanks a lot for your help Clelia! It definetely will help me planning my trip!! 🙂
If it’s not too much trouble, do you have recommendations of which places those 2 days on the boat should include? or the information of some agency o group you could recommend? Again thank you so much for your help!
cheers,
Carolina
Hi celia,
would you please advise how to get from Villasimius to San Teodoro by public transport?
and where to stay next to San Teodoro, to be able to get to Cagliari by public transport as well.
I wanted to rent a car, but i heard the roads are narrow and the rental companies are scam, charging you extra fee.
So i decided to go with the public transport.
I am going next week 3rd, having the hotel booked at Villasimius, San Teodoro, and Palau (but now i am hesitating about Palau, since it is further away without the car). So i need to get to the destinations by public transport, and get to Cagliari. I checked ARST everything is in Italian, I dont speak…:(
i need to know schedule and where I can get relatively easy…
Clelia, hi. We’re visiting Sardegna for our honeymoon from 26 of July to 6th of August. I see that its tricky to visit island without rental car, but we don’t plan to move much. Does Blabla car or similar services active on island? Is it hard for example to catch a ride from Olbia to Alghero?
Thanks and yes, this article is VERY desirable, keep working! 🙂
Hi Fedor, I am not aware of a wild use of bla bla car in Sardinia unfortunately, you could only rent a cheap car for a few days (with less than 100$ you could have it for a couple of days if you wish to explore a little bit). Alternatively you could choose an area that is served by public transport but there are not many places where it is truly reliable…
Clelia,
My wife has long held a romantic interest in Sardinia. we will be in the area in mid September this year. I would prefer to not rent a car, to fly or ferry in and then be a short distance to one of the remote or less populated beaches which would hopefully be attached to a small but friendly village / community including one or two nice places to eat and a bar with music. 🙂
maybe just a two or three day drop in, chill out and kick back time.
what would be your choice? there are so many choices …. too many choices. i’d like to get it right on the one time visit.
Grazzi
Jim
Hi Jim
I need to write this guide asap as there are quite a few people that would like to visit Sardinia without renting a car 🙂
As for your question, I can already tell you that not having a car limits the choices to the place you can discover as, unfortunately,the public transport in Sardinia is not that great (especially if you want to visit the most remote village in Sardinia, in that case you definitely would need a car).
For those who don’t have a car, I always recommend the places that are easily reachable by bus and they are Villasimius/Costa Rei (from Cagliari airport or ferry boat), San Teodoro, Santa Teresa di Gallura (from Olbia Airport) and Alghero/Stintino (from Alghero Airport or Porto Torres if you are arriving by ferry).
Being the easiest one to reach they are not remote and the beach tend to be more crowded than the rest (but if you go in mid september as you mentioned, you might be able to enjoy these places when they are less crowded).
If you are looking for places to eat, nice beaches and a bar with music then San Teodoro might be the right choice for you, also because is the easiest to reach from Olbia airport, very near and well connected and the buses going to other locations around are more frequent that in other areas. This is what I would do (and what I did more than once actually!) when I still didn’t have a car.
Hope it helps!
Cheers
Clelia
Sardinia is a bad beast when it comes to visit without a car!
HI celia 🙂 can you tell me what is the best way to move around island without a car? public transport etc,. thanks
Hi Tena, sorry I’m just catching up with all the comments right now (I have way too many) and the guide will be ready soon!
Hi! I have a question for you. Are there any guiding persons who are willing to use their personal cars to take us to the places we want to visit? We want to visit so many things and by bus it’s tough and takes a lot of time. And I was thinking that maybe there are some persons who have a car and are willing to take us for a smaller price than we would pay for renting a car or by going everywhere by bus.
Thanks a lot!
Hi Alina
I guess I’m too late for you, sorry! I’ll still reply to the comment in case other people have a similar question. In Sardinia is not very easy to have someone that will take you around by car, the best way is either go with a tour or rent your own car for now. All I can say is that people can try and ask the locals while they are there, maybe they are willing to take you to the places you want to visit for a small fee if they are going too… but personally I’ve never seen this happening.
W are a family who are visiting Sardinia for the first time in June/July and want to bike around and find the best beaches, restaurants and Bed & breakfast that we can find. Can you help us?
Kind Regards
Charlotte
Hi Charlotte! Regarding the biking part, actually my brother is quite an expert but I can’t reach him at the moment so you can check out this website which is specialized in visiting Sardinia by bike, the best itineraries etc
For the accommodation you can either have a look at my top 10 Sardinia Beaches post, where I suggest some good B&B’s around Sardinia, or my new guide, which was initially addressed to couples but it is now a massive post with so many info on beaches, things to see etc. You can combine the bike tours and my guides to create your perfect itinerary! 🙂
Cheers
Clelia