In Sardinia, you’ll want to pack your bags every few days. Round one bend there’s a bay with almost Caribbean-blue water, a little further on you find colourful fishing villages, wild cliffs and enormous sand dunes. So where should you actually stay? We spent just over three weeks travelling with our kids from Cagliari in the south to Santa Teresa Gallura in the north, and found out how different each part of the island is.
Along the way we played in some of the biggest sand dunes in Europe, tackled the steep lanes of Castelsardo without a pushchair and accidentally picked up a few stowaways on Sant’Antioco. Our son had collected the prettiest shells there. Only when the cupboard started rustling later did we discover that tiny crabs were still living inside. I nearly jumped out of my skin!
After three weeks on the road, we had a clear favourite. In this blog, we’ll tell you why we’d pick the northeast ourselves, which other parts of Sardinia are worth your time and where to find the nicest hotels and most special places to stay.
Where to stay in Sardinia at a glance
In a hurry? Here’s the best area for each type of traveller, with the hotel we like most there.
- Best for first-timers and plenty of variety: the northeast (our pick: Hotel Da Cecco)
- Best for white beaches and swimming with kids: the south around Chia and Villasimius (our pick: Hotel Aquadulci)
- Best for town and beach in one: Alghero (our pick: Villa Las Tronas Hotel & SPA)
- Best for peace, dunes and lagoons: the west coast (our pick: Hotel Villa Canu)
- Best for hikers and coves by boat: the east coast (our pick: Hotel Nettuno)
- Best for a city break by the sea: Cagliari (our pick: Albergo Diffuso Birkin Castello)
Is it better to stay in the north or south of Sardinia?
Both, if you have the time. If you want to see as much as possible in a week, we’d go for the northeast. Within an hour’s drive of Santa Teresa Gallura, San Teodoro or Olbia you’ll find the islands of La Maddalena, the granite coves of the Costa Smeralda, the coastal path at Costa Paradiso and the long sandy beaches around San Teodoro. Olbia airport is right on the doorstep, and many ferries from mainland Italy dock here too.
We loved the south just as much. Around Villasimius and Costa Rei we found the whitest beaches we saw on the whole island, and Cagliari is a proper city with café terraces, markets and an old fortified quarter. Over on the southwest coast, the dunes of Piscinas and the island of Sant’Antioco are waiting, where we hunted for jellyfish and crabs between the rocks.
If all you want is a relaxed beach holiday, one half of the island is more than enough. But if you want to really see Sardinia, split your stay in two. Cagliari to Olbia is more than three hours by car, so driving back and forth from one base quickly gets tiring. We arrived in Cagliari by boat from Palermo and left from Santa Teresa for Corsica, and that south-to-north route worked brilliantly for us.
→ Discover the 17 best things to do in Northern Sardinia
→ Discover the 15 best things to do in Southern Sardinia
Do you need a rental car in Sardinia?
Yes, unless you’re planning to stay put for the whole holiday. The best beaches are often outside the villages, at the end of a narrow road through the scrub. The nuraghe towers, the mountain villages inland and the starting points of hikes like the one to the Gorropu Gorge are really only reachable with your own wheels. There are buses between the bigger towns, but they’re not much use for day trips.
Going car-free? Then pick Cagliari, Alghero or the centre of a seaside town like Santa Teresa Gallura or Villasimius, where the beach and restaurants are within walking distance. In Stintino, Park Hotel Asinara runs its own shuttle to La Pelosa beach.
The easiest place to pick up a car is at the airport in Cagliari, Olbia or Alghero. Discover Cars lets you compare rental companies in one go, including full insurance options. Heading to the Piscinas dunes? Check that your rental company allows unpaved roads, because the last few kilometres are bumpy.
→ Compare car hire in Sardinia on Discover Cars
The 5 best areas to stay in Sardinia
#1 Southern Sardinia: Cagliari, Chia and Villasimius
Our Sardinian adventure started in Cagliari, where the boat from Palermo docked. We headed straight up the hill to Castello, the old fortified quarter, popped into the churches and went down into the crypt beneath the cathedral. As a base, the capital suits anyone who loves terraces, markets and museums, with Poetto, the city beach, a short drive away.
If the sea is your main thing, choose the coast east or west of the city. Around Villasimius and Costa Rei we found snow-white beaches with water in every shade of blue. At Costa Rei it was warm enough for a dip, although our son decided the sea was far too cold. Chia and Pula in the southwest are a bit quieter, with dunes, a lagoon full of flamingos and some of the island’s prettiest bays.
#1 Albergo Diffuso Birkin Castello spreads its rooms across a handful of historic buildings in Castello, a stone’s throw from the cathedral. You’re sleeping right in the old quarter, with the views from the Bastione di Saint Remy around the corner.
#2 Palazzo Doglio is a luxury hotel in a restored palazzo, with an outdoor pool for cooling off after a day in the city. Poetto beach is a ten-minute drive away.
#3 Hotel Aquadulci sits quietly on the coast at Chia, 500 metres from Su Giudeu beach. There’s a pool in the palm-filled garden, so kids can go back and forth between beach and pool without you getting in the car.
#4 Boutique Hotel Su Sergenti is a small hotel in Villasimius with colonial-style rooms full of wood and rattan, plus a little pool on the sun terrace. The centre is a five-minute walk away, and the beaches of Simius are less than two kilometres off.
#5 Le Anfore Hotel is a great pick for families, with family rooms, a pretty garden with a pool and a restaurant with a veranda. The Villasimius beaches are two kilometres away, so a car comes in handy.
#2 Northeastern Sardinia: Costa Smeralda, San Teodoro and Santa Teresa Gallura
For a first trip to Sardinia, the northeast is the best base in our book. Within an hour’s drive you’ve got the granite coves of the Costa Smeralda, the islands of La Maddalena and the coastal path at Costa Paradiso. That last one was a tip from a friend of Sebastiaan’s whose sister lives on Sardinia, and we had a picnic in a bay we almost had to ourselves.
We took the camper on the ferry to La Maddalena, cycled across the island of Caprera and clambered through the ruins of an old fort. The Costa Smeralda itself is all yachts, golf courses and pricey hotels, and outside the season almost everything is shut. For a friendly seaside village, Santa Teresa Gallura is a better bet, with Rena Bianca beach within walking distance. Or try San Teodoro, where the wide sandy beaches of La Cinta and Cala Brandinchi are right next to the village. From Santa Teresa, the ferry to Corsica takes about an hour.
#1 Hotel Da Cecco is a family-run hotel in the centre of Santa Teresa Gallura, with family rooms with balconies and a sun terrace. Rena Bianca beach is a five-minute walk.
#2 Hotel Corallaro is in Santa Teresa’s old centre, 200 metres from Rena Bianca. There’s an outdoor pool and a sea-view sun terrace, and most rooms have recently been redone in a fresh, nautical style.
#3 Hotel Stella Marina is an affordable, highly rated hotel three minutes’ walk from the centre of San Teodoro. The rooms are simple with wooden furniture, and La Cinta beach is a five-minute drive.
#4 Hotel Bonsai is tucked into the greenery on the edge of San Teodoro, ten minutes’ walk from the sea. The rooms are furnished with handmade Sardinian pieces, and there’s a wellness area for less sunny days.
#5 Hotel Cala di Volpe is the Costa Smeralda’s most famous hotel, built like a Sardinian fishing village on its own bay. It’s eye-wateringly expensive, but if you want to splash out just once, this is the place.
#3 Northwestern Sardinia: Alghero, Castelsardo and Stintino
Alghero was one of our favourite towns in Sardinia. You can walk a full loop along the old sea walls, past towers, cannons and catapults that our daughter couldn’t stop talking about, while our son mostly wanted to climb on top of them. The old town’s lanes are full of terraces, the beaches start at the edge of town and the airport is twenty minutes away.
North of Alghero lies Stintino, home to the famous La Pelosa beach. We walked past salt lakes full of flamingos and found a beach of round, white pebbles. Castelsardo is a castle town perched on a rock above the sea, with lanes so steep we left the pushchair in the camper. Just down the road we soaked twice in the hot springs of Casteldoria. The boat trip to Neptune’s Grotto at Capo Caccia depends on the weather: our tickets were cancelled because of rough seas, so don’t save it for your last day.
#1 Villa Las Tronas Hotel & SPA is a former royal retreat on a rocky point in the bay of Alghero. From the pool you look out over the gulf, and the centre is a ten-minute walk away.
#2 Hotel Catalunya faces the marina, five minutes on foot from the old town. The rooms are spacious and modern, and the family rooms have two futon beds for the kids next to the double.
#3 Hotel Angedras is an affordable hotel in a quiet residential area, with neat, bright rooms and thousands of glowing reviews. The old town is about a fifteen-minute walk.
#4 Park Hotel Asinara sits among gardens on the edge of Stintino, with Sardinian-style rooms. The big plus is the free shuttle to La Pelosa, because parking at that beach in summer is a challenge.
#5 Hotel & SPA Riviera Castelsardo is just a few metres from the sea, with a spa and panoramic terraces. On clear days you can see all the way to Corsica.
#4 Western Sardinia: Bosa and the Sinis Peninsula
The west coast is the quietest part of Sardinia, which makes it a great choice if you’re after peace and space. Bosa is its photogenic heart: colourful houses stacked up a hill, a castle on top and a river running through town. On a Saturday the squares and lanes were cheerfully busy. The coast road from Bosa to Alghero is one of the most beautiful drives on the island.
A little further south, the Sinis Peninsula near Cabras has dunes, lagoons and beaches made of white quartz grains, like Is Arutas. Near Cabras we found a gorgeous spot in the dunes right next to a white beach. Oristano itself was a pleasant enough town, but it was the nature around it that really drew us in. Inland are the hot springs of Fordongianus, where hot water pours into a cold river and you have to hunt around a bit for the perfect temperature.
#1 Corte Fiorita Albergo Diffuso has rooms in two historic buildings in Bosa, one of them right on the banks of the Temo. You’re sleeping in the middle of the old town, with views of the river or across the rooftops.
#2 Aquae Sinis Albergo Diffuso spreads its rooms across four old village houses in the centre of Cabras, with beamed ceilings and a pool in the garden of one of the buildings. Families can book junior suites for four.
#3 Hotel Villa Canu is a historic country house on the edge of the Cabras lagoon, with a courtyard garden and a pool in summer. Many rooms open straight onto the garden, and the Sinis beaches are a short drive away.
#4 Hotel Raffael PHG lies between sea and hills at Putzu Idu, within walking distance of the beach. With its garden, pool and bright, spacious rooms, it’s a peaceful base for a week of beach days.
#5 Eastern Sardinia: Cala Gonone and Orosei
The east coast is made for hikers and lovers of wild landscapes. The Supramonte mountains drop steeply into the Gulf of Orosei, with coves like Cala Luna and Cala Goloritzé that you can only reach by boat or on foot. Sebastiaan hiked from Urzulei to the Gorropu Gorge, one of the deepest canyons in Europe: 500 metres down and the same way back up. At the bottom it turned out he needed a ticket and had no cash on him, but luckily he could pay by phone.
Cala Gonone is a cheerful little seaside town at the foot of the mountains, with a harbour where boats leave for the coves. Near Dorgali I visited one of the caves on my own, and near Siniscola we found dunes and a lagoon with flamingos. Orosei, a little further north, has a lovely old centre, but its long beaches are a few kilometres out of town, so you’ll need a car there.
#1 Hotel Nettuno is a family-run hotel 200 metres from the sea, with a pool and rooms for four with bunk beds. Ideal if you want to mix beach days with a boat trip from the harbour around the corner.
#2 BUE MARINO Hotel & Rooftop Bar is on the seafront, with the beach just across the road. From the rooftop terrace with its hot tub, you can see the whole Gulf of Orosei.
#3 Hotel Anticos Palathos is set in an old palazzo on Orosei’s main square. The rooms and suites are spacious, with traditional tiled floors and beautiful ceilings.
#4 Albergo Diffuso Mannois is made up of several old stone houses in the centre of Orosei. The rooms are decorated in traditional Sardinian style, and you step straight out into the village lanes.
Hotel, agriturismo or apartment in Sardinia?
Most hotels in Sardinia are small and family-run, and many only open from spring to autumn. You’ll also see the term albergo diffuso everywhere: a hotel with its rooms spread across old houses in a village or town, like in Bosa, Cabras and Orosei. It means you’re sleeping among the locals rather than in a hotel block.
Want a real taste of the countryside? Book an agriturismo. That’s a working farm that rents out rooms and often cooks with its own produce, from cheese and olive oil to wine. They’re usually outside the villages, so a car is a must. Agriturismo Dolceluna Le Capanne near Muravera, close to Costa Rei, has holiday cottages with sea views and one of the highest scores on the island. Agriturismo Fioredda in the north is better suited to couples, as children are only welcome from the age of 12.
Travelling with kids in July and August? An apartment or holiday home with a kitchen is handy, especially around Villasimius, San Teodoro and Stintino. You can cook for yourselves when it’s still too early for restaurants, because in Sardinia people rarely eat before eight.
When is the best time to visit Sardinia?
June and September are our favourite months. The sea is lovely for swimming, hotels and beach bars are open and the beaches aren’t packed yet. May is a little cooler, but that’s when the island is in bloom. July and August are hot, busy and expensive, and you’ll need to book well ahead, especially on the Costa Smeralda and around La Maddalena.
We visited outside the high season and often had the beaches and coastal roads all to ourselves. There is a flip side: in a resort like Porto Cervo almost everything is closed then, and plenty of hotels shut for the winter. In Cagliari and Alghero you’ll hardly notice.
→ Discover the 14 best beaches in Sardinia
More tips for your trip to Sardinia
Our pickStill looking? Browse all hotels in Sardinia on Booking.com
Sardinia is best explored by car. Rent a car at Cagliari, Olbia or Alghero airport with Discover Cars and compare the big rental companies in one go.
Prefer everything arranged? Browse Italy tours on TourRadar.
No flight yet? Compare flights to Cagliari or Olbia.
We took the ferry from Palau to La Maddalena. Want to see the archipelago's coves from the water? Join a La Maddalena archipelago boat tour on GetYourGuide.
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