SARDINIA-anyone been? recommend hotels? what areas?

Question

*4 adults (2 couples late 20's) flying into alghero end of july for a week.

*dont mind staying in 1 area for a few nights and another area for the rest of the hol.

*has anyone been to sardinia and driven around the island? dont want mad nightlife but do want good bars to go to.

*would like to fit a few things into the week but nothing too hetic, we want a relaxing enjoyable week.

*none of us are into spending the day lying on a beach getting burnt alive but we would like to swim or snorkle!

*expensive hotels are totally out!

*heard COSTA SMERALDA , CAGLIARI, OLBIA, and ALGHERO are good places to visit so i would love any info or ideas/attractions to see/stay/do in these areas.

*THANKS A MILLION FOR ANY IDEAS OR FEEDBACK FROM ANYONE THAT HAS BEEN ON A SIMILAR HOLIDAY.

Answer 1

Compliments for your choice, because Sardegna is by far one of the most beatiful sea-side locations in Europe. I've been there two times, both in the north and south part of the island, and i loved it. Sea is very beatiful, there're a lot of wonderful beaches, has a very nice nature..etc.

First of all, the island is quite big, but the roads are in good shape, so you can easily travel around by car. The most famous place is Costa Smeralda and is full of VIPs from all around the world. You can easily see an Arab prince, or a European politician, or an actor, or a top biz man. Accordingly, it's the most expensive part of the island. In terms of night life, this is the best place. Still keep in mind that, it's not a wild night life, considering the profile of the visitors. It's more like; let's eat in a good restaurant, walk on the port, hang around in a bar, or join one of the parties on one of the big VIP boats anchored in the port (if u can)...  

If you're around there in Costa Smeralda, i'd strongly recommend renting a small boat during the day, and spending at least a couple of hours traveling from one port to the other (Porto Cervo, Porto Rotondo etc...). As the island is big, this is a very efficient way to see the beauties of the island.

South is different, more silent. South is more for people who enjoy only-beach vacations. Cagliari is the capital city which is located in the south. I didn't find it very interesting, and wouldn't recommend spending time there if u only have 1 week to visit all the island.

In the south, i also went to this small island attached to Sardegna, named Carlo Forte, and I found it quite qute, and enjoyable too.

Let's get back to north. Hotels in Costa Smeralda are normally quite expensive, as it's a VIP location. Check these web sites, also in english.

http://www.shg.it/en/tariffe_individuali...

http://www.booking.com/region/it/sardegn...

Unfortunately i'm not into snorkling, so i can't give u any ideas on this. But considering the sea, it's 95% of the time very clean, beautiful, and enjoying. I spent a total of 3 weeks in Sardegna, and can easily say that 1 week is not enough to see it. Enjoy ur trip..... Ciao...

Answer 2

Ciao! ^^

I'm happy to see finally someone asking about my Sardinia! :)

I come from Sardinia and I live here. I can honestly say that almost everything XYZ said, is true. The sea here is really beautiful, the beaches (most of them) are clean, the nature is fabulous, then the food is delicious (Don't forget: we're stillItalian! ^^ ) and people are very friendly! :)

If you don't have such a big amount of money to spend, you'd better not to spend much time on the Costa Smeralda, but just to go and take a look! ;) Alghero is very nice too and  on the North there are many other nice places to visit too. On the Est there are Orosei and Tortolì, for example. About Cagliari, the place where I'm living now because of University, I can say, it's a nice city. The sea is, on the contrary, not very enjoyable, because they fail to clean the water and the sand. Moreover is often full of people and it could be not so relaxing to go there. On the West coast, the sea is not as beautiful as on the other areas. But there are still some nice places, like Bosa.

My favourite place ever, also because I have such sweet memories of that place, is Costa Rey. This place is on the South-Estern of Sardinia. There is a very long beach, with a wonderful sea! The city of Costa Rey is very enjoyable too and offers several different proposals for free time to the tourists.

Go and take a look, it seems to be a nice and complet web-site:

http://www.discover-sardinia.com

Enjoy my island! ;)  Best greetings!  Ciaooooo!

Answer 3

I'd definitely recommend the Costa Smeralda; it's incredible, a surreal experience. And it's really not all that expensive. With four people, you could easily rent an apartment for a week. Palau would be a good choice to look. You can rent a car and drive inland, and don't miss the Maddalena archipelago. Snorkeling, windsurfing, everything you could want. Unfortunately you're going in peak season, but if you start looking now you might find something. Sardinia is magnificent.