Your Essential Guide to the Emerald Coast in Sardinia Italy

Sardinia is one of those dreamy summer destinations that lives up to expectations. You cannot go wrong on the Emerald Coast with crystal clear turquoise water, the sun and great food and wine.

To me this was a real vacation as we were not cruising, so my husband was not working and could really enjoy our time there.

So, on this itinerary, there was lots of food and drinks! It was aperitivo galore with my favourite drink Aperol Spritz.

Sardinia has amazing goats cheese, ricotta cheese, pork, fish, seafood and pizza. Then, of course, you need to wash it down with some lovely Sardinian wine!

Travelling to Sardinia

Sardinia is an Italian island, so we started our vacation on the ferry from Genoa (in the North-West of Italy) to Olbia in the North-East of Sardinia.

This was a ten-hour ferry ride so we took the night ferry and had dinner and drinks onboard before retiring to our cabin.

The next morning, we arrive in Olbia. We took our motorbike on the ferry as it is a nice way to travel around. Just packing for it is a pain!

I will be writing a blog post about how to pack for a two-week vacation with only three boxes on a motorbike soon!

When we arrived in Olbia it was hot, but a little windy so the temperature was perfect. We were staying in Arzachena on the Costa Smeralda which is around 30 minutes from the port of Olbia.

Where we stayed

Arzachena is a small town inland about 10 minutes away from the coastal town of Cannigione. We stayed at our friend’s guest house that was beautiful, but there are many fabulous hotels and B&B’s in the area.

Cannigione is a little seaside town with beaches that stretch along the coastline. There is a small beach beside the town centre, but the nicer beaches are further down the coast.

We went to a fabulous beach the La Mannena, opposite the Stelle Marine hotel. The sand was white coral and the water was amazing. It was postcard perfect!

The water was a little cold, it wasn’t quite Bora Bora temperatures but once you were in it was fine and it was very refreshing.

What to see and do

In the north-east of Sardinia, there are lots of beautiful places to visit. Whilst we were there we went to:

Porto Cervo

Porto Cervo is the place to be seen if you have a mega yacht! This fabulous marina is full of superyachts and designer shops and restaurants.

The car park starts at 15 euros and an expresso can also cost you also 15 euros! There is one bar that serves coffee at normal prices and it is packed! It is nice to walk around and window shop.

Porto Rotondo

Porto Rotondo is another beautiful marina, is like Porto Cervo. It has a mix of designer and normal shops and the restaurants have better prices.

Slightly higher than a regular restaurant, but not to the extreme of Porto Cervo. The car park there was 4 euros an hour and an expresso was a few euros.

Boat Trip

Our friends own a boat, so we went out few times around the coast. I recommend either hiring a boat for the day or going on an organised boat trip as the water is stunning.

Also, you can get to little islands with restaurants and bars to stop at. Swimming in the water is very refreshing.

Beaches

There are lots of beaches and you must go at least once to enjoy the sand and crystal-clear waters. I recommend the Carrigione beaches as we had an amazing day swimming and sunbathing there.

Wine Tasting

We went to Canine Surrau near Arzachena for wine tasting. The building where the bar and restaurant were was very modern and trendy.

The view looking out over the vineyard and farmland was beautiful. It looked like we were in Stellenbosch in South Africa.

We took a wine flight of five wines that included one sparkling wine, one white wine, two red wines and dessert wine. This also came with a selection of food to compliment the wine.

We enjoyed it so much we ordered another bottle of red wine! A little tipsy when I left! But it was a lot of fun.

Dinner at an Agriturismo

If you enjoy food this is a must! There are lots of agriturismos in Sardinia. An agriturismo is a restaurant that serves food that is from the farmland they live on.

There are many courses with water and wine. The courses include cheeses, vegetables, flans, fried cheeses, fried vegetables, kinds of pasta, pork, sausages, dessert and as much wine as you would like to drink. So, go on an empty stomach as you will leave full to the brim!

I recommend Agriturismo La Kustera it is fantastic. It is around 30 minutes away from Arzachena. We went there for my husband’s birthday with a large group and we were treated very well.

The food was rustic and organic with real flavour. But book a table as it gets busy there. You can find them at www.agriturismolakustera.com.

Essential Info

• Weather: Summer months between 23*C – 36*C. In July, it can be very windy.
• Language: Italian (English is spoken in most places, but not all!)
• Currency: Euro
• My recommendations for Sardinia are lots of sunscreen, insect repellent, insect bite relieve, flip flops, hat, bikini, water bottle, beach towel, camera and backpack/beach bag.                        

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Happy Travels

Love Lucy x