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Sardinia

An island of impossibly clear water and white-sand coves, mysterious Bronze Age nuraghe and the glamorous Costa Smeralda.

  • Island
  • May – June, September – October
▸ Discover

About Sardinia

Sardinia is Italy's most beautiful island secret. The Costa Smeralda's Caribbean-clear water attracts the superyacht set to Porto Cervo; but the island's real treasures are less glossy: the Cala Goloritzé sea arch and beach accessible only by boat or two-hour hike, the mysterious nuraghi Bronze Age towers scattered across the interior, and a cuisine of wild herbs, lamb and bottarga (cured fish roe) unlike anything elsewhere in Italy.

Highlights

  • Costa Smeralda — emerald sea and white sand
  • Cala Goloritzé beach hike (UNESCO)
  • Nuraghi stone towers — Bronze Age mystery
  • Orgosolo murales village art
  • Culurgiones pasta and pecorino cheese
  • Carloforte tuna fishing town

Sardinia in photos

Sardinia — photo 1
Photo: borkur.net · BY 2.0 · Openverse
Sardinia — photo 2
Photo: borkur.net · BY 2.0 · Openverse
Sardinia — photo 3
Photo: Le_Morgy · BY 2.0 · Openverse
Sardinia — photo 4
Photo: Polyrus · BY-ND 2.0 · Openverse
Sardinia — photo 5
Photo: borkur.net · BY 2.0 · Openverse
Sardinia — photo 6
Photo: gaspartorriero · BY-SA 2.0 · Openverse
Sardinia — photo 7
Photo: marco_ask · BY-SA 2.0 · Openverse
Sardinia — photo 8
Photo: charbel.akhras · BY-ND 2.0 · Openverse
Sardinia — photo 9
Photo: charbel.akhras · BY-ND 2.0 · Openverse
Sardinia — photo 10
Photo: Alessandro Caproni · BY 2.0 · Openverse
Sardinia — photo 11
Photo: cristianocani · BY 2.0 · Openverse
Sardinia — photo 12
Photo: cristianocani · BY 2.0 · Openverse
Sardinia — photo 13
Photo: Gianfranco · BY-SA 4.0 · Openverse
Sardinia — photo 14
Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Giancarlodessi assumed (based on copyright claims). · BY-SA 3.0 · Openverse
Sardinia — photo 15
Photo: europeanspaceagency · BY-SA 2.0 · Openverse
Sardinia — photo 16
Photo: marco_ask · BY-SA 2.0 · Openverse
Sardinia — photo 17
Photo: NASA Goddard Photo and Video · BY 2.0 · Openverse
Sardinia — photo 18
Photo: Tommie Hansen · BY 2.0 · Openverse
Sardinia — photo 19
Photo: Frankensteinnn · BY 2.0 · Openverse
Sardinia — photo 20
Photo: zipckr · BY 2.0 · Openverse
▸ Where you'll stay

Where you'll stay in Sardinia

Live map of hotels and villas around Sardinia — powered by Stay22. Pan, zoom and compare live prices to pick your base.

Stay

Hotels & rentals around Sardinia

Pan, zoom and compare live prices — every stay in one map.

▸ What you'll do
What's on

While you're there

02
SEP
Venice Film Festival 2026
Via Pietro Buratti 5, 30126 Venezia Venice, Italy · cultural
Build a trip around it →
30
JAN
Venice Carnival 2027
Piazza San Marco 40, 30124 Venezia Venice, Italy · festival
Build a trip around it →
▸ Best beaches
By the sea

Best beaches in Sardinia

The 7 shores actually worth the trip on Sardinia — ranked, with the vibe of each and where to stay nearby. Tap a card to fly the map to it.

  • Cala Goloritzé, Sardinia Dramatic © Unukorno, CC BY 4.0

    Cala Goloritzé

    A 143m limestone spire and stone arch soar over a pale-pebble cove of startlingly clear water.

    Best for dramatic scenery and hiking

    Stays near this beach →
  • La Pelosa, Sardinia Swimming © Tommie Hansen, CC BY 2.0

    La Pelosa

    Waist-deep turquoise water runs far offshore past a 16th-century watchtower over powder-white sand.

    Best for calm shallow swimming

    Stays near this beach →
  • Cala Mariolu, Sardinia Snorkelling © Daniela M., CC BY-SA 4.0

    Cala Mariolu

    White pebbles and deep-blue shallows drop to a snorkeller's wall beneath sheer limestone cliffs.

    Best for snorkelling clear water

    Stays near this beach →
  • Spiaggia del Principe, Sardinia Secluded © Oekologix, CC0

    Spiaggia del Principe

    The Aga Khan's reputed favourite: a curving, dune-backed Costa Smeralda cove off a short scrub path.

    Best for quiet scenic cove

    Stays near this beach →
  • Spiaggia La Cinta, Sardinia Long sandy © trolvag, CC BY-SA 3.0

    Spiaggia La Cinta

    A 3km ribbon of fine white sand between a flamingo lagoon and warm, shallow, kite-friendly sea.

    Best for long beach walks

    Stays near this beach →
  • Cala Brandinchi, Sardinia Family © Gaspar Torriero, CC BY-SA 2.0

    Cala Brandinchi

    Warm, waist-shallow 'Little Tahiti' water and soft sand facing the hulking Tavolara island.

    Best for families with toddlers

    Stays near this beach →
  • Spiaggia di Su Giudeu, Sardinia Sunset © Vid Pogacnik, CC BY-SA 4.0

    Spiaggia di Su Giudeu

    Big dunes, a wade-out rock islet and a flamingo lagoon on Chia's golden south-west coast.

    Best for sunsets and dunes

    Stays near this beach →
Explore

Explore the area

Sardinia · Around the island · 1 island · 7 beaches

© OpenFreeMap · OSM · terrain Mapterhorn
Do

Local attractions & tours

Skip-the-line tickets and small-group tours in Sardinia — compare across our partners.

We're still curating hand-picked tickets and tours for Sardinia. In the meantime, the map above and the nearby cities are a great place to start.

▸ When you'll go

When to visit Sardinia

May – June, September – October

▸ Ready to book your trip?
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Ready to book your trip?

Flights, airport transfers and car hire — search and compare without leaving the page.

▸ Trip extras
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More trip extras

Parking, holiday extras, and more — coming soon.

Coming soon

We're lining up parking, holiday extras and activities you'll be able to add to any trip from here.