Fine, white sandy beaches, which are surrounded by turquoise, clear water, are more reminiscent of a Caribbean holiday than of Italy. Anyone who sees pictures of Sardinian beaches will probably have to look twice to notice the missing palm trees and instead find pine forests and rugged rocks. On the Emerald Coast, the Costa Smeralda,as well as on the east coast you will find countless beautiful beaches such as Spaggia Capriccioli or Cala Luna.
If you prefer to swim away from mass tourism, you should explore beaches in the south and southwest of the island. The small bay of Cala Cipolla near the village of Chia will welcome you with powdery white sand.

Anyone who thinks that they are already very familiar with Italian cuisine a la “Pizza, Pasta e Amore” has made their bill without Sardinia. Unlike on the Italian mainland, Sardinian cuisine is geographically close to Africa and the island’s shepherds, farmers and fishermen have shaped their very own food culture. The Pane Carasau, a hard and very thin flatbread, was originally eaten as provisions because of its long shelf life on shipping sanductives or by shepherds. Today you will find it in just about any supermarket or restaurant as an appetizer or in combination with tomato sauce and cheese as the main course Pane Frattau. An equally typical Sardinian dish is the pasta speciality Fregula, prepared with mussels or a spicy soup. The small Fregula balls of durum wheat semolina are less reminiscent of typical Italian pasta than of coarse couscous from Arabic cuisine. After the meal, the Sardinian meal is usually rounded off with a glass of Mirto, a sweet liqueur made from berries of the myrtle, in taste.

Whether north, south, east or west – Sardinia has a lot to offer and attracts at every turn with breathtaking scenery, beautiful bays and places worth seeing. It is difficult to reconcile all this within a few days or weeks and many who have been captivated by the island come back year after year. But in order to get the best out of your holiday, you should take a rental car in Sardinia. Since public transport on the island leaves something to be desired and it is difficult to get to individual bays or villages with them, a rented car allows you to get from A to B as flexibly as possible. So you can access the inland as well as the best surf and snorkel spots via film-ready mountain or coastal roads. And what could be better than enjoying your holiday with the window cranked down and the perfect soundtrack?

Sardinia offers numerous attractive hiking routes along the coast or inland and is therefore also a worthwhile destination for active holidaymakers. The two highest mountains of the island, the Gennargentu and the Supramonte, are ideal for climbing fascinating heights and exploring cool gorges.
If you are not a gifted mountaineer, but just want to take a short hiking trip, a hike to Cala Goloritz is the right thing foryou. This is one of the most beautiful bathing bays in Sardinia. Nevertheless, you should not do without sturdy footwear, as the path sometimes winds along scree paths through nature!

About 10,000 prehistoric tower buildings can be found on the island of Sardinia. The earlier use of the so-called nuraghes is controversial, with conjectureranging from places of worship and burial grounds to residential complexes. What is certain, however, is that these impressive buildings are one more reason to visit the island, because besides coves and beaches you can explore a piece of history in unmistakable landscape. Probably the best preserved Nuraghe is the Su Nuraxi de Barimini in the southern part of the island.

Friends of water sports get their money’s worth in Sardinia! Whether you are a beginner or an old hare, the island offers perfect conditions to enhance your holiday with kitesurfing. You will find a large number of surf schools where you can relearn active sports or consolidate your previous skills. Especially good winds and great surf spots can be found on the north and south coasts.

The Sardinian carnival is far less colourful and shrill than you might be used to from the mainland. Pagan myths, archaic rites and whimsical customs are brought to life here year after year in February and March. At the centre of many customs are scary masks, animal skins and gloomy disguises,which come from the pastoral tradition and illustrate the interplay between humans, animals and the seasons. However, each region and every village has its own traditions. Despite the different dark shapes and sometimes scary masks, the festivities in Sardinia have one thing in common: the carnival is unique and brings young and old together, whether local or holidaymaker.

Walking through the streets of the former bandit village of Orgosolo, one detail will immediately catch your eye: colorful muralsthat tell succinct stories. About 150 works of art,so-called Murales, adorn the walls and walls of the city and deal with national and international political and social issues: sometimes subtly critical, sometimes funny caricative and sometimes blatantly provocative. What was started in the 20th century by an anarchist group has developed into a tradition in Orgosolo and the surrounding villages. For some, the murals read like a history book, which captures the mood and attitude of the region and the island since 1968. For others, it is timeless works of art, stylistically inspired by Picasso’s Guernica and Cubism, that can be admired in an open-air museum. But no matter what the viewer sees in the Murales, they are always worth a trip to Orgosolo!

The old town of Cagliaris, called Castello, is romantically situated on a hill of the city and offers a great view over the Gulf of Cagliari. The feeling of life that prevails in this place is characterized by the different cultures that have merged here over the years. In addition to historic attractionssuch as the Cathedral of Santa Maria de Castello and the Roman Catholic Basilica, you will find multicultural neighbourhoods with inviting cafés and restaurants, as well as antique shops and boutiques. Although Cagliari is the capital of Sardinia, the city is not overcrowded, as many tourists stay in the north of the island.

Anyone who thinks that Sardinia is just for a summer beach holiday has been wrong. Because especially in the low season,when the temperatures are milder and the beaches empty a little, the island is worth a trip. In addition to hikes, mountain bike tours or motorbike excursions in spring and autumn, you can even ski in winter as in the Alps. In the ski resort of Bruncu Spina, winter sports enthusiasts get their money’s worth at high altitudes and in cold temperatures. Hardly any place offers such a diverse opportunity to be travelled all year round.