Its sandy shore is divided between two coves. The first is smaller and crescent-shaped and the second is longer, stretching towards a rocky promontory. It is narrow, due to the continuous erosion caused by the sea, and runs for almost two kilometres alongside the locality of the same name, in the territory of Quartu sant’Elena, town with the third largest number of inhabitants on the Island. The beach of Capitana characterises a wide stretch of the Cagliari-Villasimius scenic route and appears with its bright colours at the end of a straight road, just before entering a landscape where the little villas give way to the greenery of the poplars, tamarisks and eucalyptus trees and also to small elevations covered in Mediterranean scrub and spectacular rocky cliffs.

You will have access to the beach via various detours from the SP 17 provincial road and you will find a strip of fine white sand that quickly makes way for the water’s edge, where shallow waters and a sandy seabed gently slope towards the open sea. The sea is transparent near the shore and the various shades of blue get darker as you look further out to sea, gradually becoming a deep blue. When the northwesterly mistral and southeasterly scirocco winds blow, Capitana becomes an irresistible attraction for surfers and also for kitesurfing and windsurfing enthusiasts, for whom there is no lack of schools and equipment rental services. To the west of the beach, there is a well-equipped marina that has two docks and was awarded the Blue Flag in 2020 as a tourist port. In this area, the seabed near the rocks becomes pebbly and, thanks to the transparent sea, snorkelling allows you to observe the abundance of marine animals.

There are plenty of services nearby, such as bar-restaurants, pizzerias, hotels, campsites and sports fields. Proceeding eastwards, there is a small beach of pebbles and rocky outcrops near the promotory: this is Baia Azzurra, ideal for relaxing, as it is cosy and private, thanks to the rocky stretches surrounding it. There is a handy wooden walkway, where you can sunbathe and enjoy the view. On the left, at the foot of the rocky spur, there is a part of the coast called the ‘cove of the pools’. You will be surprised by the transparency of the water, with its turquoise hues, where white rocks smoothed by the waves emerge.

You can also explore the historical and archaeological traces left in the area, by visiting the Carlo Baldi military battery, a fortification dating back to the 1930s, and the nuraghe Diana, a trilobate building from the middle of the 2^nd millennium BC. According to popular legend, the Nuragic fortress guards a fabulous treasure: the booty accumulated by a pirate and his beloved, ‘La Capitana’, who waited in vain for his return, scanning the sea from these shores, and honoured by the local people with the name of the place.