A taste of the enchanting south
Ten minutes after landing in Sardinia, you will find yourself in the lively alleys of Cagliari’s historic districts. Glamorous boutiques and traditional shops, clubs, bars and restaurants where the best cuisine in Italy awaits you, according to the food and wine magazine, Gambero Rosso. The evenings continue at the beach bars along the ten kilometres of the city beach of Poetto, so close to the town centre and ideal for a dip in the sea on your day of arrival and departure. The itinerant short break along the coast of the golfo degli Angeli, returning to the city in the evening, is an ‘aperitif’ that precedes the picture postcard landscapes and beaches, while the journey of discovery of the southern seas is postponed to the following days.
First day. Travelling west, the destination is Capo Teulada. From the 25th kilometre, there is a string of beaches: Nora and Santa Margherita di Pula, then the charm of the seven beaches of Chia. In common, they have soft, white sands, 25-metre high dunes covered in junipers and wild lilies, with lagoons populated by rare birds and the mountains of Sulcis behind them.
Cala Cipolla
A charming stretch of fine, golden sand, enclosed between two pink granite promontories that stretch towards the sea, forming a natural pool. Behind…
Coveted, but not for sale
The landscape in this area is something incredible. It continues to emanate its charm as you walk up the road to Teulada. The beach of Tuerredda takes you by surprise. Its appearance is Caribbean but it is ‘embraced’ by a type of nature that you will undoubtedly recognise as typical of an ancient and pastoral Sardinia, despite being just 60 kilometres from Cagliari.
Tuerredda
The deep blue water, the green shrubs and delicate golden colour of the fine sand will make you fall in love with this natural marvel. In a cove…
Such magnetic beauty leaves no space or time before reaching the nearby beaches, wonderfully wild and free from military constraints only in the summer months. If you want to step into the earthly paradise of is Arenas Biancas, Porto Tramatzu and Cala Zafferano you need more time, and the experience is only postponed to the next short break.
Poetto
Since the beginning of the 20th century, the inhabitants of Cagliari favoured the western part of the Golfo degli Angeli. Then, little by little, as…
A painted sea with Sardinian language
On the second day, moving towards Villasimius, the journey that takes you out of town is along a strip of land between the seafront of the city beach of Poetto and the oasis of the pink flamingos and salt mountains in the Park of Molentargius-Saline. Then the road climbs up the hill and, from the top, you can catch sight of enticing inlets and coves. Not to be missed for a dip in the sea and for photos to collect likes is Mari Pintau.
Mari Pintau
It means 'painted sea'. The signature on this painting is nature itself, creator of a masterpiece with skilful artistic brushstrokes and a…
In this way, you will reach the protected marine area of Capo Carbonara-Villasimius. Here, the beaches are all breathtakingly beautiful and close at hand: Porto sa Ruxi, Campulongu, Simius, Porto Giunco and Punta Molentis… You will want to return. These southern Sardinian seas are just an hour’s flight from Italy.
Porto Giunco
Anyone passing by Villasimius, a famous tourist resort in the island's south-east, will be dazzled by the long stretch of soft light sand, with…