Rhys Roams

Wandering, exploring, discovering...

Sardinia

Tuesday6thPalau
Wednesday7thPalauMaddalena archipelago
Thursday8thStintino
Friday9thBosa
Saturday10thCagliari
Sunday11thSanta Maria Navaresse
Monday12thCala GononeBaunei Coast
Tuesday13thRome

Tuesday 6th

We had a late flight to Sardinia and we decided to make the most out of another sunny summer’s day.

We went to Porto Venere.

At 0930 we checked out, stored our bags at the Left Luggage close to the hotel and headed down the road to the bus stop. We found a Tobacconist to buy bus tickets before hopping on the bus across the road, around 1000.

The bus was an easy 30 minutes and so half past ten we were there.  We had a walk around the port before heading up the hill to check out the Chiesa di San Pietro and the Byron Grotto.

We couldn’t help ourselves so hopped in the water to cool off. I got stung on the shoulder by a jellyfish but it was worth it. The water was so clear and fresh.

Around 1300 we set off for lunch – settling on La Pitonetta for pizza and a drink. At 1400 we hopped back on the bus en route to La Spezia.

We grabbed an ice cream from Gelateria Vernazza before continuing on to collect our bags and head back to the train station.

We got tickets for the train back to Pisa ($38 each) and by quarter past we were on the way.

We arrived at Pisa centrale around 1630 before taking a shuttle to the airport.

We arrived at 1715 with plenty of time before our 1855 flight to Olbia.

We ended up flying with Volotea (V7 1782) and paid $428 each.

At 2000 we arrived at Olbia, picked up our car and started the drive to our hotel for the night in Palau. 

The accommodation was pretty basic but it did the trick. The rooms were big and clean and in a great location, right on the main street and close to the port.

We rented the car with Green Motion which was OK. It was only $695 for the week. Collecting the car was a bit of a punish. There were only a couple of girls working at the pick-up point and they were extremely slow. They also made me get an International Drivers Licence which cost about $250. I had called a couple of times to confirm they had the car. Last time I was in Sardinia they only had a manual car – despite us reserving an automatic.

The drive to Palau was 50 minutes (in the dark, on small winding roads) and so it was just after 2240 when we arrived at the La Residenzia del Re.

We had a quick walk around before calling it a night. We had a big week of adventures ahead of us in Sardinia.

Wednesday 7th

We had an early morning with a quick (and pretty mediocre) continental breakfast at the cafe under the hotel before heading down to the port to find our boat for the day.

I had been in touch with a few people about renting a boat to take us to explore the Maddalena archipelago.

In the end we went with Walter from WP Boat Cruises. It cost us €800 or about $1300 including the skipper as well as fuel, lunch and drinks. The “classic wooden boat” was pretty big and Walter, the skipper was great.

We met Walter around 0915 and we were off – cruising along the Sardinian coastline and hitting all the hot spots in La Maddalena.

We had plenty of swimming and sunning stops, as well as a nice break for lunch, before heading back to civilisation.

We got back to the port around 1800 and after a quick freshen up at the hotel, we decided to hop in the car to go and find a good spot for sunset.

We’d met a guy during our cruise who recommended we check out Phi Beach for sunset.

Sunset at Phi Beach, Costa Smeralda , Sardinia, Italy

It was about a 45 minute drive away from Palau and when we arrived we discovered there was a DJ playing – Bob Sinclar we later found out – and it was going to cost €160 each to enter.

We weren’t super keen to pay that much for a sunset cocktail and so decided to find a restaurant nearby for dinner.

We ended up at Punta Baja just around the corner, which was pretty decent and in a nice setting, so it wasn’t a complete waste.

We were back at the hotel around 2230, ready to hit the sack after a long day in the sun.

Thursday 8th

We had a pretty lazy morning, with another mediocre breakfast at the hotel before heading west to Stintino.

First stop: Spiaggia della isola dei Gabbiani to see the windsurfers.

Next up we hit up Santa Teresa Gallura and had a bit of a walk around the old town and headland.

We continued on to Castelsardo for lunch.

Around 1430 we arrived at at Raimondo’s Pizzeria contemporanea for a couple of pizzas for lunch.

Pizza for lunch at Raimondo's Pizzeria Contemporanea Castelsardo, Italy

Just before 1700 we arrived at our hotel – Karamare Guesthouse in Stinto. The hotel had a weird layout but the rooms were decent and very clean with views over the port. We had a massive balcony too which was nice. 

We had read it was hard to visit La pelosa Beach (I think you needed a reservation so at the recommendation of the guy who checked us in at the hotel, we had a swim at the adjacent Spiaggia della Polosetta.

An hour or so later (from 6pm) we were able to visit La Pelosa without any drama. Visiting later in the day also meant it was easier to find a car park in what looked like a beachside street that could get busy and congested.

Around 1900 we went back to the hotel for a quick shower and change before continuing on to Cameleon Clubbing for a couple of sunsets and to catch the sunset.

We thought about having dinner there but ended up going back to Stintino.

We ended up at Trattoria Opera Viva for dinner and while it was hot, sweaty, sticky, the food was pretty decent.

We got back to the hotel around 2330 – spent after a day in the sun.

Friday 9th

We had a lazy start to the morning with a little walk into town for a pastry for breakfast.

Around 1030 we were back at the hotel, packing up ready to hit the road.

We had a quick stop off at Porto Palmas to break up the trip and by 1230 we’d arrived at Alghero.

We spent an hour or so wandering round the fortress and enjoying the sunshine before setting off to find somewhere for lunch.

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In the end we settled on Gioia Mi.

Food and drinks were pretty good and it was nice to have a bit of a rest after wandering around in the heat all morning.

Around 1500 we were back on the road, headed for Bosa.

We stopped off at the supermarket for supplies, had an altercation at the petrol station for not being able to speak Italian, and by 1630 we’d arrived at Bosa.

We dropped off our friend at her hotel – Hotel Palazzo Sa Pischedda – and continued on to Cane Malu for a swim. It was only a ten minute drive from Bosa but it was about half an hour to get from the car to the water.  Parking (even at 1630) was a challenge on the small dirt road leading up to the coast.

We spent a couple of hours swimming and exploring the waterholes at Cane Malu before heading back to Bosa to check in to our hotel.

We ended up staying at Tra i due ponti – which was a nice place right on the river. The room was big and clean and super close to everything.

We scored a great pack on the river just near the hotel and dragged all our stuff up the stairs to the room.

After a quick shower I dashed back out to catch the dying light. 

Around 2000 we reunited with our friend and headed out to check out the town and find something for dinner.

We ended up at Ristorante Tipico which was on the main street giving us a perfect view of the colourful Midsomer festival.

We headed back to the hotel around 2230 and despite the noise and excitement of the festival, it didn’t take long for us to get to sleep.

Saturday 10th

We packed up and put our stuff in the car before heading down the road for breakfast. We ended up at Ristobottega Don Carlo which was one of the few places serving anything more than pastry and coffee.

Around 1000 we were on the road, headed for Sant’Antioco.

The town is bigger than I thought and not nearly as exciting in the middle of the day on a Saturday so we had a bit of a walk around before settling on La Sulcitana Cooperativa Pescatori for lunch. We had some fresh seafood before continuing on our way south to Cagliari.

We found a(n illegal) park close to our hotels (our friend stayed at Hotel Aristeo and we were at the very tightly packed Magnini Rooms), checked in and headed out to explore the town.

Around 1630 we headed out for a walk – checking out the waterfront, Via Giuseppe Manno, Piazza Constituzione and Impasto and the Bastione di Saint Remy.

We spent a while chilling in the sun in Terrazzo Umberto before seeking out a bar.

We ended up at Moonshine Bar for a couple of cocktails before heading up to Le Jacarande for dinner around 2030. 

After dinner we had a wander down Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, grabbed some gelato before heading back to the hotel around 2300.

Sunday 11th

We packed up and headed downstairs for a quick breakfast at one of the cafes along Via Roma before packing up the car and heading out to begin our adventure of the Costa Rei.

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Around 1230 we arrived at Spiaggia di Carla Monto Turno at 1230 and had a swim and a sunback before heading over to Iki Beach Club for lunch. There were signs everywhere saying you could only play with cash and so after pooling our funds we discovered we had about €35. We rationed a couple of drinks and some snacks before discovering, when paying up, you could in fact pay with cards. We’d already packed up and while we were still sort of hungry we decided to head back to the car and continue on our way.

We were on the road for about two hours and at 1630 we arrived at our hotel in Santa Maria Navaresse.  We got another good park (I’m obsessed, I know) right opposite our accommodation so we checked in and headed down to the beach for a late afternoon swim.

The water was great and we spent a couple of hours catching the last light of the day and swimming in the clean, warm water. 

Spiaggia di Santa Maria Navarrese

Around 1730 we went home to freshen up for dinner.

We headed up to Toma for a cocktail and to watch the sunset before heading out in search of something for dinner. 

Santa Maria Navaresse is a bit of a quiet, sleepy town and we struggled to find anywhere for dinner. Everything was closed, closing or packed to the rafters.

We walked around desperately before heading back to Su Forru Pizzeria Paninoteca to get some takeaway pizza.

Luckily the hotel had a big terrace so we set up camp and scoffed ourselves.  

Around 2300 we decided to call it a night.

Monday 12th

We had another early start before heading up the road to grab something to eat. It was only 0730 and there weren’t many places open.

We ended up at Ristorante Il Pozzo for a quick pastry before continuing down the road looking for the Post Office.

Google Maps took us to a residential address and so we gave up that mission and continued on to the COOP around the corner on Viale Pedras.

We planned to rent a boat today to explore the Baunei Coast and so needed supplies.

Thankfully, the COOP was one of the better supermarkets we had been to and so we were able to get the deli section to make us some nice sandwiches.

By 1000 we were back down the port looking for the rental company.

Renting the boat was a bit of an ordeal.

We had been in touch with Nolo Goloritzè since May messaging back and forth about a boat rental to explore the Baunei Coast.

They said get back to them closer to the date and so I sent a number of follow up messages.

A couple of days before I messaged to confirm our booking only to be told they didn’t have a boat for us.

This was pretty disappointing, to say the least, but luckily the guy I had been talking to, Claudio, was able to recommend a friend – Marco – who was able to help us out.

So we were back on track.

We ended up going with Aequor boat rental and the price was the same.

The price was the same too – €280 for the day plus fuel.

We had a bit of drama finding their office (there are a dozen offices that all look the same) but eventually we found their booth, and Marco – who sorted us out.

We decided to make a B-line for Cala Luna – the furthest destination and  make our way back slowly from there.

Lauren Higgins, Elouise Pignataro and Rhys Alexander Sain on a boat off the short of Cala Luna Beach, Sardinia, Italy

We arrived around 1100 and after working out how to drop the anchor we swam into the beach to explore its famous caves.

We spent about an hour at the beach before swimming back out to the boat to continue on  our way.

We stopped at the Grotta della Madonnina, Cala Sisine, Cala Esuili and Su Accile before stopping at the Venus Pools for lunch.

Around 1430 we arrived at the pièce de résistance – Cala Goloritzé.

Cala Goloritzé, Sardinia, Italy

We dropped anchor for a while and swam to the beach to take some pictures, and we also managed to get the drone out before packing up and continuing south.

We stopped off at Portu Cuau, Portu Porru ‘e Campu and Grotta dei Colombi before continuing back on to Santa Maria Navarrese.

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We got back to port around 1630 and dropped off the boat and headed back up the hill to grab the car.

We had a bit of a drive ahead of us to Cala Gonone.

We were on the road for about an hour and a half and so by 1830 we were checking into our hotel – Bue Marino.

There was a booking in the rooftop jacuzzi at 1900 so we thought we’d hop on that and head up to take some pictures and try to catch the sunset.

Rhys Alexander Sain and Lauren Higgins in the rooftop Jacuzzi at the BUE MARINO hotel (Sky Restaurant and Roof Bar), Cala Gonone, Sardinia, Italy

We spent around 30 minutes flailing, taking a million pictures and flying the drone before heading down to the hotel bar, overlooking the beach and port.

The internet in the hotel was appalling – I’m not sure it worked at all – but the girl behind the desk claimed it was down in the entire city.

At 2030 we started out to find something for dinner.

We ended up at Cala Luna Restaurant. And were lucky enough to get a table. Everywhere was so busy and the lines were long.

Dinner at Cala Luna Restaurant, Cala Gonone, Sardinia, Italy

Service was pretty bad but we didn’t complain because we were lucky to have been able to score anything.

We were there until 2245 and home in bed, exhausted, by 2300.

Tuesday 13th

We started off the day with a swim at the beach across the road, before wandering up the road to find the post office.

We had a bit of a walk around town and settled on Retrovino Market Bar for breakfast and had a proper brekkie for the first time since we’d been away.

Around 1130 we headed back to the hotel to pack up our things and check out.

Around 1400 we arrived at Olbia, found a decent park in the port and dumped the car.

We checked out the markets along  V. Principe Umberto and then headed up the corso to check out a bit of the town.

Around quarter past we settled in to Mengo’s Restaurant and Cocktail bar for a drink.

We ended up having a bite to eat there too, before heading across the road to Gelateria Villi for an ice cream.

Around 1630 we headed back to the car to go to the airport.

It was only a short ten minute drive to Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport – giving us plenty of time before our 1925 flight.

We ended up on Aeroitalia to Rome. 

It cost us about $265 each.

We landed at 2025 and after waiting for a bags for a long while, we hopped straight on the shuttle to our “airport hotel” Hotel Isola Sacra.

It was only a ten minute drive away, but the shuttle was free and easy so who cares.

The hotel was a bit conference hotel with a huge gym, pool and restaurant.

Hotel Isola Sacra, Fiumicino, Rome, Italy

We were only there for the night so decided to opt for an Italian McDonald’s for dinner via Ubereats.

We hit the sack soon after, ready for our long day of travel the following day.

Wednesday 14

We had a very early start to the day to head back to the airport.

We were in the lobby at 0430 ready for our shuttle back to Leonardo da Vinci – Fiumicino Airport.

At 0700 we hopped on TK1362 for our flight to Dalaman via Istanbul. It cost us each about $410 with Turkish Airlines.

We had a quick stop over in Istanbul before landing in Dalaman at 1340 to continue our adventure along Turkey’s southern coast.

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