Things to Do in Sardinia: 15 Best Places to Visit

Things to Do in Sardinia: 15 Best Places to Visit

Sardinia rewards a regional approach rather than a single flat list — the island is genuinely large, and the drive between its extremes (say, La Pelosa in the far northwest to Villasimius in the southeast) can take most of a day. Here are the 15 places that anchor a real route around it, grouped roughly by area so you can see how they connect.

1. Alghero and its Catalan old town

Alghero’s old town sits behind ramparts built by the Catalan-Aragonese, who held the city for centuries and left a language still spoken in the streets today — signs are bilingual, and older residents genuinely converse in Catalan. Sea-facing terraces along the bastions catch the sunset over the Mediterranean, and the fishing harbor stays busy with restaurants serving the local lobster catch. It works as a base for exploring the whole northwest coast, since Capo Caccia, Neptune’s Grotto and La Pelosa all sit within a half-hour to 50 minutes’ drive.

2. La Pelosa beach, Stintino

La Pelosa’s shallow, sand-bottomed water reads an almost improbable turquoise even on overcast days, backed by a 16th-century Aragonese watchtower and a view across to Asinara island. The beach caps daily visitor numbers in peak season and requires a paid access ticket and, in some periods, reservation — arriving early in the morning genuinely changes the experience before tour buses arrive. It’s one of the most photographed stretches of coast in Sardinia, and one of the shallowest, making it a natural stop for families as well.

3. Asinara National Park

A short boat ride from Stintino or Porto Torres, Asinara spent decades as a prison island and, as a result, kept its coastline largely free of development — it’s now a national park known for wild white donkeys, rocky coves and diving spots around its edges. Access is boat-only, and most visitors combine it with a guided tour that includes stops for swimming. The near-total absence of buildings makes it one of the more unusual day trips in this part of the Mediterranean.

4. Capo Caccia and Neptune’s Grotto

The limestone cliffs at Capo Caccia drop straight into the sea west of Alghero, and at their base sits Neptune’s Grotto, a cave system reachable either by boat from Alghero’s harbor or on foot down the Escala del Cabirol, a stairway of several hundred steps cut into the cliff face. Inside, stalactites and stalagmites frame an underground lake, and guided visits run on a fixed schedule. The boat approach gives the better view of the cliffs themselves; the staircase gives a sense of the scale.

5. La Maddalena archipelago

Seven main islands and a scatter of granite islets make up the Maddalena archipelago, protected as a national park just off the northeast coast near Palau. Boat tours typically loop past Spargi, Caprera — where Giuseppe Garibaldi lived and is buried — and a string of beaches with the same clear water associated with Costa Smeralda, minus the price tag. A full-day boat trip from Palau, with multiple swim stops, is the standard way to see it, and snorkeling gear is worth packing.

6. Costa Smeralda and Porto Cervo

Developed from the 1960s onward around a series of natural coves, Costa Smeralda concentrates the island’s most polished marina at Porto Cervo, along with beach clubs and villas tucked into the granite coastline. Even without the yacht-club budget, the public beaches here — Liscia Ruja, Capriccioli — hold their own against anything else on the island, and the drive along the coast road between them is worth doing slowly. Baja Sardinia, just north, offers a quieter, less built-up version of the same coastline.

7. Cala Gonone and the Gulf of Orosei

Cala Gonone works as the launch point for boat trips into the Gulf of Orosei, a stretch of coast where limestone cliffs run for roughly 40 km with no road access at all — the only ways in are by boat, on foot, or by kayak. Boat tours from the harbor stop at coves like Cala Luna and Cala Mariolu, both backed by pebble beaches and turquoise water squeezed between rock walls.

8. Bue Marino and the sea caves of Orosei

Along that same roadless coast, the Grotta del Bue Marino is a sea cave system named for the monk seals that once bred there; guided tours (by boat, with a walking section inside) cover part of the cave network on a fixed schedule from Cala Gonone. Smaller caves and grottoes dot the same stretch, many visible only from the water, making a boat tour genuinely the best way to see this section of coast rather than an optional add-on.

9. Hiking trails above the Gulf of Orosei

Above the cliffs, a network of hiking trails connects the interior to the coast, including routes down to Cala Luna and Cala Sisine that take several hours round trip and require sturdy shoes and real water supplies — there’s no shade for long stretches. The Selvaggio Blu, Sardinia’s best-known long-distance trekking route, runs along this same coastline for multiple days for those planning further ahead.

Boat schedules along the Gulf of Orosei run tighter in shoulder season — checking departure times the day before saves a wasted morning at the harbor.

10. Su Nuraxi, Barumini

Su Nuraxi is the largest and best-preserved nuraghe complex on the island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997 and the clearest introduction to Sardinia’s Bronze Age nuraghic civilization. The central stone tower, built without mortar, dates back roughly 3,500 years, surrounded by a village of smaller stone dwellings excavated over the 20th century. Guided visits (required to enter the tower itself) run at set intervals and take about 45 minutes to an hour.

11. Cagliari’s old town and Poetto beach

Cagliari combines a hilltop old town — the Castello district, ringed by Pisan-era towers and looking out over the Golfo di Cagliari — with Poetto, a nearly 8 km stretch of city beach that locals use the way other cities use a park. The Molentargius-Saline Regional Park, just behind Poetto, adds flamingos and former salt pans to the mix. It’s a genuinely different pace from the northeast coast: more city life, less resort.

12. Nora, near Pula

South of Cagliari, the archaeological site of Nora sits on a small peninsula, with Roman-era ruins — a theater, baths, mosaic floors — running right down to the water’s edge, on top of earlier Phoenician and Punic foundations. It pairs naturally with a beach day nearby, since Nora’s own coastline is part of the draw.

13. Castelsardo and the north coast

Perched on a rocky promontory on the northern coast, Castelsardo is one of Sardinia’s most photographed hill villages, its medieval streets wrapped around a Doria-family castle with views stretching toward Asinara on clear days. It works well as a stop between Alghero and the Costa Smeralda side of the island, or as a detour on a north-coast day out.

14. Bosa and the Temo river

Bosa sits along the only navigable river in Sardinia, its pastel-colored houses climbing toward a hilltop castle, with a stretch of coastline nearby that includes some of the island’s less crowded beaches. The town’s tannery quarter and old center reward an unhurried walk, and it makes a natural stop between the northwest coast and the interior.

15. Villasimius and the southeast coves

East of Cagliari, Villasimius anchors a run of coves and white sand beaches — Porto Giunco, Simius — backed by a marine protected area good for snorkeling. It’s close enough to Cagliari for a day trip, but has enough coastline of its own to justify a longer stay for anyone based in the south.