If you are looking for some beautiful pictures of Sardinia and it’s beaches, look no further. I spent 6 weeks on the picturesque Italian island of Sardinia in summer 2015. Sardinia is like paradise: beautiful but wild, authentic but mysterious. White sandy beaches surround the island and life here is very laid back. Here are my top 20 pictures from my travels that will make you want to visit Sardinia and it’s beaches!
BEST SARDINIA BEACHES PICTURES
Whilst Sardinia is an extremely popular summer holiday destination for Italians, it has been relatively untouched by tourists from the rest of the world. I guess you could say it is Italy’s best kept secret!
Being in the Mediterranean, Sardinia has a great climate and enjoys perfect sunny weather from May – October. The summers are warm and the winters are mild.
Sardinia is a great holiday destination for young couples, families, retired people – or anyone just looking to get away and relax!
Like Sicily, Sardinia is an Italian island. The island is surrounded by almost 2,000km of coast, so it’s not hard to find a quiet spot for yourself, even in the busy summer months.
Inland, the island is quite mountainous whereas the coastline is a mix of rocky headlands, long sandy white beaches and wide bays. This makes Sardinia appealing to everyone: sunbathers, hikers, divers and swimmers.
BEST SARDINIA BEACHES PICTURES
Boat excursions:
As Sardinia is very mountainous, some of Sardinia’s beautiful beaches can only be accessed by boat. This makes these beaches even more special! There are many boat companies that organise similar excursions, click here to view the company I used.
The water is unbelievably clear on Sardinia’s beaches. The beaches are honestly some of the most stunning I have ever seen!
Just look at this water!
As with many Italian beaches, you can choose to rent an umbrella and sunbed for the day, or you can lie on a towel on the sand. Even at the most popular beaches you will still have lots of space to spread out and won’t feel crowded, like at other European beaches.
BEST SARDINIA BEACHES PICTURES
Coastal walks
When you are feeling restless from staying on the beach there are lots of coastal walks with fabulous views that you can take for a change of scenery.
You can walk for miles along the coast and come across so many different and beautiful beaches! Sometimes you’ll even find that you have a whole beach to yourself!
There is so much incredible natural beauty in Sardinia: the views never get old!
When to visit Sardinia
During the month of August is the busiest time in Sardinia as the whole of Italy takes holidays and flocks to Sardinia. Therefore lots of accommodation is booked out and prices are a lot higher, so try to visit Sardinia during any of the other months between May – October if you want cheaper prices and less crowds.
Popular areas to Stay in Sardinia:
A popular area for tourists to stay is on the glitzy Costa Smeralda, a strip of coast on the north-east. It is an undeniably beautiful part of Sardinia but it is very elitist and high end, with prices a lot higher than the rest of the island.
During my time here I stayed near Villasimius (in the south near Cagliari – the region’s capital) and Golfo di Orosei on the east coast, two really beautiful areas I can definitely recommend! Golfo di Orosei was full of secluded beaches and beautiful coves, whereas Villasimius was a lot busier and more commercial.
The sunrises and sunsets here are just magical!
Just wow.
Sardinian cuisine
The local cuisine is unique and really tasty! Sardinians tend to just use local produce – whatever is in season, and so their food is very important to them. Try fregola (ball-shaped semolina pasta) or porcheddu (spit roasted suckling pig). Sardinia is home to more sheep than people, so the famous lamb dishes are always really good! For an island, Sardinia utilises a lot of meat in it’s diet. However, the seafood is also to die for!
You can take a break from the beaches and explore the cute towns and villages. The houses are all painted in different colours, like in many parts of Italy and even a little bit like Rue Cremieux in Paris, although far less fancy!
As I mentioned, May – October is the perfect season to visit Sardinia. If you choose to visit off-season you will find the towns incredibly quiet – many completely shut down and you may struggle to find restaurants or hotels open: places can almost seem like ghost towns.
Despite being an island, it is very easy to get to Sardinia from mainland Italy – you can easily catch the ferry to Sardinia from Rome.
History
Sardinia is full of history. The island boasts some of Europe’s oldest prehistoric civilisation artefacts! There are literally thousands of prehistorical sites that date back to 1000 BC! Pretty impressive right?!
So, have those pictures of the beaches here made you ready to visit Sardinia yet?!
Like this post on best Sardinia beaches pictures? Pin it for later!
