Tour sardegna, Tour of Sardinia

The coastline of Sardinia island is probably Europe's most spectacular. The Sardinian sea is rightly recognised as one of the most famous in the world for its unique environment, for the thousand welcoming bays and the crystal water with the typical, incredible shades from green to turquoise to blue... The island is easily accessible by flight and by boat. Cagliari is the main city of the island but the most famous area is the Costa Smeralda in the north part. Porto Cervo is the most important center with a very nice port, not only for the little yachts. It was discovered in 1960 by his Highness Karim Aga Khan, who together with other landlords founded the Assiociation "Consorzio Costa Smeralda", that had to develope respecting the nature and to manage the whole area. The results are excellent 55 km of coastline, 80 beaches and bays and a world wide known landmark of Sardinia, oviously a little VIP and jet set life arround. Porto Rotondo is located near by the Costa Smeralda in a natural paradise. Jet set and photographer are not the only event of the location. In the centre of Porto Rotondo we'll find a very beautiful "Piazzetta" constructed by a famous artist, all in local natural stones. There are also a lot of shops and show rooms of the international fashion world, and the harbour is visited by the most beautiful yachts of the world. Santa Teresa di Gallura is another magic place : plan to spend some time here wandering amongst the huge sandstone "animals," natural formations that closely resemble elephants, rhinos, hippos and water buffalo. The beautiful Archipelago of Maddalena is an enchanting, natural oasis, surrounded by a warm, transparent sea. It has been declared a National Park in 1996 to safeguard the enchanting natural environment. It is made up of seven main islands: the most famous are La Maddalena, the only inhabited island, Caprera and Santo Stefano. Apart from the seaside, Sardinia is a region in which time seems to pass more slowly and where ancient traditions and customs still persist. Characterists are the "nuraghi", enigmatic prehistoric constructions, and the ancestral villages sheltered within the mountains of Gennargentu add to the fascination of this island with a thousand faces, always different.

ITINERARY

1 Day:
Arrival at Olbia by boat or by flight. You'll reach Palau to get a ferry to the La Maddalena island for a panoramic tour. It offers a large variety of sandy and rocky beaches. By another ferry you'll reach Caprera the island where Giuseppe Garibaldi (a military Italian hero who fought to unite Italy into a single kingdom) spent the last years of his life. Then you'll visit the famous Costa Smeralda/Emerald coast, with stops in the famous jet-set resorts of Porto Cervo and Baia Sardinia. Dinner and overnight in Santa Teresa di Gallura area.

2 Day:
After the visit of Santa Teresa di Gallura and the granite rock forms of nearby Capo Testa, you'll reach Castelsardo dominated by the rest of a castle. This village is well-known also for its characteristic craftmanship (famous are the baskets made of woven vegetal fibres) and for the "Rock of Elephant", a rock similar to an elephant with its trunk turned towards the street. Dinner and overnight in Alghero area.

3 Day:
Visit of the city of Alghero, a tourist town that is also a flourishing fishing port. The predominat flavour here is Catalan, owing to a wholesale Hispanicization. The traces are still strong in the old town with its flamboyants churches, wrought-iron balconies and narrow cobbled streets named in both Italian and Catalan. Visit to Capo Caccia, where the spectacular sheer cliffs are riddled by deep marine caves. The most impressive is the Grotta di Nettuno with fantastical stalagmites and stalactites. Short visit of the pretty Bosa, that combines the curiosity of the medieval town and its monuments with the nice sandy beach nearby. Nature did great work along the coast of Bosa. The bastions overlooking the sea, the little, stony creeks and the wild scenery are all exclusive elements of this surprising landscape.

4 Day:
Today we'll reach first Oristano for the visit of the Sinis Peninsula, with sandy beaches, the ruins of the ancient Tharros and the change to see flamingos. The ancient city of Tharros set impeccably by the sea, reached the height of its importance under the Carthaginians, but what is visible today largely dates to Roman era. In the afternoon you'll visit Sa Nuraxi in Barumini. As early as 1800 BC Sardinians started raising rudimentary defensive towers, the "nuraghi". The creators of them were fine engineers as in some complex form there were conical towers of several levels, held together by the force of gravity. Sa Nuraxi is the biggest, the most famous and perhaps the oldest of them, giving us a good taste of the primitive grandeur of the island's only indigenous civilization. Dinner and overnight in Cagliari area.

5 Day:
In the morning visit of the city of Cagliari, the Sardinia's capital at least since Roman times and still its biggest town. You'll enjoy the hilly labyrinth of the sandy-coloured medieval Castello district, the taverns and restaurants around the Marina district, several fine monuments and the archaeology museum with its priceless nuraghic collections. In the afternoon excursion to Villasimius and panoramic tour to Capo Carbonara.

6 Day:
Departure to the inland of Sardinia to reach Nuoro that has impressive literaly credentials and a good ethnografic museum, with everything from traditional costumes to household implements of a bygone age. You'll drive towards deeper into the mountains to Orgosolo. It means sheep-rustlers and bandits to most people. Here you'll have a typical special lunch with the shepherds. Then you'll reach Olbia, for departure.

OPTIONAL VISITS / EXCURSIONS

Beach holidays
The north-western coast of Sardinia is the best area for VIP and jet set life. Porto Cervo, Porto Rotondo, Cala di Volpe, Liscia di Vacca and Baja Sardinia are the main centres of the so-called Costa Smeralda, one of the most prestigious tourist areas in Gallura on Sardinia's north-western coast. These resorts are now considered very sought-after tourist destinations for the thousand welcoming bays and the crystal water with the typical, incredible shades from green to turquoise to blue...

Corsica / France
From S. Teresa di Gallura you can have a full day excursion to the Corsica island ( France), thanks to the regular ferries to the town of Bonifacio.