As a Sardinian archaeologist, born and bred on the island, and trained at the University of Cagliari, I do not shy away from recommending my home. Especially to visitors who enjoy archaeology and history. If you are looking for travel ideas about where to go and wondering if Sardinia is worth a visit, this article is for you. It is not intended as a guide. Rather, on this page I give you ten reasons why I think Sardinia makes for a great holiday destination. If you have already decided to visit Sardinia and are looking for more detailed planning information, you want our Sardinia Travel Guide. Otherwise read on, and let me convince you to visit the Island of Giants.
- Gianluca Pitzeri
- Last Checked and/or Updated 21 July 2023
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- Travel Ideas
With an area of some 24,000 km2 Sardinia, the second largest island in the Mediterranean, has everything most travellers and holiday makers could wish for. Idyllic beaches with uncontaminated waters. Prehistoric archaeology not seen elsewhere in Europe. Distinctive traditional cuisine with flavours that reflect Sardinia’s rich history. Extensive natural parks and green spaces that are ideal for enjoying a wide range of leisure and sporting activities. As well as festivals and traditions that enliven our island all year round.
Are you curious to know more? Let me share some details of my ten reasons why I think you should consider visiting Sardinia.
Coast & Beaches
Lovers of the sun, sea and sand will definitely have no complaints. Living in Sardinia, I have never felt the need to look to other destinations for my summer holidays. With almost 2,000 km of varied coastline, I am constantly discovering new and beautiful places each time I travel in Sardinia. The first thing that strikes most visitors as soon as they catch sight of the sea are the colours: always bright, with shades ranging from deep blue as at Cala Mariolu to emerald green as at La Pelosa.
Not only are the colours of the water astonishing, so too are the beaches. On the island of Budelli, for example, there is the famous Spiaggia Rosa (Pink Beach), which takes its name from the tiny fragments of red coral that give the beach sand its unique appearance. At Is Arutas the grains of sand are similar to grains of rice, smooth but multi-coloured. In contrast, at Cala Brandinchi the sand is white and extra fine.
Boat tours that operate in the Maddalena Archipelago and the creeks along the Orosei coast are where you can access some of the most beautiful and otherwise unreachable beaches. Ferries from Palau and Porto Vesme can take you to yet more picturesque islands, such as Carlo Forte, Caprera and La Maddalena. One of my favourite coastal areas is the stretch of sea between Olbia and San Teodoro. Along which is the island of Tavolara, an imposing and scenic limestone massif that has splendid panoramic views of land and sea.
The list of potential places to stay is long, and not the purpose of this article. But these are some of my suggestions, based on my own experiences – areas that I have greatly enjoyed: Chia to Santa Teresa di Gallura, Villasimius to San Teodoro, and Teulada to the Oristano area.Â
Food & Wine
Like anywhere, Sardinia’s food and wine its rich history. With people who have come from the east, north Africa, mainland Italy, France and Spain, Sardinian cuisine reflects these diverse cultures and their traditions. In addition to individual tastes and flavours, each dish has a history to it.
Endless types of bread set the tables of every family, such as the thin and crispy Carasau, or the thicker but still crunchy Pistocu. And of course we have our own pasta: fregola, which is often compared to couscous but is Sardinian in origin; culurgiones, often called Sardinian ravioli; and and malloreddus, a Sardinian version of gnocchi. Meat is an important part of Sardinian meals, and its preparation and cooking an art form. One dish we are especially well known for is the porcetto arrosto, or roast suckling pig. Find a good agriturismo that serves this dish, you won’t forget it. Lamb goat, wild boar and sheep are other meats used in popular dishes.
On the coast the speciality is not surprisingly seafood, which is often combined with traditional ingredients to create exquisite dishes. Linguine with sea urchins, fregola allo scoglio (seafood fregola), spaghetti arselle e bottarga (spaghetti with clams and roe) are just a few local dishes that must be sampled. But locally caught fish, grilled and served plain and simple, is also a popular way to enjoy fresh caught fish and seafood.
Desserts will not disappoint any sweet tooth: pardulas will win you over with their soft appearance and irresistible taste of safron and citrus, as will zippulas, a fried dough typically eaten during the carnival period; seadas as a fried cheese pastry are eaten either as an appetiser or as a dessert, drizzled with honey.
Sardinia produces its own wine, making the perfect pairings for any Sardinian meal. Cannonau and Vermentino are two well known Sardinian wines that you will find all over the island. And go especially well with locally produced cold meats and cheeses. Vernaccia is another Sardinian wine, known as Vernaccia di Oristano, as it is in the area around Oristano that these grapes are grown. Legend has it that the vernaccia grape was brought to the island by the Phoenicians; grape seeds have in fact been found in archaeological deposits.
My tip for finding and enjoying the best of Sardinian cuisine is to stay and/or eat at a recommended agriturismo. Sardinia has many of these, and it is here that you are more likely to encounter authentic Sardinian culinary traditions. Filter your searches for accommodation in Sardinia on Booking.com. We can recommend two agriturismos that offer accommodation and great food, that we in Archaeology Travel have stayed in. One that is in the town of Barumini, Hotel Sa Lolla in Barumini and another a bit further away, Agriturismo Su Massaiu. In fact, it was at Massaiu that the porchetto in the photograph below was served.
Nuraghi & Giants
Sardinia has long been known as the ‘Island of Giants’ – L’Isola dei Giganti because of the so-called ‘giants’ tombs’. Rather than being the final resting places of giants, these structures are the communal burial monuments of Nuraghic communities. In the 1970s Nuragic limestone statues were excavated at Mont’e Prama, near Cabras. These larger than life statues have revived marketing talk of an island of giants.
Nuraghi are undoubtedly the most impressive megalithic constructions in the Mediterranean. After some 3,500 years they continue to bear witness for the glory of their history. These immense stone constructions, some of which reached heights of 30 m, vary in complexity ranging from simple structures with a single tower to arrangements of multiple towers that resemble formidable fortresses. The ancient Greeks were so in awe of these majestic constructions that they attributed their creation to Daedalus, the renowned architect who, according to myth, built the labyrinth of the Minotaur in Crete.
The power of these Nuraghi can only truly be experienced by visiting them. The use of massive boulders in cyclopean proportions results in broad corridors connecting rooms with vaulted ceilings, while staircases lead to the upper floors of the towers. There are more than 7,000 nuraghi scattered throughout the island. Su Nuraxi di Barumini, Sardinia’s only UNESCO World Heritage Site, Nuraghe Arrubiu, Nuraghe Santu Antine di Torralba and the Nuraghe Losa are among the best known and most impressive.
Nuragic people are also responsible for many other impressive monuments. In your travels around the island you will come across sacred wells, temples linked to the Nuragic cult of water, whose striking geometries will leave you astonished. The already mentioned tombs of the giants, places destined for collective burial, and immediately distinguishable by their façade characterised by huge stone slabs placed upright in the ground.
For more about the different types of Nuragic sites and archaeology, and where to see them, see our Guide to the Nuragic Civilisation of Sardinia.
Folklore & Festivals
At any time throughout the year somewhere on the island you are sure to find an event or festival. Many of these, such as Carnival take place during the period before Lent are obviously religious celebrations. Some contains elements and rites that are so unusual that it is thought some have their origins in pre Christian rites and belief.Â
During the Carnival period (between the feast of St. Anthony and Ash Wednesday) parades and festivals are held in towns and cities all over the island. The ubiquitous Sardinian masks, such as the Mamuthones of Mamoiada, can be seen at many of these Carnival festivities. In Oristano the festival of Sa Sartiglia, in which masked riders in the saddle of magnificent horses race at full speed while trying to pierce a star with their lance, is one of the unmissable and more widely known events during the island’s Carnival period.
Later in the year during Holy Week (Easter) you are spoilt for choice as to where to spend your time. On Holy Monday the medieval town of Castelsardo hosts the Lunissanti (Lunedì Santo) festival. A day long sombre procession that continues into the night. This is when all the town’s lights are extinguished, the only light coming from the flames of torch bearers. Also on Easter Monday, but further south in the central Sardinian town of Tonara, each year you can sample traditionally made nougat straight from the ovens. The village is known for its traditional nougat making as well as woodcarving.
Between May and September some of the most heartfelt and important religious and secular festivities take place on the island. Town centres are vibrantly decorated, people come from all over the island to witness processions of people dressed in traditional costumes from their hometowns. Some of the more well known are Sant’Efisio in Cagliari, San Simplicio in Olbia, the Cavalcata Sarda in Sassari, the Redentore in Nuoro, and the Discesa dei Candelieri, which is also in Sassari and on the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Between September and December the towns in the centre of Sardinia host Cortes Apertas, literally open courtyards. On the weekend the courtyards of historic houses are open to all to learn more about traditional crafts as well as local delicacies. From wood carving and wool processing to harvesting grain and win production.
When is the best time to visit Sardinia? With so many and varied festivals and religious celebrations throughout the year, many visitors choose the timing of these to determine the time of year they choose to visit, and return.
Natural Parks & caves
Sardinia has an ancient geoformation, one of the oldest lands in the central Mediterranean and free of seismic activity. But it is rich in biological diversity, for both flora and and fauna. As the island has been separated from mainland Europe for a long time, even during glacial periods of low sea level, there is a high degree of endemism. There are significant numbers of both flora and fauna that are only found naturally on Sardinia.
As much as 25% of this natural environment is being protected. This includes three national parks, national and ten regional parks, and many other designates wildlife reserves and WWF oases, and 25 recognised natural wonders.
There are too many places to mention, so I will single out a few. The Molentargius Park, located between Cagliari and Quartu, is magnificent reserve that is a nesting site for many species of birds, such as the pink flamingo. The WWF reserve of Monte Arcosu is the largest in Italy, and the natural habitat of the Sardinian deer, with an immense forest of Mediterranean scrub. The Regional Park of Tepilora, near Posada, is the only UNESCO recognised Biosphere Reserve on the island.
Inside the Porto Conte National Park are the wonderful Grotte di Nettuno (Neptune’s Caves), one of the most visited destinations on the island. There are many caves throughout Sardinia, such as the Bue Marino cave in Dorgali, frequented until the 1970s by the monk seal, or the imposing Su Marmuri cave in Ulassai, where the vault is almost 70 metres high.
During your travels across the island you will also encounter some unusual natural ‘monuments’, natural features shaped by the rain and wind, such as the Scoglio Pan di Zucchero in Masua or S’Archittu in Cuglieri. On the main road heading south from Castelsardo is the Roccia dell’Elefante, shaped by the elements in such a way that it now resembles an elephant. And given the presence of rock cut tombs, even the prehistoric people of Sardinia noted this rock.
Ancient Ruins & Archaeology
There is so much more to the archaeology of Sardinia than the Nuragic Civilisation. And given the island’s physical and strategic position in the Mediterranean, its history of the island is both mixed and complex.
The prehistoric period of Sardinia begins in the Lower Palaeolithic, with the Old Stone Age, the oldest tone tools thought to be between 500,000 and 450,000 years ago. These weren’t Homo sapiens, but a pre-Neanderthal hominin species. Of these early periods there is not much for visitors to see. It is not until we get into the Neolithic, when people where farming, that we start to see abundant signs of human activity in Sardinia. The most well known are the so-called Domus De Janas, cavities cut into the rock intended to bury the dead. There are many you can visit, such as Sant’Andrea Priu or S’Incantu, some of which have been re-used in later periods of history. The prehistoric rock-cut tombs of Sant’Andrea Priu for example were used by the Romans and Byzantines, who further cut the prehistoric made chambers to create a chapel. Some of the frescoes here are still very well preserved. If the Domus de Janas are widespread on the island, the altar of Monte d’Accoddi is unique. Built about 5,000 years ago, the structure bears a striking resemblance to a ziggurat from ancient Mesopotamia.
Sardinia was also the destination for people who came via the sea, such as the Phoenicians and the Punics, who were responsible for the construction of the first cities, some of which were later developed considerably during the Roman period. The most noteworthy examples are Nora and Tharros: both ancients cities established by the Phoenicians as trade camps, subsequently developed into towns by the Carthaginians, and then developed into thriving cities by the Romans. Today you can walk on the streets rebuilt by the Romans almost 2,000 years ago, while exploring what remains of the temples, baths and domestic spaces. At Nora you can see a well preserved theatre, still used for small jazz concerts in the summer. The archaeological site of Monte Sirai, a small citadel founded by the Phoenicians and followed by the Punics, is the only archaeological site at which you can see how a Punic settlement was structured.
There really are many archaeological gems on the island, far too many to list here,. Some of my favourite include the Roman amphitheatre and necropolis of Tuvixeddu in Cagliari, the Tofet at Sant’Antioco in the south and the Roman baths at Fordongianus in central-western Sardinia. For more suggestions, see my list of 20 must see archaeological and historical sites in Sardinia.
Geology & Mining
Few people know that in 1997, the UNESCO General Assembly recognised the island’s geomineral park as the first park in its worldwide network of geosites. Due to a change of heart, the project was unfortunately not pursued, but it was formally established in 1998 and reformed in 2016 under the name Parco Geominerario Storico e Ambientale.
The history of Sardinia has its roots in the exploitation of mineral resources, a story that begins in prehistoric times with Neolithic farmers exploiting obsidian sources for their tools. Mining has enabled significant technological development to flourish, and the same time led to major changes in the landscape. Due to mining activities being discontinued, the park’s main objective is to safeguard these important historic sites as worthy of being handed down and not forgotten.
The sites tell their own stories. Porto Flavia, for example, an engineering work carved out on a cliff overlooking the sea, which allowed ore to be loaded directly onto ships in just a few hours, is perhaps one of the most unusual examples of Sardinia’s industrial heritage. The Coal Mining Museum, housed in one of the buildings of what was the Serbariu mine in Carbonia, provides visitors the opportunity to enter one of the shafts and see the historic equipment used. At Argentiera mine, an open-air mining museum founded in the abandoned village of the same name, you can explore the various parts of the mine that have been disused since 1963.
Sardinia’s mining-related heritage is fast becoming a popular feature on the tourist landscape. The abandoned villages have a magnetic charm, that can match nay other archaeological or historic monument. Many of these places are accessible to visitors: See Historic & Abandoned Mines in Sardinia.
Medieval Towns & Churches
Visitors may have the impression that Sardinia has little to offer from the Middles Ages. Nothing could be more wrong. The island has a complex and fascinating medieval past. Around 1000 AD Sardinia was divided into four Judicates: Torres, Arborea, Cagliari and Gallura. Due to wars and external intrusions, they fell one after the other, and in 1420, Sardinia was ruled in its entirety by the Aragonese. The events of this period are still visible in distinctive heritage of the four geographical areas, in the medieval city walls, the castles and churches.
The Castello district in Cagliari, built in the 13th century by the Pisans, offers narrow streets and alleys, churches and towers to climb to admire the city from above. Alghero preserves its historical centre and 13th-century walls almost unchanged, creating a magnificent path from which to admire the Mediterranean, making it almost impossible not to fall in love with it. Castelsardo, a medieval village built in the 13th century that retains its walls and castle, where the film ‘The Little Mermaid’ was recently filmed, with its views over crystal-clear waters, will remain in your memories. Oristano, the capital of the Judicate of Arborea since 1076, was once surrounded by an imposing wall, part of which has survived in the impressive Mariano Tower, the city’s central point.
Those who enjoy visiting historic churches will be more than satisfied with the Paleochristian churches built soon after the fall of the Roman Empire. In fact the Basilica di San Saturnino in Cagliari, one of the oldest churches on the island, was built directly on a Roman necropolis. The origins of outside influence is best seen in Romanesque churches, of which the Island is well known. Romanesque religious architecture in the south exhibits Provençal influence, while it is Lombard traditions that are evident in the north of the island.
If you love strolling through narrow alleyways, brimming with the hidden details medieval towns offer, you won’t be disappointed here!
Sports & Outdoor Activities
The island, with its complex geomorphology and rich biodiversity, has no shortage of spectacular vistas and landscapes. The potential for active experiences are endless. From trekking routes, some simple, such as the Sella del Diavolo, on which you can admire the Poetto of Cagliari and the Golfo degli Angeli from above, to the more challenging, such as the hiking route that crosses the Gennargentu heights and reaches Punta La Marmora, at 1834 m.
Many of the natural parks and reserves accommodate mountain bikers. L’Asinara in the northwest tip of the island, the UNESCO biodiversity park of Tepilora oasis near Posada, and the Santa Barbara mining trail in Sulcis, are just some of the more popular established biking trails. Get more information on the AllTrails website.
With over 7,000 climbing routes, beginners and experts alike are sure to find the right challenge. Whether you are into via ferrate, canyoning or coasteering, you will be in breath-taking landscapes. Some of the more popular climbing areas are in the popular areas at Cala Gonone, Domusnovas, Isili, Ulassai, Jerzu and Supramonte. For more information see the Climbing Sardinia website.
Sardinia also has much to offer people who enjoy water-based activities. When the Mistral rises, the west coast becomes a paradise for surfers and other sailing sports. The rivers, lakes and lagoons lend themselves to kayaking. Canoeing and stand up paddleboarding are perfect for exploring out of the way corners of the beautiful coastline. Diving is a popular sport too, for historic shipwrecks, such as the Romagna shipwreck in Cagliari, as well as exploring underwater ecosystems.
Find out more about the activities mentioned and many others, including information on the best locations, on OutdoorActive Sardinia.
Museums & Art Galleries
Sardinia has some wonderful museums and art galleries. From the national and municipal museums and galleries in Cagliari, to regional museums in Sassari and Olbia, and local museums and galleries throughout the island. And in them no aspect of Sardinian heritage is not covered, from geological and palaeontological history in Carbonia to contemporary Sardinian art in Cagliari.
On display in Cabras and Cagliari are the Giants of Mont’e Prama. They are thoughht to be the oldest sculptures in the round in Europe. Predating even the ancient Greek statuary we are all so familiar with. They depict the warrior class of Nuragic society, and bear a striking similarity to the famous Nuragic bronze statuettes. The most substantial collections of these can be seen in the archaeological museums of Sassari and Cagliari.
Local museums whose focus are on the history of surrounding area often have wonderful gems to find. In the Archaeological Museum of Alghero you can see a reconstruction of a room from the Roman villa of Sant’Imbenia, with all its marvellous and colourful marble. In Sant’Antioco the Archaeological Museum Ferruccio Barreca has an large collection of Phoenician and Punic artefacts, including a reconstruction of the nearby Tophet, an ancient sacred area where the charred remains of infants were placed into small urns and placed in cracks and crevasses of bedrock that made up a necropolis.
Numerous museums deserve great attention, so if you are thinking of visiting the island Sardinia, start by looking at our list of Museums & Art Galleries in Sardinia.
Create Itineraries & Travel Lists for Your Sardinia Visit
If you are planning a trip to Sardinia you can use our itinerary builder with our lists of sites and museums to create your own travel lists (such as places you have been to, places you would like to visit) and itineraries. These can also be shared with your friends, privately and on social media. To make use of this feature, however, you will need to login or register as a new user. Registering to use our itinerary builder is free of charge.
To add sites and museums to your itinerary and lists start with our Sardinia Travel Guide, or the A – Z list of Art, Archaeology & History Sites & Museums in Sardinia, Italy.
Archaeology Travel Writer
