If you’re planning a European summer this year and Italy is on your list, I highly recommend Sardinia! It’s not a mainstream Mediterranean destination, but a sophisticated Italian island with the most beautiful beaches and turquoise water. Last summer I spent 5 days there, it was my first time there and I loved it so much I’m planning to go back. Here are my recommendations, I recommend planning to stay there of at least 5 days too to enjoy it!

Stay

Sardinia is a huge island, so there are many different areas depending on what you’re looking for in your trip (and they’re all beautiful)! The area that I stayed in was Porto Cervo, its definitely the more upscale part of the island and the hotels, restaurants, beaches, and shopping reflect that. If you plan your trip out in advance though, you can definitely find hotels that are beautiful, but won’t break the bank. Here are some options, but there are lots more too!

Splurge: Hotel Cala di Volpe

Average: Hotel Balocco

Save: Piccolo Pevero Hotel

Play

One major tip I have is to rent a car! Some hotels will have transportation for you or of course you can call a taxi, but I found that having a car gave me more freedom to go to the spots I wanted, on own my timeline. My friend Mara and I travelled there for the beaches, and all the beaches are very widely spread around, so a car was essential for us. Here were my top beaches:

1. Spiaggia di Liscia Ruja: The biggest public beach with white sand and beach clubs with sunbeds and umbrella rentals.
2. Spiaggia del Principe: A smaller beach, but the most beautiful in my opinion. It does get crowded quickly though so get there early!
3. Spiaggia Rena Bianca: My favourite beach with everything you’ll need, the water and sand were perfect.
4. Spiaggia di Capriccioli: There are actually three tiny beaches here (north, east, south), having the choices are nice if its a windier day.

Eat:

Everything that I ate on my trip was delicious. Naturally the seafood was fresh and the pasta was amazing! I wish I could have tried more spots, but here were my favourites:

Ai Due Mari: This spot is on a golf course so you’ll have to drive up, but the view was beautiful and dishes were delicious.

Atrium Bar at Cala di Volpe: The perfect spot to relax with a drink, surrounded by beautiful architecture and music.

Zamira Lounge: We had breakfast here and loved their menu, plus you can start your day dining to a view (and there’s designer shopping nearby too)!

Ristorante Spinnaker: They have an amazing raw seafood platter and pizzas.