Hotels, Hostels, Villas Sardinia

Places to stay and things to do in Sardinia

By Damaris West

In Sardinia you are never very far from a beach, so staying in a hotel in one of the cities means that you are still well-placed to explore the coast. Prices vary from €35 to around €135 for a night. Many of the hotels have their own pools, gardens and restaurants.

There are also a large number of Hostels, Bed and Breakfast establishments and Guest Houses in Sardinia. These present a more economical solution, their prices starting at €15 a night. There are special offers for groups if booked through Hostelsclub, see http://www.hostelsclub.com/stateregion-en-222.html This is just one of several websites which offer online booking.

Renting a villa can be a particularly relaxing way of spending the holiday as it guarantees private space. You can rent direct with owners through the rental organisation (e.g. http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/sardinia/), or you can go to an official real estate agency (e.g. http://www.rent-sardinia.com/defaulte.html). Prices vary enormously, from under €500 a week to over €7,000 – depending on the size of the villa, its location and amenities. Some have direct access to the beach through their own private cove.

The location you choose for your accommodation in Sardinia will reflect how you wish to spend your time. If you like looking round designer shops, drinking in swanky bars and getting glimpses of celebrities, then the Costa Smeralda is for you. This part of the coast also has magical beaches and coves with pinkish white sand, some of which can only be reached by boat.

Sardinia is in fact the ideal destination for anyone whose idea of the perfect holiday is heading down to the beach with a towel and a snorkel and spending the entire day alternating between dry land – which might include the shade of a rock, a cave or a pine tree – and limpid, turquoise sea with a rich diversity of marine life.

If you wish to be more active, there is a huge array of water sports opportunities – scuba diving, windsurfing etc – or on ‘terra firma’ you have golf, climbing, horseback riding, hiking and many more sports.

The interior of Sardinia may be less celebrated, but it is just as beautiful. The rugged inaccessibility of its high mountains, deep gorges, multiple caves and primeval oak forests has provided a natural refuge for many endangered species. It has also allowed shepherds to roam free and bandits to hide from the law. Nuraghi are a particular feature of the landscape and are well worth a visit. They are bronze-age stone towers with a habitable space inside, the precise function of which is no longer known. In order to visit these sights, renting a car is almost indispensable.

Sardinia is rich in natural beauty but its culture is also fascinating. Many Sardinian women still wear traditional clothing to go about their everyday business, and there is at least one festival in every month of the year. Special delicacies are often provided at these festivals, giving a taste of the unique cuisine of Sardinia.

More people live to be over 100 in Sardinia than anywhere else in the world. According to research, this is not due to island genetics but to the relaxed and healthy lifestyle. They are obviously doing something right – perhaps a little bit of their magic will rub off on you during your holiday!