My husband and I have spent a cumulative total of over two months traveling all over the enticing and idyllic country of Italy, and this was our first time visiting an Italian island! We visited the beautiful island of Sardinia (or Sardegna to locals) in July with our then two-year-old, and we had a beautiful and relaxing holiday.

The most difficult part of planning our trip was deciding where on the island to stay. If you’re planning a trip to Sardinia, I highly recommend joining some Facebook groups, as they were a tremendous help. I ❤️ SARDINIA | Best Places and Travel Tips was a great resource.

Normally I write fairly comprehensive blog posts with details about all the wonderful things to do, see and eat in whichever city / country I’m writing about, as historically we’ve spent longer periods of time living in a place to really get to know it. However, with just ten days in Sardinia, and with a toddler in tow, this trip was all about relaxing and spending quality bonding time as a family rather than exploring, hiking, and attempting to see the entire island (I don’t know if you’ve ever road tripped with a toddler, but it’s not exactly our idea of fun 🤪). Sardinia is an incredibly stunning island with something for everyone – whether you’re looking for rugged and challenging hikes, searching for the most crystal clear turquoise waters, finding the most delicious pizza, or seeking the most luxe of luxury, you’ll find it all here.

If you’ll be visiting Italy, have a look through my Italy Archives for helpful blog posts on cities and villages throughout the country. And if you’ve never visited Italy before, or just want a good chuckle, have a read through my 40 Things You Need To Know Before Traveling in Italy to avoid common mistakes, tourist faux pas, and how to better understand the culture.

In this blog post I will talk about traveling in Sardinia, with a focus on the two areas we stayed in, which were Costa Rei in the Southeast (as well as Cagliari, which we visited on a day trip on our own), and Olbia in the Northeast. The most common question I saw people asking (besides where on the island to stay), is how many times they should move their home base so that they can see the majority of the island, as Sardinia is massive. It takes well over 15 hours to drive the entirety of the island, as it’s the second largest island in the Mediterranean at 24,090 square kilometers (or 9,301 square miles.) By the way, if you’re wondering which island takes the number one spot as largest island in the Mediterranean, it’s Italy’s other island, Sicily. My take on this is, if you have at least two weeks, spend 3 – 4 nights in each place so that you can explore all four “corners” of the island – North, South, East and West. This will minimize your drive time to visit nearby attractions, beaches and hikes, and will enable you to see most of the island. Normally this is what my husband and I would do, but with a toddler and all the luggage that comes with traveling as a family, moving only one time sounded more palatable to us, especially since we had just come from Amsterdam.

COSTA REI

Why We Chose Costa Rei: it’s just a one-hour drive from Cagliari – a town we wanted to visit. Also, Costa Rei has arguably some of the best beaches on the island, especially for kids! (i.e. calm and sandy rather than rocky and rugged.)

Where We Stayed: we found an Airbnb with a gorgeous view, just minutes drive from gorgeous and calm sandy beaches with several beach clubs along the coast (beach clubs rent umbrellas and sun beds by the day or half day.)

Our Favorite Beaches in Costa Rei

This is by no means an exhaustive list because there are just too many gorgeous beaches to choose from! However, we loved these beaches for their relaxed atmosphere, calm waters (great for swimming, especially with kids), and sandy rather than rocky bottoms, making it easy to insert the beach umbrella. Please note that especially in July (peak season), beaches can get very crowded, so we found it best to go earlier in the morning and later in the evenings, as the sun doesn’t set until 8:30 PM in the summer.

Spiaggia di Cala Pira (no shops, food or beach clubs, so no ability to rent umbrellas or beds here – just a beautiful beach.)

Spiaggia di Punto Molentis – this beach was jaw-dropping! It looks like the Maldives! With smooth boulders and interesting rock formations, there’s a rocky beach on one side and a sandy beach on the other. There is a bar serving snacks and drinks overlooking the water.

*Note*: we and about 50 other cars received parking tickets here! Be very careful where you park. We did not realize what the signs meant (the parking signs in Italy are very confusing, and we thought it was okay because so many other cars were also parked there, but they all received tickets.) Note that you can pay your ticket in cash or credit card at a local post office.

CAGLIARI

Pronounced Kah-Lee-ah-ri (the g is silent), this historic city is located on the Southernmost tip of the island and is the capital city of Sardinia. Located just one hour by car from Costa Rei, we visited for a day trip, walking through the charming cobblestone hilly streets in the 100-degree heat. We got very lucky that there was an outdoor classical concert that evening, which we enjoyed overlooking the city at sunset.

OLBIA

Why We Chose Olbia: Olbia is a lovely and relatively modern (by Italian standards) city. Located in the province of Sassari, it sits right at the mouth of the bay and the port, so you’ll see the large ferry ships coming in and out from the mainland. The boardwalk is very clean with both a pedestrian and bike path leading into the center of the city, so it’s nice for pleasant strolling. It’s great for kids because there are several playgrounds and swing structures. There’s even a merry-go-round at night! Lastly, my husband enjoys kite boarding, and the wind in the Northeast is great for wind sports!

Where We Stayed: We found a stunning Airbnb that was super conveniently located, with a hammock swing in the living room and a dual shower, just to name a few attractive amenities. I would link the rental here, but the family will be moving back into the flat as they are expecting their first baby, so I think they’ll be removing it from Airbnb as it will be their primary home.

If you’re staying in Olbia, it’s best to find something within walking distance to the town so that you’re close to restaurants, cafes and gelato! Olbia is a newer city, and the town is very small (you can walk it all in just 20 – 30 minutes). The main square is lively with plenty of restaurants, cafes, and the best gelato we’ve had in our entire Italy travels (more on that below!)

Where to Eat in Olbia

Pasta e Pasta is a no-frills humble restaurant serving home made pasta. The menu is small, and it’s nothing fancy, which makes it great for kids. They even created a little smiley face on the plate for our son’s pasta dish using their home made marinara and pesto sauce with a piece of basil for the tongue sticking out. The service was friendly and fast, unlike some of the other restaurants in town, which felt pretentious.

Naturasi is a bio supermarket selling all organic and local products, including home made pistacchio yogurt (which we ate every day), fruits, veggies, and other bio products. They also sold products for babies and children such as organic cotton diapers and wooden toys.

Gelateria da Brivido is a 100% natural and DOP sourced gelato, run by a lovely gal named Mikaela, who is passionate about her gelato! You MUST try the pistacchio, especially when it’s in season. You won’t find any unnatural colors here, or an enormous selection, which is a good sign! We came here every single night for a sweet treat.

Our Favorite Beaches in Olbia

Babilu Beach – unique smooth boulder formations where the lake meets the sea and converges in a shallow crossing.

Lu Imposto – here you must reserve your entry in advance (or simply scan the QR code upon arrival and it will tell you if there is availability for that day.) We went in the evening around 4:30 PM and were able to scan the QR code and pay through the app on the spot. The cost was 2 euro per person + the parking fee (which is dependent on how long you stay there.) This is a rocky beach and the water has a darker green tint to it.

Porto Istana

IS SARDINIA KID-FRIENDLY?

Yes! Italians are wonderful with children and generally kids are very accepted in Sardinia, especially since it is a holiday spot for locals who travel with their families. We had no trouble getting high chairs in restaurants, though changing tables were sparse. Beaches were filled with other families, who brought tons of beach toys and happily shared them with our son. The only thing I’ll point out, is that, just like in the rest of Italy, unless you’re in a tourist town, it can be difficult to find restaurants open between the hours of 2PM – 7PM, as this is their rest period. Even if Googlemaps says that a location is open, they usually do not serve food, so what we did was go to the local supermarket to get some prosciutto, salami, bread, cheese, and tomatoes to make sandwiches and salads at home. Also, I’ve always found it interesting that Italy doesn’t do breakfast…just a cornetto (pastry) and espresso will do! We always lose weight in Italy, so no complaints there!

Overall, we are very lucky that we’ve had the privilege of spending quite a bit of time in beautiful Mediterranean destinations, and I’m happy to say that Sardinia did not disappoint!

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