This is de stanning Costa Esmeralda of Sardinia.
I’ve traveled to many tropical islands from the Caribbean to one of my favorite destinations, Maurishes. But none of these places are compared to the beauty of the Italian island, Sardinia. This island has everything and more. And in this video, I will show you the highlights you cannot miss. They are the most stunning beaches with beautiful rock boulders and crystal-clear blue water. Go for a boat tour on a Camaran to the La Madalena Islands. Enjoy a nice dinner and the local cuisine in one of the many incredible restaurants. Or pick up a pizza from the local pizzeria and enjoy a beautiful sunset on the beach.
Explore the charming and luxurious villages of Porto Chervo or Porto Rotondo. I will cover everything you need to know about the Costa Esmeralda.
Where to find Sardinia
But first, let me show you on the map where you can find this beautiful location in Italy. The Costa Esmeralda is located on the northeast end of the island above the city of Albia where is also the nearest airport.
Car rental
Having a car during your stay is essential if you want to explore nearby beaches and towns. Therefore, I would highly recommend booking a rental car in advance. We booked our rental on website of Sicily by Car which I would 100% recommend because the service from picking up the car and returning it went really smooth and the price for our 10 days stay was 600 Euros.
Baja Sardinia
From the airport, it’s a 40-min drive to Baja Sardinia, which is a perfect base to explore the area. The town has some beautiful hotels with great service and really nice restaurants like Hotel Punta Est and Clap Hotel B Sardinia where I stayed. The center of the town has some really nice bout restaurants and a beautiful beach. Save restaurant Blue for your next trip.
It’s a great restaurant and every time we ate here, it was delicious. The fish and the pasta are so fresh and well prepared and of course have a glass of the best local prosecco. Next it was time for the beach which is right next to the club hotel. Beach beds for the day were between 15 and 30 for two sunbaths with an umbrella. It depends on how close you want your bed to be at the waterfront and included in the price are use of very clean toilets and showers.
Besides the great restaurants, you should also try one of the pizzas from this pizzeria. A few times we picked up a pizza to eat on our beach bed for lunch which was so nice. And on this evening, I planned out the root to walk to a specific beach and eat the pizza there which was almost perfect because in the end the walk was a lot longer than planned. So, the pizza was as good as cold once we arrived. This view was definitely worth it.
Porto Cervo
From Baja Sardinia, we drove in 10 minutes to the most luxurious place in all Sardinia, Porto Chervo. I will show you around.
Restaurant Nuna Alola is located on the piazza of the village. They serve breakfast and lunch and it is also the perfect place to have an aperitif before dinner to relax and to watch people who are also spending the day in Porto Cervo. The balcony at the piaza gives a beautiful view over the sea and over one of the world’s most incredible yacht collections.
Every year from April to September, prestigious events are held in Porto Chervo such as the Porto Chervo wine and food festival in May, multiple stading competitions all summer, the Porto Chervo Fashion Week in July and the Porto Chervo Vintage Car Rally was this year held in April.
Zefiro boat excursion
When you are in Sardinia at the Costa Smeralda, a boat trip to the most beautiful places around the La Maddalena Islands is a must. I believe that the most beautiful turquoise waters in Italy and probably in all of Europe are right here. From the port of Palao, we hopped on the Catamaran for the full day excursion. I booked the boat trip online by the company Zavira which I would highly recommend. Drinks are all included with the meals. You can choose between a typical Sardinian wine and of course Prosecco. And they have served a beautiful welcome platter for everyone with delicious cheeses and ham bread and biscuits. Which was a great start of the trip.
After about an hour and a half stop at a bay the most incredible stop where we swam the catamarans have sailed to the second most incredible stop of the trip and the staff prepared delicious pasta meal which was so nice presented in shell.
Italian destinations
We had the most amazing day. Here I will link the practical information about our boat tour or check out the website of Seviro for more information and other day excursions. Do you love traveling Italy as much as I do? I’ve traveled to many regions in Italy over the past years. So, if you’re interested in other places besides Sardinia like Poya, Matera or beautiful Lake Colmo, then here are the links for those videos. Now back to Sardinia.
Dinner at Club Hotel Baja Sardinia
Finding a good restaurant in Sardinia isn’t very difficult. Be sure to visit the restaurant at Club Hotel by Sardinia. The food there is truly fantastic and the restaurant is located on the top floor of the hotel with an open terrace that offers a stunning few of the sea.
Capriccioli Beach
One of the best beaches on the Costa Esmeralda is Capriccioli Beach. Parking is well organized, but I would recommend not arriving late in the morning as space is limited. The daily rate is 12.50 Euros and you will pay around 2.50 Euros per hour.
The beach is divided into a northern and eastern section. Both are beautiful due to the stunning rock formations. On both sides are sandy beaches. On the northern side there is a beach club called Vesper. And on the eastern side you can rent beach beds and umbrellas.
Restaurant recommendation
This restaurant was our biggest surprise during our time in Sardinia. It had some pretty good ratings on Google reviews, so we decided to give it a try and it turned out to be incredible. It has typical Sardinian antipasti pasta and meat menu. We tried the set menu for two persons which was honestly a lot. So, if I could give you some advice, then choose one set menu for two persons. We ended up with so many dishes, but even we enjoyed every single dish. It was truly an amazing meal.
Porto Rotondo
Porto Ratotondo is the most charming village of the de Costa Esmeralda. So, make sure to visit this beautiful town. From the beautifully designed cobblestone square of Andrea Castella, you can see the church of San Lorenzo. And along the connecting via Ricardo Belly, youl find several charming restaurants. The pictures pathway of Viadel Molo is lined with several nice boutique shops selling beautiful items and some handmade products from Sardinia.
Next you will find the beautiful harbor of Porto Rotondo. Explore the Qua Little Street and try some of the best Sardinian dishes at one of the restaurants at the Harbor or at Piazza San Marco, the heart of Porto Rotondo.
Poratondo is one of those places you won’t easily forget. So, make sure to include it in your itinerary.
Porto Taverna
In addition to the Costa Esmeralda, I also stayed during my time in Sardinia at the area of Porto Taverna that is located 20 minutes south of Olbia. If you have a little more time to spend, then definitely visit the Porta Taverna beach. The view of the stunning rock formation of Isola Tavolara rising out of the water is a remarkable sight. The water here is also crystal clear and perfect for snorkeling.
At the beach, there is a nice taverna, perfect for lunch, dinner or for aperitif before dinner because they serve really nice cocktails.
For dinner, restaurant Lata Vernetta is a really nice choice. They serve beautiful dishes and there are many fish options. This typical Sardinian pasta dish is something you will have to try.
The pasta is handmade and stuffed with potato, pecorino cheese and mint filling.
And for a tip, definitely try the local Sardinian digestive called Mirto. A dark red colored liquor and it contains mostly 40% alcohol that is made from the infusion of myrtle berries. It’s very delicious.
