We take you to the beautiful Italian island of Sardinia. During this road trip, you will visit the most beautiful spots of this versatile Mediterranean island in 2 weeks. From paradisiacal beaches to a Catalan city and beautiful mountains. This route through northern Sardinia gives an incredibly beautiful alternation of beach, nature and culture.
We did this road trip in 12 days, but we still recommend staying here for at least 14 days. That is also why we have adjusted this itinerary to two full weeks. At the end of this blog, we give you some tips for when you have a shorter or longer time.
For each destination, we give you some fun activities and accommodation tips. Besides, you no longer need to look for nice stopovers for the travel days, because we have also written them out for you!
Assuming that most people go to Sardinia by plane, we start at Olbia. You can pick up your hire car right at the airport. More on that later!
Travelling to Sardinia with your own car? Then there’s a good chance you’ll arrive in Olbia by ferry. If you arrive at Porto Torres, you can still follow our itinerary, but it’s best to start at Alghero and tour from there.
#1 Arrival in Olbia (1 night)
If, like us, you arrive in Olbia in the evening, it is recommended to spend a night here. Olbia is not the prettiest city and while it surely has its charms, there is a lot of beauty to see in Sardinia. So definitely don’t stay here for too long!
Are you arriving at Olbia airport in the morning? Then it’s best to leave directly for La Maddalena after picking up your hire car.
Rent a car
We always rent a car through Sunnycars. Sunnycars works with local providers, but provides all-inclusive insurance in the process. If you get into an accident with your hire car or there is damage, you are insured for it. Don’t let the rental office sell you extra insurance because through Sunnycars you are therefore maximally insured.
Accommodation in Olbia
We stayed at Guest House Suite, just 10 minutes by bus from the airport (Google Maps route). So we caught bus 2 or 10 to the hotel in the evening, and returned the next morning to collect the hire car. It is not a special hotel, but really fine for one night’s stay, and you can go for a drink in the neighbourhood in the evening.
Route: Olbia – La Maddalena
The road trip has started! We start immediately with a beautiful road that leads us to La Maddelena and is ideal for making some nice stops. We highlight a few!
Stopover Spiaggi Capriccioli
This beautiful beach is located on the Costa Smeralda, not far from the popular town of Porto Cervo. Apart from beautiful beaches, you will also find the most luxurious yachts and 5-star hotels here. A bit too posh for us, but nice as a stopover!
Stopover Roccia dell’ Orso & Spiaggia di Punta Cardinalino
Close to Palau, where you will soon take the ferry to La Maddalena, you will find Roccia dell’ Orso, the bear rock. From this point you have a great view. On the ferry, be sure to look at this point again, you will see that the rock really looks like a bear. Nearby here is also the beautiful beach Spiaggia di Punta Cardinalino, which is also worth a visit.
👉 Click here for a Google Maps route from Olbia to Palau with all intermediate stops. This route with intermediate stops takes a total of 1 hour and 20 minutes. You will then arrive in Palau, where you will take the ferry to La Maddalena.
The ferry to La Maddalena
The ferry (Delcomar) to La Maddalena takes about 15 minutes and departs twice an hour. You don’t need to buy tickets in advance, you can do so on the spot. Check departure times on Delcomar’s website.
#2 La Maddalena (5 nights)
Located off the coast of Sardinia, the La Maddalena archipelago is also known as the Caribbean of Europe. It has seven larger islands and 20 small islets. On the island you arrive at by ferry is the town of the same name, La Maddalena, with around 11,000 inhabitants. What can you do here?
Explore the village
La Maddalena has an incredibly beautiful centre and only gets cosier in the evening. Sip cocktails at The Duke Cocktail Bar, stroll around the local produce market, or eat pizza at one of the many restaurants in the atmospheric alleys.
Boat trip along uninhabited islands
On a boat excursion, you will sail throughout the archipelago past uninhabited islands and the most beautiful beaches. The water here is crystal clear and the beaches are pearly white. It is a popular day trip and therefore the beaches can get quite crowded.
Don’t mind a bit of fuss? Then opt for a large boat for €50 per person.
We wanted to avoid the crowds on the beaches, so we opted for a small-group excursion. This boat trip with Roberto on the boat Ciliegio II takes the opposite route to the big boats, making it a lot quieter everywhere. We 100% recommend this tour. It cost us €100 per person, and you can contact Roberto through his website.
Whatever you choose, don’t leave La Maddalena without having seen the islets!
Explore the island Caprera
From the village of La Maddalena, you can drive within 10 minutes to the island of Caprera, which is connected by a bridge. Here you can hike to your heart’s content and visit the most beautiful beaches. Sometimes you will spontaneously find some ancient ruins or come across wild goats or pigs.
Isola Giardinelli
Isola Giardinelli is the smallest island you can drive to. There isn’t super much here, but definitely fun to spend a day walking around and lying on different beaches.
Finding your own abandoned beach
La Maddalena has lots of beautiful beaches. The most beautiful beaches are often also the busiest, although this is relative when compared to the ‘main island of Sardinia’. Not yet taken over by mass tourism, La Maddalena is a well-known spot for the Italians themselves.
But if you don’t plop down at the first and best beach, you’ll find plenty of spots where you’re all alone! Just stroll along the water leading you to different coves until you find your own little beach.
Enjoy the sunset
On La Maddalena, you have many beautiful sunset spots where you can enjoy the setting sun in peace. Whether at a cocktail bar, on your own (or together) on a deserted beach, we have listed the most beautiful sunset spots for you.
Accommodation tip in La Maddalena
At La casetta di Velleda, you’ll stay in a flat just outside the centre so you won’t be bothered by noise pollution. There is also plenty of parking nearby. Nearby, there are many cozy wine bars.
From the balcony you have a beautiful view of downtown and the harbor. It was also ideal that we could borrow an umbrella. For a moment it really felt like we lived here, what a wonderful place in the perfect location!
Route: La Maddalena – Alghero
We are totally “zen” from our beach days on La Maddalena. Time to resume the road trip through northern Sardinia!
After checking out, catch another Delcomar ferry to Sardinia’s mainland: Palau. The first ferry leaves as early as 6 am.
Between Palau and Alghero you can make the following, beautiful stops. The itinerary takes a total of 3 hours. If you want to make the route a little shorter, choose only Castelsardo where you can have a delicious lunch in an authentic, Sardinian village.
Stopover Costa Paradiso
As the name probably suggests to you, you will find a beautiful coast here. The rock formations around the beaches make this spot unique and ideal for a stopover.
Stopover Castelsardo
Castelsardo (in the photos) is a nice village on a hill, with a castle on top. You can easily entertain yourself here for a few hours. Visiting the castle is really a must-do and also gives you great views. The village is full of cute little houses and churches. If you stay in Sardinia longer than 2 weeks, consider spending a night or two here.
👉 Click here for the route in Google Maps with all the stopovers.
#3 Alghero (3 nights)
Alghero is a Catalan town; a large proportion of its inhabitants also speak this language in addition to (or instead of) Sardinian. The city really has a beautiful and cozy center with an old city wall. It is full of nice restaurants, bars and stores. This is the only (big) city in this road trip, but a very special one!
What else can you do here?
Capo Caccia & Grotta di Nettuno
If you love a beautiful sunset (who doesn’t?), make sure you go to Capo Caccia, just outside the city. This is truly a magical place to watch the sun set.
Do you have longer and fancy a hike? Then here is also a beautiful natural area (Porto Conte Natural Park) for hiking. Then be sure to visit Grotta delle Brocche Rotte, which has stunning views.
At Capo Caccia itself, you can park. This is also the starting point of the long staircase to Grotta di Nettuno. These caves can also be visited by boat.
Day trip Asinara & Stintino
A nice day trip from Alghero is Asinara. Asinara is an uninhabited islet off the coast of Stintino. Asinara was once a quarantine island and later a prison. Now it is a protected island where there is a lot of flora & fauna, including super cute albino donkeys. In addition to remnants of the prisons, you will mostly see beautiful landscapes, beaches and clear blue water. 👉 Watch our video about this excursion here.
This day excursion departs and ends in Stintino. Stintino is known as one of the most beautiful beaches in Sardinia. And we understand that, but rather for winter. It was really busy! Like, really really.
It was nice to see the little tower and have a cocktail by the beach, but we were very glad we went to Asinara and did not spend a full day at Stintino.
You can book the excursion to Asinara through 4×4 Asinara or through Viator.
Accommodation tip in Alghero
We wanted to stay in the old center of Alghero because it is the most pleasant part of the city. We chose a cozy little apartment that completely met our expectations, including a lovely roof terrace.
The roof terrace is shared, but we were always the only ones sitting there.
Route Alghero – Cala Gonone
From Alghero, it is about a 160-kilometer drive to Cala Gonone. We decided to add two more stops and drive the first part along the beautiful coast.
Stopover Bosa
Bosa is a colorful town which is incredibly nice to walk through. On top of the hill you will find Castello Malaspina which you can visit and offers beautiful panoramas over the city. Here you will also find plenty of nice places to have lunch.
Stopover Orgosolo
This sleepy mountain village is known for its murales, wall drawings created in the late 1960s that often have historical or political significance. At one time, this village was also full of criminals and many murders were committed. Now it is especially fun to walk through it for an hour or 2 and look for the more than 150 murales.
👉 View the route including stopovers here in Google Maps.
#4 Cala Gonone (5 nights)
Cala Gonone is the last destination of this road trip through northern Sardinia. The village is not known for its cozy center, but don’t let that deter you, you really come here for the scenery. Because it is beautiful and there is a lot to do here. We list a few fun options for you.
Rent a dinghy and sail through the Gulf of Orosei
We rented a rubber dinghy through Dolmen Boat Rental and set out on our own. It was our first time doing this, but what a great experience it was! You do not need a boating license to rent a dinghy. It is the ideal way to explore the coast of the Gulf of Orosei at leisure.
Chilling out at Cala Luna
Cala Luna is undoubtedly our favorite beach in this region. You get here by quite a hike, or by boat. You can take your own dinghy, or one of the transfer boats. The various caves provide fine cooling and it is a lovely beach to hang out on. Er zijn geen grote beach bars, maar als je een stuk over het wandelpad gaat, kom je uit bij de bar van de camping, waar je iets te drinken kan halen. Het strand is vrij groot, zoek dus je eigen, rustige plekje op!
Hike: Gola di Gorropu
To get to the Gorropu Gorge, you must first take a tough hike. Be sure to arrive early so you don’t hike the canyon at the hottest part of the day. Are you not comfortable going alone? There are also organized hikes.
Hike: Monte Novo San Giovanni
You have several walks where you can enjoy the most beautiful views and rock formations, culminating in the table mountain Monte Novo San Giovanni. Much of it consists of forests, so it is also nice to find some shade here.
Route: Cala Gonone – Olbia
Our road trip is unfortunately over. We fly back in the afternoon from Olbia, about 110 kilometers away. On the way, we make a quick stop in Posoda.
Stopover Posoda
This is the last cute village in northern Sardinia where we admire the views from the little castle on top of the hill.
We have lunch there in a typical Italian café and then drive back to the airport to return our rental car.
👉 This is the route from Cala Gonone to Olbia airport with stopover in Posoda.
About our tour of northern Sardinia
Voila, that was it, the road trip we did in northern Sardinia. We saw beautiful places, did fun activities and it is sincerely one of the finest islands in Europe. La Maddalena in particular is a gem that is not yet on everyone’s itinerary, but which we enjoyed immensely.
Do you have more than 2 weeks?
We really could have stayed longer in Sardinia. If you have more time to explore this beautiful island and ask us where we would spend these days, this is the answer:
- A few nights on the Costa Smeralda
- One or two nights in Castelsardo
- An extra night in Alghero
- A few nights in Bosa
Personally, we think the island is too big to drive completely around. You are then very much in the car when there are so many beautiful places closer by.
Next time, we would visit the south. Once, we already did a city trip to Cagliari and both the city and its surroundings are also beautiful.
Did you get anything out of this blog? Let us know in the comments! Be sure to keep an eye on our blog, as we will publish more articles about Sardinia soon!
Do you have less than 2 weeks?
Making choices is hard, but if you ask us, we would take Cala Gonone out if you really don’t have time. It is quite a long drive to get here. If you are a real hiker, then this might just be a must-visit.
If you are really not a city person, you might consider taking Alghero out. We always like a combination of nature and city, and there is plenty of nature around Alghero.
