Alex on Sardinia by Road

We left Sardinia at seven o’clock this morning via the Olbia/Costa Smeralda airport, and tonight I am writing on the balcony of a cheap hotel in Naples.  I loved Sardinia.  The people are friendly; the food is great; and they have my new favorite flag. 

The biggest tip I would offer someone visiting the island is, “rent a car!”  Yes, it is a little expensive compared to the bus/train option, but all the best beaches, the best walks, and the best food that we found were inaccessible by any other means.  Basically, I don’t think public transportation is really an option if you want to have control of your days.  As a bonus, driving in Sardinia is really easy and since there seem to be no traffic cops on the island’s winding roads, you are always in an unofficial race with the locals, who are perfectly willing to swerve into oncoming traffic in order to pass you. 

I think we discovered Sardinia’s charms on our second day.  We left our hotel in Quartucciu on a mission to find a beach, our little white Smart Car buzzing down the road while the Sardinians in their normal and mostly road-worthy cars fly by like we are standing still.   Anyone who has rented a Smart Car knows that this is par for the course; 50 miles an hour feels like 80, and 80 is probably not possible. 

This time there was another reason for our slow speed. Sardinia is one of the few places in Europe where you can find the Greater Flamingo, and these beautiful pink and white birds hang out in the marshes right next to the highway outside Cagliari. 

I imagine there is a point where you get used to the pink flamingos, and you stop looking at them, but I am not there yet.  You can try to stop and take pictures on the side of the highway, but if that is not picturesque enough for you, keep on going out to Chia Laguna where the birds flock to the still water in a more peaceful setting.

We drove on to Pula, a little beach town much like other beach towns except for the bakery (pasticceria) that makes dynamite ammaretti and .  The plan was to visit the sea turtle sanctuary just down the road in Nora, but no dice.  (Insider tip: The sanctuary seems to have no internet presence aside from a mention in a NYT article, but they are open to visitors Friday-Sunday.)

The best part about driving in Sardinia is that your day will never be wasted unless you choose to waste it.  My advice: follow the signs for “Spiaggia”, and you can’t go wrong.  You may have to hike a bit or drive your rented SmartCar down roads better suited to 4-wheelers and mountain goats, but the end of the road never disappoints.

Nest stop was Dorgali, a small village in the province of Nuoro, slightly inland from Cala Gonone and the Gulf of Orosei.  The town has a sort of industrial and rough around the edges feel and for a moment I questioned our choice of location.  However, we had no trouble at all (unless you count the little boy I found trying to lift my tiny car off the ground by the wheel-well), and the town turned out to be a very old, very cool maze of tiny streets, and shops.

Also Nuoro is regarded as the best area in Sardinia for food, and based on my limited sampling, I would back that up.   We followed Anthony Bourdain’s suggestion and had a meal of truly epic proportions at Su Gologone.  There is some debate about how this restaurant stacks up (has it become a tourist trap now?), but if you like meat, pasta, and homemade cheese, this place is pretty doggone good.

I had high hopes for Sardinia, and I was not in the least disappointed.  However, Costa Smeralda was kind of a zero for me.  The Emerald Coast is one of those “playgrounds for the rich and famous” with all that entails, and I imagine that in July you might find yourself catching some rays next to models, athletes, and, if you are really lucky, Silvio Berlusconi. 

There is no denying that Costa Smeralda is beautiful, but here is the catch: the rest of the country is equally beautiful and still retains the charm of a place that time forgot at least for now.