Daily departures!
Personalise your vacation: customise your trip with additional overnights and excursions before or after the tour.
Itinerary: Olbia - La Maddalena and Caprera - Bargagia and Orgosolo - Cagliari - Nora - Chia Bay - Su Nuraxi - Bosa - Alghero - Neptune Caves - Gallura - The Moon Valley - Olbia
Detailed Itinerary
1st day: Olbia
Arrival in Olbia. Collect the car at airport and drive to the hotel in Olbia area. Accomodation at hotel and overnight.
2nd day: La Maddalena and Caprera
After breakfast, we suggest to visit the National Park of La Maddalena with regular excursion by boat departing fom Palau (available from may to september). The itinerary includes Spargi Island, the beautiful Cala Corsara, the Isle of Budelli , Cala del Cavaliere, also called Natural Pools. The tour proceeds to to the island of Santa Maria and finally to the famous island of La Maddalena, where your will can stroll through the picturesque streets of the famous old town full of shops for shopping visiting also the harbor. Return to Palau in the afternoon and drive to Porto Cervo in the Emerald coas. This area is Today the favourite tourist destination of the international Jet Set and Porto Cervo is its emblem. Return to hotel and overnight.
3rd day: Central Sardinia, Bargagia Region and Orgosolo
After breakfast, check out from the hotel and drive through the Gennargentu mountains in Central Sardinia, an area strewn with the traces of the ancient dwellers of Sardinia: domus de janas, tombs of the giants and the nuraghes of Su Calavriche, Mereu and Gorroppu. Reach Orgosolo, the symbol of the Barbarician culture and known for its murals on the outer walls of the houses and even on some rocks around the town, with social, artistic and political themes. Continue towards the Supramonte of Orgosolo, arriving to “pinnettos village”, traditional sheperd huts built of stone and covered with boughs of juniper.Lunch with shepherds tasting authentic flavors: cold meats, dry ricotta, boiled mutton, roasted pork, typical bread, accompanied by Cannonau, excellent Sardinian intense wine. After lunch, drive to Cagliari, check in at the hotel and overnight.
4th day: Cagliari, Nora and the panoramic road to Chia Bay
After breakfast, discover Cagliari, the regional capital of Sardinia and the largest city in the island. Visit of the historic centre where you will admire the old district of Castello that, with the small street, recall those of some Spanish villages. Proceed the visit to the Santa Maria Cathedral, a masterpiece of artistic variety resulting from the long succession of different civilizations and to the National Archaeological Museum. Drive to the Bonaria Basilica, a religious complex consisting of a small Catalan Gothic church, and the Basilica, built in the Neoclassic Style. Continue to Monte Urpinu, one of the biggest, beautiful and breezy parks in Cagliari from where, getting up to the top of hill, you’ll be gratified by a splendid view of the gulf of Cagliari and of the city. Lunch at leisure. In the afternoon, depart on the South Western Coastal road and admire the lagoons populated by flamingoes. Visit the Roman Town of Nora, one of the main archaeological areas in Sardinia where you will see the beautiful Roman theatre, unique in Sardinia, the thermal baths, the temples, the paved streets and the precious mosaics of Patrician villas. Drive then on the panoramic road to the Chia Bay that, with its silky sand, up to 30 meter-high white dunes and crystalline, turquoise-hued water, is reminiscent of an idyllic Caribbean beach. The bay is bordered by majestic, age-old junipers and a few stone traces of the Phoenician city of Bithia whose site Chia Bay now occupies. Return to the hotel in Cagliari. Overnight.
5th day: The nuragic village and Casa Zapata Museum in Barumini, the old city of Bosa
After breakfast, check out from the hotel and drive Barumini to visit the “Su Nuraxi” Nuragic village, UNESCO world heritage site dating from the Bronze Age. This Nuragic settlement, is the most important in the whole Sardinia and, as seen today with the commanding castle- shaped nuragic (just like a real Medieval castle) surrounded by an extensive village, bears witness to the incredible knowledge of architecture and building techniques of the Ancient Sardinians even in those prehistoric times. Visit the museum of “Casa Zapata” that is actually three museums in one: precisely an archaeological, an historical and an ethnographic museum. Drive to Oristano and have free time for lunch. After lunch, reach the historical centre of Bosa one of the most beautiful old city in all Sardinia, set on the estuary of the river Temo, the only river in Sardinia that is navigable by boat for several kilometres. Bosa has a pretty town centre situated on the banks of the river and crossed by charming bridges. The houses painted different pastel colours are clustered at the bottom of the hill overlooked by the Castle of Serravalle, of Late Medieval origin with 300-metre long surrounding walls and 7 towers. After the visit, drive to Alghero. Along the way stop in a wine cellar to taste the typical wine “ Malvasia”. Accommodation in hotel in Alghero and overnight.
6th day: Alghero and the Neptune Caves
After breakfast, visit the stunning Neptune Caves on the Capo Caccia Promontory just over 20 Km from Alghero, in a wonderful scenic position. It was discovered by a local fisherman in the 18th century and from that time on became a popular tourist attraction. The Grotto is a total of 4 Km long, but only a few hundred metres can be visited. The chambers contain large stalactites and stalagmites but most importantly a large salt lake 120 m long with incredible reflections. To reach the entrance you must go down a staircase of no fewer than 654 steps cut out of the rock, with a view over the sea. It’s also possible to reach the caves by boat. Lunch at leisure. In the afternoon, return to Alghero and visit of the historical city centre with its fortifications. The city is famous for its inhabitants having continued to use Catalan language: for this reason it is named “la Barceloneta”, little Barcellona. The small alleys of the old town are full of shops specialised in working red coral, one of the most valuable types of coral in the world. Worthy of note are the church of San Francesco, with its splendid cloister and the church of San Michele with its brightly coloured majolica dome. Return to the hotel in Alghero and overnight.
7th day: Gallura and the Moon Valley in Aggius
After breakfast, drive to Castelsardo, a charming coastal town whose destiny has always been linked to the sea. In ancient times it was both a defence post and a strategic watch point. Visit the old town, perched on a hill beside the sea, that preserves its medieval fortress structure, with soaring bastions, steep stairways and a maze of narrow streets and alleys. On top of the plateau, admire the Doria castle, which houses the Museum of Mediterranean Weaving. With a short walk from the castle, you will reach the cathedral of Sant’Antonio Abate, with its tall bell tower topped by a dome in coloured majolica tiles. On the slopes of the Castello, stands the Medieval church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, with a wooden crucifix of the Black Christ. Lunch at leisure. After lunch drive to one of the oldest centres of the Gallura, to the city of Aggius, quaint village with fine old houses built of granite stone, among the most outstanding examples of local folk architecture. The village can be considered the ultimate repository of centuries-old traditions in song, dance, textiles and in the traditional manufacturing of cork, iron and granite. It is this granite which makes the panorama unique, beginning from the churches and houses of the historic centre to the suggestive Moon Valley, where you will find the most important traces of the first settlements in the territory: the shelters under rock used in the Neolithic period for homes, burials and places of worship and the megalithic monuments from the Nuragic Age. Visit at the Oliva Carta Cannas country life museum that displays the original objects and tools tracing the history, culture and traditions of Aggius and the whole of Gallura. After the visit, drive to Olbia, check in at the hotel, dinner and overnight.
8th day: Olbia
After breakfast, drive to the airport of Olbia. Delivery of the car. Arrivederci!
Extend your stay
with aditional overnights and excursions before or after the tour.
