Why Cagliari?
Since we were going to be staying at quite a few resorts during our trip, Nicky wanted to mix it up and stay in a place a bit more off the beaten path. Cagliari, and the south of Sardinia in general, only began catering to tourists in the late 90s so the land is quite underdeveloped. Our goal was immersion into authentic Sardinian culture instead of the typical commercialized experience associated with resorts.
Arrival day – Casa Clat and Dinner
After leaving Capri, Naples to Cagliari was an easy 1-hour flight. We stayed at Casa Clat, a beautiful high-end concept hotel. The room had several unique features, like a massive freestanding tub in the middle of the room, a shower that doubled as a steam room, and high wood-beam ceilings over ar circular king-sized bed (we stayed in the studio suite).
Later we took a walk around the marina and stopped at Cielo Rooftop Experience for dinner. It hosts a spectacular view of the city and surrounding mountains. The lighting at sunset provides a wonderful opportunity for photos.
Day 2 – Chia Coast Private Tour
Since our flights in and out of Sardinia made this trip one of our shortest, Nicky opted for two full-day tours to experience as much of the island as possible. First up was a boat and jeep tour around the southern coast. If you can, ask for Junior as your guide, he was the best!
If you take this tour, you’ll get to spend up to four hours traveling by boat along the coast, stopping at several pristine, untouched areas for a swim. We forgot to ask for snorkeling gear, so if that interests you, I recommend asking your guide to bring some. Watch out for jellyfish too! There aren’t a whole lot and they’re easy to spot, but you’ll get stung if you touch one (like Nicky and I did!)
For lunch, you’ll eat at Riccio Blanco beach bar which has fresh seafood caught by the fishermen earlier that morning. I tried some great Sardinian specialties, like culurgiones (ravioli dish stuffed with potato and basil topped pecorino) and spaghetti bottarga (cured fish roe atop spaghetti). Everything was delicious!
After lunch you take a jeep tour of the coast to explore more swimming holes and check out historical landmarks. I’m so glad we had a guide for this because we visited beautiful hidden beaches that we would never have found otherwise. We were literally the only non-locals everywhere we went.
Day 3 – Cagliari Wine and Food Tour
Book a wine and food tour and make sure you skip breakfast the day of. The portions are so generous on this tour that I ended up skipping dinner afterwards!
The tour is broken down into three parts: a wine tour, then a traditional Sardinian feast followed by another wine tour. The lunch was, for me, extra special because we had a really nice time chatting with our guide – Junior again! – about everything Sardinia: the culture, the history, the geography, and a few jokes sprinkled here and there.
Our experience in Sardinia will hold a special place in our hearts because of how welcomed we felt. I expect Nicky and I will come back again!
Departure day
Stay tuned for our next leg of the trip in Malta!
