Fifty Shades of Blue Sardinia
I spent my childhood years in Yeniköy, a small neighborhood along the Bosphorus in Istanbul. My school was on the beach, our games were always with the sea, all of our houses had a view of the sea from every corner. I don't know if this is why, but I love the sea so much, the more I look at it, the more it blooms and the more I get excited, it feels so good to stay with myself under the water, to follow a stingray, to breathe in its special blue. Even if I didn't swim, see or watch the sea for months, if I went down the road and said hello, he lived as if he saw someone he knew and loved very much. For this reason, in this period when we are a little distanced from the sea and the sun, to warm things up again; I am looking forward to going to Sardinia, which is the second largest island in the Mediterranean, like the turquoise waters of Italy and the Tenedos Island of the Romans.
My interest in Sardinia; It comes from the documentary 'Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones' on Netflix. I'm sure you'll love it if you watch it. In short, Blue Zones represent five distinctions where people live exceptionally long and healthy lives. In this region, Okinawa-Japan, Loma Linda-California, Nicoya Peninsula-Costa Rica, Ikaria-Greece and finally Sardinia-Italy. Especially in the Nuoro-Ogliastra region, where people have the longest life expectancy. People living in this region generally eat a Mediterranean diet, live physically active lives, and have strong family ties. By the way, speaking of the Mediterranean Diet, the healthy diet will be introduced to the U.S. in 2024. It was named 'Best Overall Diet' for the seventh consecutive year, according to News & World Report's annual diet rankings. Let's pay attention to our diet, friends :) But I think living long, writing, living well depends on the soul...
Sardegna
And let's come to Sardinia, Fifty Shades of Blue… BC. Famous for its rich historical and cultural heritage dating back to 6000 BC, the island has been subject to various invasions throughout history, especially barbarian pirates from North Africa have frequently raided this region. Since the coasts of the island were easily surrounded, the local people had to retreat to the mountainous regions. If you would like to read about the island's rich history and archaeological ruins, I recommend you visit the history of sardinia page. I actually researched it before I went, but when I saw the blue ones, I got lost and couldn't really penetrate its history :)
Sardegna Map
The island of Sardinia basically consists of four regions; Olbia to the north, Cagliari to the south, Sassari to the west and Nuoro to the east. There are many small towns and villages along its shores, except for the rugged Barbagia region, the interior of the island is mostly deserted, which would be a waste of time anyway, with coasts like these. By the way, don't mind what I call an island, the north and south are 4 hours away by car. I think the first important step in planning your holiday is to decide whether you will fly to Cagliari or Olbia. And the sad news: it is almost impossible to explore the island without a car, even if you want to reach the untouched shores, having a car is not enough, brace yourself :)
We focused on the northeast and east of the island. That's why we explored Olbia and its surroundings, the shores of Costo Smeralda, Porto Cervo, Golfo di Orosei bay, Dorgalı village, Gala Conone town. Actually, we really wanted to go to the north and see Palau and La Maddalena island, but if you are vacationing on an island, I think the first rule is the wind condition. Due to the wind direction and strength, we replanned our route and decided to try the north of the island another time and did justice to the places we visited.
This time, I wanted to change the flow of the travel and group it under headings to make it easier. I share our route with you with short notes, and if you write it down before you go, I will be happy to send you all the marked coasts, restaurants and must-see places on the map.
OLBIA
Located in the northeast of the island, Olbia, whose name means happy city, is a port city. We stayed in Pittolongu, which is very close to here. I think it was the right choice to go to different bays on the Costa Smeralda coast and have nice meals in the center in the evenings. The beach area is just like a summer town, full of Ferris wheels, carousels and jewelry stalls. As we were lucky enough to come across a prestigious water sports competition, it also managed to attract our attention. If you are wondering about the competition and the winner; Regione Sardegna Grand Prix of Italy
Olbia- Sardegna
I can swear that you will have one of the best ice creams you will ever eat at Gelateria Villi in the center of Olbia, but I cannot prove it. The ice cream containers are constantly rotating and they are winning our hearts with their ice cream sandwiches. Please don't try it at home :)
While we thought we would naturally eat good seafood on the island, Sardinia surprised us and made us happy about meat. Please remember me if you eat ribs at the Art Academy in the center of Olbia :) And the coasts of Sardinia that we are looking forward to… If you type best of beaches in Sardinia into Google, you will see that many people recommend different, blue beaches. Because many of the beaches are really beautiful. Sea water temperature, salt content, shallowness-depth ratio, truly fifty shades of blue are worth seeing. You can see sea bass, sea bream and small fish underwater by snorkeling along the shores, but if I were to come face to face with an octopus, it would be the strawberry on the cake...
I list the beaches we went to following the wind, with their notes below. Relax, you can rent sun loungers and umbrellas and eat ice cream in all of them. Not to mention the most beautiful views in the world :)
Pittulongu
It is guaranteed that you will be happy if you eat seafood pizza at Lo Skualo restaurant on the shore of this bay, 7 km away from the center of Olbia.
Spiaggia Bianca
This place is really beautiful and, as the name suggests, it is in my top three with its white sandy beach. You can also satisfy both your eyes and your stomach with fried calamari and shrimp at the restaurant on the beach :)
Spiaggia Bianca
Spiaggia del Principe
Unfortunately, there is no road access to this untouched bay. After parking your car, you reach the shore by going down rough roads for about 10 minutes. As you take your last steps, it makes you say that there is no sea you can see out of the corner of your eye anymore. A view worth every step you take, sand massaging your feet and of course cool waters... You can sunbathe on the rocks while watching the view. Since it is not a business, it may be difficult to spend a full day, but if you go, I am sure you will love it.
Spiaggia del Piccolo Pevere ( Golfo Pevero)- Porto Cevro
This is a beautiful beach in the Gulf of Golfo Pevero, close to the Porto Cevro marina, with hotels around it. The sea is stony but the feeling is soft. You can swim here during the day and have a nice dinner in the Porto Cevro area in the evening. Speaking of Porto Cevro, this is also a must-see place because it is very popular. It seems like you can't leave without seeing the most famous marina of the Mediterranean, where luxury shopping and hotels, golf clubs are located, and where the Rolex Yacht Cup is held. Additionally, the restaurants, the view and its unique architecture are truly worth seeing. If you want to go to a nice Brazilian restaurant in this region and get your fill of meat in all its forms, you can add Aruana Churrascaria to your list.
Spiaggia del Principe
Cala Brandinchi
From what we hear, this place is called the Haiti of the island. You must make a reservation in advance for both entrance and sun loungers. The water is so shallow that you can spend all day in the water, sometimes buying jewelry, sometimes doing water sports, and sometimes swimming in the open water. Also, because the beach is so beautiful, with this amazing sand; You can build a giant castle where you will save princess :)
San Teodoro- La Cinta
Whether you want to surf, stand up paddle, kite surf or jet ski, this is like the epicenter of water sports. You can spend your day here to the fullest by using the facilities and restaurants along the beach.
After this exciting Costa Smeralda coast, we headed towards the east of the island, towards the Gulf of Golfo di Orosei. The journey was truly beautiful; Passing through marble quarries, exciting single-lane roads, hand-made coffees we drank at gas stations, villages and towns, we arrived at Dorgalı village in the Nuoro region on the hill. This is an Italian village with its handicrafts, local cuisine and natural beauties.
Cala Gonone
The coastline is also famous Cala Gonone. This is a wonderful coastal town: where you can skip stones on the beach, pick sea minarets from the pebbles, eat delicious handmade ice creams, and walk through the landscape in your flip-flops. There is also a local Italian restaurant called San Francisco that you should definitely visit.it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Cala Mariolu
This place is very attractive, like the other coasts of Italy, but it has a feature that you can rent a boat from here and go to Cala Mariolu, which was chosen as the second most beautiful beach of 2024 by 'The World's 50 Best Beaches'. It's really beautiful. They have set a limit of 700 visitors at a time to preserve the naturalness of this beach, which is famous for its crystal clear waters, white pebbles and limestone cliffs. I think it's 1/700, you should definitely have it :)
I couldn't write down every moment, every photo, every detail, but I hope what I felt was conveyed to you, too. Wishing you a wonderful holiday where you can eat and drink to your heart's content and see all shades of blue...
Cheers,
Betty.
