Sardinia, passion on a journey:
…The sparkling North !
This is the perfect journey if you wish to dive into the crystal clear water of Costa Smeralda, where many celebrities love to spend their holidays, at least once a year. But this is perfect also if you wish to see the most authentic places and meet the most authentic people. Sea villages, famous for their beauty, their history, their typical traditions. Comfortable luxury coaches and local Tour Guides always available, few hotel changes and a new route every day. On a 1.400 km journey to discover the territory and its people.
from € 180,00/pax
This proposal is valid through 31.12.2023
Day 1
Costa Smeralda and Castelsardo, magic Gallura.
As soon as you arrive in Sardinia, you will board the Coach and meet your Local Tour Guide that will be with you for the whole Tour. You will drive across most of the Northern part of the island, across the geographic regions known as Romangia, Anglona and Gallura. You will then visit Costa Smeralda, famous for its marvellous bays and beaches and perfect meeting point for celebrities from all over the world. In Castelsardo (awarded as the most beautiful Village in Italy in 2015) there will be time to have lunch, do some shopping in the many local artisan labs/shops, take a shuttle to the Castel and visit the Basket Waving Museum (Museo dell’Intreccio). In the evening, you will arrive in Alghero and have dinner at your hotel.
Day 2
Stintino, Fertilia and the Catalan town of Alghero (Nurra Region).
Left behind the Hotel, driving along the Route between two Seas, you will get to know the internal countryside on your way to Porto Torres. One of the main monuments here, the Basilica of San Gavino, was built between 1030 and 1080 in Romanesque-Pisan style on an ancient Early Christian Basilica. Its crypta houses the relics of the martyrs Gavino, Proto and Gianuario that are said to have been buried here in the late Roman imperial period. You will soon reach Stintino for a stop on the very famous golden beach “La Pelosa” just in front of the Island Asinara (both part of the Asinara National Park). You will then drive southward on the picturesque road along the west coast of Nurra. You will pass by the Baratz Lake (the only natural lake in Sardinia), the former marshes, reclaimed during Fascism, the town of Fertilia and will be back in Alghero after visiting the beaches “del Lazzaretto” and “delle Bombarde”. After lunch, you will visit the lovely town of Alghero with its seaside ramparts, the narrow streets of the city centre full of artisan shops and its magnificent monuments in Gothic and Romanesque style. After some free-time for relax and shopping, you will drive back to your hotel for dinner and overnight stay.
Day 3
Coros, Meilogu, Goceano, Nuorese and Supramonte for Lunch with Shepherds in Orgosolo.
After breakfast, you will leave the Hotel heading to Nuoro through Sassari along the S.S.131 “Carlo Felice” Road. You will make a quick stop in Cordongianos to admire the Romanesque Basilia of Saccargia and will drive to the volcanic plateau of Abbasanta with its endless cork forests. Once you arrive in Nuoro, you will have a short walk in the city centre and visit the Etnographic Museum with its wonderful rooms dedicated to the traditional Sardinian costume. Back to the coach, you will soon get to Orgosolo. After having lunch with the Shepherds and tasting their traditional products, you will have a walk among the narrow streets of this village, famous for its Banditry of the 70’s and for its colourful murals depicting global events that still decorate its streets. On your path back you will pass by the Lake Birighinzu and the villages of Thiesi and Ittiri, rich in Nuragig and Pre- Nuragic remains (Domus de Janas). A preview of the cultures you will get to know on the next day in other important areas of the Island. You will be back at the Hotel in Alghero for dinner and night stay.
Day 4
Villanova, Montiferru, Planargia with visit to Bosa and Sinis with visit to Cabras and Tharros.
You will start by driving along the coastal road between Alghero and Bosa, considered as one of the three most beautiful and panoramic roads in Sardinia. You will admire unique and romantic colour contrasts between land and sea and wonderful steep cliffs, kingdom of the last colonies of Italian Griffon Vultures. You will arrive in Bosa, former Phoenician colony and Roman Municipium, where you will have a walk along the narrow streets connecting the River Temo to the Serravalle Castel, with its city wall remains. You will see the typical boats and wooden houses, that have been decorated by the fishermen so to notice them well before getting to the mooring piers situated along the mouth of the River Temo. Back to the coach, you will arrive to the beach S. Giovanni di Sinis at lunch time. After tasting typical products in the traditional restaurants you will visit the marvellous Byzantine church of S. Giovanni and will manage to see a Falasco (typical ancient fisherman’s shack) and the very close Peschiera di Mare Pontis, famous for the production of the typical Bottarga di Muggine. You will then drive by endless artichoke fields across the area known as Mont’e Prama, where the famous Giganti di Mont’e Prama (complex of statues) where found and then have a quick stop in the village of S.Salvatore, famous for its little church housing a prehistoric hypogeum (dating back to 6.000 years ago), as a filming location for many western movies, and for the traditional “Corsa degli Scalzi”. On your way back, on a new route, you will make a quick stop in Oristano and arrive at your Hotel in Alghero before dinner.
Day 5
Oristano, Historic and Environmental Geomineral Park with visit to Montevecchio and Green Coast
On your Tour to Sardinia, on this day you will reach your most southern stop. You will manage to visit the Campidano area of Oristano and the Historic and Environmental Geomineral Park of Sardinia (the first Park of this kind in Italy and UNESCO Heritage Site). Left behind the Hotel, you will drive to the Montevecchio Mine, the largest Mine in Sardinia, awarded as European Destination of Excellence in 2011. You will visit the ancient mining village and the extraction and mineral processing areas. Among the buildings in Neoclassic style, now refit and turned into a museum, you will discover the nineteenth-century Industrial and Social Revolution that witnessed the invention of huge machineries for the extraction of lead, zinc and silver from the bowels of earth, and the death of thousands of men that made this place famous and gave birth to many of the social patterns of our time. After a typical local lunch, you will drive across the foot of Monte Arcuentu and reach the coast. You will make a quick stop to see the sixteenth-century Aragon Tower in Flumentorgiu, built to fight Saracen Piracy. You will overlook the whole Green Coast from Capo Pecora (to the South) to Capo Frasca (to the North), the marvellous beach and the second largest dune field of Pistis (after Piscinas, not far from there). Back to the coach, driving northward along the colourful coastal road with its typical wind-shaped Mediterranean Macchia, you will pass by S.Antonio di Santadi and the lagoon of Marceddì where was once situated the great Phoenician and Roman town of Neapolis and will then reach the town of Oristano. Here, you will make a quick stop and a walk to see the main monuments of the city centre, retracing the history of the Reign of Arborea and its famous Judgesses. You will drive back on a freeway to be at the Hotel in the evening, in time for dinner.
Day 6
Sardinia between past and present: from Nuragic civilization to shopping.
Left behind the hotel, heading to Olbia, you will make a quick stop in Sassari, a small town situated on a limestone promontory descending to the sea, whose old city centre (Piazza Castello, Corso V.Emanuele II, Rosello Fountain, Piazza Tola, Santa Caterina, Ducal Palace, Cathedral of San Nicola and S. Maria di Betlem) is enclosed by a city wall. You will then drive to Ozieri, where you will have a walk in the countryside and visit the Nuraghe Burghidu (1.300 BC). There will then be some free time to do some shopping and have lunch on your own in a shopping centre a few km far from Olbia. In the afternoon, you will visit the Nuragic Holy Well of Sa Testa (1.100 BC) and then drive to your departure point where you will say good-by to our staff that has been with you for the whole of your Journey in the North of Sardinia.
… total price starting € 180,00/pp for the “Essential Package” to € 265,00/pp for the “Complete Package”
The Price does Not Include (1):
Participants’ travel costs (by airplane and/or ship and/or bus from residence to meeting point in Sardinia.
Hotel costs (e.g. 3-4* Hotel, double rooms with private bathroom, with or without discounts or additional costs).
Ferry-boat tickets: not included in this Tour.
Lunch on Day 6, depending on the departure time, scheduled as lunch “on your own” in the shopping centre.
Tourist Tax (normally approx. € 1,00/pp per day to be paid locally, if needed).
Insurance: Medical, Luggage, Cancellation, ect.
Freebies for Tour Assistant, Tour Leader, ect.
Tips, porterage, extras
Anything not listed in “the price includes”.
The Price does Not Include (2): - additional services, maximum total additional price € 85,00/pp
Museum Tickets: - none, all included in “the price includes”
Tickets to Touristic Train/Shuttle: “Trenino gommato” Capo S. Marco in S. Giovanni di Sinis.
Cheese Tasting in a little Cheese Factory in Costa Verde.
3 typical lunch meals available (0,25l wine and 0,5l water included) in: Castelsardo, Alghero, S.Giovanni di Sinis.
The price Includes: Basic Services for the price of € 180,00/pp-
Luxury Coach Service, with highly professional and experienced driver from arrival to departure (Airport/Port).
Highly professional and experienced local Tour Guide from arrival to departure (at the Airport/Port).
Two typical lunch meals (0,25l wine and 0,5l water included): in Montevecchio and Orgosolo.
Guided tours in the free entrance museum sites as in the programme.
Tickets to the following museums: Museo dell’Intreccio of Castelsardo, Ethnographic Museum of Nuoro and Montevecchio Mine in Guspini (3 paths).
Ticket to the Touristic Train: “Shuttle” in Castelsardo.
Guided Tours to all the sites of interest as in the programme.
Board and Lodging for Coach Driver and Tour Guide, not necessarily in the same Hotel as the Group.
Tour organization and travel arrangements, included booking and management of all participants’ needs.
24/7 phone assistance available during the Tour.
Insurance: for guided tours and third parties people transportation.
Taxes and VAT.
Important notes:
This offer is valid throughout 2023, but it is subject to availability and will be confirmed with booking confirmation. The Service will last 6 days and 5 nights with arrival in the morning of Day 1 and departure in the evening of Day 6 from the Port or Airport of Olbia, Porto Torres or Alghero. The meeting point (at the Airport or Port), the daily programme and the total Tour duration can be adapted to the specific Client’s requirements.
The daily programme will be confirmed depending on the specific arrival/departure times, on the meeting point in Sardinia and on the Hotel location. Logistically, the best Hotel location is Alghero, where we can suggest the El Balear (3*) and the Catalunya (4*) Hotels, of guaranteed quality, for which we can offer our corporate rates. However, the Tour can be adapted to the requirements of your partner Hotels, whatever their location. The Price of the “Essential Package” as defined in the Programme and in the lists “the price includes”, “the price does not include (1)” and “the price does not include (2)” is € 180,00 per person and is valid for a group of minimum 48 paying participants. One or more Services from the list “the price does not include (2)” can be added to the package with a maximum additional cost of € 85,00 per person for the “complete package”. The price might be subject to commissions/discounts (max 20%) to Tour Operators, Travel Agencies and Clients entitled to direct purchase.
<< I once visited Sardinia with my parents. I was very young, but I still remember many of the places I saw. Some look very different now, beaches for example. I remember we had to walk a long way to reach them. Now, we parked our car so close to the sand. But I also found something that hasn’t changed and still impressed me and that is the colours of the landscapes, the crystal clear water, the wind-shaped lentisk trees and the wild nature scents.>> (…)