There was a time when we were popping far and wide to places like Tanzania, Caribbean, Hawaii, etc.. Now even taking a 1.5 hours flight feels like a treat. It is partly because both baby bunnies are absolute monsters, but mostly because we discovered there is so much beauty not so far away. See for example our post on Corsica, with its find white sands and turquoise sea it really did feel like the Caribbean.
So this year we decided to pop onto the brother (from another mother) island of Corsica (which is France) – Sardinia (which is Italy) and it was as exotic!
In this post we will take a different approach than our previous posts- we will list our top three beaches of Sardinia (out of the ten we visited), some budget estimates, and a politically sensitive question – where to go – Sardinia or Corsica.
Our top beaches of North Sardinia
1. Capriccioli beach (West) – it was a small beach but oh so beautiful, with pink granite rocks that have been cut into by the sea, a sheltered pool with crystal clear water. And look at all the fish! Especially when there was some bread around
2. Spiaggia del Principe
Look at this place- does it look like Europe?
But it is not easy to get to this beach. One has to hike down a rather steep and uneven path (Swiss bunny chose it obviously) but oh it was so worth it.
3. Spiaggia Zia Culumba (Capo Testa)
We intended to go to Spiaggia Rena Bianca and when we reached there we were instantly in love. But one has to book and pay in advance to get to the beach. So we were directed to a beach 10 min away, which was such a blessing in disguise because it was just wonderful!
Some other beaches we visited in short here:
the pine forest and pizza at the beach were the only nice things about the place.
Where to stay?
We found the sheer amount of options available a bit overwhelming. It was as if every house was an Airbnb. You could stay where we stayed (ping/ comment)- it was in a very small coastal village called Portisco. The village is built on the slope of the mountain, so everyone has an amazing sweeping view of the bay.
We also found some other nice villages, where we wouldn’t mind staying the next time, like San Pantaleo. It had nice shops and amazing sceneries around.
Money talk and other essentials
Sardinia is expensive. Almost Swiss expensive. The accommodation, parking, eating out, groceries, everything is pricey. And one needs to have a car to get around and be ready to drive it at 2-3x the speed limit. So if the road says 20 kmph, the traffic drives at 60 kmph at least. Account for 600-800 euros/ day/ couple* at least, even in early July (*excluding flight tickets).
Sardinia or Corsica?
We only saw the tip of Sardinia so these are only our initial impressions. We were forced to see a bit more of Corsica because our return flight to Switzerland couldn’t land due to strong winds and we were forced to drive across the island to a new airport.
We found that the beaches and the sea (especially the water temperature) of Sardinia are spectacular but the landscape of Corsica is far more dramatic, albeit much windier.
The towns of Corsica had more character and charm and the things to do were better advertised. Whereas in Sardinia information on activities to do and reviews are very very limited. On the other hand, the Sardinian people were far more friendly and willing to communicate in gestures if needed, whereas Corsica.. well you can imagine, it’s France after all.
So the choice between the two islands boils down to preference for beaches or landscapes and competence level in French, but you would be in for a treat whichever you choose.
—-
Another tip- one can shower at Olbia Airport – so convenient to come straight from a beach! That’s what we did!
bunnygoespoppoppop 