One day in paradise – Costa Paradiso

In the nothern part of Sardinia, between Santa Teresa di Gallura and Sassari, you can find one of the most beautiful and picturesque coastline in the island – Costa Paradiso (which means Paradise Coast) with its sandy beaches.

One of the most popular beach is called Li Cossi and is situated around 10 minutes by walk from the little harbour (where you can leave your car). Like every bigger beach in Sardinia, also in here during the season you can rent an umbrella or a seat.

 

 

If you are planning your next holidays you should definitely consider Costa Paradiso with its fantastic coastal landscape full of pink granite stones.

 

 

 

 

Within the resort there is a supermarket, grocery, bakery, fish shop, bars, take away and a number of restaurants where you can try Italian or Sardinian cuisine.

Holidays in August

August in Italy is the hottest and the busiest month of the year.  Temperatures vary depending on where you are in Italy, but the average is 70-90°F (21-32°C). This year  temperatures in many places arrived up to 102°F(40°C) and it looks like the whole month will be so hot.
Because of the heat Italian cities “wake up” in the evening. Summer evenings are very lively and many Italians pass their evenings with friends in bars and restaurants, walking, eating ice creams (italian gelato) and enjoying the cooler temperatures (around 70°F/ 21°C).

Keep in mind that August is often when Italians take their long (often 1 month) holidays called ferie and anyone who has the means escapes the heat and humidity of the cities for cooler climes. During the summer months, the majority of Italians tend to head for seaside areas, rather than to Italy’s mountainous or hilly areas. In fact, visitors to Italian cities in August may sometimes feel like they are seeing more tourists than Italians – and some cases (like Rome) that’s true.

The most popular region in August among Italians is Sardinia with its crystal clear water, beautiful beaches and great cusine.

 Summer travel in the island is the most expensive. If you are going to Sardinia this month prepare yourself financially and mentally as it will be really crowded.

We would like to recommend you also other months when the weather is still good, when there is less tourist and prices are not as high – September and October. While in September you can still enjoy swimming in the sea, October is perfect for travelling around the island and discovering it.

Read our other posts:

• Sardinia – an essential step for all sea lovers! 
• How to get to Sardinia? (by plane)
• How to get to Sardinia? part 2 (by ferry)

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If you still haven’t plan your holidays consider going to Sardinia. It’s really worthy!
For any details contact us at sardinia2see@gmail.com

How to get to Sardinia? part 2

There’s no bridge that connects Sardinia to mainland – there’s no possibility of driving all the way from one to the other – but ferry crossings include fares for people travelling with a vehicle.
The journey by ferry is the alternative to the airplane. Due to the cost reasons and the possibility to use the own car during the vacation, the ferries are used quite often as a mean of travel.

                                                                                                                     source Internet

Sardinia is connected with all the ports of the Italian continent. The destination ports of Sardinia are: Cagliari, Porto Torres, Olbia, Golfo Aranci (Olbia) and Arbatax.

Main connections:
Civitavecchia – > Arbatax, Cagliari or Olbia  (it takes around 7 hours to arrive in Sardinia)
Genoa           ->  Olbia or Porto Torres
Livorno          ->  Olbia or Porto Torres
Piombino       -> Golfo Aranci
La Spezia      ->  Golfo Aranci

Available ferry companies:
1) Tirrenia (www.tirrenia.it)
Genova –> Porto Torres, Olbia, Arbatax
Civitavecchia – >Olbia, Arbatax, Cagliari,
Fiumicino –> Golfo Aranci, Arbatax

There are different types of tickets and its price vary on what option you choose.
Example: Ticket for 2 people and a vehicle + double bedded cabin from Civitavecchia to Cagliari is 187,20€

2)Moby Lines (www.mobylines.com) operates mainly to Olbia:
Genova –> Porto Torres, Olbia
Livorno –> Olbia
Civitavecchia –> Olbia
Piombino -> Olbia

As an example we have chosen crossing Civitavecchia-Olbia, for 2 adults + cabin+ vehicle. The price is 221,56€ + 6 euro reservation fee

3)Sardinia Ferries (www.corsica-ferries.co.uk) operates only to Golfo Aranci
Livorno  –> Golfo Aranci

Our example: 2 adults + vehicle travelling from Livorno to Sardinia – 109,96€

4)Grande Navi Veloci (http://www.gnv.it/en) operates only from Genova:
Genova – Porto Torres
Ticket for 2 adults and a vehicle starts from 300€

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Note:

• It is best to book a ferry in advance, especially in the summer, in order to guarantee a seat, or a cabin if desired, for the over.
• Prices may vary depending on the chosen standard, season etc.
• On official websites of ferry companies you can find many promotions.

If you want to read how to get to Sardinia by airplane click here or go to our previous post: “HOW TO GET TO SARDINIA?“

What is sagra?

What is sagra?
In a nutshell sagra is a local festival, celebration of the bounties of the earth, which is food. Generally those events have their origins in old traditions and are referring to local specialities. They are normally organized in small towns by the locals and this is what it makes so special.

Attending a sagra is a way to get a taste of Italian country life, authentic, enjoyable and  memorable experience!

Sagre in Italy are organized throughout the year, but the biggest number of them take part in the summer as nowadays they are a huge attraction for the tourists. Different town makes a different event what gives you an incredible opportunity to taste and see something new. What is more important, every Italian region is preparing their specialities. That is why this what you can taste in Sardinia you will not find anywhere else.

To give you an example here is what you can attend  in our beautiful island this year:
Sagra del Bovino (festival of beef which we attended last weekend, photos below)
Sagra del Porcettone arrosto (festival of roasted pig)
Sagra delle lumache (festival of snails- yes, you read correct:)
Sagra della Zuppa gallurese (festival of typical sardinian dish)
Sagra della Seadas (festival of typical sardinian sweets usually served with honey)
e t.c

Apart from the food, which is obviously the main attraction, during the sagra you are able to listen the music, watch the local dance groups and do the shopping. In the shopping area you can normally buy traditional sweets like torrone (highly recommended for all nuts and honey lovers), liqueurs (f. ex. mirto), trays, dishes, decorative coverings made from cork, botarga. Sagre last the whole weekend, each day is full of attraction, but the main events take part always in the evening.

As we mentioned above, sagre are organized in small towns and in most cases you will need a car to get there (especially if you are staying in touristic resorts in the Sardinian sea).

We can help you to organize your holidays. If you would like to attend sagra simply contact us. We will be more than happy to advice you where to go, as well as to take you for see the best festival. You have our guarantee for unforgettable memories!

Pizza time!

What comes to your mind when you think about Italy? Probably you are thinking about beautiful landscapes, culture, history and Italian cusine. Everything is correct! Today we will focus on a pizza, which is not a typical Sardinian dish, but worth paying attention while visiting Italy.

Pizza is one of the most popular dish at all times. Nowadays you can find it almost everywhere and in different variations but the best is the original one – pizza napolitana. Modern pizza was invented in Naples, in late 18^th or early 19^th century. A popular legend says that pizza was prepared in 1889 in honor of the visiting Queen Margherita. Out of a few different pizzas she preferred the one reminding Italian flag: with red tomatoes, green basil and white mozzarella. According to the mentioned legend this kind of pizza was named after the Queen with her name.

There are specific ingredients and techniques that must be used while making  a real pizza. All of them are listed and described in the official site of The Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, which is a non-profit official governing association in Italy that maintains the standards and regulations of all Pizzaioli and Establshments serving Vera Napoletana Pizza. If you are interested, please go to their website where everything is explained.
In a nutshell apart from good quality inqredients and practice you need also a special wood oven, which is not an easy thing to obtain…

That is why we decided to organize a PIZZA MAKING CLASS to learn the secrets of making a true Neapolitan Pizza (Vera Napoletana).
If you would like to diversify your holidays and make a real pizza on your own while staying in Sardinia contact us. We can make it!

Few photos from our last class you can see below:

Caprera – a piece of heaven

Last week we were able to visit one of the most stunning islands of Sardinia – Caprera.
It’s a small island located in the Maddalena archipelago, on the north-eastern end of Sardinia.

Caprera is known from its rich and natural beauty and beautiful landscapes. It is also declared as a natural reserve and it can be reached from the sea by boat or from La Maddalena island by the car.
Since Caprera remains largely uninhabited you can find a lot of tranquillity here. The calm, peaceful atmosphere along with the natural scenic beauty attracts visitors towards this island.
There are plenty of places to explore on this island including small inlets and beautiful beaches with pure and crystal water like Cala Coticco, Cala Andreani, Cala Portese etc.

Cala Portese

Cala Portese

Caprera is known not only from it’s breathtaking beauty but also as the place to which retired Italian patriot and fighter, the unforgettable hero of the Risorgimento Giuseppe Garibaldi. He spent on the island last days and ordered that his ashes be buried in there. Nowadays Garibaldi’s house is a museum and is open for visitors who would like to find out more about his life.

We organized a boat trip departing from Cannigione. It took us just a few minutes to arrive to Cala Portese, where we stopped and enjoyed the surroundings.

In our opinion Caprera is definitelly a must-see!

*All the photos that u found in this post were taken during that day.

Sardinia – an essential step for all sea lovers!

Sardinians are proud of their island, and so they should be! Sardinian sea is one of the most popular destinations for tourists from all over the world! The crystal clear sea water, which is one of the least polluted in the Mediterranean sea, with it’s unique colours gives everyone unforgettable vacation…

Tavolara

A few photos from our last trip to Tavolara…
Definitelly worth visiting during holidays in Sardinia!

Welcome!

We are organizing one day tours in the north of Sardinia (from Alghero to Costa Smeralda).
If you are looking for a true sardinian experience, but you are tired of organizing everything by yourself, email us… and let’s meet in Sardinia!