This trip it was Brent’s turn to pick where we explored, so when he figured out May 5th was a national holiday in France (meaning he got the day off work), and he found cheap plane tickets to the island of Sardinia, the decision was made : our big summer vacation this year would be spent exploring the Mediterranean beaches of this Italian island. He literally spent about 25 hours researching where we should stay on the island (I keep telling him he needs to be a travel agent – he’s so good at planning these trips), and after hours and hours learning about the island, he booked an apartment in the town of Cala Gonone on the east side of the island.
We flew into the town of Olbia and picked up our rental car – Brent was excited because not only did they upgrade him to a small SUV, “Big car for big boy” the agent said to him, but they also gave us a brand new, never been driven car. It was about an hour and a half drive to the town where we were staying, where we checked into our apartment rented out to us by a little old Italian couple who didn’t speak English, but did speak French, which was how we ended up communicating. Even though I studied Italian in college it’s been almost TEN years since I’ve used it, and with French filling my brain now, sadly I’ve lost a lot. The apartment was huge and had a beautiful garden patio area with a table where we could sit and look out at a view of the sea and the Sardinian coastline. It was perfect.
DAY ONE : Soaking up the sunshine on the beach of Cala Fuili
Our first full day on the island it was gloriously warm and sunny so we made our way to the beach of Cala Fuili, recommended by the hosts of our apartment, to spend it in the sun. Cala Fuili was located in a little cove down at the base of two cliffs that we had to hike down into. The sand was warm, the views amazing, and the water was so so blue – that dreamy turquoise clear water that all vacation travel ads are made of. The water was still very cold, but it was warm enough outside that we were able to jump in for a few minutes, and then get right back out to warm up again. I think August was the last time I layed on the beach in the sunshine (way too long for this California girl) so the warmth and sunshine felt SO good, I was so happy!
DAY TWO : Exploring the coastline by boat
Brent’s number one goal for this trip was to rent a boat and explore the beaches, coves and turquoise waters of the coastline of the island. We did this on both our trips to Menorca and Croatia last summer, and both days turned out to be beyond epic – so now everytime we make it to the Mediterranean that’s the goal : find a boat. Boat rentals played a big part in Brent’s decision to stay in Cala Gonone because they have a fishing port in the center of town filled with boat rental stands where you can easily get a boat, or large dingy in our case, for a day. After we found the perfect ‘boat’ and got a few exploring tips from the guys who rented to us, we set out to explore the coastline. The whole coast on this side of the island is lined with little beachs, coves, and caves, most only reachable by boat. We spent the day finding beaches to anchor at to lay out and enjoy the sun and that crystal clear water. Our favorite beach was Cala Luna, the most famous beach on the island lined with five large caves.
DAY THREE : Beach day in Cala Gonone
We decided to stay local and spend the day in the town of Cala Gonone. Afterall Brent had done a ton of research figuring out that this was the perfect place to spend the week, so we decided to stay and enjoy it. We spent some time laying out on the pink sand beach right below our apartment. We practically had the whole beach to ourselves, had a great view of the coastline, and were still able to enjoy the crystal clear water. The main road of town runs along the waterfront and is lined with a bunch of cute waterfront restaurants, where we’ve been trying a new one every day. We had a nice lunch on the water and Brent was very excited to discover that they had a pizza on the menu with french fries as one of the toppings. He started ordering pizzas with a side of fries, and then adding the fries to the pizza himself, on a work trip to Hong Kong a few years back – he does it all the time in France, too. His friends were making fun of him and people usually look at him like he is crazy, so he was VERY EXCITED to discover this is a normal item on the menu for the Italians, and we’ve seen several locals order it! Pizza et frites! Pizza et frites! It’s totally a thing in Italy.
DAY FOUR : Drive to the town of Bosa
The fourth day of our trip we sadly woke up to rain. Since we couldn’t have another beach day we decided to take the opportunity to go for a drive and explore the island. Brent, again the researcher, had read online that the town of Bosa was worth checking out, so we set off for the opposite side of the island. It was about a two hour drive to cross the island, and despite the rain the drive was gorgeous! Really lush green hills and valleys sprinkled with sheep, wildflowers, vineyards, and olive trees. It felt really Mediterranean and also reminded us a lot of Hawaii. The colorful town of Bosa lined a hillside along a river, it was picture perfect. We eplored the little cobblestone streets in the rain and had lunch in the main square of town and people watched. It was the perfect adventure for a rainy day.
DAY FIVE : Hike to Cala Luna
Luckily there was no more rain, but still a little overcast, so we decided it was perfect hiking weather and a good day to tackle the trail to Cala Luna. We had seen parts of this trail from the boat a few days earlier, and had seen hikers all over town all week long, so I had been wanting to check it out. The trail started in Cala Fuili, the little cove where we spent our first beach day, and ended in Cala Luna – four very rocky, hilly miles later. About halfway along the trail it splits off and there is a small section along the cliffs that lead into a cave grotto. To get to the grotto we had to walk along a very narrow man-made walkway that the waves came crashing up right underneath against the cliff. It was very loud and a little scary, but we survived. Two hours later we made it to Cala Luna where we stopped for a lunch break and explored a few more caves that we hadn’t seen via boat the day before. It was definitely one of the coolest hikes we’ve ever done!
DAY SIX : Another Day Exploring Cala Gonone
Our last full day on the island we decided to spend a little more time exploring our beach town of Cala Gonone. The walk into town from our apartment took about ten minutes on a little foot path along the edge of the beach. The view coming down the hill from our apartment, looking out over the town, was one of my favorites. We hit up a few shops to get some souvenirs, enjoyed and antipasto platter overlooking the water, and beachcombed (of course) one last time. The sun came out for us but it was extremely windy, so wasn’t the best laying-out conditions. By the end of the week so much Italian had started to come back to me, I kept saying complete sentences in Italian to Brent, I was so proud. We’ll have to come back to Italy again soon so I can keep practicing!
If you ever get the chance to make it to the island of Sardinia, we would definitely recommend it. For warmer water it’s probably better to go in June or July, but with warmer water you also get a lot more people, so you have to pick and choose your battles. The town of Cala Gonone was a perfect location, too. Not too touristy, but just enough going on that you can easily spend a relaxing week with plenty of restaurant options. Italy will always have my heart. I already can’t wait to go back! Ciao ciao ciao ciao!