After a few exotic destinations, why not going back to the origins and enjoy some good, old Italian charm?

We took off on a fresh Sunday afternoon from Geneva airport, destination: Cagliari! We had no idea what to expect there, but we ended up loving every second of our quiet, 9-days stay in this region.

We chose an airbnb at Pinus Village as our accommodation for 8 days. Lovely location, not many mosquitoes, very family-friendly. The village has a small beach, mostly used by the families of the residencies around, and a few smaller (hardly accessible) coves. All with jaw dropping-transparent water. There is also a nice restaurant with a great view on the beach, L’Encanto del Mar. We had a pizza there and a dish of clam-spaghetti, both of which did not disappoint. The atmosphere is quite convivial and loud, but the view was absolutely stunning.

Beaches we visited, with my very personal rating (out of 5):
Santa Margherita di Pula *** – very long sandy beach, few people. The sea was rough on that day, so no comment on the water. Easy to reach and to park along the street.
One of the coves facing Tuerredda beach ** – small beach with some sand and some large rocks. Water sandals are helpful for peace of mind. Accessible with a 5-minutes walk down from the parking (very small).
Malfatano beach ****  – small sandy beach, very few people, looked like a natural reserve. There is a very big parking in close proximity, although the road to reach it is very spartan. Cold-ish but quiet waters.
Cala Cipolla & Su Giudeu **** – 3-eur parking available. We started from Cala Cipolla (3 minutes walk from the parking), but we found it small and full of people. We the hiked up and then down towards Su Giudeu. The hike is about 30-minutes long, the road is not very well paved and a bit unsafe (especially on the side of Su Giudeu), but the view from the top was impressive. We eventually had to jump from the rocks into the sea – in full Indiana Jones style B-) Su Giudeu was a big, sandy beach, quite crowded but there was enough space for everyone. Pristine waters (cold-ish).
Porto Pino**** – my absolute favorite. Veeeery long white, sandy beach with maritime pines for those that don’t have any sunshade. Big parking (4-eur) available close to the beach, beautiful sand dunes, and the water was super transparent and even WARM! Amazing. Plus, ice cream places all around.
Sant’Antioco, Coaquaddus *** – Windy day and cold-ish water. Perfect when the Mistral wind blows. The coldest water of the holiday. 2-eur parking available + a small no-fee parking also present very close to the beach. Sandy beach with the typical gray-black color.
Chia beach *** – Nice, sandy beach next to a flamingo reserve (awesome to see them fly!). Parking available along the road.
Pinus Village*** – Parking available along some of the roads that lead to the beach (watch out for no-stop areas!), main beach was crowded, samller coves are less (but they are harder to reach). Cold-ish water but amazing landscapes.
Villasimius, Porto Giunco *** – Expensive (5eur) but big parking in close proximity to the beach. Very crowded. Nice water, but nothing that really justifies the prices of the area.

Other highlights of the trip:

• a dinner at Trattoria da Gianni, a very cozy and elegant restaurant next to Teulada port. Thee food was really fresh and all excellent. A bit pricey and portions are on the small side. The staff was polite but not crazy friendly. No view, but restaurant is decorated with taste.
• a dinner in Villasimuis-Ristorante Carbonara. No view and no outside terrace. The fish was fantastic and extremely fresh. The staff was very kind (although very tourist-oriented) and available for clarifications. A bit pricey but in line with other restaurants in Villasimius.
• Cagliari! Such an amazing city with character and positive vibes! Everyone was so friendly and helpful, we couldn’t have hoped for any better welcome. We had lunch at La Cantina in downtown Cagliari (super sandwiches (and more) and great service!)  and dinner at La cozzeria di Sant’Antioco, with their fantastic 0.5- kilo pans of seafood pasta…oh my!

Shamefully, I admit it – I took very few pictures of this holiday, and all of them (argh!) with my smartphone, which obviously does not make the region any justice. Well, that sounds like a very good reason to go back again soon…:-)