Costa Smeralda is a coastal area in the north east of Sardinia, between Palau and Olbia. It is home to some of the worlds most beautiful beaches - great for sun worshippers.
Getting there
Fly to Olbia airport (cheap flights from the UK by EasyJet or Ryanair) or take the ferry from Genoa or Livorno in Italy.
Traveling around
In order to have access to the best of the beaches you will probably need to hire a car (mopeds are not so good on the bumpy tracks down to the beaches). Driving on the coastal roads gives great views over the yacht lined Costa Smeralda coastline.
See
You can get up close to the super yachts when they come in to Porto Cervo in the evening.
For snorkeling take a trip around the archipelago Della Maddalena from Porto Palau.
Things to do
The best of the beaches are Liscia Ruia, Cappriccioli and Romazzino.
Eat
Most restaurants on the Costa Smerelda are overpriced. For authentic Sardinian cuisine try the campsite restaurants where all the locals go.
Sleep
It can be quite difficult finding accommodation in the Costa Smeralda as the area is mainly serviced by Italian tour operators but some local operators provide detailed accomodation information online. If you don't have your own private yacht to stay on and can't afford the £300 per night prices of the exclusive hotels then you might want to hire a villa through a website. Alternatively you can hire bungalows at a number of the campsites on the coast, the best of which are Isola dei Gabbiani, situated on promontory in the sea to the west of Palau. It has a particularly good restaurant and is the place to go for windsurfing. Alternatively try Villagio Camping Cugnana, situated on the road to which has great facilities and a massive swimming pool.
Budget
there are many possibility to rent a flat, normaly for no less than 2 weeks, 1 to 15 and 16 to end of the month, not necessary from real estate agents, see for example advise on www.subito.it key words in italian rent=affitto flat=casa sea=mare or you can visit www.luigischirru.com or other
Mid Class
Hotel Mirage, Loc. Capo testa ( S. Teresa Gallura) - 07100 Tel:+39 0789.754207, Fax:+39 0789.755518. . Hotel Mirage is located in the most beautiful part of Sardinia, at Santa Teresa di Gallura, among a crystal-clear sea, the whitest beaches and marvelous seabed. You could check prices and availability directly on the hotel official web site.
Splurge
Costa Smeralda Porto Cervo (SS) - 07020 highest luxury class available in the region. These are the Starwood Luxury collection hotel properties where the celebrities and VIPs stay: Cala Di Volpe, Hotel Romazzino, Hotel Pitrizza, and Cervo Hotel all which surround Pervero Golf course and offer gourmet dining, swimming, health / fitness club, concierge, and live music. This is the ultimate in accommodations and style.
Beauty Medical Institute Via Monti Tundi, Porto Cervo (SS) - 07020 Ph:+39 0789 970038, Fax:+39 0789 970038 offer the possibility spend a lot of time in Sardinia, with some kinds of health treatments in medical, dermatological and estetical field.
Colonna Park Hotel, This four star hotel is located in the heart of the Costa Smeralda, which is not only a place where the jet set meet, but something more and better.
Buy
You can pick up fantastic bargains from the beach traders who sell jewellery, clothes, CDs etc. But if you want to be as stylish as the rich tourists of Costa Smeralda you may go to Porto Cervo or Porto Rotondo for expensive clothing.
Safety
You will find Costa Smeralda to be a very safe and friendly place for your vacation, just remember to follow some easy rules.
When you’re going to the beach, you need to bring sun block and possibly to find out what the UV rating is for that day. UV rays are calculated on a 1-15 scale. Higher numbers mean more intense rays and the sun in Sardinia is going to shine every single day.
Keep plenty of water on hand. It's very easy to become dehydrated when you're in the sun all day.
To avoid loss, it's always wise to leave any important documents (like your passport), your credit cards, and most of your money at your hotel.
Contact & location
Be the first one to add a review
The photos displayed on this page are the property of one of the following authors:
Costa Smeralda is a coastal area in the north east of Sardinia, between Palau and Olbia. It is home to some of the worlds most beautiful beaches - great for sun worshippers.
Getting there
Fly to Olbia airport (cheap flights from the UK by EasyJet or Ryanair) or take the ferry from Genoa or Livorno in Italy.
Traveling around
In order to have access to the best of the beaches you will probably need to hire a car (mopeds are not so good on the bumpy tracks down to the beaches). Driving on the coastal roads gives great views over the yacht lined Costa Smeralda coastline.
See
You can get up close to the super yachts when they come in to Porto Cervo in the evening. For snorkeling take a trip around the archipelago Della Maddalena from Porto Palau.
Things to do
The best of the beaches are Liscia Ruia, Cappriccioli and Romazzino.
Eat
Most restaurants on the Costa Smerelda are overpriced. For authentic Sardinian cuisine try the campsite restaurants where all the locals go.
Sleep
It can be quite difficult finding accommodation in the Costa Smeralda as the area is mainly serviced by Italian tour operators but some local operators provide detailed accomodation information online. If you don't have your own private yacht to stay on and can't afford the £300 per night prices of the exclusive hotels then you might want to hire a villa through a website. Alternatively you can hire bungalows at a number of the campsites on the coast, the best of which are Isola dei Gabbiani, situated on promontory in the sea to the west of Palau. It has a particularly good restaurant and is the place to go for windsurfing. Alternatively try Villagio Camping Cugnana, situated on the road to which has great facilities and a massive swimming pool.
Budget
there are many possibility to rent a flat, normaly for no less than 2 weeks, 1 to 15 and 16 to end of the month, not necessary from real estate agents, see for example advise on www.subito.it key words in italian rent=affitto flat=casa sea=mare or you can visit www.luigischirru.com or other
Mid Class
Splurge
Costa Smeralda Porto Cervo (SS) - 07020 highest luxury class available in the region. These are the Starwood Luxury collection hotel properties where the celebrities and VIPs stay: Cala Di Volpe, Hotel Romazzino, Hotel Pitrizza, and Cervo Hotel all which surround Pervero Golf course and offer gourmet dining, swimming, health / fitness club, concierge, and live music. This is the ultimate in accommodations and style.
Beauty Medical Institute Via Monti Tundi, Porto Cervo (SS) - 07020 Ph:+39 0789 970038, Fax:+39 0789 970038 offer the possibility spend a lot of time in Sardinia, with some kinds of health treatments in medical, dermatological and estetical field.
Colonna Park Hotel, This four star hotel is located in the heart of the Costa Smeralda, which is not only a place where the jet set meet, but something more and better.
Buy
You can pick up fantastic bargains from the beach traders who sell jewellery, clothes, CDs etc. But if you want to be as stylish as the rich tourists of Costa Smeralda you may go to Porto Cervo or Porto Rotondo for expensive clothing.
Safety
You will find Costa Smeralda to be a very safe and friendly place for your vacation, just remember to follow some easy rules.
When you’re going to the beach, you need to bring sun block and possibly to find out what the UV rating is for that day. UV rays are calculated on a 1-15 scale. Higher numbers mean more intense rays and the sun in Sardinia is going to shine every single day.
Keep plenty of water on hand. It's very easy to become dehydrated when you're in the sun all day.
To avoid loss, it's always wise to leave any important documents (like your passport), your credit cards, and most of your money at your hotel.
Contact & location
Be the first one to add a review
The photos displayed on this page are the property of one of the following authors:
perledivetro, hansziel99, Cristian Santinon, Marco Pancini, Simone
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David, Ricardo, Oana Chirila, Romolo, Colin Jensen and Simone Bravo, Tatatabot, Tbrady, Morph and Bcnstony
This travel guide also includes text from Wikipedia articles, all available at
View full credits