Where to stay in Sardinia

Planning where to stay in Sardinia can be quite an adventure, as the island offers an impressive variety of options to suit any type of traveler. From luxury resorts on the emerald coast to small villages for those who are looking for a vacation of disconnection and tranquility, passing through places with beaches that look like something out of the Caribbean, each choice offers a unique experience.

In this article, we will guide you through the different areas of the island, highlighting what you can expect from each one in terms of accommodation, points of interest nearby and price. If you still have it clear and you need more information to know which is the best place to sleep in Sardinia, read on!

🌴 Sardinia in 7 days
If you are going to Sardinia do not miss our complete travel guide. Here we tell you what to see in Sardinia in 7 days and what you can't miss on the island.

Best places to sleep in Sardinia

Although it may not seem like it, Sardinia is quite a large island so it is of vital importance to select an accommodation that allows you to minimize travel by car or motorcycle.

Below you will find a map of the best areas to stay in during your stay on the island. All of them are places that we have visited and that gave us very good feelings to spend at least a week there. To choose an accommodation you just have to click on the site that most appeals to you and click on the link that takes you to our selection of accommodations in the area.

• I want total disconnection: Isola Rossa, Castelsardo o Santa Teresa di Gallura
  
• I prefer nightlife: Cagliari o Olbia
  
• Better a little bit of everything: Alguero
  
• I want paradisiacal beaches: Porto Torres y Orosei
  
• I prefer active tourism: Nuoro
  
• I want to know the wild Sardinia: Oristan o Sant'Antioco
  
• I prefer total luxury: Porto Cervo
  

If you are interested in a specific area, read on below!

🌍 Map of the best places to stay in Sardinia

North Zone to be close to the best beaches

If you are looking for some of the best beaches the island without a doubt it is a good choice to stay at the northern zone. This way the car journeys will be shorter and you will be able to make the most of your time to enjoy the white sand and turquoise waters that most of the coves have.

1 Alguero is a medium-sized city with nightlife, ideal if you want to make excursions in the north of the island and at night take the opportunity to try typical restaurants of Sardinian gastronomy. It is one of our favorite places where we would stay if we returned on vacation to Sardinia.

• Hotels in Alguero

2 Porto Torres is another fairly large city that also offers a good range of leisure activities. It is an ideal place to stay if you arrive by ferry to the island as you will be very close to the port and you will not have to drive too much when arriving or leaving the island. A positive point to sleep in Porto Torres is that you will be next to the Pelosa One of the most famous beaches in Sardinia, where you usually have to arrive very early if you want to get a spot on the sand. If you stay in this city the early start to get parking in the Pelosa will be a little more bearable.

• Hotels in Porto Torres

3 Castelsardo is a quiet little village in the classic Sardinia located on top of a mountain overlooking the sea. It has a castle and a fortress that give it its name. It is a good choice if you want to be close to the best beaches in the north and spend a few days of disconnection.

• Hotels in Castelsardo

4 Isola Rossa offers a little more atmosphere than Castelsardo although it is also a rather quiet area. It is located in the middle of the northern part of the island which makes it ideal to get anywhere in a reasonable time. We stayed here and our experience was very good. In fact we ate one of the best pizzas we have ever tasted in a traditional Sardinian restaurant: "Lo Spizzico". Also, in this town you can find some of the cheapest accommodations in northern Sardinia.

• Hotels in Isola Rossa

5 Santa Teresa di Gallura. Following the staircase of small towns with atmosphere appears Santa Teresa di Gallura. It is somewhat larger than the rest and in summer they usually put street markets. There is enough offer of restaurants and bars of cocktails but it continues maintaining a quite familiar tourism.

• Hotels in Santa Teresa

6 Porto Cervo is the Marbella Sarda. It is an area where luxury, expensive cars, yachts and mansions abound. It is certainly not for all budgets but if you can afford it, it will offer you an unforgettable experience. If you are looking for a luxury vacation, this is definitely the place for you.

• Hotels in Porto Cervo

7 Olbia is a town close to the east coast that can be a very good option to stay if you want to visit the emerald coast and the northern area as it is halfway between the two. It has a lot of bars and restaurants where you can taste the typical Sardinian food and offers everything you might need.

• Hotels in Olbia

South zone if you want to find the cheapest accommodations

If instead you are looking to travel to one of the most beautiful islands in the Mediterranean to the best price the southern area of Sardinia is your ally. In these places we can find good accommodations at a somewhat reduced price because there is enough supply of accommodation. Although as you can imagine, in summer the whole island is full of tourists who come to enjoy the sun and its spectacular beaches.

1 Sant'Antioco is located on a peninsula of Sardinia. It has a different offer of beaches to the typical ones of the zone since some are of pebbles but as advantage, it is usually less crowded and it is an ideal zone for the lovers of the snorkeling or the diving. It also has the famous Maladroxa beach, of gray sand, to which thermal waters flow.

• Hotels in Sant'Antioco

2 Cagliari is the capital of the island, therefore the largest city and the one with the largest offer of leisure and accommodation. If you fly to Sardinia it can be an ideal destination to stay since you will not have to drive a lot either when you arrive or when you leave the area. The nearby beaches are not the best but it does not matter if you plan to rent a car as you can easily reach any nearby cove.

• Hotels in Cagliari

West Coast - Where to stay in the Emerald Coast

If you are thinking of staying in Emerald Coast is because you love the Caribbean beaches that Sardinia has to offer. If you want to go to Gonone cove, Moon Cove o Goloritze Cove this is the best area to stay. It also has a wide range of active tourism to make hiking trails, biking, kayaking or even tours of the area snorkel o diving.

1 Orosei is a village close to some of the best coves of Sardinia that has become one of the best options to stay and visit the famous Emerald Coast. It is a charming area that transports you to the Caribbean beaches. If you feel like trying some activity, we loved to do it. snorkeling in turquoise waters of Cala Gonone. It is an area where the accommodation is somewhat more expensive but it is certainly worth it as it saves you long trips by car to the beaches of the east coast. In case you did not know it is advisable to arrive early to these coves because you have to walk a few kilometers from when you park until you get to the sand. I assure you that you will not want to do it with the midday sun.

• Hotels in Orosei

East Coast - To watch the best sunsets

We arrived in one of the less known areas of Sardinia. We could say that the east coast is the less frequented by tourists and one of the least crowded parts of the island. This area, although it does not have famous beaches, has a special charm.

1 Oristano offers a different kind of tourism than what we are used to when we think of Sardinia. It is an area with cheaper accommodations than usual that has become famous for its festivals at carnival time (Sa Sartiglia) and its white quartz sand beach Is Arutas. From our point of view it is a good choice if you want to stay in a quieter area but well connected to the north and south of the island to be able to tour the whole island.

• Hotels in Oristano

Zona Centro - If you are an active tourism fan

Finally, if you are one of those who break all the canons and you want to go to Sardinia but do not want to spend the whole day on the beach, we suggest you to visit Nuoro. After all, we don't usually go more than a day to the beach of the place where we stay so it doesn't matter too much if you are sleeping in the interior of the island.

1 Nuoro is the option you are looking for to enjoy the nature of Sardinia. From here you can easily reach the best beaches of the island and also take advantage of the fact that you are in the interior to make some hiking trails that allow you to connect with the wildest part of the area.

• Hotels in Nuoro

Where to stay in Sardinia North or South?

The most correct answer depends on a number of factors and your preferences but we will try to clarify them below:

• Depends on as you travel to Sardinia:
  • If you travel to the island by ferry, sleeping in the northern part of Sardinia is a very good option because you will enter through Porto Torres and you will be very close to any of the options mentioned above.
  • If you arrive by plane and you don't want to take a long drive when you land, it is a good idea to stay in Cagliari or Sant'Antioco and enjoy the beauty of the area.
  • Obviously you can then move around the island by car, but since it is not exactly small, keep in mind that you will probably spend more time near the place where you are staying.
• It depends on whether you feel like going to the most famous beaches or do you prefer most intimate areas:
  • If for example you are eager to go to La Pelosa, the green beach Li Cosi or the turquoise water of Isola Rossa (if you do not know what we are talking about go to the complete guide that we have left above) we recommend you to stay overnight in the northern area because going back and forth every day from the south is not feasible.
  • If you prefer to go to less crowded beaches, explore the less known part of the island, enjoy the nature of Sardinia and the atmosphere of the capital, the south is your ally.

Where to stay in Sardinia with children?

If you are going to travel with children to the island, we recommend you to choose one of the quieter places we have mentioned in the northern part of the island. For example Castelsardo, Santa Teresa di Gallura o Isola Rossa would be ideal options to be close to the most beautiful beaches, you minimize car trips and you can also enjoy pleasant evening strolls with a good offer of restaurants and typical bars.

Another good option would be to stay in Orosei and focus on getting to know the East Coast. That is to say, to visit Luna creek, Gonone cove y Goloritze cove and then, if you feel up to it, take the car and get to know more of the northern part of the island.

Staying with children in the south of the island There is nothing wrong with that, but keep in mind that if you want to see the most famous beaches you are going to have to take a long way to get there more than two hours by car on difficult roads, so it may not be the best option.

Is it better to sleep in one place or in several?

We stayed for seven days in one place, Isola Rossa And if we had to repeat we would divide the time between two cities because if you want to see the whole island the car trips are quite hard. Especially on the way back with the fatigue of the whole day and the roads that are not in the best condition.

For example, a good option would be:

• If you reach the north stay 3 or 4 days in this area and another 3 or 4 days in the Gulf of Orosei.
• If you arrive in the area south the idea would be to spend 3 days in Cagliari and another 4 in Orosei or the area north.

If you want to read other articles ideal for your trip that complement Where to stay in Sardinia you can visit our posts about Sardinia.