Sardinia trip: Off-season relaxing in the Mediterranean

The view from Pula beach

We had a great adventure in Sardinia in October, at the beginning of the off-season. The weather was still warm and sunny, but it was chilly up in the mountains. Here are our favorite things to see and do while in the Southern half of Sardinia, from the beach to the Neolithic villages.

---

Cagliari

We flew to Cagliari and stayed in the old town, in a charming old house. The old town is a fortress on top of a hill. Amazing views. I wish I knew how many stairs we had to climb to reach our rental. It took us two days to come across the elevator.

We took in the sun while walking the narrow cobblestone streets, and stopped for a cocktail overlooking the rooftops and lagoon of Cagliari. Inside the fortress, we visited the Archaeological Museum, which kicked off our education on the Nuragic people. Later, we visited a few Nuragic sites around the island, tying it all up in an amazing immersive experience.

At the bottom of the hill in Cagliari, there are many restaurants and grocery stores. It's a perfect area for evening walks.

It is difficult not to eat bread and pasta all day in Sardinia. Besides the tourist traps, most restaurants serve local, traditional food. This includes pasta, pork, fish, seafood, and lamb.

Be ready with your translator, as many don't speak English in Sardinia. The culture is very different from the American one, with no pleasantries, and no replacing your dish if it's not good.

Restaurants start you off with a basket of bread, no olive oil. If you see 'couvert' on the menu or bill, that's the cover charge. It is the tip for your server. Sometimes you receive complimentary small appetizers or local sweets.

My Sardinian favorites were pizza, gnocchi, and for dessert, the local cookie sampler. Dinner for two with drinks can easily be 60 euros.

The favorite local drink is Aperol Spritz, which is an Italian cocktail, slightly bitter but light and refreshing. For beer pick Ichnusa, it's a good beer brewed near Cagliari. And you need to try the local liquor, Myrto. It's pretty sweet, with an herbal flavor. It goes well on ice cream, too.

Uber recently arrived in Sardinia, which is great. Taxies tend to charge whatever they feel like. We rented a car for our trip around the island. Be careful with renting a car, have everything in writing, and check your bill when you return it.

We enjoyed being on our own time. It's affordable to rent a car unless you want an automatic one, they're pricier. But driving in Sardinia is intense. They drive way over the speed limit, on the highway, or in villages. We almost got rear-ended because the other driver was on their phone.

---

Pula

Our first stop was in Pula. We rented a lovely house with a fireplace and the sweetest cat. The houses around us had signs for cheese, fresh veggies, and other local products, so we cooked for ourselves a bit.

For groceries and supplies, go to the Crai supermarket. They have everything from pastries to cleaning supplies. You can get a nice bottle of wine for 4-5 euros.

We stumbled upon a restaurant with lovely garden seating. One filet of fish was 20 euros, with no sides. The next evening, we returned to our grill and local produce.

The beach was a short walk away, and there were few people around. The seawater may be cool, but definitely not like the summer temperatures. The average Mediterranean Sea temperature in October, in Sardinia, is around 19'C / 66'F.

Make sure you have mosquito repellent with you. It's still warm enough for them to be out in the morning and evening.

---

Villasimius

After a self-sufficient stay in Pula, we booked a nice resort in Villasimius for a treat. We were a few minutes away from the beach, and a 20-minute walk to restaurants and shops. It's a popular place in the summer. The sandy beach and shallow, blue water are a dream.

The Hotel Simius Playa has amazing rooms and nice amenities, perfect for pampering.

We had breakfast at the hotel, then went to the beach. We had a reserved area with beach chairs and umbrellas. Dinner was in town, the walk was nice, and the road was lined by fragrant vegetation. Most restaurants were closed from 3 pm until dinner at 7 pm.

Villasimius is animated and has a nightlife, we did not join it though. Not everything is open off-season, but we didn't lack anything.

---

Oliena

Our next Sardinian experience was another hotel, Su Gologone, in Oliena, province of Nuoro.

This area is in the mountains, beautiful and peaceful. The hotel was nice, sprawled over a large property. As it was off-season, it was empty, but it was a deal for us. There was a lot of seating, from hammocks to suspended pods and bean lounge chairs.

The hotel restaurant attracted guests from all over, it was popular. Not so much with us, and the general service wasn't amazing. It was the only place to eat for miles. The menu was small, with local traditional dishes. We tried ravioli, pork, and other things. The vegetable options were scarce, and the food was served with plenty of olive oil. The spit-roast pig done over the fire, inside the restaurant, was very popular. Not a lot of meat, but tasty. I was amazed to see bowls of vegetables and fruit decorating the restaurant, but not included in the menu.

You can also choose to stay at agroturismos, which are like Bnbs on a farm. You receive meals made by the hosts, with fresh ingredients from their farm. It's charming and peaceful as well.

While we stayed in Oliena, we had gorgeous walks in nature, exploring the winding paths through fields of wildflowers.

Orgosolo is a commune close to Nuoro, in the South. It is famous for its murals, so take a walk on the narrow streets to enjoy them. They vary from political messages to depictions of traditional life.

We visited the archaeological site of the Nuragic Complex of Sa Sedda e Sos Carros. We had a guided tour and it was amazing to see this site that was occupied 3000 years ago.

The Nuragic culture was complex, with a social structure, living in a fortress, around a megalithic edifice. A huge drought led to the collapse of this civilization, but the stone towers remain after thousands of years.

Sardinia has a great strategic position in the Mediterranean. It has been inhabited by humans for at least 20,000 years. Many civilizations traded with the Sardinians, and many tried to take over the island, amongst them were the Phoenicians, the Carthaginians, the Romans, and the Byzantines. Given the island's history, Sardinia has its own identity, distinct from mainland Italy.

We also visited the Nuragic Village of Su Nuraxi, in Barumini. It's the best-preserved tower with the foundations of an ancient village around it. We climbed up a few stairs and had an amazing view of the site.

There are many Nuragic sites to visit, I would've loved to see all of them. It's fascinating to look into a way of life from thousands of years ago.

Overall, our trip was great. No crowds, good weather, and beautiful beaches all to ourselves. Maybe next time we'd just book day trips instead of driving in Sardinia, for a stress-free vacation.