SARDINIA NORTH EAST
Famous for its sparkling life between sea and elegant squares, northeast
Sardinia welcomes you with a smile
to its small, dream coves. Leap into the life of the Costa Smeralda, where you will find that the dream is a reality and it’s called Sardinia.
Olbia
The north-eastern gateway to Sardinia, an ancient and flourishing city that is the preferred holiday destination of many, set on a gulf with an infinity of attractions.
The ancient Greeks called it olbìa, ‘happiness’. It is the gateway to the island and the driving force behind the economy of the Gallura area. Vestiges of the past dot the city. Many of the relics archaeologists have brought to light, like the 900 gold coins, are now safeguarded at the Archaeological Museum on the islet of Peddone. The Punic-Roman, and later Christian, necropolis includes 450 tombs and comprises the museo della necropoli, located at the feet of the altar of the beautiful Basilica di San Simplicio. Built between the late XI and early XII centuries, it is this region’s most important church, as well as being the oldest vestige of Christian presence on the island. The patron saint is celebrated in mid-May with the heartfelt Festa di San Simplicio, when the faithful, in costume, take part in a procession. The celebrations include the palio della Stellajoust.
San Teodoro
A sun-kissed Gallurian town of elegant villas and flowers that looks out over the turquoise sea of the north-eastern coast of Sardinia, home to a wide variety of stupendous beaches.
La Cinta, a long, thin stretch of golden sand bathed by a crystalline blue sea, Cala Brandinchi, a white shore with water that resembles a tropical paradise nicknamed, for good reason, Tahiti, Lu Impostu, its natural progression, the magnificent Marina di Puntaldìa, with its modern tourist harbour and the Caribbean-like s’Isuledda beach. These beaches are the symbols of San Teodoro, a celebrated resort town that is a favourite among young people for its night life. The coastline here is home to a variety of beautiful seashore ‘gems’: Cala Ginepro, its air fragrant with the aromas of the native Mediterranean brush, Coda Cavallo beach, which will amaze you with views of the grand Tavolara and its protected marine area
Santa Teresa di Gallura
A picturesque village sits perched on a promontory at the northern end of Sardinia, looking out over the Strait of Bonifacio, a famous and popular tourist destination.
The sea is the undisputed star at Santa Teresa Gallura, a town of about 5,000 inhabitants that in the summer swells to include tens of thousands of tourists who enliven it with aperitifs in chic bars and live music. It looks out over the rocky shore of Bonifacio and was founded in 1808 by King Vittorio Emanuele I of Savoy on the site where the village of Longosardo (or Longone) once stood, then renamed after his wife, Maria Teresa. The town’s edge follows that of two inlets: Porto Longone to the east, where the tourist harbour is, and the bay of Rena Bianca to the west, a stretch of ultra-fine, brilliantly coloured sand located just a short walk from the town’s main square. The crystalline waters here sparkle with a thousand hues, proud recipient of the FEE’s Blue Flag of excellence. Above it rises the historic Longosardo Tower
La Maddalena
The archipelago and park are named for the only inhabited town on the largest island, a paradise with endless natural and historical-cultural attractions in the north-east of Sardinia: once it attracted military commanders, today it captures the desires of tourists from all over the world.
A road runs all around the island's perimeter, 45 kilometres of breath-taking views: granite and porphyry delimit jagged sections, lonely coves, silent coves, white beaches and turquoise sea, with rolling hills inland. La Maddalena is the big sister to about 60 islands and islets that make up the largest archipelago of Gallura and Sardinia, protected by the national parkestablished in 1994, an unspoilt marvel of the Mediterranean. The island is the ideal destination for holidays characterized by natural beauty: three kilometres from the inhabited paths through the Mediterranean scrub will let you discover the fjord of Cala Francese, famous for a precious granite quarry, a source of wealth for centuries. In the south, along the Paduleroad, you reach the Nido d'Aquila, near the military fort. Not far away is another marvel of sand and smooth rocks, Punta Tegge
Emerald Coast
Famous the world over for the emerald blue of its water, for piazzas bustling with life and for quality services, it is the most exclusive resort of northeastern Sardinia.
Luxury hotels and villas, sparkling nightlife, exclusive boutiques, elegant aperitifs and fine dining. The Emerald Coast is Sardinia’s most glamorous vacation resort. Two boulders bearing its name welcome you on arrival, one at the southern end on the road that goes from Olbia to the most famous places, and one at the north, on the road leading to the brilliant blue of Baja Sardinia. The Emerald Coast was born from the consortium founded by the Ishmaelite prince Karim Aga Khan in 1962, and it invites you to enjoy the fine cuisine, great shopping and the suave and luxurious lifestyle that distinguishes the heart of Porto Cervo, between Golfo Pevero, Pantogia and Capriccioli.The Emerald Coast’s fame is due in large part also to some of its invaluable nearby natural attractions, like Cala di Volpe, an exclusive natural port where some scenes for the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me were filmed.