10 of the best beaches in Sardinia

There’s no doubt about it, Sardinia is the beach belle of the Mediterranean. Its 1849km (1149-mile) coastline rivals the Seychelles with its dramatic granite crags, the Amalfi Coast with its awesome arc of cliffs in the Golfo di Orosei, and the Caribbean with its translucent turquoise and emerald green waters.

The island's beaches are among Europe’s cleanest thanks to acres of healthy seagrass meadows that naturally filter the water and support a rich marine ecosystem, where divers immerse themselves to explore the coral-clad sea caves of Capo Caccia.

While some celebrity hot spots – here’s looking at you Consorzio Costa Smeralda – hog the headlines with summer crowds, caps and charges; don’t be disheartened. If you travel a little further you’ll find the next beach is just as fabulous. What’s more, this isn’t just a place for lounging in lidos: pick a different corner of the island and you’ll find yourself in the company of surfers, sailors, rock climbers, hikers and horse riders who are some of the lucky few in on the secret.

Where to base yourself

Sardinia may be an island, but it sure is a big one. Even with your own wheels you may be surprised how long it can take to get from A to B, so careful route planning helps.

The capital, Cagliari strikes a perfect balance with its blend of culture and coast. Swinging southwest brings you to the Costa del Sud, the dune-dotted Costa Verde, and verdant countryside with must-see nuraghi (Bronze Age fortified settlements).

The northwest seduces with Spanish soul in Alghero, as well as shimmering white beaches and grottoes. Hop over to the island’s northeast for celebrity glamour on the gorgeous, cove-speckled Costa Smeralda and to tour Gallura’s granite heartland. In the mountainous east, the cliffs, peaks and the bluest of seas will have you itching to climb, hike, cycle and kayak.

1. Arcipelago di La Maddalena

Best for sailing

This archipelago of granite islands and islets that float in a protected marine park in the Straits of Bonifacio between Sardinia and Corsica is littered with stunning beaches. The celebrities are the pink beach of Isola Budelli, the fragrant, macchia-fringed beaches of Isola Spargi, family-friendly Cala Spalmatore – actually three beaches – wrapped around a natural creek on La Maddalena island, and exquisite Cala Coticcio wedged in a rocky inlet on Caprera Island and lapped by topaz water.

Planning tip: This is one of the best places to sail on Sardinia thanks to the optimal 8–20 knot mistral wind. Hire sailing boats from Sailover or take a tour with friendly skipper Daniele at Emerald Cruises.

2. Spiaggia di Maria Pia

Best for families and accessibility

Catalan-flavored Alghero in Sardinia’s northwest corner is a cultural hub with stunning beaches stretching north of the medieval fortified city to the awesome Capo Caccia headland. The best of them is 1.2km (0.75-mile) Spiaggia di Maria Pia, a dazzling white beach backed by dunes and umbrella pines that hum with cicadas in the summer heat. The beach shelves off gently into transparent turquoise water and there are a couple of snack shacks, making it great for families. It’s also wheelchair accessible.

Planning tip: Either side of the beach are two well-equipped campsites: Camping La Mariposa, which has tents and bungalows, and Camping Village Laguna Blu.

3. Golfo di Orosei

Best for beautiful coves

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For sheer stop-dead-in-your-tracks beauty, there are few places to match the Gulf of Orosei, forming the seaward side of a national park. Here the island’s highest mountains plunge abruptly into a sapphire sea forming a crescent of cliffs punctuated by idyllic horseshoe-shaped coves. These can only be accessed on foot or by boat from the Marina di Orosei (itself a fabulous beach), Cala Gonone or Santa Maria Navarrese.

A typical boat tour will take you to the stunning coves of Cala Mariolu, recently voted Europe’s most beautiful beach, protected Cala Goloritzé, Cala Briola and Cala Luna, where you can swim in the clearest blue-green sea you’ve ever seen.

Detour: Just north of Orosei is the Oasi di Biderosa, an idyllic coastal nature reserve cloaked in Aleppo pines and harboring a creek where you can kayak, and five pristine beaches. In summer, visitor numbers are capped so the beaches are never crowded.

4. Spiaggia di Teuredda

Best beach for a scenic drive

One of Sardinia’s most good-looking beaches, Teurredda is located on the southwestern headland of Capo Spartivento. It has incredibly vivid emerald green water and is almost entirely sheltered from the blustery mistral wind. In July and August, numbers are capped, so you’ll need to book a spot via the WhatsApp numbers on the website.

You can also book loungers, have a nice lunch at the beach club restaurant Poseidon and hire inflatable boats on the beach to go exploring along the coast and around tiny Isola di Teurredda, which lies just 150m (492ft) offshore. If you can’t get a spot on Teurredda, head to lovely Spiaggia Su Giudeu instead.

Planning tip: To reach Teurredda, drive the SP71 panoramic road from Chia to Teulada, one of Sardinia’s two most beautiful drives that swoops around rocky headlands swathed in greenery offering ever more breathtaking views.

5. Isola di San Pietro

Best island for water sports

Lûcaise, Geniò, Guidi, Girin, La Caletta, Conca, Lunga, Fico – all the beaches on the bijou island of San Pietro are beautiful. Stay in the pastel-hued capital Carloforte and spend each day on a different beach in between hikes along the wild western cliffs where rose-colored trachyte rock sculptures and narrow fjords make for fabulous photo ops. On Cala Geniò, La Bobba and La Caletta, SUP Adventures hires out paddleboards so you can glide across the aquamarine waters. Given the rocky profile of the coast, this is also a good place to dive with Isla Diving.

Planning tip: San Pietro is one of only two remaining places in the Mediterranean where tuna are still caught in a traditional tonnara (a 3km-/1.7-mile-long net). In June, the island celebrates with the Girotonno festival.

6. Is Aruttas beach

Best for surfing and sparkle

The Sinis Peninsula is Sardinia’s wildest corner, a flat, watery landscape where salty lagoons are stalked by pink flamingos and country fields are fringed with hedges of prickly pear. Along its shoreline is a string of superb beaches that glitter in the sunshine given their sand is formed by tiny rice-sized grains of white and pink quartz. For years, it was carted off to aquariums around the world and to enhance the fancy beaches of the Consorzio Costa Smeralda although that has long since been forbidden. Now you can enjoy it in-situ at famous Is Aruttas or the even longer Mari Ermi.

Local tip: This is the windy side of the island and just up the coast is Putzu Idu, Sardinia’s surfing center where you can sign up for courses or rent gear.

7. Spiaggia del Principe

Best beach for luxury amenities

The Aga Khan’s own beach at the heart of his VIP resort, the Consorzio Costa Smeralda. This gilded enclave of starry hotels and restaurants is perched on a dramatic section of coast where wind-whipped granite boulders tumble down fjord-like inlets into that famous emerald sea. The so-called "Prince’s Beach" is a gorgeous crescent of white sand set snugly into some low cliffs and is a beauty. But so are the Grande and Piccolo Pevero beaches where celebrities lounge around a twinset of bays, or the Romazzino where the Belmond has its plush hotel. The longest is Liscia Ruia, which is dotted with bougie beach clubs.

Planning tip: Bear in mind this corner of the island is saturated with Italian holidaymakers in July and August, and you’ll pay at least three times more here than anywhere else.

8. Spiaggia della Pelosa

Best beach for beauty

Spiaggia della Pelosa, or simply La Pelosa, is one of the world’s most beautiful beaches, a ravishing sweep of ice-white sand and shallow sea that fades from aquamarine to topaz and deep sapphire. To one side a ruined Catalan-Aragonese watchtower stands picturesquely while out at sea you can spy Isola dell’Asinara, a protected island park that was once a prison island, Italy's answer to Alcatraz. Between June and August – months best avoided – millions of people travel miles to marvel at it, swelling numbers impossibly so that now there is a strict cap in order to protect the beach. Book your spot via the website.

Detour: Skip the crowds altogether by taking a boat trip to Isola dell'Asinara where you can hire a bike and find dozens of peaceful small beaches.

9. Cala Brandinchi

Best beach for families with young kids

A slice of Tahiti in the Med, the curved bay of Brandinchi really does live up to the hype. It’s thin arc of soft sand is lapped by shallow, crystalline waters and surrounded by pine woods and dunes dusted with lilies. The huge inselberg of Tavolara Island rises dramatically in the foreground and you can rent beach toys, windsurfers, pedal boats and loungers at beach shacks dotted along the beach. A few hundred meters to the south, just the other side of a wooded spit of land, is the equally lovely Lu Impostu Beach. Both are perfect for families with small kids.

10. Spiaggia di Porto Pino

Best beach for windsurfers

This is a fabulous, 4km-long (2.5-mile) stretch of silky sand that rises in soft dunes that collapse into a pine wood interspersed with salt ponds. The quietest section of beach is known as Le Dune where the dunes reach nearly 25m-high (82ft) and the beach is 300m-deep (984ft). Herons and flamingos spend their summers here in the Stagno del Corvo and Stagno de Foxi, while on the beach holidaymakers paddle in crystal clear water and kitesurfers ride the wind-whipped waves just beyond the bay.

Planning tip: Sky High Watersport Centre in Porto Botte is run by World Champion windsurfer Marta Hlavaty-Orlowska and her husband, wakeboarder and kitesurfer, Orzel Orlowski. They run courses and rent gear.