Holidays » Italy » Sardinia Holidays

Located closer to Africa than Italy, Sardinia’s turquoise sea and white sandy beaches rival the tropics. Sant'Antioco & San Pietro, off the coast of Southwestern Sardinia, are charming islands as yet unspoiled by too much tourist development. The seaside resort of Santa Teresa di Gallura offers all the attractions of the coast without the sometimes-soulless glitz of the Costa Smeralda.

Further east, Palau & Arcipelago di la Maddalena are pretty laidback, too: the archipelago itself comprises a national park with loads of island-hopping opportunities. Small enough to be classified as an island but big enough to be a universe unto itself, Sardinia lies about 120 miles west of the Italian peninsula. Its coastline is probably Europe's most spectacular. Its waters teem with fish and shellfish.

Its broad valleys turn into golden oceans of wheat in summer. Its rugged mountains, pocked with caves, are home to large flocks of sheep that feed on pungent wild herbs and produce a cheese your palate will never forget. Nestled into its silent olive groves are some of the continent's oldest archaeological remains, dating back to 1700 BC. Its people speak a language incomprehensible to all other Italians, celebrate more saints' days than anyone else in the nation, and love to dress up in elaborate costumes at the drop of a finely-embroidered hat.

But Sardinia is not for the faint-hearted. In summer, the heat can be blistering. Winter winds are some of the most vicious in the Mediterranean. Hotels and restaurants can be either wildly expensive or seriously rustic.

Public transportation is unreliable and moves at a snail's pace. Even getting to the island can be a challenge, especially in summer when ferries and planes are packed. Sardinia is for adventurers, for those of us who like to feel we've accomplished something when we travel, those who want to push just a little bit farther than the crowd, those who are intrigued, not frightened, by civilizations that initially may seem inexplicable .