# Considering a visit to Sardinia - any information?



## Almwing

My husband and I are thinking about spending a month in Sardinia at the end of September/October. Looking at getting a ferry from Genoa to PortoTorres. Any information or tips would be gratefully appreciated.


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## peejay

Hi,

We visited in Sept 07, my write up might be of use but obviously a bit out of date price wise...

http://www.motorhomefacts.com/blog-display-jid-289.html

Pete


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## hmh

*considering a visit to Sardinia*

We visited in May 2009, so there is our write-up too . . .

It is a beautiful place, fabulous beaches, plenty of free parking spots out of season, just that bit further from italy than Sicily, so a more upmarket destination, and the people are nice, gentle, not unlike the Portuguese perhaps.
No architecture worth mentioning, apart from a Venetian port such as Bosa, and the strange archeological towers which litter the landscape.

Scenery as rugged as Corsica in places, but flattens out in West. We loved the coast just South of Olbia so much we only got to see about a third of Sardinia in a month long stay . . . !

We went from Livorno to Olbia, then returned via Piombino, good choice, as there are Etruscan tombs at nearby Populonia, and Massa Maritima is lovely too.

Helen


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## WildThingsKev

We too are planning on heading there in early October so I will be keeping an eye on this thread. I've been wondering about a ferry from France via Corsica as we visited northern Italy last autumn.

I had already found your blog Pete, very good reading thanks. I haven't come across yours though Helen, any links please?

Almwing, is it the draw of the beaches? I see you are into a bit of surfing and paddleboarding. We will have the kayaks and a waveski with us. Also might have some friends from Aggie travelling in their van who are both surfers.

Kev


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## chrisgog

Have you a copy of Practical Motorhome March 2011. 3 page article which I have just scanned ABOUT Sardinia IN sEPT. 
PM me with your email address and I can send copy if you like.
I have been scanning lots of articles of my old mags. ready for our tour soon.
Chris


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## Almwing

Thank you, that would be very helpful. I am new to this club and still finding my way around the site. Don't know if you can see my email address but its [email protected]


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## Pusser

Almwing said:


> Thank you, that would be very helpful. I am new to this club and still finding my way around the site. Don't know if you can see my email address but its a*******@*****.com


You should really not stick your email in public. Not good. Perhaps a mod type person could remove it. I am sure someone will pm you and tell you althernative ways of messaging on forums.


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## AlbertoB

*Sardinia in September*

We (myself and my wife) went to sardinia last September. 
The Genova to Porto Torres route is operated by Tirrenia, GNV and Moby if I remember correctly. Generally it is an overnight sail.  Some offer the "Camping on Board" option: you park on a partly open deck and you can sleep in your own vehicle. We found it a good solution, more comfortable than a cabin, and cheaper too! 
The alternative is to drive down to Livorno (Tuscany) and take the ferry to Olbia. This is a shorter trip, 4-5 hours. If you factor in the fuel and Autostrada, the two options are roughly equivalent costwise.

I like Sardinia in September: most of the tourists choose July and August, so travelling is more relaxed; at the same time everything is still open and the temperature is warm but not unbearably hot.

If you have specific questions I will be happy to share my experience
Alberto


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## Almwing

*Sardinia Blog*

Hi Alberto, I did take Peejay's advice and researched using the Moby ferry from Genoa to Porto Torres but the maximum length they will take is 7m and we are 8.2m + scooter rack. I think that we have now decided to drive further down to Livorno and get the ferry across to Olbia as you suggested as we would like to take another visit to Cinque Terre as we have some friends travelling with us that have not seen it.
Did you stay on camp sites or did you do any wild camping or use any of the camperstop areas?
We would be pleased to hear about any particularly good places not to miss.

Angela


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## AlbertoB

*Sardinias in September*

Hi Angela,
I had a look at Peejay's description: excellent information and still up to date. 
We had a round trip counterclockwise around the Sardinian coast with the occasional trip inland. 
On the west side I can recommend the Torre Argentina sosta: if you can do without the electrical hookup I suggest to go on the south side, close to some stunning rocks. If the weather cooperates, which is definitely a possibility, you can enjoy a wonderful sunset. 
On the east side south of Olbia I liked the sand dunes of Capo Comino and, some 5 km south of it, the Berchida parking (overnight allowed) with adjacent endless sand beach. The only problem here is a narrow although short unpaved access road.
When you get tired of sandy beaches, or simply want a colder night, the coastal route between Dorgali and Baunei (east side) reaches an altitude of some 1000 m (3000 ft), with excellent views over the sea and the mountains. We stopped for the night at an "area di sosta" near the top. No sunset here since you are facing east but rather a sunrise, although my wife declined to wake up for the event.
If you like walking this is also a starting point for the Gorropu gorge and the prehistoric village of Tiscali.
The north east of the island is also very interesting, I can suggest Palau for its unusual rocks and the Maddalena island.

We did not use any camping, but rather a mix of wild camping and "area di sosta". In september wild camping is definitely a viable option, widely used by the few motorhomes around.

We have no experience with the Camperstop yet. We have been pleased with France Passion in the past and look forward to try Britstop for our next trip to the UK which, unfortunately, is still at the planning stage. I hope you enjoy the Cinque Terre, one of my favourite spots, especially Vernazza

Alberto


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## Don_Madge

Almwing said:


> My husband and I are thinking about spending a month in Sardinia at the end of September/October. Looking at getting a ferry from Genoa to PortoTorres. Any information or tips would be gratefully appreciated.


You will find some very useful inf HERE a bit dated but some very useful info on places to visit.

We visited the island in 2004 and can highly recommend it.

Safe travelling.

Don


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## Almwing

*Sardinia Blog*

Thank you Alberto, I have printed off your recommendations and put it in my file along with Peejays for our trip. Great to hear about the wild camping you did as that always attracts us too.
For your plans to visit the UK you may have heard of 'The Motorhome Stopover' Club if not you can join for £30 a year and get access to stay one or two nights at 500+ pub car parks around the country. You get the option to pay £10 a night or stay free if you go in and buy lunch or evening meal at the pub. You can either download the directory or pay £7.50 for a Members Handbook where all the participating pubs are listed with the facilities they offer the traveller.

Regards,
Angela


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## WildThingsKev

We've now been in Sardinia for just over half of our 4 week visit so here are a few hints and tips, especially relevant to a late season visit.

Weather, has been fantastic really. Mid November now and about 24C today with clear blue skies and inviting water. We've been in the sea most days and have been generally hanging out in t-shirts and shorts. There were 2 days of very strong winds but even then the weather was fair, one night of thunderstorms (had to abandon our headland wildcamp) and a little rain.

Ferries: we sailed from Livorno on 22nd October so missed the last of the daytime sailings (from any port I think). That adds about €80 each way for an overnight cabin. We chose Corsica Ferries because they seemed to have the most dog friendly policy (dogs allowed anywhere except the restaurant/cafeteria). HOWEVER; if you have a long low overhang make sure your booking is NOT on Corsica Ferries "Corsa Victoria" as it is quite old and the (blunt) ramps give a very steep departure angle. You can see from our avatar that we have a very good clearance and we had to "twist" off the bow ramp.

Sosta's; only found one open so far and that was in Cagliari where we spent a day when the wind was up. It was actually a very peaceful location and only €16 with 24 hour security, it is mostly a secure garage and storage facility. We found a few private ones with no one about, used the service point and left €5 in an envelope.

Services; getting water hasn't been a problem, we've used marinas, village fountains (fairly plentiful) and the sostas mentioned. Emptying the cassette has been the biggest challenge but I've found that many of the (closed for winter) beach bars and toilets have an accessible tank.

Wildcamping; apart from one night in the mountains and the night in Cagliari we've been in beach carparks or out on headlands every night. Virtually all have no overnight parking signs and at virtually all we have had either the carabinieri or polizia locale, or both, cruise by whilst we've been there without giving us a second glance. During our first week we saw several mostly German vans per day (2 week half term there) but since then we've mostly been on our own and have hardly seen a van; until tonight. Saturday night and we've suddenly got 10 local vans arrive next to a beach with at least 10 "no parking" signs surrounding us!
On our first day I was chatting with a German guy and spied his "Mit Dem Wohnmobil Nach Sardinien" guide book. It is one of a series of books (www.womo.de) which are basically first-hand wildcamping guide books, this one had 240 listings over half of which were suitable beach and mountain carparks. He accepted the €20 cover price as he was leaving the next day and it's been fantastically useful even though I barely understand a word of it: if only I'd put in the German dictionary!

Sardinia. Crystal clear seas, no end of lovely beaches, mostly easy well surfaced roads, very little traffic (November remember) except within about 10 miles of the main cities, quite green and verdant. Any tourist oriented shops well and truly closed for the winter, bar and café prices very reasonable. Our best "summer" holiday yet (we can only travel after September).

Here are a couple of tasters:

Kev, Jackie and Bramble


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## Almwing

*Passing ships in the night!*

Hi Kev, just read your post from cold and wet Cornwall! We actually left the island as you arrived so it was a shame that we didn't hook up.
We had the most fabulous month there and truly loved the island's unspoilt, natural beauty. As we were there earlier we had the advantage of temperatures in the high 20's but for the first couple of weeks there were a lot of Swiss and German families on half term holidays but you must have it virtually to yourselves now as we did the last couple of weeks.
We were very cagey about exploring some of the wild camping spots as most were down long dirt tracks to the beach and our van is 8.5m long with a lot of weight on the back and front wheel drive! (know what you mean about the ferries, they are all like that!)
To be honest, the last couple of weeks it was like wild camping as we managed to get pole position on the beaches of the ACSI sites that were at the end of their season with just a handful of us campers and they were happy to close when we all left.
We particularly loved Villasimius, Tortoli/Arbatax and our last week at Palau was stunning. We had the most amazing paddle boarding and swimming there camped right on the rocks with our own tiny private beach. If you get up there, do what we did, take an all day a boat trip from Palau to see all around the La Maddalena islands - it was the highlight of our trip! It is important to pick a clear day and get the only boat that is low enough to get under the bridged road between the islands as I can't remember the name. They take you to see some of the most stunning beaches, swimming and give you a great lunch with wine all for 50 euros each for the whole day. Get there early and get the only seat up top - we did and got the best photos!
Anyway, have a great time and don't rush back to Cornwall as you're not missing anything!


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## WildThingsKev

We are up in the mountains now doing some walking and exploring. It is lot cooler and raining- there is snow on the next mountain and we are 10k up a dodgy single track lane.


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## WildThingsKev

Back on the laptop, phone is too small.

Hi Angela, thanks for the tips; we will probably drive down to Tortoli tomorrow after our walk. Most definitely coming back soon.

Statistics; Sardinia is a bit bigger than Wales with half its population, more mountainous and with probably as many beaches as Wales, Devon and Cornwall put together.

We will have travelled about 3,500 miles from Calais this trip.

The good weather we had seems to be over, especially in this mountainous area on the east coast so we will skip most of the next bit and save it for next time. Off back up to the north west later tomorrow where the forecast for the next week is the best on the island, it's big enough for there to be significant variations.

A few more photos; tonight we are parked up just below the distant mountain peak (1293m) which looks like a castle in the panoramic shot.

PS. Cross Reference to a useful previous thread by "jonegood http://www.motorhomefacts.com/ftoptitle-128031-sardinia-trip.html


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## Almwing

*Red Rocks at Arbatax.*

Don't miss the famous rocks at Arbatax - well worth seeing and a good wild camping spot! Also if you really want to spoil yourselves there is a 4* camp site at Tortoli open all year round called Telis. Very smart but 30 euros a night.

Angela


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