Olbia

The Destination Airport for Sardinia

The little you hear about Sardinia is all true, over 1,800 km of coastline, much of it utterly unspoilt and fringed by white sand beaches lapped by crystal clear waters of every shade from deep aquamarine to shimmering turquoise and emerald green. Probably its' only claim to fame apart from giving its' name to tins of small fish, is the Costa Smerelda, built by the Aga Khan as a playground for the rich and without doubt, pristinely beautiful, but perhaps slightly too perfect and a touch synthetic and out of context with the real Sardinia beyond its' confines. The Destination Airport for Sardinia is Olbia

The Gulf of Orosei on the east coast and just over an hour's drive south from Olbia Airport covers an area of some 80 square kilometres from Cape Comino in the north to Cape Di Monte Santu further south. Noted for its craggy white cliffs and powder white coves backed by wild and uninhabited mountainous regions, it's wonderful country for hikers and nature lovers. Here too, the coastal waters are so clean and clear that colonies of beautiful coral grow on the seabed and the myriad's of fish and other marine fauna attract Scuba divers from around the world, as well as the local fisherman of course! The medieval market town of Orosei, from which the area takes its name, stands on the banks of the River Cedrino and boasts a number of lovely old churches and a warren of narrow cobbled streets leading to numerous small piazzas where the handsome old villas of the town's former nobility, lie hidden behind high stone walls.

The town is surrounded by lush green farmland bursting with orange and olive plantations and edged with a spectacular stretch of coastline and many, many kilometres of powder white sand beaches fringed by fragrant pinewoods. Inland, the Tutta Vista mountain range rises imposingly above the town to a height of more than 800 metres. The higher you go the more magnificent the scenery becomes with some incredible rock formations and wonderful birds-eye views of the coast and the vast fertile plain to the west, surrounded by hills and further rugged mountains. South of Orosei lies the lively village of Cala Gonone with a good selection of shops, restaurants and a colourful fishing harbour, where you can hire your own inflatable speedboat to explore the coastline, or take one of the regular boat trips to the many fabulous beaches to the south of the village, which are virtually inaccessible by land. Cala Luna, the nearest, is recognised as one of the most beautiful beaches in Sardinia, whilst further south are numerous smaller coves such as Cala Sisine and the evocatively named Ispuligidenie, all with the same remarkable crystal clear, turquoise waters for which Sardinia is renowned.