Places in Porto Istana, Sardinia

Olbia is a modern town enlivened with shops and restaurants, it is the docking town for people coming from Italy mainland and from abroad with its daily ferry service but also arriving by plane. Its international airport is well connected in summer, while off season you may find it easier to fly to Alghero or Cagliari.

In a few minutes driving past the town of Olbia, on the north side, you can already start enjoying the landscape dominated by granite rocks, Mediterranean bush and pristine sea waters with a number of white beaches and coves like Lido Pittulongu, Cala Sassari, Cala Sos Aranzos and Spiaggia di Marinella.

Driving south of Olbia, you are struck by the view of Tavolara, a limestone island with impressive steep cliffs which is now, together with the surrounding area, part of Tavolara and Capo Coda Cavallo Marine Park.

Among its beautiful pink granite rocks you can see junipers, strawberry trees, myrtle and olive trees, all safe burrows of wild boars, hares, hawks, owls and barn owls. Reachable only by boat to enjoy its cove and beach, the island is inhabited by a few proud people including King Tonino, who runs the only restaurant on the island, located right on the only beach of the island.

The island of Tavolara is reachable by a short boat trip departing from Porto San Paolo. The other two minor islands of Molara and Molarotto are just nearby and the small fishing village of Porto San Paolo is right opposite.

Slightly further south, Capo Coda Cavallo, San Teodoro and Porto Ottiolu boast solitary coves and imposing promontories looking out on the sea as well as kilometres of wide sandy beaches like Cala d'Ambra, Brandinchi Beach or La Cinta.

About 5 kilometres long and set between the sea and the lagoon, it is edged by thick forest of rosemary and junipers, permanent home to pink flamingos, cormorants, sea-gulls and ducks. And then, further down the white strips of Budoni and Agrustos as if in an endless duplication of beauty.

Days can be spent on those beaches with the deep green bush in your background, the soft sand underneath your feet and the cool breeze restlessly blowing, no other sound to be heard except that of nature.

Lagoons, bush and thick pinewoods alternate along the coast setting the boundaries between the land and the sea, between nature and men, in awe in front of such unspoken beauty.