Places in Quartu Sant'Elena, Sardinia

The portion of the coast west and north of Villasimius is a fully featured touristic destination together with Alghero-Stintino and Costa Smeralda. Beach wise this territory boasts the full range of possibilities: small coves, pebbled beaches, granite rocks, cliffs, long and wide sandy beaches, dunes and isthmus.

Surely, the coral reef is missing in the list, but all the rest is there. We are in the south east corner of Sardinia, at the apex of which is Villasimius. The road from Quartu Sant'Elena is narrow and twisty for most of its length and the reduced speed gives you the time to enjoy some spectacular views.

In summer the time at your disposal can almost double since the traffic is heavy, otherwise it should take you between 40 and 45 minutes. Along the road you will pass by the beaches of Capitana, Is Mortorius, Terra Mala, Cala Regina, Mari Pintau, Geremeas, Torre delle Stelle, Solanas, Sa Ruxi, Capo Boi, Campus, Cuccureddu, Campulongu and the Spiaggia del Riso before reaching the marina of Villasimius and Cape Carbonara.

These beaches are all very beautiful but special mention to Mari Pintau (the Italian for 'painted sea'). In Cape Carbonara, Cala Caterina and Santo Stefano are the easiest beaches to access, since the coast here is high and rocky.

From the top of the cape, facing north, you could enjoy one of the best views of your holiday, with beaches departing left and right of your viewpoint and stretching for kilometres. From Cape Carbonara you then move north where the long beaches start: Porto Giunco, Timiama, Simius, Is Traias, Punta Molentis, Cala Pira, Cala Sinzias, Sant'Elmo, Villa Rei, Costa Rei, Capo Ferrato, Cala Sa Figu, Feraxi, Colostrai, San Giovanni, Porto Corallo and Murtas.

This is without counting all the small coves scattered here and there along the coast. Of course unless you have very long holidays you cannot see them all. Therefore, we recommend the following because of some distinctive elements: Porto Giunco/Timiama because of the pond at its back; Punta Molentis for the isthmus (sand on one side and granite rocks on the other) and Cala Pira and Cala Sinzias simply because they are very beautiful.

At the beginning of Costa Rei, the Scoglio di Peppino is also very popular. This is a large rock of granite, rounded and smooth, very close to the beach (you can walk to it and easily climb on it) from where you can enjoy the full view of 8 km of sandy beach.