Sardinia
Getting there without flying
Multiple ferries head to Sardinia from across Italy and Barcelona. Olbia is the classical destination, but if you plan on continuing onto Spain and renting a car in Sardinia, the less frequent ferry to Porto Torres makes more sense. The reason is that the ferry to Barcelona also stops in Porto Torres. The ferries to mainland Italy stop directly at Porto Torres, while the ferry to Barcelona is further away to the left of the town. In the town there is a bus (in front of the train station) that will take you to Alghero and its airport (where cars can be rented) and there is also a very infrequent train to Sassari. Busses are not always on time, althoght they are supposedly timed to the ferries.
If you coming from or leaving to Barcelona, finding a taxi at that time is really difficult. People said there was a shuttle bus, but it only came quite late. You can walk the distance, there is a sidewalk – but it is a bit of an eiree route at night.
Although public transport does exist in Sardinia, your flexibility and ability to see key areas of the island will unfortunately be severly constrained. The reality is that Sardinia is still somehow a wild land that managed to escape much of the developments seen on the rest of the Mediterannean. Renting a car is ones best bet to explore the island for all it has, although scenic trains could make a carless adventure also worthwhile.
Into the wilderness
Above highlights a tour through the more wilder northern patch we took. Dorgali is a good base for the eastern side. On the east are the world famous beaches of Cala Luna and Cala Goloritze. Goloritze is also possible via a bit strenuous hiking route which can only be done by a limited group per day. Boats also are not allowed to land there. Cala Luna, on the otherhand can be hiked to for free and there are man ferries that land there throughout the day. People come, take their pictures and then leave. Of course Cala Luna has the charms of the cave entrances, but something is just magical of their relative tranqulity of Goloritze.
Impressions
