PRACTICAL ADVICE
Best time to go to Sardinia
You can sunbathe from the second half of April to mid-October. The water in the sea in April and May is still quite cool, although we, accustomed to the temperature of the water in the Baltic Sea, do not tolerate it so badly. You can already bathe then in cool water, but the beaches are empty :) In September, the water is still warm after summer, and it's cheaper and less hot and empty on the beaches - September and June are a great time!
At all, if you're thrifty - do not plan your trip in August - in August all of Italy has holidays, it gets much more crowded, and August 15 is the so-called. "ferragosto" - the biggest Italian holiday - around this date, the prices of some accommodation places reach an indecent apogee ... On August 15, everything stops - including most transport connections. Also plane tickets are the most expensive in August.
Visiting the island off-season has many advantages - we avoid crowds and heat, we save a lot, we can also more easily appreciate the importance and richness of history and ancient culture, centuries-old tradition and charms of the village in spring, early summer or autumn.
From November to April, a very interesting touring event takes place in Sardinian towns located inland - LE CORTAS APERTAS - meaning "open backyards" - every weekend in a different town you can literally taste local delicacies in the backyards of ordinary people, learn about local culture, art, see and buy local handicrafts, meet ordinary people and their great hospitality and openness - a very interesting and well-organized event.
You can find much more information in my blog article:
WHEN TO GO TO SARDINIA
When to start organizing the trip.
ASAP ASAP!!!
If possible, start thinking about the details in the fall, compare the car and ferry options and the plane and rent a car. Cheap flights start in late autumn, sometimes even earlier, especially if you want to go on holiday in Sardinia in July or August - the earlier you start, the cheaper it will be.
In July and August there are the most inquiries and the coolest houses and apartments, cheaper and with beautiful beaches, are already booked around February and March.
Also larger groups of 8-14 people (often 2 or 3 friendly families plan their holidays together and it is a great idea because accommodation is much cheaper than for a 2+2 family) have a large selection of nice, cheap places in autumn and at the beginning of the year. Unfortunately, there are fewer such larger houses on offer than 2 or 3-room apartments, so these offers are also booked up the fastest...
Similarly with the ferry - sometimes ferry lines (such as Grimaldi at the beginning of 2016) have periodic promotions and then you can buy a ferry ticket at a really good price.
And one more important argument - if you book well in advance, you will also receive my detailed guides to a given part of the island by e-mail, and they are really extensive and full of valuable information, so you will have time to study them and plan a really great stay...
In one word - THE EARLIER THE BETTER :)
JAK WITH FOOD, WHAT WILL WE EAT, WILL WE SPEND A LOT?
- these are very often questions in e-mails from compatriots, you can get food spend a lot
a lot, and you can not much, you can take a pizza to go for dinner for about 6 euros, you can
eat it in the premises paying the so-called coperto, i.e. a fee for service at the table - 2-3 euros per person,
you can buy wine for 20 euros, and you can buy homemade wine poured from cans into plastic bottles for 2-3 euros per liter.
You can do cheap shopping at the local market,
it is worth trying the local cuisine at the local festa, you can buy ready-made ravioli for it
reheated in a cheaper supermarket 2-4 euros per tray, sprinkle with grated sheep cheese
and cheap dinner is ready. In many towns in the summer there are food trucks with ready-made food
inexpensive dishes. An ordinary one-course lunch or dinner, e.g. pasta with sauce
with seafood in the restaurant + water, bread top prices from approx. 15 euro per person
up + envelope.
nand my YT channel has 6 videos about eating in Sardinia, lots of good advice and ideas there:
- SARDINIAN CUISINE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUUxoZtB2-Y&list=PLcyNX7h3vE9wRDSXGhxi4e8pV8ihmzX6h
In my guidebooks, advice on where to eat cheaply and well in a given area, where and when the local food market, when festivities with tastings, etc. -https://sardyniaalicji.pl/
It's worth it once choose a farm for the so-called “Sardinian feast” - a large, plentiful feast for about 35 euros, 4-5 hours of great, delicious food.
WHAT TASTY TO BRING FROM SARDINIA
- under this link you will find an overview of the delicacies,
which are worth bringing from Sardinia
NATURAL SOUVENIRS and their export from Sardinia
– stones and shells on the beaches actually collect themselves in pockets, but it will be best for beauty
this island if they stay on the beach.
ATTENTION - TIGHTENING FROM 2016 OF PENALTIES AND PROHIBITIONS CONCERNING REMOVING
FROM BEACHES OF SAND, SHELLS, PEBBLES, ETC...!!! - for taking sand, pebbles, shells, etc. from the beach...
you can be fined from 1,500 to 9,000 euros!!!
IT WOULD BE GREAT IF YOU, INSTEAD OF PEMBLES AND SHELLS, BROUGHT FROM SARDINIAN
PLAY A LITTLE PLASTIC AND DEFINITELY DON'T LEAVE IT, WHICH YOU HAVE Brought
TOGETHER!!!
NOTE - HOUSE CLOSE TO THE BEACH - ARE YOU SURE???
APPROACH WITH SUSPICION THE GIVEN PORTALS
WITH HOLIDAY APARTMENTS DISTANCES TO THE BEACH!!!
These portals are often translated into Polish automatically or in a hurry, sometimes
and you yourself, using google translate, are trying to get into the italian ads,
looking for (and rightly so) cheap bargains. But the Italian will write "pochi passi dal mare" which literally means "a few steps from the sea", but for W locha it means a few minutes by car to the beach. often the distances are given in a straight line to the sea - it is completely different from the real road or path to the nearest beach and the differences in in this range they reach up to 1-2 km !!! In Sardinia, there are often sweet-salt ponds at the back of the beaches, full of waterfowl, flamingos, often the road to the beach leads around such a pond, so it is much longer than the distance in a straight line. I am very meticulous about giving the distance to the nearest beach of houses and apartments offered on my blogu, I visited most of them in person, sometimes alone
I walked to the nearest beach with my watch, counted the time, took a photo of the beach, I try to give the name of the nearest beach, its photo, not corrected and beautified by professionals.
ATTENTION HOLY LAW OF THE SIESTY - to rest fully and without stress
in Sardinia you have to accept one very important fact.
From 13:00 to 17:00 there is a siesta.
This means that most shops, all restaurants, pharmacies are closed
and some gas stations. When planning your daily schedule and shopping, you must
take this into account and protect yourself accordingly. - plan ahead in July and August
day trips so that during the so-called breaks or siestas [from 13-16 or 17]
find yourself either on the beach [under an umbrella or in the shade of rocks] at home or in a shady, air-conditioned place.
During these hours, shops and offices are closed, cafes and restaurants, especially in tourist destinations, are open all day, and large shopping centers and larger supermarkets are open all day.
By car or solootem?
This is the first question you need to answer when planning your holidays in Sardinia.
Below is a link to the artkulu on my blog that will definitely help you decide:
https://sardyniaalicji.pl/blog/sardynia-leci-czy-jazd
JIF BY PLANE, SHOULD YOU RENT A CAR?
In my opinion, yes, at least for part of the stay. In each area of the island, with the appropriate one of my guides, you will find fantastic, wild or interesting culturally, historically, places, but to the vast majority of them only with a car. Very often, Polish families spend their first stay on the island without a car, and all subsequent ones with a car, so perhaps you also need to "learn from your mistakes"...;)
Taking a car straight from the airport for the entire stay, you can choose accommodation on the entire island, a stay without a car means accommodation only in the landing area, because a possible transfer will be very expensive and getting there by buses, trains can take the entire first and last day of the holiday ...
Some attractions require a car in 99%, e.g. Sardinian farm feast, bathing in natural rock pools, sunbathing.
And if for you it is only possible to stay without a car - it is worth remembering that a lot
bus and train connections are seasonal only
- from June 15 to September 15.
There are trains in Sardinia, there are city buses in every major city,
and there is a dense network of air-conditioned long-distance lines all over Sardinia
bus - ARST [like our PKS] and 3-4 other smaller ones of this type
carriers. In each of my guides describing a specific
Sardinia region you will find an extensive section for tourists without a car, and in it
information as in the descriptionpopular places to get there by car and without a car (if possible), there are descriptions of the main bus lines, links to timetables on the internet with explanations of Italian abbreviations on them, information about public transport between different areas of Sardinia, etc.
If you are renting a car, an important note - out of season it is easy to rent a car very cheaply (usually there is a large deposit, even up to 1500 euros) but with minimal insurance, it usually does not include scratches on the bodywork, and this is the most common reason for losing all or part of the deposit. The most beautiful, wild places in Sardinia are reached by dirt roads through the bushes ... Therefore, it is very important to make sure that our insurance covers scratches on the bodywork, if it does not cover and we cannot afford such, you must be aware of it and very be careful when driving on dirt roads.
By booking a holiday home with my help, you will receive information about proven car rental companies, I will help you choose a transfer or advise with specific bus connections etc.
FLIGHTS TO SARDINIA
every year a slightly different set, but for over 10 years it has been constantly (except during the pandemic) flying all year round
Ryanair from Krakow to Cagliari. Ryanair also flies seasonally from other cities
in Poland, it varies in each season, but usually Warsaw, Poznań, Wrocław.
usually between spring and fall of Ryanair from Katowice to Alghero
and Wizzair from Warsaw to Olbia.
eatif you are close to Berlin, from there EasyJet to Cagliari and Olbia
Flight prices - there is no rule, it's best to monitor prices for some time if you start your organization much earlier. Rayanair's spring/summer flights of a season usually start in the fall of the previous year.
FERRY
the closest ferry to Sardinia from ports in Italy - Livorno, Genoa, Civitavecchia. You can also sail from Sardinia's neighbor - Corsica.
Watch these 2 videos:
BY CAR FROM POLAND TO SARDINIA
- you will find in it a lot many organizational issues and information about the ferry crossing, but the calculation of costs is out of date, because the film is from a few years ago
BY CAR TO SARDINIA 2022 - here is the ride from June 2022 with the addition of costs.
FERRY TRAVEL
We usually look for tickets onhttps://www.aferry.com/pl-pl/ andhttps://www.directferries.pl/ and before buying, we check whether a given connection is not cheaper on the carrier's direct website, but this is very rarely the case.
80% of people traveling from Poland by car go from Livorno to Olbia or Golfo Aranci, in the last few years the three cheapest ferry carriers are: Grimaldi lines, GNV and Corsicasardinia ferries
the second frequent route, closer to people from Germany, is Genoa - Porto Torres.
PLANNING YOUR STAY - DETAILED OR SPONTANEOUS?
It's best to have my guides with you, as they contain information such as:
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How to arrange a visit to fairy houses and a tasting under the tomb of giants with a local archaeology enthusiast?
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Where to go horseback riding in the lagoons and where to snorkel near a shipwreck?
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How to invite yourself to a local's house for dinner and how to find a local festival?
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Where to bathe for free in wild hot springs and under waterfalls?
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Where to rent kayaks and explore fantastic caves?
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How to find empty wild beaches and natural rock pools?
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Where to go on a fishing boat with fishermen for a catch, and where to go on a casual sailing trip?
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How to visit a homemade cheese factory and make your own cottage cheese with the host?
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How to find an amazing hiking trail and where to park?
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Where to go snorkeling in sea caves with Polish diving experts?
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How to arrange a romantic night on a wild beach?
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How to take a ride on a vintage green train?
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Which farmhouse to visit for a Sardinian feast and how to make a reservation?
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How to venture into the Sardinian mountains on your own?
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Where to experience the biggest seafood feast on a fishing boat?
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And many, many other ideas for beautiful adventures in Sardinia, along with concrete information on how to organize them yourself. You can find all of this in my guides: https://sardyniaalicji.pl/
They also cover important matters such as medical assistance for tourists, insurance issues, what to do in case of a jellyfish sting, information about local markets, etc.
RENTING A VACATION HOUSE IN SARDINIA -
Most Polish families, couples, and groups I've advised in the past 10 years have stayed in vacation homes or apartments on the island.
In this article, I cover various aspects and nuances worth knowing in advance.
HERE'S THE ARTICLE ON THIS TOPIC on my blog.
BEACHFRONT HOUSES - Many of you dream of living as close to the beach as possible, and I try to gather reliable accommodation options here - BEACHFRONT HOUSES. However, there are more options available, and I can send you personalized suggestions via email. Please send me the details (flight or ferry information, number of people, dates, number of bedrooms, preferences, etc.) to alicjanasardynii@gmail.com, and I will respond with specific houses and prices for your chosen dates.
HOUSES WITH A POOL - Another vacation dream for many families. Personally, I believe that with the beautiful Sardinian beaches, it's a waste of time to have a pool, and the money would be better spent on exciting adventures, renting a car, spending a day with a Polish guide, etc. However, if a pool is essential to you, you can find HOUSES WITH A POOL here, although not all options I know of are listed. Again, I can provide personalized suggestions via email. Please send me the details (flight or ferry information, number of people, dates, number of bedrooms, preferences, etc.) to alicjanasardynii@gmail.com, and I will respond with specific houses and prices for your chosen dates.
Apartment with a pool - Alice in Capitana
WHICH LOCATION TO CHOOSE?
Here are my top 5 favorite coastal towns, but these are suggestions for those who aren't looking for the trendiest and busiest places. You can find them in my article:
THE BEST TOWNS IN SARDINIA FOR VACATION
On this website, under the "Shortcuts" tab (top right), you'll find verified houses and apartments from different regions of Sardinia.
IMPORTANT DETAILS IN ACCOMMODATION
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In Italian houses, there are no electric kettles as they hardly drink tea. They make coffee in a coffee maker (which is in every house), so there is no need to ask them for an electric kettle. To prepare coffee in an Italian coffee maker, follow these steps: unscrew the top part, remove the filter from the bottom, pour water, put the filter back, add coffee and spices (ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves...), screw the top part back, place it on low heat, and wait. The coffee will slowly start to flow from the spout with holes under the lid. Italian coffee made in a coffee maker is strong and aromatic.
Just drink a small cup, which is usually found in Italian kitchens. Buon Caffe'!
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The tap water in Sardinian homes, on the streets, and at the beach is usually drinkable, so you can save money on buying bottled water.
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This sign means "water not suitable for drinking."
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The issue of Italian bedding - if you haven't been to Italy before, you may not know that Italian bedding consists of 2 bed sheets + a pillow + optionally a blanket. You lie on one bed sheet and cover yourself with the other. If it's cold, you can use the blanket on top of the top bed sheet (not needed in July and August). They don't have duvets and duvet covers.
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Troublesome garbage issue: Sardinia is a small island, so waste management is particularly important here. All owners of rented apartments will likely ask you to separate and recycle garbage, and they will appreciate it if you take this matter seriously. Waste disposal in Sardinia is very expensive, several times more expensive than in our country. Organic waste is usually placed in special white-green bags, as only the waste management facility collects them. Therefore, try to separate organic leftovers, which typically include food scraps.
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Please try to check the labeling on containers for other waste.
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Outside the apartment or on the veranda, there are usually containers for segregated waste. The containers are usually labeled as follows:
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VETRO E LATINE – glass, cans, aluminum,
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CARTA E CARTONE - paper, cardboard,
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UMIDO - "wet" waste, which includes organic leftovers, food, wet paper towels... - usually in the kitchen, there are special biodegradable bags for organic waste,
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SECCO – everything that doesn't fit into other containers,
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PLASTICA - plastic.
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On behalf of the unique Sardinian nature and the owners of apartments and houses, thank you in advance!!!
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air conditioning:Most of the apartments and houses presented here have air conditioning, as it is still rare in Polish homes. Sometimes, Poles are not quite sure how to handle it, and that's not surprising. However, it is very important because it can result in additional costs!!! If you exceed the agreed power consumption, the owner may demand an additional payment. When the air conditioning is on, all windows and doors must be closed. A good rule of thumb for opening windows and doors in the summer is as follows - at night, when it is cool outside, we open everything we can, and if there are mosquito nets on the windows, we use them then. In the morning, when warm air starts entering the building, we close everything we can and also lower the external wooden blinds, which will keep the coolness that has accumulated overnight. Never leave the air conditioning on when leaving the house, as it consumes a lot of electricity. If the air conditioner is only in one room, we turn it on and open the door wide so that the cool air spreads to other rooms. It's better not to overuse the air conditioning to avoid thermal shock when going outside.
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sun... beautiful, but treacherous...During the first few days, use the strongest UV filter possible. Be careful - you won't feel the heat on the beach, but later in the evening... When walking around the city, always choose the shaded side of the street, you will notice that the locals do it instinctively. In case of sunburn, put wet cloths or shirts in the freezer and apply them to the burned areas. Of course, bring a mini first aid kit from Poland, including something for sunburns. Wear something on your head, sunglasses, and always have a small bottle of water from the fridge with you! Keep a few small bottles of water in the freezer in your apartment and keep adding new ones. When leaving the house for a longer time, take a few of them with you. Thanks to freezing, they will provide coolness for a few more hours. Tap water in Sardinia is drinkable, so you don't have to buy water in shops.
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a simple and practical "fridge" for the beach - an insulated bag for transporting frozen goods (in our supermarkets, you can always find them hanging next to frozen goods, bags made of thick silver foil). Here, on-site, in the evening before going to the beach, put 2-3 small bottles of water in the freezer, which will freeze overnight. In the morning, put the bottles in the insulated bag along with food and drinks. This "fridge" will keep things cold for several hours, even on a hot beach, and the water in the bottles will serve as a cold drink at the end of the day. If you have a lot of luggage, you can bring inserts for a portable cooler from Poland. Drink a lot, especially water - no sweet or carbonated drinks quench thirst like water.
HOW TO CALCULATE TRAVEL COSTS - WHERE YOU CAN SAVE
First of all, when traveling from Poland, it is worth comparing the cost of several plane tickets with the cost of fuel and tolls if you were to drive your own car. Many tourists from Poland prefer not to rent a car but to come with their own. You can fly and not rent a car. You can only rent a car for part of your vacation and save money that way. Some flights, especially Ryanair flights from Krakow, arrive very late, for example, in Cagliari at 23:55. At this time, buses no longer operate. In this case, if you do not rent a car right away, you have to take into account the cost of transfer from the airport. Almost all owners of the suggested accommodations here pick up their guests from the airport, and it is much cheaper than a taxi. When calculating the costs of traveling by plane, also consider the cost of getting from home to the airport, or the cost of leaving your car in a paid parking lot at the airport.
Secondly, accommodation costs - If a luxury apartment by a great beach is not a priority for you, you can live really cheaply. The cheaper option in Poland, such as a field, tent, or camping in Sardinia, doesn't really work.
From my experience, it is not cost-effective - the cost is similar to renting a cheap apartment but with much worse conditions.
Depending on the number of people and the length of stay, you can rent an apartment for less than 10 euros per person per night. It is cheaper for larger groups. There are large houses on the beach, accommodating 10-15 people, where a bigger group of friends or family can spend beautiful and inexpensive holidays, you just need to coordinate the timing.
Regarding the rental price of an apartment - the price is usually for a week of renting the entire property - a cottage or apartment, and there is usually a discount for a two-week rental. The rental price usually includes utility costs, often internet, sometimes also final cleaning, bedding, and towels. But often (increasingly, from what I see) there is an additional charge for bedding, towels, and final cleaning. We almost always have to pay extra for air conditioning. Most owners are reluctant to rent for less than 7 nights, but sometimes, especially out of season, they waive this rule.
When presenting specific, available apartments and houses with current prices in an email to interested parties, I always try to present their advantages and disadvantages. There are no perfect places for everyone - some are very cheap but of lower standard, others are beautiful and cheap but further from the beach, some require a car, others have super hospitable hosts on-site. I always ask for thoughtful decisions regarding reservations, I never encourage rushing (unless there is a great opportunity or someone is leaving in 2 days...)
DEPOSITS ARE NON-REFUNDABLE, SOMETIMES IF YOU NEED TO CANCEL HOLIDAYS FOR RANDOM REASONS MORE THAN 3 MONTHS BEFORE THE DATE, I MANAGE TO RECOVER PART OF THE DEPOSIT.
Food costs - here you can save a lot. There are grocery stores and supermarkets near the apartments, and each apartment has a equipped kitchen. The prices of products are on average slightly higher than ours (for example, a package of 0.5 kg of pasta starts from 60 euro cents, a large pizza at a pizzeria (takeaway - it is cheaper) costs from 4 to 7 euros. In each town, there is a local market once a week where you can buy fresh vegetables, fruits, cheeses, etc...
Of course, if you often dine out, it will be much more expensive. An important fact is that you don't have to buy water - tap water is drinkable, you just need to regularly fill plastic bottles and put them in the fridge to always have cold water. Coffee - espresso in a bar, consumed at the bar (sitting at a table is more expensive) costs from 1 - 1.5 euros.
Warning I warn you !!!!
Warning, this island poses a permanent, incurable addiction to its beauty, the personalities of its inhabitants, the flavors of its cuisine, the landscapes, and the unique emerald Sardinian sea. Symptoms of this dangerous disease can vary - constantly checking for cheap flights and ferries, reading guidebooks, making a list of places to visit, constantly trying to bring friends and family there, longing to return to the country and waiting for the next trip, a look of immense bliss on your face when you set foot there each time..:) No cure has been discovered yet but I will comfort you - relief comes from contacting other infected individuals, exchanging experiences, and sharing symptoms...
I warmly invite you to this blog for that purpose !!!