Sardinia lies at the crossroads of Southern Europe and is the second largest island in the Mediterranean. There are Bronze Age settlements dotting the island, as well as Phoenician, Greek, Roman and Bourbon influences. Boasting 38 Blue Flag Beaches along its 1,149 miles coastline, elite jetsetters flock to the island during the summer months. The rich cultural aspects of the island will astound you. There are almost twice as many sheep on the island than people! People live better and longer on the Island, which has attracted the attention of the international scientific community. Come discover why Sardinia holds the key to successful aging on our Sublime Sardinia Vacation!
Cagliari (2 nights), Pula, Nora, Quartucciu, Oristano (1 night), Tharros, Torralba, Alghero (2 nights), Sassari, Castelsardo (1 night), Sedini, Golfo degli Aranci (2 nights), Costa Smeralda, Cannigione, Archipelago della Maddalena
Join us on a unique 9 day, 8 night vacation to the remarkable Island of Sardinia. Explore its diverse cultural heritage with your private car and driver.
Included Features
- Eight nights' accommodation in select centrally located hotels
- Buffet breakfast daily, hotel taxes and service
- Airport transfers by private car and driver
- Guided sightseeing tours of Cagliari, Nora, Oristano, Tharros, Alghero, Torralba, Sassari, Castelsardo, Sedini, La Maddalena
- Guided walking tour of Nora
- Winery visit, wine tasting with rustic snacks at the Cantine Mulleri in Quartucciu
- Guided walking tour of the Phoenecian, Carthaginian, Roman, Byzantine ruins of Tharros
- Guided visit of Saccargia Santu Antine, one of the largest Nuraghe on the island
- Visit the Palmavera Nuraghe outside Alghero
- Visit the former Portoconte Penal Colony outside Alghero
- Guided walking tour of Sassari with the Descent of the Candlesticks a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage of Humanity
- Guided walking tour of Castelsardo and visit to the Catacombs
- Guided visit to the stone house Museo Domu De Janas La Rocca in Sedini
- Winery visit, wine tasting with rustic snacks in a petrified forest at the Cantina Gianluigi Deaddis outside of Sedini
- Boat cruise to the Archipelago della Maddalena
Itinerary
DAY 1 - Cagliari
Independent arrival at Cagliari Elmas International Airport. Meet your local English speaking driver and transfer to Cagliari's city center. Check in and room assignment at your centrally located hotel. Time to freshen up before departing for an informative afternoon guided city tour with the 17th century cathedral, the Pisa Towers, the Castello Quarter, and port. Overnight at hotel in Cagliari.
Day 2- Cagliari/Pula/Nora/Quartucciu/Cagliari
Breakfast / Wine Tasting with Snacks
Buffet breakfast at hotel and depart for a full day of exploration. Our first stop will be in Pula. Visit San Sperate, an artist enclave, with its beautiful sculptures and over 500 wall paintings. View the Pinuccio Sciola Rock Garden famous for its signing stones. proceed to Nora, an ancient Phoenecian Carthagian, Roman city. View the Carthiginian warehouse remains and collection of well preserved Roman buildings, some of which are submerged. Travel along a 7th century BC trail passing Phoenician-Roman outposts. We head inland and stop at the Mulleri Winery in Quartucciu for a guided visit of the vineyards, wine tasting accompanied with rustic snacks. Return to Cagliari in the late afternoon. Overnight at hotel.
Day 3 - Cagliari/Tharros/Oristano
Breakfast
Buffet breakfast at hotel and check out. Depart via private car / van and driver to Oristano. Stop in Tharros, a Bronze Age settlement re-established by the Phoenicians in the 8th century BC, followed by Punics, Romans, and eventually destroyed by Saracen raiders. Visit the archaeologiclal park (entrance fee included) before arriving in Oristano. Enjoy an orientation tour with the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, erected in the 13th Century and remodeled in the Baroque style in the 18th Century; the Church of San Francesco, housing a magnificent 15th-Century wooden Crucified Christ, Piazza Eleonora bears a marble monument (1881) dedicated to Eleonora of Arborea, who led Oristano and wrote the Carta de Logu, considered one of the first constitutions of the world. Other important sights in the city include the Tower of Mariano II. Check inb and room assignment.
Day 4 - Oristano/Torralba/Alghero
Breakfast
Buffet breakfast at hotel and check out. We depart via private car/ van and English speaking driver to Santu Antine, also known as "Sa domo de su re" a nuraghe in Torralba, one of the largest in Sardinia. It is located in the center of the Cabu Abbas Plain. The main structure was built around the 19-18th century BC, and the other parts of the nuraghe date back to the 17th–15th century BC. Following the visit (entrance fee included) procced to Alghero, a lively Catalan City also known as the Little Barcelona. Enjoy a guided walking tour of the walled historic center with the Cathedral of Santa Maria, the churches of Carmelo (late XVII century) with its great gilded retablo, that of San Michele with its colored ceramic dome, and the late Renaissance Sant’Anna. Enjoy breathtaking views over the bay from the fortified ramparts. The city is also famous for its coral artisans. Check in and room assignment. Overnight at hotel.
Day 5 - Alghero
Breakfast
Enjoy a leisurely buffet breakfast at hotel and depart for a morning excursion to the former penal colony of Portoconte. Penal colonies began to be set up in Sardinia in the late 19th century to combine the housing of prisoners with the reclamation and cultivation of isolated, malaria-infested pieces of land. Little or no construction thus took place in these zones, of which Porto Conte Park is one example. Today, many of them are protected areas. Porto Conte’s buildings are of particular historical and architectural value. The park also contains paintings and sculptures on the theme of the Little Prince by Elio Pulli, an internationally renowned Sardinian artist who lives in the park. Proceed to the well preserved Palmavera Nuraghe (entrance fee included). We return to Alghero in the afternoon. Balance of the day is at leisure. Overnight at hotel.
Day 6 - Alghero/Sassari/Castelsardo
Breakfast
Buffet breakfast at hotel and check out. We depart via private car / van and English speaking driver to Sassari, one of the oldest cities on the island. Enjoy a guided walking tour of the historic center with the Fontana del Rosello , built in the Late Renaissance style and characterized by statues: one for each season, and one equestrian, of San Gavino. the Cathedral of St. Nicholas, erected in the 13th Century; originally Romanesque, it was later rebuilt as Gothic, but with Baroque facade. Then, visit the Palazzo Ducale, a monumental 18th-Century limestone construction; the Tower of St. Anthony, the remains of the original 13th-Century city walls; and the Church of San Pietro in Silki, also built in the 13th Century. Stop at Santa Maria of Betlem Church to view the Descent of the Candelieri, ornate hand carved candle holders. This five-century-old festival which, on every August 14th, celebrates the city’s devotion for the Madonna dell’Assunta. Eleven big wooden candles are carried on the participants’ shoulders through the city streets, up to the Santa Maria of Betlem Church. Every year the Faradda di li Candareri – as the celebration is called in the vernacular of Sassari – attracts 100,000 tourists from all over the world and a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage of Humanity acknowledgement. Free time for lunch on your own before proceeding to Castelsardo. Pass the curious Elephant's Rock, a large boulder of trachyte and andesite. Check in and room assignment. Time to relax. Dinner on own arrangements and overnight.
Day 7 - Castelsardo/Sedini/Petrified Forest/Golfo degli Aranci
Breakfast/Wine Tasting with Snacks
Buffet breakfast at hotel and check out. Depart via shutle van to Castelsardo center for a guided walking tour through the narrow streets and steep stairways. Visit Sant’Antonio Abate, the Church of Santa Maria (location of the “Criltu Nieddu” a crucifix with a black Christ figure, and the Catacombs of Domus De Janus Necropolis (Home of the Fairies, or Home of the Witches) with its Neolithic hypogea decorated with red and black wall paintings. We depart with our private car /van and English speaking driver to Sedini, the “town in the rock” at the center of Anglona in north-western Sardinia. Stop to visit a typical cave dwelling at the Museo Domus de Janus La Rocca (entrance fee included). We proceed to the town's outskirts and find ourselves immersed in a petrified forest. Stop for a winery visit, wine tasting accompanied with rustic snacks at the acclaimed family run Cantina Gianlugi Deaddis. Ouir final stop for the day is in Golfo degli Aranci. gateway to the splendid Costa Smeralda Riviera. Check in and room assignment. Overnight at hotel.
Day 8 - Golfo degli Aranci/La Maddalena Achipelago Cruise/Golfo degli Aranci
Breakfast
Buffet breakfast at hotel and depart for a full day excursion to the Archipelago della Maddalena. Transfer to Cannigione and board a boat to view this natural wonder from the sea. While exploring the coast of the islands of Caprera and Santo Stefano to get to the island of La Maddalena, there will be a stop with the chance of shopping in traditional local craft shops. The journey will continue to the most beautiful islands in the area, particularly around the islands of Spargi and Santa Maria, which can be explored through stops of about an hour for swimming in crystal clear waters. A panoramic tour can be made to the Manto della Madonna, a stretch of sea with shallow waters that take on colors that are some of the world’s most unique. It runs alongside the Island of Budelli, famous for its Spiaggia Rosa - a protected area for some years. During your break on the Island of Spargi, in Cala Corsara - the most enchanting inlet of the island - you can admire rocks that are real natural sculptures. Return to Golfo degli Aranci. Overnight at hotel.
Day 9 -Golfo degli Aranci/Olbia/Departure
Breakfast
Buffet breakfast at hotel and check out. Private car/ van transfer to Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport for your return flight to the States via Rome, or extend your stay.
Accommodation, Departure Dates and Prices
FIRST CLASS PACKAGE
Hotel Regina Marghertia Hotel in Cagliari
Regina D'Aroborea Residenza D'Epoca, Mariano IV Palace Hotel in Oristano
Catalunya Hotel in Alghero
Bajaloglia Resort, Nantis Hotel in Castelsardo
Gabbiano Azzurro Hotel in Golfo degli Aranci
Or Similar
PRICING PER PERSON, DOUBLE OCCUPANCY
VALID FOR TRAVEL MAY 1, 2021 - JUNE 30, 2021 & SEPTEMBER 10, 2021 - OCTOBER 24, 2021
PARTY SIZE FIRST CLASS PACKAGE CAR, VAN & DRIVER
2 Participants $6,099.00
3 Participants $4,299.00
4 Participants $4,199.00
6 Participants $3,699.00
8 Participants $3.299.00
Single Supplement $5,500.00
VALID FOR TRAVEL JULY 1, 2021 - JULY 23, 2021 & AUGUST 30, 2021 - SEPTEMBER 9, 2021
PARTY SIZE FIRST CLASS PACKAGE CAR, VAN & DRIVER
2 Participants $6,299.00
3 Participants $4,399.00
4 Participants $4,299.00
6 Participants $3,799.00
8 Participants $3.399.00
Single Supplement $5,500.00
Extra nights at any of the included hotels are available upon request at a supplementary cost based on travel dates. Vacation may be personalized to suit. Larger parties welcome. Please contact us for a price quote and details.