Porto Cervo, Costa Paradiso & north

The Costa Smeralda

The north of Sardinia, the area known as Gallura, has some of the clearest water in the Mediterranean, framed by wind-carved granite. Porto Cervo is the heart of the Costa Smeralda, developed from the 1960s as a low-rise resort of pastel buildings, a large marina full of yachts and designer shops around its piazzetta. Along this coast are beaches such as Liscia Ruja, Capriccioli and the Spiaggia del Principe, with white sand and turquoise shallows.

Inland, the village of San Pantaleo is a pleasant contrast, with granite peaks behind it and a busy weekly market. Around Arzachena you can visit nuraghi and Giants' Tombs, the stone monuments left by Sardinia's Bronze Age people.

La Maddalena, Santa Teresa and Costa Paradiso

From Palau, ferries and day boats head into the La Maddalena archipelago, a national park of small islands and sheltered coves. On Caprera, linked to La Maddalena by a causeway, you can visit the house where Garibaldi spent his final years.

Santa Teresa Gallura sits at the northern tip of the island, with Corsica clearly visible across the strait and ferries to Bonifacio. Nearby, the headland of Capo Testa is a maze of huge granite boulders and small beaches. Further west, Costa Paradiso is quieter still, with red rocks, small coves such as Li Cossi, and homes spread across the hillside. Isola Rossa, a little further along, has a small harbour and family-friendly beaches.

Food, seasons and getting here

Gallura is the home of Vermentino di Gallura, Sardinia's only DOCG wine, a fresh white that goes perfectly with seafood. Look out too for local cheeses, wild boar, roast suckling pig and the island's flat carasau bread.

Olbia airport is the main gateway, around half an hour's drive from Porto Cervo, and Olbia also has ferries from the mainland. June and September are warm and calmer than the peak weeks of July and August, and the mistral wind can bring fresh, breezy days.

The north suits beach lovers, sailors and families who want sheltered swimming. Read more about Sardinia, or browse the villas listed below to find your base in the north.