Sardegna, Italy, is one of the most beautiful places I've visited—underrated and magical. After enjoying Rome, Florence, and Venice in 2022, my family wanted a different experience by visiting the Italian sea. I love discovering less touristy spots to immerse myself in local culture, and Sardegna instantly caught my eye.

Sardegna is Italy's largest island and home to Cala Marilou, rated the world's most beautiful beach of 2024, and it truly lived up to the title. There are three major airports in Sardegna, making it easy to reach any part of the island. We stayed in Cala Gonone because it offered the easiest access to Cala Marilou and nearby beaches. Before discussing the beaches, let’s cover how to get there.

How to get there:

We discovered that it was cheaper to fly to Paris and then take a short flight to Sardegna during this time of year. We flew into Olbia Airport from Paris with Ryanair, which was about an hour long. Cala Gonone is a two-hour drive from Olbia Airport, and renting a car is necessary because there are no Ubers or public transport available to reach it. Fortunately, Olbia Airport has many car rental options, and we booked ours through Ryanair, which made it very convenient.

Picking up rental car must knows

Your American driver's license for the designated driver.
Your passport
A credit card in the driver's name is needed for the car rental. American Express is not accepted, so use a Visa or Mastercard.
( This is super important, the website does not tell you this when booking the car rental and I named my husband the sole driver of the car and when it came time to pay for the rental I wanted to pay with my credit card that was under my name and they didnt want to take it, luckily my husband had his)
International drivers license
If you don't have one (like us), it's okay; the car rental company will just charge a little extra for the deposit.
Insurance for the rental car
We bought extra insurance when renting the car through Ryanair. I suggest you do the same. You don't want issues with the car in a foreign country.

Getting the car was a bit long but easy. The man who helped us spoke English well and was kind and patient. Overall, the car pickup went smoothly.

AirBnB

Apartment with seaview balcony Kalavriche

When we travel to Europe with our kids, we always rent an Airbnb because hotels usually don't have rooms with two queen beds like in the US. Renting an Airbnb is much cheaper for our family than booking two hotel rooms. We stayed at a charming Airbnb right across from the beach, which was wonderful. The host was helpful, and the location was ideal. The Airbnb is at the end of a small street in the Cala Ganone area, where there are a few restaurants, shops, and gelato places. This area is lovely, with the ocean on one side and easy beach access. Each night, we walked down the street and saw people sitting on benches, talking, eating gelato, or just enjoying life.While there are more food and shopping options a bit further away, we liked spending time on this quiet street. A supermarket is about a 10-minute walk from the Airbnb, where we found groceries, toiletries, and even beach towels.

We spent 4 days and 3 nights in Cala Gonone. For such a small area, that was a good amount of time. We arrived late on the first day, and, true to Italy's style, none of the restaurants were serving dinner. With my limited Italian, I found Garden Bar, the only place open until 1 AM, which had amazing pizza.

The second day activities and must see beaches

Booked a skipper boat for the day with Agostino Charter

I highly recommend Agostino Charter; it was a memorable experience. They offer boat tours and rentals. We chose a skipper rental from 9 AM to 5 PM so we could explore on our own. They provide a map, making it easy to navigate in one direction there and back. We preferred the individual rental for the freedom to spend as much time as we wanted at different beaches.

Agostino Charter is about a 10-minute walk from the AirBnB, located by the bay with various boat rentals. Upon arrival, we were quickly directed to our boat, and a staff member briefly showed us how to operate it. My husband, who had no boating experience, handled it easily, adjusting quickly to steering and maneuvering.

While we mostly wanted to visit Cala Marilou and Cala Luna, there were many beautiful beaches to stop at along the way. Note that Cala Luna is the only beach with restrooms, so plan accordingly. Both Cala Luna and Cala Marilou have small restaurants for snacks, coffee, and drinks. Be aware that Cala Marilou is cash only, as their credit card machine has limited service.

3rd and 4th day activities/ favorite restaurants

We spent our days at the beach across from the Airbnb, walked and explored. Our favorite Gelateria was Ristorante Aquarius and Gelateria . On our last night we had dinner at Snoopy right across from the beach. The food was delicious and the service was great.

Cute might paint later; art inspiration

Shakerato Inspo

Shakerato Oil on Canva

Snoopy Inspo

Snoopy Oil on Canvas