Practical Information for visiting Sardinia

Sardinia is large, its rail network is limited, and its attractions are dispersed. A car is essentially required.

Arriving

Three airports: Cagliari Elmas in the south, Olbia Costa Smeralda in the north-east, and Alghero Fertilia in the north-west. Which one you use should follow which coast you are visiting — they are three to four hours apart by road.

Ferries run from Civitavecchia, Livorno, Genoa, Naples and Piombino to Olbia, Porto Torres, Golfo Aranci, Arbatax and Cagliari. Crossings take between 5 and 13 hours; taking a car across is often cheaper than hiring on the island in August, and needs booking months ahead for that period.

Trains

Trenitalia links Cagliari, Oristano, Macomer, Sassari and Olbia — useful along that spine and almost nowhere else. The narrow-gauge ARST network serves some interior routes slowly. The Trenino Verde is a seasonal tourist line through the Barbagia and Ogliastra that is a destination rather than transport.

Buses

ARST coaches reach most towns but run infrequently, and services thin out sharply at weekends and outside summer.

Driving

• The SS131 is the main road, running Cagliari-Oristano-Sassari-Porto Torres.
• Interior roads are narrow, winding and slow; a 100 km mountain drive can take well over two hours.
• Hire cars sell out for July and August, and prices multiply. Book early.
• Livestock on rural roads is normal — sheep and occasionally free-roaming pigs.
• ZTL zones operate in Cagliari and Alghero.

Coverage for mobile networks is good in the towns and along the developed coasts, and genuinely poor in parts of the interior.

• Cellular data. 4G covers the towns and main roads; 5G is limited to Cagliari, Sassari and Olbia. Signal drops in the Supramonte, in the Gennargentu and in the Gulf of Orosei coves, several of which have none at all.
• SIM cards. TIM, Vodafone, WindTre and Iliad. A passport is required by law to buy an Italian SIM. EU visitors keep their home allowance under roaming rules.
• Wi-fi. Standard in hotels, common in bars. Agriturismi inland often have slow connections or none in the rooms.
• Practical note. Download offline maps before driving inland. Navigation without signal is a routine problem in the Barbagia, and several gorges and beaches are beyond coverage entirely.
• Power. 230 V, 50 Hz, type L and type F sockets.

Italian is universal and is what visitors should use. English is widely spoken on the Costa Smeralda, in Alghero and in Cagliari, less so inland.

• Buongiorno / buonasera — on entering any shop or bar.
• Per favore, grazie, prego.
• Il conto, per favore — the bill, not brought unasked.
• Un mirto — the myrtle liqueur, offered after meals and usually free.
• Quanto costa? — useful at markets.

Beyond Italian, the island holds several languages in daily use. Sardinian is a Romance language of its own, officially recognised, and you will see it on signage — bene benníu for welcome. Catalan is spoken in Alghero, where streets are signed in both; Tabarchino, a Ligurian variety, on San Pietro and Sant'Antioco; and Gallurese and Sassarese in the north, which are closer to Corsican. None of this is expected of a visitor, but treating them as languages rather than accents is locally meaningful.

Sardinia is among the safest regions in Italy. Crime against visitors is rare, and the real risks are environmental.

• Sea conditions. The most serious hazard. The mistral can turn a calm morning into a difficult afternoon, currents around headlands are strong, and several beaches in the Gulf of Orosei are reachable only by boat with no road out. Follow beach flags and check the forecast before any boat trip.
• Wildfire. High risk June to October. Open flames are prohibited outside designated areas, roads close during incidents, and the combination of drought and wind moves fires quickly.
• Mountain and gorge walking. The Supramonte is remote karst with poor phone coverage, few water sources and sparse marking. Gorges including Su Gorropu need proper preparation, and guides are advisable. Rescue call-outs are chargeable.
• Driving. Narrow inland roads, blind bends and livestock. Night driving on rural roads carries a real risk of hitting an animal.
• Petty theft is uncommon but occurs at busy summer beaches and in Cagliari's nightlife areas. Leave nothing visible in a parked car.
• Sun and heat. Inland summer temperatures exceed 35 °C with little shade at archaeological sites.

Healthcare is good in the main centres and thinner inland, with main hospitals at Cagliari, Sassari and Nuoro.

• Emergencies:112. Emergency treatment is provided regardless of nationality.
• EU/EEA and Swiss visitors should carry the EHIC or national equivalent; UK visitors the GHIC. Others need travel insurance, and anyone walking in the Supramonte should confirm it covers mountain rescue.
• Pharmacies (farmacia, green cross) are in every town and post an out-of-hours rota.
• Distance to care. The practical issue inland: from parts of the Barbagia or the Gulf of Orosei coves, the nearest hospital can be well over an hour away, and some locations are reachable only by boat or helicopter.
• Heat and sun. UV is among the highest in Italy in summer, and inland sites offer no shade.
• Jellyfish appear in warm summers; local beach advice is reliable.
• Ticks are present in scrub and grazing land — check after walking.
• Tap water is safe, though in some coastal towns it tastes strongly of chlorine and locals drink bottled.

Sardinia is informal and hospitable, with one set of rules visitors genuinely need to know.

Rules with real penalties

• Removing sand, pebbles, shells or driftwood from beaches is illegal and carries fines that can reach several thousand euros. Airport baggage checks do catch it. This is the single rule most often broken by visitors.
• Beach access limits. Several beaches cap daily numbers and require advance booking — La Pelosa, Cala Goloritzé and others — sometimes with a fee. Check before travelling to a specific beach.
• Fire. Open flames outside designated areas are prohibited from June to October, and enforced.
• Archaeological sites. Many nuraghi stand unfenced on private land; removing stones or artefacts is a criminal offence, and metal detecting is prohibited.
• Identification. Hotels must register a passport or ID card at check-in.

Etiquette

• Hospitality is a serious matter, particularly inland. Offered food, drink or mirto is best accepted, at least in small measure.
• Agriturismo meals are fixed-menu and long; arriving in a hurry, or asking to skip courses, misreads the occasion.
• Churches expect covered shoulders and knees.
• The afternoon closure is long in summer — often 1pm to 5pm — and inland towns are quiet then.
• Tipping is not expected; a coperto is a cover charge.

112 is the single emergency number across Italy, connecting to police, ambulance and fire. Operators generally handle English. The older numbers — 113 police, 118 medical, 115 fire, 1530 coastguard — remain active.

• Coastguard — 1530. The number for trouble at sea, and relevant on an island where much of the coast is reachable only by boat.
• Wildfire. Report to 112 or 1515, the forestry line. Summer fires can close roads quickly and evacuation instructions should be followed without delay.
• Mountain rescue — 112. Covers the Gennargentu and the Supramonte. Rescue is chargeable, and helicopter evacuation from the gorges is expensive.
• Pharmacies on duty — posted in every pharmacy window.
• Consulates. A few countries maintain honorary consulates in Cagliari; substantive matters are handled from Rome.
• Ferries and boat excursions are cancelled in strong mistral conditions, sometimes at a few hours' notice. Leave slack before an onward flight.