19 of the best family hotels in Sardinia
Sardinia is in many ways the perfect family destination. With its gorgeous beaches, rugged nature trails and pretty hill towns, there is more than enough to keep visitors of any age entertained. The Costa Smeralda, in the north of the island, was designed by Aga Khan IV in the Sixties and is still renowned for its glitz and glamour today thanks to the luxury yachts, exclusive golf courses and five-star hotels. Things get quieter further south, where deserted beaches and protected nature reserves provide ideal child-friendly explorations. Treks inland lead to wild landscapes and Bronze Age ruins while visits to larger towns and cities, such as the capital Cagliari, add a touch of art and architecture.
To make the most of your stay you need to choose the right base and luckily there are plenty of hotels dotted around the island that cater well for families, with a range of services and amenities to suit everyone. So from kids' clubs to pools, private beaches to babysitting services, here's our top selection of family hotels in Sardinia.
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££ | KIDS' CLUB | POOL | Best for family-friendly luxury
On the southeastern tip of the island this five-star resort blends luxury with a relaxed, family-friendly nature. Its location within the Capo Carbonara protected marine area makes it ideal for flamingo-spotting, diving and snorkelling, while the hotel's complimentary bicycles can be used to explore the flora-and-fauna-filled reserve or nearby Villasimius. Choose between a family room or Prestige family suite with terrace, and make the most of the hotel's huge pool and private beach. There are clubs for younger children and teenagers as well as a babysitting service, giving you plenty of opportunities for adults-only time at the spa or wine cellar.£ | KIDS' CLUB | POOL | Best for beachside fun
A smart, low-rise complex fronting a sheltered bay near Alghero, the Hotel Portoconte is conveniently situated right on a private beach, just steps from the crystalline water. Children will love the activities, which include a kids' club, mini-golf, table tennis, swimming pool and play park, while the hotel's location in the Porto Conte natural park provides ample options for trekking, biking and nature-spotting. Double rooms can come with an extra bed, but for more space opt for the interconnecting family room that can sleep up to five.£££ | KIDS' CLUB | POOL | Best for a Bond moment
Catapulted to fame when it appeared in The Spy Who Loved Me, this hotel likewise comes with a PG rating. Parents, simply guide your offspring to the kids' club and you will discover ample opportunities to channel Roger Moore and Barbara Bach. Cala di Volpe was built in the Sixties but is still pretty swinging, with elegantly sinuous bedrooms and suites (including the extravagant Harrods Penthouse), several fashionable restaurants, plus tennis courts and shaded cabanas around the saltwater pool, claimed to be one of the biggest in the Mediterranean. The hotel's pink-sand private beach is reached, rather glamorously, by boat, which only adds to the sense of being luxuriously cocooned.
£ | POOL | Best for a chic countryside stay
Although Sardinia's beaches attract most of the hype, its countryside is equally lovely. This farmhouse-style hotel offers the best of both worlds — a rural retreat in a hilly hinterland dotted with olive trees, and under seven miles from the coast. Its 18 rooms are styled in a winning mix of neutral decor and colourful textiles; one is a family room and another is a self-contained apartment with its own garden. Children will love exploring local nature trails on foot or by bike, as well as swimming in the oak-shaded outdoor pool, which is close enough to the restaurant for parents to keep a watchful eye while enjoying classic Sardinian dishes at lunch.££ | KIDS' CLUB | POOL | Best for a good-value all-rounder
Part of the local Bovi family's hotel group, this resort sits on Sardinia's eastern shores in the historic province of Ogliastra. The more upmarket of its 150 rooms have been refurbished in oceanic shades but there are family-friendly options to suit most budgets. Saraceno's crown jewel is its huge, palm-fringed seawater swimming pool, which backs onto a private sandy beach. In the summer children over 12 can take part in free group courses in windsurfing, canoeing and sailing — or head to the complimentary kids' club. Dinner and breakfast are buffet-style, but there's also a beachside bar-restaurant offering drinks and light meals.
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££ | KIDS' CLUB | POOL | Best for age-appropriate kids' clubs
This hilltop resort on Sardinia's southernmost tip has various accommodations and the spacious bedrooms of its elegant Hotel Village are well suited to those travelling with children — Family Superior cottages even have private patios. The pool here is also the largest on the resort, with a shallow area especially for little ones. Right beside it is the Mezze restaurant where all ages dine on simple dishes under sun umbrellas. The four kids' clubs are split by age, with everything from baby discos to adventurous activities for teens.££ | KIDS' CLUB | POOL | Best for water babies
Sardinian for 'Golden Bee', this five-star resort sits beside the white sands of Golfo di Marinella on the Costa Smeralda — and all Family Classic rooms have terraces overlooking the tempting waters of the Mediterranean. The kids' club is included in the price of the room and even extends to supervising children in the swimming pool; there's also a play park, mini football pitch and tennis court. Parents can have a night off in one of the complex's many bars or places to eat while their children enjoy one of the restaurant's 'no grown-ups allowed' evenings. There's also a crowd-pleasing pizzeria.££ | KIDS' CLUB | POOL | Best for on-site activities
Le Palme is just one of a whopping eight hotels located within the sprawling Forte Village resort in southern Sardinia — its lovely family bungalows happily sleep two adults and two children. It was one of the first resorts to introduce academies for children, so they can choose between sports programmes focused on rugby, fencing, netball or dance, or sign up for lessons in magic or chess. Parents should spend their well-deserved time off in the Thalasso spa or flitting between the complex's many restaurants.££ | KIDS' CLUB | POOL | Best for getting away from it all
Occupying a relatively isolated position on its own private beach, this low-rise, terracotta-roofed resort is a relaxed option for a family holiday. There are seven seawater swimming pools, including one just for children, and staff are on hand in a well-equipped play area to entertain those aged from 4 to 12. With wooden ceilings and tiled floors, the 220 rooms are decorated in timeless Sardinian style; balconies or terraces benefit from a sea view or one overlooking the palm-dotted landscaped gardens. There's a free shuttle service to Porto Cervo, but those wishing to explore further afield should consider hiring a car.
• Read our full guide to Italy• The best of Sardinia
£ | POOL | Best for a small-scale stay
Just over half an hour's drive from Cagliari airport this charming, diminutive hotel is set among rolling lawns on the south coast of Sardinia. Book well in advance to nab the family room, which comprises a generous double and a smaller twin, or consider choosing one of the resort's 32 apartments. Youngsters can make the most of complimentary children's entertainment in the swimming pool during July and August (two hours a day, three times a week), and will doubtless spend hours playing with the water feature in the shallow end.£££ | KIDS' CLUB | POOL | Best for beach-lovers
This hotel in the island's northeast sits behind what some argue is Sardinia's finest sandy beach, Lu Impostu, a half-mile arc lapped by shallow waters ideal for younger children. The kids' club caters to creative and nature-loving types as well as offering the usual array of sports — and there are exceptional opportunities for canoeing, kayaking, diving and snorkelling. Family rooms are generously sized, with a balcony or patio.££ | POOL | Best for creative couples with kids
One of the island's best boutique properties, this arty enclave beneath the Supramonte mountains is a great pick for aesthetes not yet ready to embrace a fully fledged family hotel. As well as offering art itineraries and baking courses, its 71 rooms and suites are individually decorated with work by local painters and sculptors, and several can accommodate an extra bed. The unheated pool is manned by a lifeguard, and there's also a small children's play area. Guests of all ages will love the food — from handmade pasta to spit-roasted meats, served either in the herb garden or on the hotel's delightful terrace.£ | POOL | Best for a bargain private beach
This is a rare beast — an affordable hotel with its own beautiful beach. It's ten minutes from the celebrated Forte Village resort and benefits from an almost-as-idyllic coastal location — and guests can book into one of the 87 rooms at Is Morus Relais for a fraction of the cost of its neighbour. Mature trees and Mediterranean gardens surround the hotel's traditional white and terracotta-roofed buildings and eight villas, and staff are friendly and attentive. There are two restaurants — La Terrazza is particularly lovely, serving Italian dishes with a sea view — as well as a children's play area and a devoted pool for kids.
broadwaytravel.com
£ | POOL | Best for a pre-flight stay
A very short hop from Costa Smeralda's main airport, this bright and modern hotel is a great pick for families keen to squeeze every last drop out of their holiday — the pool is particularly lovely, surrounded by tangerine-coloured sun umbrellas and potted cacti. Rooms are decently sized and the hotel can add rollaway beds for a small surcharge. Nearby Olbia is often overlooked, but has a charming historic centre packed with atmospheric piazzas. If parents want an evening out in the city, the hotel can arrange babysitting, but alternatively there's a good bar and restaurant on site.£££ | KIDS' CLUB | POOL | Best for active families
This chic, low-rise hotel combines understated looks with an above-average offer for families. Alfresco cinema and boat trips into the bay are just some of the activities available and facilities include tennis courts, indoor and outdoor play areas, and multiple pools — children can be enrolled in a swimming academy. The kids' club is creative, offering puppet theatres, a petting zoo and photo workshops, as well as the usual gamut of sports.£ | KIDS' CLUB | POOL | Best for babies and their parents
This all-inclusive hotel on Sardinia's northeast coast makes good use of its location overlooking the Golfo Aranci, even providing guests with free canoes so they can explore its shores. All bedrooms have balconies but it's worth plumping for one of the superior rooms nearest to the beach. Decor varies from fresh to a touch dated, but accommodation is well thought-out for families. The hotel's summer childcare programme caters for babies up to 17-year-olds, including an assisted sleeping room for the smallest guests, so tired new parents can unwind in the wellness centre or get horizontal beside the more relaxed of the hotel's two pools.£££ | KIDS' CLUB | POOL | Best for laid-back luxury
7Pines Sardinia follows the model that's been so successful at its sister resort in Ibiza — combining second-to-none facilities with exceptional service in a stellar coastal location. Its 76 individually designed rooms overlook either impeccably landscaped gardens or the Maddalena Archipelago, which can also be explored aboard the hotel's fleet of luxury yachts. Cherishing the planet is a cornerstone of the kids' club philosophy — sustainable activities include upcycling and gardening, and your children will be able to put theory into practice at the hotel's lovely private beach.££ | KIDS' CLUB | POOL | Best for sea views
Situated in Sardinia's north, this is part of the well-regarded local hotel group Delphina and prides itself on its family-friendly credentials — just like its sister property, the Le Dune resort in Badesi. The kids' club hours are unusually extensive (9.30am to 6.30pm), entertaining ages from 3 to 14 with activities from beach volleyball to dance classes. The bougainvillea-strewn L'Arcipelago restaurant is a charming spot for lunch, while rooms are tastefully done out with white walls and fabrics featuring local motifs. Many have knockout views of La Maddalena Archipelago National Park, which can also be explored on a boat trip booked through the hotel. The full-day tour aboard the Pulcinella, a period wooden sailing ship, is particularly atmospheric.
hotelcaladilepre.com£££ | KIDS' CLUB | POOL | Best for eco-luxe family travel
This two-hotel complex is the very definition of sustainable luxury. Although there are 271 rooms and suites, four swimming pools (one with a swim-up bar), and seven restaurants spread across its lush gardens, the resort's low-rise profile and abundant use of natural materials makes it feel at one with its environment. No expense has been spared to make family visits stress-free — as well as an adventurous kids' club (with in-house pizzeria), there's a doctor and pharmacy on site too.
hotelvalledellerica.com
Read our full review of Valle dell'Erica Thalasso & Spa Resort
• Best hotels in Sardinia• Sardinia v Sicily: which is better?
Additional reporting by Julie Alpine and Maria Pasquale
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Sardinia has the best of Italy. These are its loveliest hotels
Beaches better than the sands of Campania, archaeological heritage to match Sicily, mountain hikes on a par with the Dolomites and food as inventive as any of its fellow Italian regions . . . Sardinia is truly the best of the bel paese. Most visitors, of course, come to the Med's second largest island for its beaches. Who could blame them? The coastline here is dreamy and each stretch is a world of its own. The north is the most famous, from the Costa Smeralda — the jet-set resort established by the Aga Khan, where pristine coves have views of the idyllic Maddalena archipelago — on the east side to Stintino on the west, where fabled sandy beaches melt into the sea. Then there's the south, known for family-friendly resorts along the horseshoe-shaped stretch from Pula to the capital, Cagliari, and down again to Villasimius at the southeastern tip. But that's not all. Stretching down Sardinia's wild eastern flank is a dramatic seaboard of precipitous cliffs and coves best accessed by boat (day trips leave from surrounding towns such as Cala Gonone), while down the western side, along heart-in-mouth rollercoaster roads, lie spectacular shores with thick desertlike sands and vast dunes. Tourism is relatively new here — until the Nineties the coast below Oristano was best known for its mines. Today it's called the Costa Verde, with fascinating industrial heritage to remind you of its roots. And that's the joy of Sardinia: discreet reminders of its past are everywhere. In seaside Alghero the streets are bilingual in Italian and Catalan, remembering centuries of Aragonese rule. Across the island stand 7,000 nuraghi: looming prehistoric edifices that were probably used as watchtowers. There are megalithic tombs, temples and sculptures. There are Punic citadels, Roman towns and Christian catacombs. And since most people stick to the beach, they're often all yours. One piece of advice: don't ignore the mountainous inland. This is where you'll find the real Sardinia — where the cannonau vines and clean air keep centenarians healthy, where you can hike from mountain to megalith, and where old traditions endure (the pagan-rooted carnival celebrations are the trip of a lifetime). Drag yourself off the beach and you'll find the best of Italy here. This article contains affiliate links, which can earn us revenue It's a match made in heaven: Italy's ritziest coastline and one of the world's most luxurious hotel brands. Tucked into a fold of the Porto Cervo coastline (perhaps the very poshest bit of the Costa Smeralda), the 1965-built Romazzino has a celebrated past — Princess Margaret, Grace Kelly and half the Beatles have passed through its doors — but was brought up to date with an overhaul in 2024. Not that it's had a complete facelift; there's still a retro feel to the rooms, with colourful tiles and unadorned wood furniture. Four yawning hectares of gardens distract from the sea views, interiors match the outside with granite and wood materials, and sinuous curves provide privacy away from your fellow guests. Don't miss the simple grill-on-the-sand restaurant, Éntu e B&B doubles from £1,068. Fly to Olbia The Costa Smeralda doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. Just like its glitzier cousins, this four-star sits right on the waterfront with the kind of vistas for which other Costa Smeralda hotels charge thousands. The difference? Fewer creature comforts. There's no pool, for starters, but then you don't exactly need one — the beach is right outside and the clear water is perfect for swimming and snorkelling. All 100 rooms are beach-perfect: bright, summery spaces with sea-blue tiled floors, white furniture and floor-to-ceiling windows — even in the entry-level options (though it's well worth splurging for a sea view). The sandy Cala Battistoni beach is a five-minute walk Seven nights' B&B from £789pp, including flights and car hire ( This discreet four-star keeps things tranquil on the chichi Costa Smeralda. Instead of a prime beachfront location, it's set a little back with the forested Monti Corru mountain rearing up behind. That said, you still get views of the sea and the Maddalena archipelago from just about everywhere. There's an Instagrammable feel to the rooms — all cork-panelled walls, earthy drapes and pops of sea and sun in the colourful fabrics — and even the entry-level contenders have their own independent entrance, ramping up the intimacy. You'll also find a strong emphasis on wellness, from yoga in the garden to sound Three nights' B&B from £978pp, including flights and car hire or transfers ( The clue's in the nature-centric name. This 75-room hotel sprawls in 40 acres of landscaped grounds, including those pines, and opens out on to no fewer than four secluded coves in front of the Maddalena archipelago. If you prefer nurture, there are two pools, an 800 sq m spa, tennis, padel and basketball courts, plus water sports galore. Rooms are categorised according to their location: 'Gardens' are immersed in greenery, 'Lagunas' cluster around a laid-back pool of the same name, and 'Sea Views' do exactly what they say on the tin. As night falls, the focus moves inwards — there's even a nightclub, with DJs and live music taking Room-only doubles from £294. Fly to Olbia You're not far from the glittering waters of the Costa Smeralda, yet you also get a taste of the real, mountainous Sardinia at this hotel sculpted from an old stazzu (farmstead) and wedged among boulders. Between rocks and greenery, its entry-level rooms accentuate that wilderness is somehow more atmospheric than pricier categories with far-off sea views. In all cases you'll get rustic-chic style (hand-carved bed frames, rough-painted walls), a terrace and — for Pool Junior Suites and above — your own tiny pool. The Michelin-starred restaurant, Il Fuoco Sacro, creates dishes from the hotel farm's vegetables, cheese and even some meats, while the smallish communal pool overlooks the Gulf of B&B doubles from £391. Fly to Olbia 'Nest' is no exaggeration: this three-bedroom villa is perched in the undergrowth above the coast, slotted into a landscape of olives and pines. Your bird's-eye view means the Costa Smeralda twinkles in the distance as the house is enfolded in greenery. Those bright colours are all visible from the oversized windows in your living room and from the terrace and pool, which point towards the bay. With two king rooms and a twin, this is a particularly good bet for families with older kids. It's just over a mile's drive to the sandy, forest-backed Sciumara Seven nights' self-catering for six from £3,046. Fly to Olbia Shimmy west from the Costa Smeralda and you'll hit the far northwestern tip of Sardinia, a curled finger beckoning to Corsica as it stretches north. Jaw-droppingly beautiful, this area offers soft dunes, long beaches and quick hops to Asinara, the 'donkey island' just offshore, which isn't home to just any old donkeys, but indigenous white-coated ones. Don't worry about the 'club' in the name — this is a great little four-star containing just 48 rooms, all with balconies, in 10,000 sq m of grounds. The pool is filled with saltwater while the beach, facing Asinara, is private. Kids' play areas, tennis and beach-volleyball courts make it a good bet for families too. La Pelosa, possibly Sardinia's lushest beach, is just over a mile Five nights' B&B from £462pp, including flights ( • 19 of the best family hotels in Sardinia A wild headland towards the northwest tip of the island isn't the glam Sardinia of holiday brochures. Instead it's a more remote and back-to-nature kind of place, and all the better for it. Inside a namesake protected area, the clifftop Villa Nurra is an old farmhouse converted into a four-bedroom family-friendly villa whose walled garden, fenced-off pool and bunk beds render it a good fit for families with younger kids. The decor is pleasantly rustic, typified by exposed stone walls, while the sea is visible beyond the garden and fields of cows and Seven nights' self-catering for nine from £2,855. Fly to Alghero Sardinia produces some of Italy's best wines, and you'll be a short stagger upstairs from nightly samples at this vino-themed stay in the countryside near Alghero. A former farmhouse swaddled by 44 acres of vineyards and olive groves, it's now a six-room retreat for anyone aged 12 and over. Pair mornings by the pool with afternoons of tastings (try the home-grown vermentino), tours of those groves or a bike ride into town — Alghero is half an hour away. Rooms are simple but tasteful — think wooden floorboards, cheerfully tiled bathrooms and the odd wooden beam — while even the cheapest have sofa-filled balconies overlooking the Seven nights' B&B from £1,199pp, including flights and car hire ( Sea vistas needn't be expensive. Etched into a cliffside, the four-star Petraladda has views for days: of the multicoloured houses of neighbouring town Castelsardo, clinging to the cliff; of the small Pedraladda beach, immediately below; and of the sea ambling towards the Strait of Bonifacio and Corsica. Drink them all in from its rooftop pool, or from the floor beneath, where a restaurant juts out over the blue, or from your window. In each bedroom sunny yellows and sea blues complement the colours outside; splash out on a still affordable superior for some of those sea Seven nights' B&B from £594pp, including flights and transfers Get the best of both worlds courtesy of this castlelike grande dame. You'll be right in the middle of Alghero, the delectable seafront town that's more Catalan than Italian thanks to its past rulers, yet also far from the crowds on your very own private peninsula. Italian royals used to love this escape, separated from the masses by two hectares of grounds. Today its 24 rooms still have that classical style with lashings of drapery, antiques galore and views over gardens or the sea. Flop by the saltwater pools or set up a lounger on one of the tongues of rock extending into the B&B doubles from £223. Fly to Alghero As the summer holidays drag on, well-heeled parents sigh and think of Forte Village. It's not just that the southern coast east of Cagliari is more family-friendly than the Costa Smeralda. This resort is also legendary for providing the kids with so much to do: bowling, ceramics classes, a waterpark, even a Barbie-themed area. Feeling competitive? Train them up at one of Forte's academies, where the great and good of the sporting world often shower a bit of stardust on the little blighters. Tennis, fencing, dance and boxing — they're all on offer. There's plenty for parents too, including the Acquaforte Thalasso and Spa, which specialises in seawater treatments and has circuits taking in six Half-board doubles from £454. Fly to Cagliari Here's your leafy retreat in Sardinia's capital: an elegant art nouveau mansion inside one of the poshest parts of the city, turned into a graceful 19-room hotel (having also once been a convent). Depending on the category, your room, designed by the owner, Lucina Cellino, might have an exposed-stone wall, an in-room hot tub or a soothing view over the back lawn. Whichever you pick, you'll enjoy this home-from-home. The staff are invariably delightful, the public areas are drenched in art and the garden sunloungers instil a holiday vibe whether you're on your first or last night. It's an easy drive to one of Italy's best archaeology museums in the Castello B&B doubles from £102. Fly to Cagliari An hour's drive southwest of Cagliari, past the ancient Phoenician city of Nora, gets you to Chia, one of the southernmost points of Sardinia (next stop: Tunisia). This is a coastline of immense beauty and family-friendly calm-watered beaches, and the resort of Chia Laguna, overlooking a flamingo-filled lagoon, makes the most of it. One of three hotels here, its family-centric Conrad has a kids' club hosting youngsters up to 17 years old, a children's pool and activities for teens including riding, tennis, snorkelling and, new for 2025, a football academy. Modern rooms keep the focus on the outside through the huge windows or patio doors. Choose either the hotel's Laguna (closer to the sea; better for couples) or Oasis (family-friendly; immersed in gardens) B&B doubles from £210. Fly to Cagliari On Sardinia's southeastern tip, astride the deliciously named Capo Carbonara, is peaceful Villasimius, where white-sand beaches are two-a-penny. The Stella Maris sits on one of its own so, while there's an on-site pool, you'd be mad not to swap it for the loungers and parasols set up on the sand. A four-star, it's secluded from other hotels and set in a pine forest that backs on to the shore. They aren't afraid of colour here, with pastel greens, soft yellows and emerald pine tones on the walls. All 49 rooms also have balconies, affording inland views that are just as soothing as those of the Five nights' half-board from £1,302pp, including flights and transfers ( • 24 of the best things to do in Sardinia 'Retreat' is no exaggeration for this eight-bedroom villa, tucked away in the forested hills behind Sardinia's less-visited southwest coast. Perched on an eyrie-like hillock from which you can survey the landscape as it unfurls to the sea, it has everything you need: proper lawns, enough loungers for everyone around the 15m pool and even a spit roast with the barbecue so you can have a go at cooking Sardinia's famous porceddu (suckling pig). Oh, and there's a vast shaded table area for everyone to enjoy it in. Inside, it's a modern affair with contemporary art and film posters on the walls, and windows that perfectly frame the wild outdoors. Grab a bike from downstairs — the sprawling, sandy Portixeddu beach, popular with surfers and one of the area's largest, is an easy ride Seven nights' self-catering for 16 from £3,448. Fly to Cagliari Here's a case of Robinson Crusoe meets five-star luxury. It took three years to refurbish what used to be an old mining warehouse (and, later, a simple hotel) on the beach into today's top-notch resort, and plenty of wildness remains. For starters, they didn't redo the unpaved road that leads here, crossing some of Europe's highest dunes on its way, and the hotel really does sit right on the sand. Despite such a spectacular location, it's not all about what lies outside the deceptively simple rooms, where sand-coloured walls give way to sandy patios. There's an art collection too, including pieces designed for the B&B doubles from £265. Fly to Cagliari If it was good enough for the ancients, it's good enough for us. Sardinia's Nuragic people were the first to settle the Sinis peninsula, on the west coast near what is now the city of Oristano. Later, the Phoenicians turned it into a trading port, and they were followed by the Carthaginians, Romans and Spanish. You can see the remains of these civilisations at Tharros, an archaeological site racked along the cliff, and stay nearby in the small town of Cabras, where this four-star 'scattered hotel' (an Italian speciality) is spread across several buildings around town. The 1950s Laguna building has six classic-looking rooms overlooking the pretty Cabras lagoon, with a birdwatching terrace on the roof. Note that as this is an albergo diffuso, the buildings aren't always manned, giving the vibe of a more independent B&B doubles from £121. Fly to Cagliari It takes patience to reach the east coast of Sardinia — this is the wildest side of the island, where roads peter out into tracks and sheer cliffs dive into the sea — but if you make the trek, you're rewarded with pebbly coves that have nary another person on them. This sweet 40-room four-star manages the best of both worlds: it's plum in Cala Gonone town itself, yet steeped in clifftop greenery and just 300m from the pebbly Palmasera beach. Pared-back rooms emphasise the greens and blues outside. There's a pool, a tennis court, a five-a-side football pitch and a kids' playground in the grounds, while the restaurant enables full-board stays if you just want to Seven nights' half-board from £1,004pp, including flights and car hire ( • The magical crowd-free Italian city that stays warm in winter Round up the family because this nine-room villa is the stuff of dreams — and it becomes attainable if you can fill it up. On the beach at Capo Coda Cavallo, or Cape Horsetail, which flicks upwards into the Tyrrhenian Sea about 12 miles southwest of Olbia, it has direct access to two beaches, as well as its own infinity pool beside the Mediterranean scrub. Wallowing in an acre of coastal gardens, it has room for loungers on the lawn, a pine-shaded dining area and even a patio cantilevered over the beach. Inside lie slick, brightly painted rooms, as well as a cottage suite in the garden, with floor-to-ceiling windows always pointing you outside. Rates include a housekeeper, butler and cook, but not Seven nights' self-catering for 17 from £38,299 ( Fly to Olbia If you prefer the wild east of Sardinia but don't want to scrimp on comforts or ease, pick this: a two-bedroom apartment overlooking a sandy beach outside Arbatax, one of the east coast's larger (though still small) resorts. This is Capo Bellavista, or Cape of Good View, and that's no exaggeration. Facing towards mainland Italy, it's a place of dazzling dawns and a jumping-off point for the beaches and coves along this stretch. Though the flat is compact — a double room, a twin and a sofa bed, all sharing one bathroom — it offers sweeping views of the bay from a large Seven nights' self-catering for six from £1,967. Fly to Olbia This dubs itself an 'experience hotel' and that's spot-on. In the island's wild entroterra, or interior, Su Gologone offers activities such as trekking through canyons and caves, taking a 4×4 up the mountainside or dropping in on Europe's largest karst sinkhole. Back at base you can learn embroidery, make ceramics, stargaze or listen to traditional tenores singers every Friday night. The hotel is a repository of Sardinian art — its owner, Giovanna Palimodde, has collected about 900 works — while the bedrooms, always stylish, range from rustic doubles full of traditional Sardinian artisanship to the outrageously romantic Wild Suite, which is wholly B&B doubles from £244. Fly to Olbia Of all 7,000 nuraghi in Sardinia, only one enjoys Unesco world heritage status: the formidable Su Nuraxi di Barumini, a vast defensive complex spread along a plain in central southern Sardinia. Fifteen minutes' drive east is the village of Gergei and this luxury four-room B&B, lovingly converted from a 19th-century farmhouse (one room's in a stable-like building) into an upmarket take on how its owner Samuel Lai's ancestors would have lived. That means low lighting, exposed-stone walls, headboards made from traditional orbace wool, artisanal carpets and pick-your-own eggs for breakfast. For the full slow tourism experience, take a ricotta-making class with Lai — he's a cheesemaker by B&B doubles from £103 ( Fly to Cagliari • The charming Italian island where our war correspondent goes to relax In the highlands behind the Costa Smeralda, Cascioni manages to combine five-star luxury with eco-friendly policies encompassing renewable energy, electric house cars, re-used water and organic farming, for starters. Within an 18-hectare estate overlooking the Padula Saloni nature reserve and lagoon, this is a boho kind of luxury: the bedrooms, all of which feature understated whitewashed walls and wooden bed frames, get their own shaded patios, ringed by olive and mastic trees. Guests can collect their own veg and eggs, then have them cooked to order; spa treatments use products based on Sardinian herbs and local honey. The pool suites have their own pint-sized pools surrounded by Seven nights' B&B from £1,799pp, including flights and car hire ( You're only half an hour away from the Costa Smeralda beaches, but up here in the mountainous highlands behind the coast you're in another world. Not just the world of rolling hills and boulder-strewn peaks but also a liminal world between the living and the dead. Around Luogosanto ('sacred place') is a land of prehistoric stone circles, nuraghe and tombe dei giganti (megalithic burial sites), as well as gargantuan olive trees that are more than 1,000 years old. Gallicantu takes those eternal peace vibes and adds olive groves, beehives, pick-your-own vegetable patches and a cherry orchard. The simple whitewashed rooms overlook granite boulders, the pool is surrounded by olive and myrtle trees, and a cave-turned-wine cave is the ideal aperitivo B&B doubles from £182. Fly to Olbia
