Casa La Maddalena Villa rental

Beaches: choices, choices...

Whether you are a Costa Smeralda habitué or neophyte, I am certain you will have to agree with us that beaches, some of the world's most spectacular beaches are what distinguishes the Costa. Our infinity edge pool equipped with a counter current jet-stream, imbedded in the macchia and bizarre rock formations certainly offers perfect relaxation and refreshment on a hot summer day, but frankly, it has to take second place to exploring the snow-white sandy beaches boarding the turquoise blue Mediterranean. Here is a short review of some of the Costa's most spectacular beaches:
- Cappricioli
- Piccolo Pevero
- Spiagga del Principe
- Long Beach ("Liscia Ruia")
- Piccolo Pevero
- Phi Beach - Baia Sardinia
- Rena Majore
- Porto Pollo
- Capo Testa

Cala di Volpe/Romazzino area (Cappricioli, Piccolo Romazzino, Spiaggia del Principe)

Our favorite area are the sites near the Cala di Volpe and Romazzino hotels. From Casa la Maddalena you take the road to Porto Cervo. Turn off right at Abbiadori and follow the road to Cala di Volpe. The winding road down form Abbiadori offers one of the most spectacular scenery of the whole Costa Smeralda. In the far distance you see the mountains of Tavolara. Pass by Hotel Cala di Volpe towards Hotel Cappricioli (see Google Map for reference). From here you can access three gorgeous beachse within a couple of kilometers.

Cappricioli

Coming from Cala di Volpe follow the road all the way to the end, past Hotel Cappriccioli (and the left turn to Hotel Romazzino) until you reach a large parking area (picture). Within 50m  you will find a couple of white sandy beaches separated by huge rocks. The water is emerald blue as you would expect from the Costa Smeralda. Easy access make this beach perfect if you carry a lot of gear and your children hate to walk.

Piccolo Pevero

This is one of our favorites among this set of beaches. Access is a bit more complicated and parking is at a premium as Villa owners do their best to keep you from this paradise beach. You access is coming from the hotel Cala di Volpe, but instead of going straight to Cappricioli you turn left towards Hotel Romazzino. Follow the Romazzino Road for about 1km and turn right on Via delle Mimose. Follow the winding road down. Just before you reach the villa area park your car. Continue the road and take the first turn to the right (see Google map below). Follow for about 30m and the a small path to the right continues for about 150m to the first beach. On the right end of the beach you climb a narrow goat path for about 50 m up and down until you reach Piccolo Romazzino. Don't listen to the complaints from you family members about the arduous and thorny path. You will be well compensated when you reach this gem of a beach.

Spiaggia del Principe ("Prince's") beach

It is the "non-plus-ultra" among the most gorgeous costa smeralda beaches because of its pure white sand, the surrounding lush green macchia and the sea painted in all shades of blue and emerald.

You access it by following the road to Romazzino beyond the Via delle Mimose turn-off until you hit the next right turn off (name of the road escapes me). Follow the road down  to the beach for about 150 m turning to the right on a smaller road you will see the a large beach to your right accessible through a narrow path (see picture below). Car parking should be a bit easier here, but you have to leave it quite a bit above the beach. "No name beach" is another gem you will enjoy.

A final thought on the Cala di Volpe/Romazzino beaches: if you enjoy privacy, then go in  June or September/October. For July and August, you will have to share it with quite a few compadres. The recipe then is to go early (I mean 0900-ish) or very late (after 1700). Enjoy.

Long Beach

For those of you who love walking or running on an "endless" white sandy beach, Long Beach should be your choice. It es in the same area as the Cala di Volpe Romazzino beaches, but a bit further south. During the July-August season peak, the "Long Beach Bay" is the mecca of the yachting glitterati. You will find upward of 50 of the worlds most beautiful yachts anchored here as it is much cheaper than Porto Cervo harbor and on top you get one of the world's most beautiful view for free.
You access Long Beach coming from Abbiadori (see Cala di Volpe/Romazzino write up). Going down you go past the turn-off of the road to Olbia and take the next small road to the right. It's a serious challenge to your car's suspension, unless you drive a SUV. As you can see from the attached Google map, you will follow this narrow, washed out and bumpy road for a couple of km until you find a suitable parking space above the beach. Actually, beyond Long Beach, there is smaller, but equally attractive beach to the south. If you need space to jog or run, Long Beach is the way to go!

Piccolo Pevero

I am afraid the  satellite fotographers  of Google Earth blinked when they were taking the picture of Piccolo Pevero. This should, however, not hinder you from exploring this magnificent beach just off the Porto Cervo road beyond Abbiadori. You follow the main road for about 2 km past Abbiadori until you reach the turn-off to Piccolo Pevero on the right. You follow the winding road down for about 500m until you reach the village of Piccolo Pevero, a cluster of condo's with a quaint little beach (see map). Park the car either in the village or follow a narrow road westwards for about 200m. You will have to pass a gate an continue for about 100m until the scenery opens up for yet another most scenic beach (unfortunately it is covered by clouds on the right side of the above satellite map). It's also the starting point for a number of trails around the Pevero golf course to be explored in the spring and fall. Too hot in summer!

Phi Beach - Baia Sardinia

This place seems straight out of an Antonioni movie. Situated just below the Cappellini Fort (defending the island to the north during WW II) and near the hotel with the same name on the outskirts of Baia Sardinia (West of Porto Cervo) Phi Beach is both a magnificent beach during daytime and one of the in-places to go for the young and beautiful crowd at night. The sunsets at Phi Beach are among the most spectacular on the entire Costa. A couple of dozen comfortable white beds near the well stocked bar offer tired "beach warriors" a place to rest and enjoy. The time to go then is just before sundown to watch the spectacular sunsets and continue through the night "Antonioni-style".

Rena Majore

Tired of the nearby beaches? Is the Maestrale blowing the poolside umbrella away? Then its time for you to enjoy the elements at Rena Majore. You got plenty of space to enjoy this gorgeous sandy beach situated to the  southwest of Santa Teresa di Gallura, some 50km from the house (see map). If you got your surfboard with you then this is one of the places to go while the Maestrale is blowing. Of course, for those of you not enjoying to be blown away by the elements, wait for the wind to calm down before you take the road to Rena Majore. You won't regret the half hour drive.

Below you will find an excerpt from Google Earth to guide you to Rena Majore. The YouTube clip was taken on a sunny and very windy spring afternoon with the spring flowers in full bloom.

Porto Pollo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If we got you interested in windsurfing and kite flying action at Rena Majore with the Maestrale blowing, wait until you see Porto Pollo, Sardinia's capital of windsurfing. Only about 25km from the house (map) it's only an easy 20 min. ride with the car northbound. You will find an attractive, long sandy beach and plenty of space to set up camp, even on a busy sunday. It's one of the in-places where Europe's wind and kite surfers congregate. And, when the northwesterly Maestrale's turbo kicks in and the waves rise, Porto Pollo lets you transfer to the inlet where you can enjoy all the windpower without the waves. Plenty of action to enjoy an afternoon!

To wet your appetite, take a look at a couple of videos created in the summer of 2011 on a day when the maesterale blew up to 8 Beaufort.

 

Capo Testa - Beach of Giants

Capo Testa - land of giants from Klaus Huber on Vimeo.

You have to visit this beach when the northwesterly, the Maestrale blows: the heavy breakers roll in relentlessly which, combined with the howling winds, have sculptured over centuries the huge granite boulders into bizarre rock formations. Its the "giants beach" where huge animals protect the northeastern tip of Sardinia against potential invaders.

It's the perfect place to spend a day hiking or simply letting the wind clear your mind and soul.

Capo Testa is located an easy 45m drive from our house, just north of Santa Teresa di Gallura from where the boats take of across the Bocche di Bonifaccio to Corsica. Check the road here on Google Maps.

View Larger Map

One simply cannot resist to visit Capo Testa again and again. Here are my impressions from a mid-winter visit.