Alghero, Sardinia (Italy)

As you might already know, I can get a bit crazy about organizing trips. After one year of travels to Paris, Stockholm, La Rochelle, Paris again, and Copenhagen, I decided it was time for me to take a break: book some holiday with my boyfriend and forget all about schedules, waking up early, being at the museum at 10, staying until 12, having lunch for 35 minutes and head off to the next 1001 places on our "to do list". Time had come for a relaxing time. I booked two flight tickets to Alghero, Sardinia.

Of course, even the most peaceful times require some planning. So for the month until we departed, I planned how to do nothing for 4 days. And looking back, I am glad to announce I was quite successful at it.

Alghero, Sardinia
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Sardinia is, after Sicily, the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is a region of Italy, and lies just south of Corsica.
Alghero is located in the North West part of the island, in the Province of Sassari. It is a pleasant medieval town, with very strong Catalan influence.

I picked this destination after reading about it in a magazine, as it seemed to be the perfect place for a short, late summer break. And it was.

Getting there
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Flying is obviously the easiest option when coming from the UK, but you can also take ferries from Italy or France.

We booked our tickets with Ryanair, from Stansted Airport. They also fly there from Liverpool.
The flights were incredibly cheap: £26 return, but my incapability of making quick decisions resulted in paying £41.
So here's my tip: when something cannot get cheaper on Ryanair, do not wait.
However, I am not yet in a position to advise you what to do if the ticket is cheap, but could get cheaper. I have been tricked a few times, as prices went down after I booked, or up right before. Yes, budget airlines can be tricky, even terribly frustrating, but remember, everything is relative. £41 is cheap.

From Stansted airport, there only is one flight a day, which departs early in the morning and arrives in Sardinia before 10 o' clock.
I slept through the entire flight, and woke up just in time for my favourite moment: landing. I find landings to be absolutely thrilling. This one was simply wonderful: from the plane, Sardinia looked totally amazing, with all those hills surrounded by the beautiful sea. The weather was great, and our holidays looked really promising indeed.

Fertilia Airport is only 8 kilometres from Alghero, but taxis are said to be very expensive (about 20 Euros), so we opted for the bus. You can buy the tickets for no more than 70 cents, at the small red box in the main hall. You need to have change with you. The ticket is valid for only one hour, so it is no use buying one for your return.

You can check the buses times online, at www.algheroairport.it.

The bus is the AA, and you can't miss it: it's orange. It takes about 20 minutes to reach the centre of Alghero, but there are several stops before that.
If you have any doubts on where to get off, you should ask at the information centre inside the airport. I didn't, and when I heard our bus driver tell me in Italian, that he didn't (want to) speak a single word of English, I first panicked, and decided it was time for all my planning to come in handy.
In my backpack, I had printed the name of every single place the bus stopped at, as well as a map of the city, and the campsite where we were going. In the end, it wasn't too hard to figure out where to ask the bus to stop. We took a small guess, but seemed to have made the right decision, as we reached our campsite shortly after getting off the bus.

So here's The Freak's tip: know where you're going. Or better, just know Italian.

Centro Storico
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The Old Town dates back to the 12th century. It is a very pretty place, surrounded by walls, and 7 Spanish Towers.
The Centro Storico is definitely worth exploring. It is made of tiny little streets, all very charming and typical, with clothes hanging out of the windows, and pizzerias at every corner. We went there at least once or twice a day, as it is, along with the beach, the main attraction in Alghero.

There, you can find souvenir shops, red corral jewelleries, bars, restaurants, ice cream parlours, several churches and a cathedral.

Our best moments in the Centro Storico included

* taking pictures of the tiny little streets and getting lost in this labyrinth.

* looking for a specific restaurant and asking everyone for directions with our poor Italian. Unfortunately, no one had heard of it and we were never able to find it. But the locals were friendly and patient, which made our little search something to remember later.

*Drinking cappuccino in a cafe

*Buying ice creams and watching the sunset from the walls.

Beaches
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Beaches in Sardinia are known to be incredibly beautiful, and the ones in Alghero are no exception. As soon as we settled in our campsite, we went out to look for the nearest beach -The Lido.

** The Lido runs from Alghero's Old Town.
I had read it wasn't too good compared to other beaches in the area, so I was pleasantly surprised that "not too good" in Sardinian actually means, "Beautiful with clear water and fine sand".
We could not wait to swim but the water temperature was a bit of a shock! I forgot to mention it was October time, so the sea had started getting colder. At the time we were there, it was about 20 degrees, which, in theory, is totally acceptable, but to me at the time, simply freezing cold.
Never mind. Nothing was going to stop us from feeling on holidays, and we dedicated most of our time on the beach, in the water, or in search of new beaches.

On our second morning, after having breakfast on the beach, we decided to walk along, see how far we would get. This is how we discovered

** Maria Pia. It starts off after the Lido, and continues for 2 kilometres, as far as Fertilia.
It is very similar to the Lido, only nicer, as it is located away from the main road, and protected by a pine wood.
The water there seems even clearer, and the sand is great too. I must say this beach must be one of my favourites, as it was beautiful, peaceful, and close to Alghero.

On the same day, we decided it was time we explored further horizons. We rented city bikes from our campsite (Price was 8 Euros a day, and you can have a mountain bike for 10 Euros or a scooter for 25).
Our first destination was

** Le Bombarde.
The ride there was very pleasant, first along the main road to Fertilia, where we saw an Old Roman bridge (see picture), then, on a cycling path, hidden among trees.
It took us no longer than 20 minutes to reach the beach. It is only 1 kilometre long, but very popular in the area. It can get quite busy. Everything there was great, but thinking back, the best part was the ride we took to get there! After a swim, we decided we had enough time to cycle around and find another beach.
We decided to head off to

** La Poglina.
While Le Bombarde had been quick and easy to reach, La Poglina turned out to be another story.
The beach is only 8.5 kilometres from the Alghero's Old Town, but the road is very hilly. It is quite a main road too, with dangerous curves.
My worst fear, as we carried on, downhill, was never to be able to go back up. I was also scared not to know what was to come. I am terrible at cycling, let alone cycling uphill, and I was really suffering! I had to get off the bike once, to catch my breath. On the other hand, the downhill bits were highly enjoyable. I felt so happy, feeling the speed and looking at the beautiful sea and mountains at the same time. After being "attacked" by some dogs, and what seemed a very long time, we reached Poglina beach.
I don't think it is the perfect location to go swimming, as it seems shallow and full of rocks, but the place was really great to look at, with all the mountains around. Definitely worth seeing, I would say.
A while later, we decided to head back. That time, I was having even more trouble going uphill, and even though the road wasn't too appropriate, I had to get off and walk. The only thing that made me go back on my bike straight away and cycle uphill at a sensible speed was the attack of the dogs -the sequel.
On the other hand, I must admit I was really surprised at how courteous and cautious drivers seemed to be. They all slowed down as they saw us, and I never felt like they were passing too close to me. Going back took us about 45 minutes.

We didn't have time to check out more beaches in the area, but the best ones also include

** Lazzaretto Beach, close to Le Bombarde.
If I had known about it before, we would definitely have gone there, as, judging from the bus, it seemed exceptionally beautiful.

**Punta Negra is another great beach- close to Le Bombarde - that must be worth checking out too.

Food and Restaurants
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Eating out in Alghero was something I was really looking forward to, after reading so many positive comments on the town's restaurants, and to my surprise, I was slightly disappointed.
Nothing was bad, only, I guess after all the reading, my expectations must have been a bit too high.

One thing to know about restaurants, despite the low prices, you will have to pay a service charge or cover charge, which, depending on places and where you sit, can be quite high. It also seemed impossible to get tap water, so even if you are not drinking wine, you will have to pay for bottle of mineral water.

On our first evening, we went to Nettuno's, on Piazza Civica. We sat inside -the service charge outside is more expensive- and ordered some pizzas. Mine was with vegetables and my boyfriend's with seafood. He apparently didn't enjoy the seafood on it. I must say the best part was the authentic taste of fresh oven-baked pizzas. I guess a simple Margherita would have been as good.
Prices were quite low, with pizzas ranging from 3 to 11 Euros, and being fairly big. So, in a nutshell, a good place, but don't bother paying more for fancy toppings. The service charge was 20% when seating outside, 15% inside.

On our second day, we went to Osteria Taverna Paradisio. Confused by all the Anti-Pasti, Hors d'Oeuvres, Second course, and Main course categories on the menu, we didn't want to look stupid or stingy by ordering starters as main courses, so we had pasta to start with, and shared a mix of grilled fish as a main course.
My pasta -spaghetti with clams- was very good. The fish was good too, very tasty, but we thought the portion was very small, with only a small fish, a fried squid and two king prawns.
I also ordered a Sardinian pastry for dessert, Seadas, which turned out to smell like very strong old cheese. The surprise passed, it tasted quite good, only I was more expecting it to be filled with some kind of creamy soft cheese instead. If someone knows, can you tell me: is it really meant to be that strong?
The service charge, I think, was about 2 euros each. And talking about the service, it was quite bad: very slow, impersonal, and any English word seemed to hurt the waiter's ears to the point he was making faces every time we said anything in English. I did try to speak Italian, but having forgotten how to say "bill", it took us about 5 minutes to actually get the bill, and not having anything else added to it!

On our third day, we had lunch in another pizzeria: Casablanca. I had read it was really good. I think that might have been our biggest disappointment.
Prices are low, starting at 3 Euros for a Marinara pizza, 4 Euros for a Margherita. Mine was with gorgonzola, for 5 Euros. However, the cover charge is 3 Euros per person. At first, we just wanted to share a pizza between us, but at the thought of paying 6 Euros -that is, more than the price of our pizza- , my boyfriend ordered one too. There was nothing wrong with our pizzas. But nothing great either. It might as well have been Pizza Hut, I wouldn't have noticed the difference. The pizzas were clearly missing the nice taste I had loved about Nettuno's. So it's not a bad place, but it's just not worth it.

Finally, for our last dinner, we went next door to Casablanca to the Spaghetteria al Solito Posto, a place specialized in Spaghetti. Our waiter, an old man, didn't speak any English, but he was very friendly and welcoming, and lit some candles on our table. We both ordered some sea food spaghetti and it was lovely.
The cover charge was only 1 Euro each.

One last thing I forgot to mention about restaurants is that most of them, if not all of them, have very nice vaulted ceilings that make them look very traditional and romantic.

-Capo Caccia and the Grotte di Nettuno
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An excursion to the Grotte di Nettuno was the only thing I had planned for our trip. Those are famous caves, 35 kilometres from Alghero. You can access them by boat, by car, or by bus.

Boats leave from the Port very frequently and all year round. However, if the sea is rough, you won't be able to get off the boat and leave disappointed.
A boat ticket costs 12 Euros.
Please, note that it doesn't include the entrance to the caves. You'll have to pay an extra 10 Euros for the visit on arrival. A few people seemed not to have been told about this and not too pleased to pay extra money for the Grotte.

For several reasons, we chose to go by bus.
From September to May, there is only one bus a day, departing at 9.15am, arriving shortly after 10 and heading back to Alghero at 12. A return ticket costs 3.50 Euros.
The drive was very scenic, especially as we arrived near Capo Caccia and made our way to the top of the cliff.
Once up there, there is a wonderful view (see picture). Take your time, as tours depart on the hour, and you will probably have missed the 10 o'clock one. Then, you will have to make your way down to the caves by using the "Escala del Cabriol", an impressive staircase, with 656 steps.
There again, we took a lot of pictures. The staircase really is an attraction in itself, and I would have been sad missing out on it. After the visit of the caves, the boats don't wait and I saw a few people who were disappointed not to have time to "experience" the staircase.

The visit costs 10 euros, and lasts for 30-40 minutes. As the first boat had just moored, slightly before 11, the tour was quite crowded, and it was hard to hear the guide, despite her microphone, with all the people talking, coughing, and the inevitable echo. Our guide also had quite a strong Italian accent, so in the end, I didn't learn much from the tour, but I had the chance to look around, and what I saw was impressive!

As you might have guessed, going back up was hard, but doable, and we caught the bus on time.

So here, my tip is, save money, have more fun, get fitter: take the bus!

Accommodation: our campsite
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There seemed to be plenty of hotels in Alghero, most of them located outside of the Old Town, along the beach.

I was going to choose one of them when I found out about a campsite: La Mariposa. The website seemed good so I booked 3 nights in a bungalow, for 26 Euros a night for two. I don't think we would have paid less anywhere else, and what we got was very nice.

Bungalows are basically a room, with 2 bunk beds, a wardrobe and cupboard with dishes and cutlery. Outside, at the back, you also get a nice terrace with a tiny kitchen and fridge.
This turned out to be very enjoyable, as we got some drinks and food from a discount supermarket (near the MacDonalds) and would have breakfast on the terrace, or ice tea in the afternoon.
Electricity and gas are included in the price, but you don't get a bathroom and have to buy hot shower tokens for 50 cents each if you don't want to have cold ones.

Now, here's my tip: the showers seemed to work without tokens for about 4 minutes. It might have been luck, but it worked for me and my boyfriend. He even changed shower to get another 4 minutes. In the end, we returned our unused tokens and got our money back!

Overall, the campsite was really good. Our room seemed a bit cold at first, but we were only there to spend the night. The campsite also has a gate to the beach, only a few meters from Maria Pia. Walking to town took us about 20/25 minutes, but it was along the beach, so very pleasant. There must be buses too, but we just didn't bother.

Conclusion
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Alghero really is a pretty town, with good history and beautiful beaches. We had a great time, relaxing on the beach all day, although in the summer, there seems to be plenty of activities to do (scuba diving, climbing, etc).
We were there in October and I was surprised at how lively the town was, especially in the evening or at weekends. It must probably get crowded in July and August, but October seemed to be a great time, as the weather was lovely, but not unbearably hot, and the crowds were gone.
Alghero gave me the chance to have the beach break I had been waiting for more than 2 years and I will always be grateful for it!Only 4 days there made me feel good for a long time afterwards. The only drawback was that there didn't seem to be many places to visit such as museums, etc.
But after all, Alghero is all about sitting back, relaxing, enjoying the view, and planning not to plan.