Italy Travel

Sardegna: Italy's Island Paradise

I had the pleasure of going to the island of Sardegna (aka Sardinia) in September. Sardegna is a large island off the coast of Italy, next to Corsica. It has the most incredible beaches and turquoise water.

Jenny Geyser

22 Nov 2024 • 6 min read

The turquoise water of Cala Brandinchi beach in Northeast Sardegna

Living in Italy is magical. The history, the art, the culture, the warmth of the people, the lifestyle, the language…I can go on and on.

Another benefit of living here, is how easy it is to travel and explore so many wonderful places that are so close and easy to get to.

I had the pleasure of going to the island of Sardegna (aka Sardinia) in September.

Have you seen any pictures of this heavenly island before? I followed countless instagram accounts showing photos of the most beautiful sea you’ve ever seen. I had been wanting to experience it for myself for years, even though I thought the pictures were probably filtered.

How could a place be that perfect? It seemed unreal.

Well….it was even more spectacular than I had expected. As enamored as I am with Rome, I fell instantly in love with Sardegna.

Sardegna is a large island off the coast of Italy, next to Corsica. The flight from Rome to Olbia was less than an hour. Easy peasy! I spent time only in the north east part, so there is much more to explore. I can’t wait to go back to see more.

The first part of the week we stayed in San Teodoro. This is a picturesque town just 25 minutes south of the Olbia airport with some of the most incredible beaches.

La Cinta, Lu Impostu and Cala Brandinchi were where we lounged and swam the first part of our trip.

I was grateful to be with my friend Tinna, who loves the sand and sea as much as I do. On a side note, when traveling, it’s so important to go with someone who shares the same interests as you...unless you’re good doing your own thing, which is also totally fine, of course! But to know that we both just wanted to explore the beaches and swim all day made the trip even better and sooo relaxing!

We had a long list of beaches to see.

The first was La Cinta…a long, sandy beach with turquoise water and spectacular views. You can easily stay there all day. The water is calm and shallow. You need to walk pretty far out to be able to dive all the way in.

We spent the next day at Lu Impostu which requires reservations during the busy summer months. This is to protect the beaches from overcrowding. This beach was paradise. It felt more quiet and private than La Cinta…like our own little piece of heaven. We laid on the white sand and swam all day…getting lunch at the beach bar and even drinking Prosecco in the sun. We stayed all the way past sunset until it started to get dark and we had to tear ourselves away.

Cala Brandinchi is a beach that is right next to Lu Impostu. The parking lot entrance is actually the same. As fabulous as Lu Impostu was, and how I thought nothing could compare, Cala Brandinchi was next level paradise. Its nickname is actually “Little Tahiti.” It was a smaller beach that was more crowded, but once we found our spot and settled in, it was absolute perfection. The color of the sea was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It was crystal clear and aquamarine. I spent almost the entire day soaking up the sun and floating in that blissful water. I still think about it everyday. It was my most favorite beach I’ve ever been to.

Each night we would walk through the town of San Teodoro and had some delicious meals with Sardinian specialties. There is a crispy thin bread served that I looked forward to every time we ate. Also, the decadent Seadas, which is a fried dessert filled with local cheese and soaked in honey. Yum!

The town also had local jewelry, art and vintage markets to stroll through, and a pretty little piazza.

After several days in San Teodoro, we made our way further north to the La Maddalena Archipelago. Many people say this is the most beautiful part of Sardegna, with stunning natural landscape and more turquoise sea.

My friend Tinna lives in Tuscany and brought her car to Sardegna on the ferry. I definitely suggest having a car to make it easier to explore the island and beaches.

La Maddalena is a separate island off the main part of Sardegna. It’s only a 15 minute ferry ride from the coastal town of Palau. It’s super easy to take the car on the ferry. You just drive right on. It was so easy and smooth, actually, that we didn’t even know the ferry was moving and we were already halfway across the bay!

The town of La Maddalena was quaint and beautiful. I highly recommend spending a few nights there. The beaches are different than the ones in San Teodoro. They are much smaller coves which often require a hike to get to, or some extremely rough dirt roads that almost seemed like you were going the wrong way!

The archipelago is actually made up of multiple smaller islands. One is Caprera which you can reach by car on a narrow bridge type road across the sea.

Caprera was one of the most stunning places of natural beauty I’ve ever seen. We imagined it’s what the garden of Eden must have been described as. The beach we went to there was a small cove, not very crowded, with clear aquamarine water that changed colors based on the time of day and where the sun hit it. Breathtaking.

There are so many incredible spots to watch sunset, too, with the unique landscape and the rock formations. Our favorite was Bassa Trinita, which required a little hike to reach, and had the most gorgeous views.

Our intent was to take a boat tour but it was quite windy the days we were there, so it’s on the list for next time! It’s supposed to be the best way to enjoy La Maddalena.

Growing up by the beach in Southern California, I’ve always been in love with the ocean, the sea, the sand and sunshine!

I’ve been to many absolutely gorgeous beaches all over the world, from Amalfi Coast, Hawaii, Tahiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Greece, Australia, and more…

But the beaches I experienced in Sardegna were my most favorite yet.

Sardegna is also one of only 5 “blue zones” of the world. These are the areas that have been found, through extensive research, to have the longest living people. The evidence is based on close-knit community, time in nature, quality of food, movement and living a purposeful life.

Sardegna definitely has a magical energy.

I can’t wait to go back and see even more of this island paradise.

Now that it’s getting cold in Rome, I’m missing the hot sun and warm sea!

Italy is filled with some of the most gorgeous coastline and beaches. Puglia is another region known as the “Caribbean of Italy.” I’ll be leading a retreat there from June 30-July 6th. If you’re looking for an amazing way to spend your summer, enjoy a week in Sardegna and a week on retreat with me in Puglia…the most southern part in the heel of the boot!

We’ll practice yoga, swim in crystal clear waters, hike, make ceramics, drink local wine and eat the most delicious farm-to-table cuisine. Puglia is known to have some of the best food in Italy!

Click here for all the details or email me at jenny@brillarewellness.com.

Have a beautiful start to your holiday season!

Sending love and magic your way.

Con tanto amore,

Jenny