SARDINIA, the great tour

1° Day Olbia – Nuoro – Orgosolo - Oristano

Arrival in Olbia and disembarkation, then you will meet up with your guide and head for Nuoro, where you will visit the Church of Solitudine with the tomb of Grazia Deledda, and the Museo del Costume (closed on Mondays from 30th September to 30th May). Next destination Orgosolo , a small town of the Barbagia, rich in beautiful Murals, where you will have a typical lunch with the shepherds. In the afternoon you will head for Oristano, and along the way you will stop for a short visit to the Nuraghe Losa of Abbasanta. Your last destination for the day will be your hotel for your evening meal and accommodation.

2° Day Cagliari

After breakfast in the hotel, the entire day will be spent on a tour of Cagliari, where you will visit the main monuments (Sanctuary of Bonaria, Cathedral of Santa Maria, the towers, the ramparts, the Piemontese architectural buildings). Lunch in a restaurant, then a short tour along the coastline of the Poetto. Return to hotel in Oristano for evening meal and accommodation.

3° Day Tharros - Saccargia - Sassari (o Alghero)

Breakfast in hotel. In the morning a tour of the archaeological site in Tharros, an important area of Phoenician-Punic origin, conquered by the Romans and then abandoned in the year 1000 after the vandalic invasions. The area of the remains is rather strange, because it is rich in sand dunes that go right down to the sea. Visit to the early Christian Church of San Giovanni di Sinis, then return to hotel for lunch. In the afternoon you will head for Sassari (or Alghero), and along the way a short stop to visit the Romanesque Pisan Basilica of Saccargia, an excellent example of Romanesque Pisan architecture in Sardinia. Arrival at hotel for evening meal and accommodation.

4° Day ALGHERO AND OUTSKIRTS

Breakfast in hotel. The entire day will be spent on a sightseeing tour of Alghero and all the wonders around this capital city of tourism. You will visit the old part of Catalan origin (Church and Cloister of San Francesco, Piazza Civica, Teatro, the Gothic-Catalan style buildings, the ramparts and the towers). After lunch a scenic tour along the coral coastline as far as Capo Caccia, a truly beautiful calcareous promontory that includes the Grottos of Neptune, that you can reach either by going down the 654 steps of the Escala del Cabirol, or, if the weather is good, by going on a boat trip. Return to hotel for evening meal and accommodation.

5° Day SASSARI – CASTELSARDO – BAJA SARDINIA

Breakfast in the hotel, then a sightseeing tour of the city and its monuments (Church of Santa Maria, Dome of San Nicola, Piazza d’Italia with its elegant nineteenth century buildings, Corso Vittorio Emanuele etc.). If you wish, you can go on a tour of the city on the electric train (to be paid for). Next destination the pretty, medieval town of Castelsardo, high up on a promontory that is right in the middle of the Gulf of Asinara. Here you will visit the characteristic old part and the Cathedral of Sant’Antonio Abate, with a short visit to the Roccia dell’Elefante. Lunch in a restaurant, then some time to yourselves for some shopping in the numerous local handicrafts centres, the town’s main source of income. In the afternoon you will take the coastline road on the northern side of the island to get to Baja Sardinia, where you will be able to admire many enchanting views of the Bocche of Bonifacio. Arrival at hotel for evening meal and accommodation.

6° Day PALAU – LA MADDALENA – CAPRERA – COSTA SMERALDA – OLBIA

Breakfast in the hotel, then departure for the port of Palau and embarkation on the ferry across to the island of Maddalena. You will head for Caprera for a visit to the house/ museum of Garibaldi (closed on Mondays and on May 1st and August 15th), and a scenic tour of the Island of Maddalena, including the breathtaking view of the smaller islands of the archipelago and Corsica. Return to Palau for the ferry. After lunch in the hotel, a tour of the Costa Smeralda with a stop at Porto Cervo, a business capital and meeting place for international jet setters, then on to the enchanting Cala di Volpe and Romazzino, two beautiful inlets rich in white-sands beaches embellished by slabs of smooth granite and sheltered by the lush, mediterranean scrub, that is all round the elegant dream villas of the rich holiday makers. Last destination the port of Olbia for the ferry.