14 days in Sardinia

The version that leaves nothing out

Two weeks is what it actually takes to circle Sardinia properly — every coastal region plus a genuine day inland, rather than the compromises a 7- or 10-day route has to make. This is a clockwise loop out of Cagliari: south coast, the south-west mining coast and Carloforte, the Sinis peninsula and Bosa, the north-west and Alghero, the Costa Smeralda and La Maddalena, Santa Teresa Gallura, then inland through the Barbagia for a hiking day before finishing with the Gulf of Orosei on the way back to Cagliari. It’s a round trip to the same airport, so no one-way rental fee is needed, unlike the 10-day open-jaw version.

	Details
Duration	14 days
Route	Full clockwise loop from Cagliari, coast and interior
Car needed	Yes
Driving total	Roughly 14-17 hours across the trip
Best months	May, June, September
Budget	Mid-range: €120-180/day for two, including car and mid-range hotels

Days 1-3: Cagliari, Barumini and the south coast

Two nights in Cagliari to cover the old town, Poetto beach and a proper aperitivo evening (see nightlife in Cagliari). A mid-range double runs €90-150 a night outside August in the Marina or Castello.

On day three, drive to Villasimius for a beach day at Spiaggia del Riso, then loop back via Barumini for Su Nuraxi — or take it as a dedicated stop with an overnight in Villasimius instead. The Su Nuraxi and Giara di Gesturi horseback tour combines the nuraghe with the Giara plateau’s wild horses, a genuinely different way to spend the archaeology day than a walking-only visit — the Giara’s small, semi-wild horses are found nowhere else in Sardinia and rarely appear on shorter itineraries at all.

Days 4-5: The south-west mining coast and Carloforte

Drive to Iglesias, the heart of Sardinia’s former mining district, and spend an afternoon at Nebida and Masua, where abandoned mine buildings sit directly on cliffs above the sea — one of the more striking and least-visited landscapes on the island, and a strong contrast to the beach-and-boat rhythm of the days either side of it. Laveria La Marmora, the ruined ore-washing plant perched on the cliff edge at Masua, is the single most photographed spot in the area and free to walk around.

The next day, take the short ferry to Carloforte on San Pietro island, settled by Ligurian (Tabarkin) fishing families in the 18th century and still culturally distinct from the rest of Sardinia — the local dialect, cuisine (tuna and couscous both feature, unusually for Sardinia) and even the pastel-coloured harbour-front architecture read differently from anywhere else on this route. The full-day boat trip and snorkelling tour from Sant’Antioco covers the coastline around both islands, including sea caves that aren’t reachable on foot.

Days 6-7: Oristano, the Sinis peninsula and Bosa

Continue north to Oristano and the Sinis peninsula: Tharros’ Phoenician-Roman ruins on a headland between two seas, and Is Arutas’ quartz-grain beach — remember it’s illegal to remove any sand or pebbles, with fines running €500-3,000. Cabras, on the peninsula’s inner lagoon, is the place to try bottarga (cured mullet roe), one of Sardinia’s most distinctive local products and a genuine speciality of this specific area rather than the island generally.

On day seven, drive to Bosa, one of Sardinia’s most photogenic river towns, with its pastel houses climbing toward a hilltop castle; an easy half-day is enough — a walk along the Temo river, Sardinia’s only navigable river, and a coffee in the old town — before continuing toward the north-west.

Days 8-9: Alghero, Capo Caccia and Stintino

Two nights in Alghero, with its Catalan-influenced old town and harbour-front bars (see nightlife in Sardinia for the evening scene). The Alghero day trip by sailing boat covers the Capo Caccia coastline and its sea caves from the water, an easier way to see the cliffs than the steep 654-step descent to Neptune’s Grotto by land.

On day nine, drive up to Stintino for La Pelosa — book the beach access quota ahead, since it’s one of the island’s most tightly controlled — and the full-day catamaran to Asinara Island, the former penal colony turned national park just offshore, now home to a population of albino donkeys found nowhere else in the world.

Days 10-11: Costa Smeralda and La Maddalena

Drive to Arzachena or Porto Cervo for a look at the Costa Smeralda — see is the Costa Smeralda worth it for how much time this area actually deserves. Accommodation here is noticeably pricier than the rest of the route, so basing in Arzachena rather than Porto Cervo keeps costs more reasonable without losing much convenience.

On day eleven, take the full-day boat tour of the La Maddalena archipelago from Palau, covering the archipelago’s best coves; the La Maddalena archipelago boat tour guide has the detail on Budelli’s pink beach and why it can’t be landed on.

Day 12: Santa Teresa Gallura and inland to the Barbagia

A morning at Santa Teresa Gallura and Capo Testa’s granite rock formations, then a long inland drive south toward Nuoro and the Barbagia — roughly three hours, one of the longest legs of the trip, crossing from the coast into Sardinia’s mountainous interior in a single afternoon. It’s a genuinely different landscape by the time you arrive: granite boulders and cork-oak forest replacing the coastal pine and maquis of the previous eleven days.

Day 13: Supramonte hiking and the Barbagia’s villages

A full day in the Barbagia: a guided or self-led hike into the Supramonte, the limestone massif behind Sardinia’s toughest and most rewarding trails (Gola su Gorropu, one of Europe’s deepest canyons, or the Tiscali nuragic village hidden inside a collapsed cave, are both realistic half-day options — see Supramonte hiking guide for route detail).

In the afternoon, Orgosolo and its political murals — over 150 painted across the town since the 1960s, covering everything from local history to international politics — or Mamoiada and its Mamuthones masks if visiting outside carnival season, both make a strong cultural counterpoint to two weeks of coastline. This is also the region behind Sardinia’s Blue Zone reputation for longevity; see our spa and wellness in Sardinia guide for more on what makes the Barbagia distinctive in that respect.

Day 14: Gulf of Orosei and back to Cagliari

Drive to Cala Gonone, roughly an hour from Nuoro, for a final boat morning on the Gulf of Orosei — the full-day diving trip in the Gulf of Orosei suits anyone who’s been building up to it across the trip, or a swim-stop boat tour for a gentler close. From Cala Gonone, the drive back to Cagliari-Elmas runs roughly two and a half hours via the SS131 — leave a generous buffer if the flight is the same evening, and consider an overnight closer to Cagliari instead if the timing is tight.

What this route costs, roughly

For two people, budget €1,800-2,700 for the full two weeks: €350-500 for a round-trip rental car with insurance (no one-way fee needed on this looped route), €1,200-1,900 for thirteen nights of mostly mid-range accommodation, and the rest split across meals, fuel and the various tours along the way. This is a longer, more active trip than the 7- or 10-day versions, but the round-trip car and the absence of any single very expensive base keep the average daily cost comparable to the shorter routes.

Night-by-night summary

Nights	Base	Region
1-2	Cagliari	South
3	Villasimius	South coast
4-5	Iglesias/Carloforte	South-west
6-7	Oristano/Bosa	West
8-9	Alghero	North-west
10-11	Arzachena/Palau	Gallura, La Maddalena
12	Santa Teresa Gallura	North
13	Nuoro area	Barbagia, interior
14	Cala Gonone, then Cagliari	East coast, departure

What to pack for two weeks on the move

This route covers more ground and more different environments than any shorter Sardinia itinerary on this site, so the packing list needs to cover all of them: beachwear and reef-safe sunscreen for the many coastal days, proper hiking boots and layers for the Supramonte day (temperatures in the interior run noticeably cooler than the coast, even in summer), a swimsuit that dries fast given how often it’s used, and at least one smarter outfit for a Costa Smeralda evening. A daypack that works equally well for a hike and a boat trip saves carrying two separate bags. Given the number of hotel changes, packing cubes or similar make the constant repacking meaningfully less tedious than it would otherwise be.

Frequently asked questions about this 14-day Sardinia itinerary

Is 14 days enough to see all of Sardinia?

It’s enough to genuinely cover every region including the interior, which shorter routes skip — see how many days do you need in Sardinia for how this compares with a 7- or 10-day trip.

Do I need to fly into and out of the same airport for this route?

This version is a round trip through Cagliari, so no — one airport works for the whole loop, avoiding the one-way rental fee a Cagliari-to-Alghero route would need.

Is this itinerary too much driving?

It’s roughly 14-17 hours of driving across two weeks, spread over multiple legs of 1-3 hours rather than long single days, which keeps any one day manageable.

Can I skip the Barbagia and interior days to add more beach time?

Yes, though it means losing the trip’s most distinctive contrast — the Supramonte and Barbagia villages are unlike anywhere on the coast, and few visitors get there at all on a shorter trip.

What’s the best month for a 14-day Sardinia trip?

June or September, for reliable boat schedules on both the Gulf of Orosei and La Maddalena legs, without August’s peak pricing and crowds.

Is this route suitable for hikers specifically?

It includes one dedicated Supramonte hiking day; anyone wanting more serious trekking should look at our seven days of hiking in Sardinia itinerary instead, built entirely around trail days.

How much should I budget for two weeks in Sardinia?

Roughly €1,800-2,700 for two people, covering a round-trip rental car, thirteen nights of mostly mid-range accommodation, meals and the various tours along the route — shoulder season keeps this toward the lower end.

Can I do this route in reverse, starting with the interior?

It’s possible but less practical — most flights arrive into Cagliari on the coast, and starting inland would mean an awkward first transfer before the route’s logic of gradually circling the island kicks in.

Is travel insurance particularly important for a route this long?

Yes — with three boat days, a hiking day, and two weeks of driving on unfamiliar roads, there’s more that could disrupt the trip than on a shorter beach-only holiday. Standard cover for medical costs, cancellation and rental car excess is worth having in place before departure.