Sardinia

This is Italy... but not as we know it.

Untainted by foreign occupations the large island of Sardinia is unlike anything else in the Mediterranean - sparsely populated, unspoilt, there are still huge tracts of deserted beach, still flocks of wild mouflons roaming free in the remote interior, and very little of the usual Italian hilltop town where art and architecture vie for your attention. In short, Sardinia is just made for relaxation.

Central Sardinia has a monopoly on wild rugged landscapes, such as those in the Gennargentu mountains south of Núoro, or fertile plains full of olive groves and vineyards like those between Cagliari and Oristano, but the main attraction to the potential visitor has to be the one thousand miles of mostly empty coast. Setting aside the overly expensive Costa Smeralda and the touristy Alghero area, the rest of Sardinia's coastline is dotted with sleepy towns and villages.

The sea is amazingly clear and clean (numerous blue flags regularly awarded), the prevailing breezes are excellent for sailing, there are no large resorts, the beaches are naturally sandy and some stretch for kilometres, devoid of people - for families, searching for an idyllic beach holiday, there's nothing better.
We have concentrated our Sardinia Villas in the south-eastern corner, the Costa Rei coast, that starts at Cape Ferrato and swings southwards in a gentle golden curve for 8 kilometres. This remote sandy beach sand is book-ended by two headlands and backed by gently sloping pine and juniper covered hills.
Nearby is the town of Castiadas and the Punic remains of Monte Nai that date from 5th century BC.

A little further south of Costa Rei, at Cala Sěnzias, is another marvellous beach, of bright white sand backed by shady green forest and, behind that, formidable craggy hills.

Visitors to Sardinia's beach resorts already consider the island a haven for seafood, normally just grilled, and washed down with a crisp white Vermentino or Nuragus. And yet others will say that real Sardinian cooking is based on the rustic cuisine of the interior - roast meats, sausages and salame, Sardinian pecorino cheese and the no-nonsense red wines of Cannonau and Monica.