How to escape the crowds in Alghero

Crowds and Italy tend to go hand in hand as it is a small but populous country - nothing new there then.   With millions of people visiting each year it is like and invading armada of people.   We it is good to know that if you are in Sardinia then there is help at hand. 

The first place to get away from it all is the beautiful beaches. Being an island, there is plenty to choose from if you like sunbathing or swimming in crystal-clear blue water. But for the escapee this this is perhaps a reason to avoid some areas, most notoriously the Northeastern “Costa Smeralda” (Emerald Coast), in the months of July and August. With this in mind we would suggest visiting in late spring or warly autumn.  Some beaches, like Chia stretch for miles, with high dunes of thin white sand and wind-carved rock formations, where the only sounds you hear are those of the waves of its warm sea of many varieties of green and blue.

Sardinia is also beautiful for its inhabitants, the “Sardi”, who take great pride of their culture. Throughout the year, there are many festivals and fairs celebrating old traditions and customs, some religious and some pagan, often coinciding with the harvest and production of local products and delicacies, such as wine or honey. Every town and village has its culinary tradition in the form of weirdly shaped breads, sweets, pastas, lobster, roasted pork, and other kinds of fish and meat. The coastal cities, and especially Cagliari, are obviously the best places if you like fish. And Cagliari, with its millenary history, is also home to most cultural and sporting events. You can visit museums and art galleries, listen to classical music and opera, watch football and windsurf, or simply stroll along the old shopping district to watch people go by.

There are endless activities to keep a person of any age busy. We personally recommend renting a car, since it’s always the best way to get around the island and explore its busy cities and rustic and rugged environment. You can also rent a boat and explore the numerous small beaches, some of them only accessible by the sea. Just keep in mind that driving a boat often requires a license depending on its size. And if riding long-distances is not on your agenda, renting a bicycle or a motorcycle is a better option, especially for parking and traffic jams.