A family holiday to Sardinia, Italy

Thank you for coming to read about our blog about a family holiday to Sardinia, Italy.

Why Sardinia?

We decided to have a family holiday to Sardinia, Italy as it has long been on our list. Also it had come highly recommended from a number of people who also have children.

We went to Corsica (its neighbouring island) a couple of years ago, so knew if it was anything similar it was going to be nice. But Corsica is French and Sardinia Italian so there were bound to be significant differences.

Our first observation was that Sardinia is much busier than Corsica, and more touristy. You can tell that almost the minute you arrive. On researching this post, I found an article which described Corsica as Sardinia, 20 years ago. It certainly feels that way. Sardinia has a whiff of money about it and more than a few yachts dotting the horizon. 

We flew into Olbia (with EasyJet from Gatwick) in the north east of the island and drove the 45 minutes to our Airbnb near Cannigione. Our accommodation was near the Costa Smerelda which is heralded as one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline in Europe. 

Airbnb dramas

This holiday was the first time we’ve ever had any issues with an Airbnb booking and throughout Airbnb were helpful, understanding and ultimately it showed us how valuable it was to book through an agent rather than go direct. A month or so before the trip our original Airbnb (which looked stunning!) was sold and the new owner didn’t want to honour any bookings.

So we were suddenly without anywhere to stay and only a few weeks to find anywhere….Airbnb offered an alternative but it didn’t look very nice so we opted for somewhere else we found (also on Airbnb and slightly cheaper so a bit of a win).

This was the first time we’ve ever booked a villa new to Airbnb with no reviews. Something which we ended up regretting. Before we travelled the owner contacted us and asked us to have 2500 euros deposit ready to give them when we arrived. Handing over cash to anyone is something airbnb vehemently advise against so on their advice I said no, any issues afterwards would be dealt with via Airbnb.

We had our suspicions about him from then but with no other choice we went ahead. So, as you’ll see, we had a lovely week in a beautiful villa. But upon arrival home we had accusations from the owner that we’d broken the fridge, taken some property and various other ‘problems’ he’d come across.

Anyway, long story short, Airbnb were 100% on our side and we refused to pay the damages (that we believe were fabricated) and that was that. It serves as a warning though to always be cautious. It’s not put us off, however, and I think we have 4 or 5 future airbnb bookings. We are reassured by the professional way airbnb handled the issue.

Exploring Sardinia

Back to the holiday and we stopped in Cannigione for pizza and a paddle before we headed to the villa. It was a lovely little town and our 3 year old enjoyed the large park before we headed to dip our toes in the sea.

Our days were largely made up of playing in the pool at the villa and going to the beach. Our eldest was in heaven! Dave and I are definitely more into exploring than hanging out by the pool or at the beach but it was nice to see the children having such a great time. 

We have always taken inflatables for the pool. Especially when either of the children have been too little for arm bands. It means we don’t have to hold them in the pool all the time and they can have a little independence.

For this trip we took a little inflatable seat for the baby and a little dingy for our eldest, but the youngest used it as a paddling pool when the big pool got too cold!

Beaches in Sardinia

We didn’t have much luck with beaches as the one day we decided to set aside to explore them it poured down with rain, torrential rain. One of the beaches we did manage to get to however was Spiaggia Del Principe which was undeniably beautiful. However, it was incredibly busy, despite the hilly 800 metre walk from the car park to get to it. It’s a hidden treasure that everyone has discovered!

We soon noticed that there weren’t many children on the beach and that is most likely because it’s a tricky climb down (and up) for little ones. Having said that we’re pleased we went as it’s stunningly beautiful with crystal clear water. We had a nice picnic, a bit of a play in the sea then headed home.

Exploring the local towns

The rest of the week was spent exploring local towns such as Porto Rotondo. This is a relatively modern town with large villas, expensive yachts and luxury shopping which was the opposite to what we’d expected.  From what we gather, the older traditional towns are away from the glitzy Costa Smerelda. So any future visits will be to other parts of the island as we do like a nice old town to explore! 

One of the best things about having your own villa is that you can spend time relaxing by the pool, playing games and having long leisurely lunches enjoying the view. It’s particularly helpful when travelling with a baby who needs to nap twice a day as the older child can continue to enjoy the pool whilst the baby gets their sleep.

It’s obviously also nice come the evening and the children are in bed and we can relax on the terrace. We can cook food, get drinks etc without worrying about disturbing them but being near enough if they need us. We still travel with two baby monitors anyway so even if we’re sitting outside we could hear them if they woke up.

Final thoughts

Thank you for reading about our family holiday to Sardinia, Italy. We had a really lovely time in Sardinia and would certainly go back to explore other parts of the island. It was a trip sadly tainted by the airbnb fiasco. But ultimately we both agree it’s a beautiful island with much more to discover.

For another of our villa holidays, why not read about our trip to Croatia. We stayed in the most beautiful villa we’ve ever seen, read about it here.