Why does Sardinia appear so seldom on the travel pages of newspapers? Perhaps its mixture of bleak mountains and almost tropical beaches, ancient sites and delicious food create the impression of a distant continent rather than an island less than three hours away by plane.
Perhaps the simplistic media coverage in the late Sixties and Seventies, just as modern tourism was taking off, confused potential holidaymakers. Then it was portrayed either as a sanctuary for the super-rich, who disported themselves in the clubs and hotels of the Costa Smeralda, or a haven for bandits bent on theft and kidnap as they roamed the rugged countryside.
The bandits have long since been rounded up, but the rich and their yachts are still there, almost an attraction in themselves for the tourists, many of whom now come in family groups to this friendly island. Today’s visitors are more likely to head to the south of the island, to the long crescents of sand around Villasimius and the beautiful beaches beside the luxurious resort of Santa Margherita.
Villasimius, peaceful out of season, is backed by almond groves, has a pretty port and is on the edge of a geo-marine park, home to pink flamingos. Santa Margherita sits amid pine woods, and in addition to the beaches, has a golf course, hotels and Forte Village, a resort with six different hotels and bungalows, a score of restaurants, a children’s club and a thalassotherapy centre.
A few miles to the north, near Pula, are the remains of the Carthaginian-Roman town of Nora, sitting on a low headland capped by a 16th-century watchtower. The sights include a Punic temple and Roman mosaic floors, while the Roman theatre continues to host concerts and plays.
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The north of the island is a complete contrast, with a fretted coastline of bays, coves and beaches, mountains with bizarrely shaped outcrops, cork forests and moorland covered in fragrant macchia, the scrub hiding myrtle, juniper and broom.
Porto Cervo remains the smart focal point of the Costa Smeralda but Palau, farther north, is a more typical Italian port and is the starting point for essential excursions to the Maddalena Islands, seven granite sculptures dropped in the sea and only one permanently inhabited.
The best boat trips stop early at an islet for snorkelling and a scramble up to a small chapel before continuing to Santo Stefano for a remarkable discovery: an enormous, unfinished statue of Galeazzo Ciano, Mussolini’s foreign minister and son-in-law who fell out of favour for opposing the war. The torso, arms and head lie in separate spots in a quarry, together with a rusted crane that was intended to hoist them together on to a pinnacle.
On the far side of this island is a lovely beach, Cala Fumata, but the best swimming is off Spiaggia Rosa, a beach of pale pink sand on Budelli. Full-day boat tours will anchor in a lagoon in the heart of the archipelago for lunch and a gentle swim.
For those who prefer not to spend the entire day swimming and sunbathing, taking a ferry to La Maddalena, a handsome little town on the largest island, with a variety of restaurants on the seafront, is worthwhile. A stroll along a causeway leads to the island of Caprera, the last home of the Italian patriot, Giuseppe Garibaldi, whose house is now a museum.
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Along the north coast is another colourful site: an islet of porphyry that gives its name to the little fishing port and holiday village of Isola Rossa. Grander, however, is the setting of Castelsardo, an ancient fortified town with a castle at its heart, on a promontory above a sweeping bay.
In the doorways of crumbling fivestorey houses in the narrow lanes beneath the castle, old women in black sit weaving baskets. This is the place to buy the typical Sardinian souvenir.
The other popular reminder of the island is a decorated model of a nuraghi, the small towers of large stones dating from 1,500BC and built as defensive structures and homes for chieftains. Together with even older tombs and domus de janas (fairy houses), thousands are dotted across the island, at the rate of one for every three square kilometres.
Need to know
Currency Euro (1.12 to £1)
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Population 1,651,382
Area Sardinia is the second largest island in the Mediterranean and, at more than 24,000 sq km, is almost as big as Sicily. With evidence of civilisation from before 2,000BC, it has been home to Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Saracen pirates, Normans, Genoese settlers and Spanish warriors before becoming a state within a united Italy in 1860
Top attractions Sights in Cagliari, the capital, include the Roman Amphitheatre, where visitors can enjoy public performances in the ruins, and the Cathedral of Santa Maria, built by the Pisans
Short breaks It did not take long for people on the Italian mainland to realise the island’s potential for holidays. Tourists from the UK are now catching up
Offer Seven nights, 4*, self catering, from £339pp. Phone 0844 879 8036