Beachin' in Sardinia | kasiawrites

Sardinia is known for its beaches and rightfully so. In the few days we had there, we wanted to check out at least a couple of them and I’m really glad we did. After a great day at Poetto beach we took another day trip to a place called Villasimius.

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Decisions, decisions

Every person we talked to in Rome and Cagliari told us that we had to go to Villasimius as it was incredibly beautiful, and judging by how many people were going there, popular as well.

There are many wonderful beach options along Sardinia’s coast

Getting there

It took just over an hour to get there by bus. The tickets cost 4.50 Euro a person (each way) and need to be validated on the bus. As we were staying in the centre of Cagliari, we took the bus from the main bus station, not too far from our hotel. The bus didn’t make too many stops as they are only allowed to take on as many passengers as there are available seats, so if you are trying to catch it along the way be prepared to have to wait for a bus that has enough empty seats. Same applied to the return trip.

At first, the trip was rather boring. We sat at the front of the bus as I tend to get motion sickness, especially on really long routes. Thankfully this wasn’t a long trip and the views improved significantly once we got out of the city limits.

I wanted to get off the bus when I saw places like this. I mean, wouldn’t you?

The view from the bus

Beach views from the bus

As many roads in Italy, this one wound along the coast providing spectacular views of the shimmering blue water below. Sometimes you could catch a glimpse of small sandy beaches dotted with colourful umbrellas. I was really tempted by many of them, eager to get out of the bus without getting to Villasimius. One of such places we passed is a small patch of sand in a Mari Pintau. It is absolutely stunning.

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Poco più che un'alba per vederla solitaria

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As spectacular as it was, we opted against Mari Pintau as it was smaller and didn’t look like they had chairs and umbrellas for rent. Instead, we got off at a place called Solanas.

Finding our spot on the beach

Solanas is like any other sleepy seaside town in Italy. There are many rental villas that are rented out for the holidays. The beach didn’t have as many chair rentals as we saw at Poetto, but we still managed to find a spot that has umbrellas and chairs for 25 Euros. Once again we got our towels from the hotel and I didn’t really see any at the rental places. It’s probably best that you bring your own if you’re planning a day trip to the beach.

Fun things you can buy from vendors on the beach

Our 25 Euro chairs and umbrella deal

Beach snack bar

This beach was smaller and didn’t have as many food options and rental places. Many of the people who were there seemed to be staying in town, have opted to drive or like us, took the bus. The beach was more of a family hangout with many of them most likely staying in town.

Solanas beach

The beach itself was stunning. It is nestled along a little bay with picturesque hills and crystal-clear water that splashes gently on the sand. As all other beaches, it has many colourful umbrellas and plenty of people sunning themselves to a crisp. From the bus window it seemed that many of the beaches we passes were rocky so it was really a nice surprise that Solanas has a sandy beach.

Take me back!

Here is me pondering why I have to go home

The water was fairly warm and as I stood in it, I could see various shade of blue shimmering in the sun. I couldn’t really come up with any good reasons as to why we had to come home. It was really that amazing. I could’ve stayed there for ever.

In between swimming in the ocean and sun tanning I drafted this blog while Alex took a nap. I tried to capture as much of the moment as I could in hopes of being able to relive it later on. I think that worked out well, because I can really feel like I’m there once I close my eyes. 🙂

Return to Cagliari

The trip back was uneventful. We waited for the bus at what seemed to be a random stretch of the road for what seemed like hours. When it finally arrived we manged to snag the last few available seats. It was a hot day and even though it was evening, it was still piss hot. Not fun when you have to stand by the side of the road. To keep busy, I kept looking at the random cactus bushes that grew wildly along the road. At this time many were heavy with cactus pears. You gotta wonder if they are ripe enough to eat, right? The process of peeling them is very onerous otherwise I would have actually tried one. Maybe that’s weird or maybe it was just boredom talking. Either way, there were not cactus pears on the menu for me that day.

“bus stop” was between those two signs

Cactus pears everywhere

After the beach

We got back to our hotel a little crispy and well rested. It was a great day trip and I’m really glad we went. I would have liked to see more of Sardinia’s beaches, but we didn’t have enough time for that. Looking back, I would have liked to stay there longer. Now I have to go back. Plus we didn’t make it to Villasimius that time so next time we will have to. Not a bad deal if you ask me 🙂