Tour of Sardinia by camper van

We’re wrapping up our Sardinia tour by camper van. We stayed for 5 weeks, covered 2,150 km on this island, and will leave with mixed feelings!! While the island is beautiful—especially for those who love beaches and all kinds of water sports—it’s also appealing for history buffs and archaeology enthusiasts. The mountains, scenic roads, and small villages are really lovely too. That said, driving here can be pretty hazardous. Locals don’t respect speed limits or road rules, they roll through stops, zoom out of side streets, and often overtake without proper visibility. On top of that, the quality of roads and highways is really disappointing!! And service areas, whether paid or free, are few and far between and often poorly maintained. One last thing: we’d heard Sardinians were welcoming... I don’t know if it’s because they’ve "endured" waves of tourists from all over during the summer months, but unfortunately, we didn’t find that to be true. Most seemed rather gloomy or even unwelcoming, with just a few exceptions saving Sardinia’s reputation!! It’s a real shame for an island with so much potential. I think a serious review of how tourism is managed would be worth considering. That aside, we did notice some efforts and goodwill that were nice to see.

Hello,

On a two-way road, assuming there’s room for two, there’s room for three! ;) Joking aside, driving in Sardinia is definitely a unique experience.

hi, I’m interested in your camper van trip to Sardinia and would love some info on sights, parking spots, service areas, etc. We have a 7.40 m camper van and we’re a bit worried about parking options... Thanks for your help! Melche

Hi Mercedes,

Let me share my thoughts on this, having visited Sardinia during the winter of 2016/2017—I spent 81 days there, often alone with my 6-meter camper van, so you can imagine how comfortable I felt. I traveled with a couple who had a 9-meter camper, and we’d meet up from time to time.

Parking wasn’t an issue—usually outside designated areas (often in ports and marinas), and only 3 nights in a campsite around Christmas. No problems with services either, and you’ll find fountains just about everywhere. I also had no trouble finding LPG.

The roads were good, even inland, and Sardinian drivers were perfectly normal and courteous (compared to driving in northern Italy the year before—what a difference!). I was actually surprised by how smooth it was.

I never had any complaints about the welcome from Sardinians—quite the opposite! They were always ready to help, like offering to let me take water from their homes when I asked where the fountain was, helping me fill my tank if my hose wasn’t long enough, or even letting me park at their villa in La Maddalena so I could stay for several days. And I could go on with plenty more examples!

Anyway, I just wanted to share this because the Sardinians helped make my 81 days in their beautiful country so enjoyable—but keep in mind, I was there in winter!

I hope you have as wonderful a trip as I did. Brigitte

Hello, Thank you so much for your reply. It’s really reassuring. But as you mentioned yourself, you went in winter, and like everywhere else, off-season camper vans are much more welcome. We’re thinking of going in September—it’s not quite low season, but better than July and August. We’re still giving it a bit more time because of coronavirus, and if we decide to go, may I contact you again for more details about your trip? Thanks again, Melche

Hi Danièle 23,

I read your post with interest. What time of year did you go? It makes a difference because, like everywhere else, camper vans aren’t really welcome during high season. In low season, it’s much more appealing. Thanks a lot! Melche

Hello Ortieverte,

I read your message about your stay in Sardinia carefully. I’d like to clarify that we never had any trouble finding water. There are plenty of fountains, and areas where we could refill our tanks were also available. The real issue lies in the spots where you can empty grey water and toilet cassettes! At motorhome service areas, the tanks are often either full or completely clogged... and it’s true we were there from September 29th to November 3rd, after the July/August rush of holidaymakers. Unfortunately, we saw a lot of motorhome owners letting their grey water drain onto parking lots... and as for toilet cassettes, we even saw people emptying them into ditches!! That’s not exactly the image we have of motorhome etiquette! So, we sometimes had to drive several extra kilometres to find a proper place to empty our tanks. That said, I stand by what I said about the state of the roads... and this wasn’t our first trip abroad! As for the friendliness of the Sardinians... Of course there are nice people, and thankfully so! But after a busy tourist season, maybe they were just looking forward to some peace and quiet. Wishing you great motorhome trips once lockdown is over! Have a nice day!

Hi Melche,

I haven’t forgotten you... I’m putting together a recap of our trip to Sardinia in case it’s helpful. We were there from September 29th to November 3rd, 2019. Hope you’re having a great day, and talk soon!

Hi Mercedes,

I told you I’d be back soon... well, here I am with some reading for you! In this file, you’ll find our itinerary, visits, and the parking spots and/or service areas we used. I keep this updated during the trip because it’s really helpful for organizing our photos afterward. Maybe it’ll give you some ideas!! Happy reading and enjoy your trip to Sardinia!!! If you have any other questions, I’m here for you 😉

Sardinia Trip 2019

Days Itinerary Distance Service Areas or "Night" Parking Miscellaneous Expenses 29 Sept 2019 Toulon

Ferry Toulon – Porto Torres Departure: 8:00 PM. Arrival: 8:00 AM 372 € round trip with cabins 30 Sept 2019 Porto Torres - Stintino, walk around the village, La Pelosa beach, and Capo Falcone Argentiera (former mining village) 136 km Parking on the road to Capo Caccia (SP 55) N 40°37'6.4'' E 08°11'28.3''

01 Oct 2019 Capo Caccia Alghero, lovely tour of the fortified city, our "favorite spot"! 59 km Parking at Rajadas fountain (lots of locals come to fill up on water!) N 40°29'21.3'' E 08°26'28.5''

02 Oct 2019 Scenic route between Alghero and Bosa

Bosa, walk around the village, Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, Piazza 4 Novembre, and the tanneries district 42 km Services in Bosa – Alghero N 40°19'42.2'' E 08°26'06.5''

Parking in Bosa (not far from the city center) N 40°17'40.5'' E 08°29'57.3'' 5 € for services (Very basic, bucket emptying, and not very clean!) 03 Oct 2019 In the Monte Ferru massif: Cuglieri, San Leonardo de Siete Fuentes, Santu Lussurgiu (walk in this small medieval town nestled in an extinct crater), Bonarcado, Narbolia, Riola, Is Arutas beach (the "rice grain" beach), stunning!! 94 km Santa Giusta service area N 39°52'33.9'' E 08°36'33.0'' Services unusable (clogged!). Free parking

04 Oct 2019 On the road to Capo San Marco * San Salvatore, walk in this Wild West-style village, but the San Salvatore di Sinus church was unfortunately closed * The magnificent San Giovanni di Sinus church 57 km Free services in Oristano N 39°53'49.5'' E 08°35'21.0''

Back to Santa Giusta service area for the night

05 Oct 2019 Marrubiu - Sant'Antonio di Santadi, tour of Flumentorgiu - Montevecchio & Ingurtosu (ghost towns, former mining concessions) – Fluminimaggiore - Grotta di Su Mannau 118 km Night at the cave parking lot

06 Oct 2019 Grotta di Su Mannau (worth the visit!) The Antas Temple 7 km after Iglesias, road to the right toward Masua where the view of Pan di Zucchero is particularly beautiful 56 km Night at Fontanamare beach parking lot (10 X 2) = 20 € cave entrance fees (4 X 2) = 8 € temple entrance fees 07 & 08 Oct 2019 Iglesias, visit of the small medieval town, its cathedral, and old streets Rest day 26 km Villamassargia service area Private service area under the olive trees!! N 39°17'07.28'' E 08°38'15.37'' (18 X 2) = 36 € service area parking 9 Oct 2019 Monte Sirai (Phoenician-Punic city) Tour of Sant'Antioco Island 72 km Parking on the coast near Calasetta (gorgeous sunset) (5 X 2) = 10 € archaeological site entrance fees 10 Oct 2019 Sant'Antioco, walk around the town. Unfortunately, the basilica is completely closed for renovations!! Teulada 83 km Parking on Costa del Sud near Teulada N 38°55'35.7'' E 08°44'26.6''

11 Oct 2019 Strada Panoramica della Costa del Sud (gorgeous!) The Nora archaeological site (free visit today due to a change in management) Cagliari, the Marina district 77 km Camper Cagliari Park service area, 20-minute walk from the city center 13 via Stanislao Caboni (20 X 2) = 40 € service area parking 12 Oct 2019 Day visiting the city: * San Remy bastion * The Castle district * The cathedral * The Jewish quarter * The Elephant Tower * Yenne Square

13 Oct 2019 Departure via the Molentargius lagoon (flamingo colony) and the central highway Barumini, the Su Nuraxi archaeological site 94 km Parking on the Giara di Gesturi plateau N 39°44'08.8'' E 08°59'55.4'' (12 X 2) = 24 € combined entrance fees for the archaeological site and Casa Zapata 14 Oct 2019 Walk on the Gesturi plateau hoping to see the small horses (cavallini), an indigenous breed of this area... lucky day, we saw them twice!! Casa Zapata and the church of Barumini 21 km Baradili service area N 39°43'22.0'' E 08°53'54.2'' Free parking and services

15 Oct 2019 SS 197 – SS 198 – Seui – Ulassai – Jerzu, bought a few bottles of Cannonau, a typical Sardinian wine, Grotta di Su Marmuri (we didn’t visit) 132 km Night at the Grotta di Su Marmuri parking lot

16 Oct 2019 Osini-Vecchio – Gairo Sant'Elena (two villages abandoned after landslides) – Lanusei – Tortoli – Arbatax and its red rock beach (beautiful site marred by the construction of a huge parking lot too close to the rocks) – Tancau sul Mare 66 km Tancau sul Mare service area N 39°58'59.1'' E 09°41'10.2''

17 Oct 2019 Rest day (laundry!!)

Tancau sul Mare service area (13 X 2) = 26 € service area parking 18 Oct 2019 Dorgali – Oliena - Orgosolo and its mural paintings 105 km Night at the Orgosolo cemetery parking lot

19 Oct 2019 Mamoiada and its Mediterranean mask museum - Nuoro and its museum of daily life and popular traditions - Siniscola via E 840 - La Caletta 86 km Night at La Caletta port (3 X 2) = 6 € Mamoiada museum entrance fees (3 X 2) = 6 € Nuoro museum entrance fees 20 Oct 2019 Tough day, searching for LPG then an open service area or campsite!! In Olbia, we changed plans: heading to the center of the island. Near Tempio, finally found an operational service area!! 177 km Erula service area (SW of Tempio) N 40°47'14.08'' E 08°56'32.07'' Free parking and services

21 Oct 2019 Tempio – Luras – Lake Liscia – the millennial olive tree park (with Europe’s oldest olive tree, 3,800 to 4,000 years old) - the Giants’ Tomb of Coddu Vecchiu near Arzachena – Palau – Santa Teresa Gallura 135 km Night at the beach parking lot (2.5 X 2) = 5 € park entrance fees 22 Oct 2019 Capo Testa, its vast expanse of gigantic rocks with improbable shapes – Isola Rossa – Valle della Luna – Aggius – Tempio 97 km Night at the Tempio civil protection headquarters parking lot N 40°53'57.8'' E 09°06'20.9''

23 Oct 2019 Monte Limbara – Lake Coghinas – Oschiri - Nostra Signora di Castro church - Erula 96 km Erula service area

24 Oct 2019 Erula – Tula – the churches of Sant'Antioco di Bisarcio – Santa Maria del Regno - Santissima Trinità della Saccargia – Osilo 92 km Osilo service area (E of Sassari) N 40°44'32.6'' E 08°40'34.5'' Free parking and services (2 X 2) = 4 € Sant'Antioco di Bisarcio church entrance fees (3 X 2) = 6 € Trinità della Saccargia basilica entrance fees 25 & 26 Oct 2019 The deluge!!! Forced rest!! Saturday evening, departure for Sedini (south of Castelsardo) 73 km Sedini service area N 40°51'19.08'' E 08°49'00.98''

27 Oct 2019 Sedini - SS 134 – Roccia dell'Elefante – Castelsardo (very beautiful town!!) - return via Tergu and Nostra Signora church - Sedini 45 km Sedini service area

28 Oct 2019 Sedini – Castelsardo – Porto Torres – La Crucca 63 km La Crucca service area (educational farm) Very nice owners! N 40°45'40.5'' E 08°26'05.5'' 15 €/24h including electricity (15 X 6) = 90 € service area parking Week of rest with walks in the surrounding area while waiting for our return ferry 03 Nov 2019 Porto Torres * San Gavino basilica and its crypt **

Ferry Porto Torres – Toulon Departure: 10:30 PM. Arrival: 8:30 AM

Hi Danièle,

I was in Sardinia in December, January, and February—I’m traveling alone, so I don’t need to empty the tanks as often, and I do it without waiting for them to fill up. Maybe that’s why I never ran into any issues.

During those winter months, I hardly saw any other camper vans or tourists—I love exploring southern countries at this time of year, and the welcome is definitely much warmer.

My next big trip will be next year, thanks to the lockdown—I was supposed to head to the North Cape this year for 5 or 6 months. No such luck!!!

Wishing you great travels too—

Hi Brigitte,

I hope you have as wonderful a trip as we did when we went to Norway. We spent over 2 months there, traveling all the way up to the North Cape. After that, we hugged the coast closely until Kirkenes, near the Russian border. Every peninsula in the north is unique and stunning!! Safe travels and have a great day.

Hi everyone,

The long forum hiatus due to Covid didn’t allow us to continue these discussions about Sardinia by camper van. I’m sure many of you have already made the trip, and I think others are planning to visit this beautiful, easily accessible, and welcoming island. We spent 4 weeks there in 2016, transiting via Corsica (check out our trip report with photos at https://brigittefrancois.jimdofree.com/). Since then, we’ve returned during the spring holidays in 2022 with our grandchildren, and we’ve booked the ferry to go back at the end of this summer (departing from the port of Toulon on August 28 and returning on September 26). When we get back, we’ll definitely share updates on camper van life in Sardinia. See you soon!

Marie Paule

Hello, I’d love to hear your feedback! We’re thinking of heading to Sardinia in the first half of December. It might not be the best time of year, but I’m hoping we’ll still have a great trip. If anyone here has been there during this period and has any tips—good or bad experiences—I’d really appreciate it.