TLDR: The biking is very good in Sardinia. We rented road bikes for two weeks in April/May to explore the island while staying in hotels and fueling ourselves on cappuccino, croissants, and electrolytes. The island is inexpensive, the people are extremely welcoming, and the landscapes are stunning beyond belief. Riding bikes is why we went, but "la dolce vita" is why we will return. We had the time of our lives, and you can too.
Overview:
We started in Cagliari, rode up the east coast to the Gulf of Orosei, climbed inland into the mountains of Orgosolo and Nuoro, took a train south to Carbonia and ferry to Carloforte, then rode our bikes back to Cagliari.
(Rest) Day 1:Bike shop to the hotel + exploring Cagliari (10 miles 100ft)
After arriving the night before, we had a nice breakfast at the hotel before going to pick up our rental bikes at Sardinia Cycles, a quick 20 minute bus ride away in Quartu Sant'Elena. We brought along our kits and bits to install frame bags and carry the day's riding gear. From here we rode back to our hotel. We saw flamingos. There is an extensive network of bike path which seemed complicated to connect. We rode back to the hotel and spent the evening exploring Cagliari by foot. I got a haircut.
Day 2: Cagliari to San Priamo (56 miles 3000ft)
Our hotel had a garage to leave luggage and a courtyard to pack bikes in which we arranged access to with our host beforehand. It took about two hours to get out of the city and find ourselves on a quiet coastal road, high on the cliffs above the Mediterranean and looking southward towards Africa. We passed through a few lovely towns though admittedly did not stop when it was opportune and we found ourselves having not eaten lunch and needing a grocery store to purchase dinner during “riposo”. Our fault. After crawling down a brief section of Gravèl we arrived at our accommodations where we were kindly greeted by Mateo and the family.
Day 3: San Priamo to Abatax (65 miles 2600ft)
All of our efforts have been validated. We are a day early for the Murave Citrus Festival but stopped at a nice bakery where we had a cappuccino and got supplies for a picnic lunch. Despite these roads having a bit more traffic, SS125 became a favorite of ours. Between the quality of the pavement and steady breeze, we were happy to be on 30/32mm road bikes. The town of Jerzu looked stunning, but we didn’t have time to deviate and investigate. We explored Abatax in the evening and took ourselves out to a nice seafood dinner.
Day 4: Abatax to Cala Gonone (47miles 4200ft)
Possibly the best day I’ve ever had on a bike. We stopped at a bakery for snacks and lunch, had a noteworthy cappuccino and fresh orange juice, then rode on past Tour d’Italia murals and cactus. The towns of Triei and Baunei were highlights of the trip. Baunei has one of the highest populations of centenarians in the world, it is a part of the Blue Zone here in Sardinia. The roads from Baunei to Cala Ganone were the best I have ever ridden. We shared this epic descent with sports car enthusiasts and 50 year old German men on street bikes wearing their silly suits. They are the reason the mountain top restaurants were open, and I was grateful for that.
We totally missed this though, bummer.
(Rest) Day 5: Cala Ganone
If you take anything away from this trip report, this should be it. Plan your entire trip around this. It is 100% worth the cost. Do not hesitate. 3, 2, 1, Buy Now!
*Rent a 60hp self guided Joker Boat in Cala Gonone\*
Consider reserving one ahead, We got lucky and one was available. Upon arriving in Cala Gonone we walked to the marina and inquired about a boat rental. There were about 20 rental booths, but availability was limited as their season was just starting. They said they might have one available, tomorrow was better than the next day due to weather, and to show up at 9am ready to go. We did, and they gave us a god damn motorboat. Crazy. What a cool way to explore the most beautiful coastline of the island. Just the two of us, for the full day.
(Rest) Day 6: Day trip from Cala Ganone (45 miles, 4000ft)
There is plenty of good biking and cute villages nearby. Pick your poison or use this extra day to prioritize the boat rental based on weather and availabilty or nap and do laundry.
Day 7: Cala Gonone to Orgosolo (32 miles 4300 ft)
After a late breakfast and mandatory dip in the Med, we rode up the cool hill again to Su Gologone Experience Hotel . This was the best meal of the trip and cost a whopping 80 euros. Once again, we missed our reservation but got lucky. Call ahead for a reservation or if you’re big ballin, stay the night. Even if you can’t get a reservation, its worth taking the time to walk around this place. After this huge late lunch including wine and grappa, we began the real climb into the mountains or Orgosolo. This rugged region is part of the Blue Zone but features its own dark past. Consider watching this after you go.
Day 8.1: Orgosolo to Nuoro (13 miles 1500 ft)
Early morning ride to catch the train in Nuoro. We got there early and had time to get food for the travel day at a bakery and an amazing breakfast at an awesome cafe.
Train from Nuoro to Carbonia is easy but takes a few hours. This is also where you could extend the trip to include what is credited to be the most beautiful town in Sardinia, Bosa.
8.2 Carbonia to Portoscuso (12 miles 200ft) + Ferry to Carloforte
Low quality industrial riding on bad busy roads :(. The Ferry was easy and fun though!
(Rest) Day 9: Carloforte (15 miles 1500ft)
After the best croissant of the trip, we did a short day ride to the cat sanctuary (?) the returned to our hotel for a well deserved nap. My girlfriend got a haircut, and got a really good kabak to hold us over until a late (early by Italian standard) dinner. This came highly recommended by a very kind local, and they were right.
Day 10: Ferry from Carloforte + Calasetta to Chia
We took the ferry to Calassetta, which was a relaxing way to spend the morning. After a cappuccino, we explored quiet the island of Sant’Antioco. I wish I had more time here! The afternoon was an absolute slog to Chia consisting of windy, busy, and bad roads. There were still some moments of bliss. Chia is a tourist trap.
Day 11: Chia to Assemini/Cagliari (53 miles 1500ft) + Train to Cagliari
Our host informed us that there was a “manifestation” in town. This was a highlight of the trip and we were grateful to see it, but the afternoon made us question if it was worth it. Pula to “Cagliari” was an absolute nightmare. We quickly altered our plans to catch a train from Assemini to Cagliari. We later learned that tour companies will shuttle this section between Pula and Cagliari because it is AWFUL and terrifying with no good way around it.
After arriving in Cagliari via train, we hustled to the bike show to return our noble steeds with just seconds to spare. We celebrated with some electrolytes in the bike shops cafe, then bused back to our our hotel.
In the evening we celebrated with more electrolytes at an absolutely packed locals bar, returned to the best gelateria, and reflected on the la dolce vita.
Bikes:
Sardinia Cycling was amazing to work with. It was easy to sort out the bikes and ask questions via email and whatsapp. We wanted to rent gravel bikes, but there was an event going on so there was none available. In the end we absolutely loved our Canyon Endurace CF 8 (30/32mm) road bikes and were glad we ended up with skinnier tires due to the smooth and quiet roads.
Distance:
We are generally (very?) fit people who measure success in coffees and croissants rather than distance and elevation gain. Regardless of the distance, it took us all day, every single day. I actively tried to decrease mileages while planning this, despite an overwhelming desire to see everything. You can always add on mileage during a day, it’s hard to reduce it if you need to be somewhere. I included multiple layover days so that if we got delayed for any reason, we wouldn’t fall behind on our entire trip. I did this in Cagliari, Cala Gonone, and Carloforte.
Cagliari:
We gave ourselves a full day in Cagliari incase of travel delay and to pick up and prepare our bikes. Between this full day and the final evening before departing, we did not feel the need to spend more time in Cagliari. This is where we decided the best flavor of gelato was al basilico e lime. On our final night we celebrated with an Aperol Spritz.
Cala Gonone:
The resort town of Cala Ganone was an obvious place to spend multiple days and we treated ourselves to a nice hotel. There was a very large population of rock climbers here as well. Did I mention renting a boat?
Carloforte, Calasetta and Sant'Antonio:
The riding getting to these islands was industrial with truck traffic and bad pavement. The Ferry was a very fun experience and easy to do. Carloforte is a vibrant and intimate port city, we loved it here despite the biking being not nearly as good. We had the best dinner, the best croissant, and the only eggnog gelato of the trip.
Calasetta was a strange resort town. We changed plans to focus our time in Carloforte and were happy we did, though the riding was beautiful on this island and Sant’Antonio was worth of more of our time.
Chia: Hard pass.
Time of year:
We went from 4/20-5/5. We planned this trip just before the tourist season for better biking temperatures, cheaper prices and quieter roads. It was kinda cold and snowed on the tallest peak while we were there. We only swam once.
The crazy Italian and vacationing German drivers were very considerate, once they saw you. Bring lights and backup lights. Generally speaking, the roads felt safe. I attribute much of this to the time of year being before the tourist season had started in earnest.
Navigation: This was critical to our success and saves us so much time and energy
To make the routes I started with basic google searches to figure out where to go and used Strava heatmaps to confirm people road bikes there. Strava will route based on the most popular routes, then I would tweak this to different points of interest and use google street view to verify shoulders and safety.
I have every route preloaded onto a Garmin Edge 830 and It gave us turn by turn directions and would reroute on the fly if we went off course using Garmin's own "most popular" data. I needed to load the base layer onto my Garmin to do this.
Water:
Is there water? Yes. We carried two bottles each and normally got away with 1. The cooler temps helped with this. We also recommend cappuccino and Sardinian electrolytes consumed together at the same time.
Cost:
All in, we spent $3000 each, including flights and bike rentals. Without those, the cost once we got to the island was closer to $1200 each, or $100 a day. We did not hold back, but also had zero space in our bike bags to purchase any souvenirs which would have added significant expenses.
Language: Sardinia’s economy is driven heavily by tourism, everyone spoke English.
What else?
I learned that sparking water was naturally occurring.
The island has many pump tracks and I rode one almost every day.
Consider giving yourself more time in Cala Gonone so you can be flexible based on the weather. This might be critical for renting a boat. Did I mention the boat rental?
It is windy. Other bikers have described a show stopping heading when trying to ride north along the island's west coast. The winds on the more sheltered east coast were significant. We were grateful to be on decently árëō setups with bags rather than panniers.
The trains are a great bike friendly resource and immune to wind.
“I’m ready to go, I just need to get out of bed and put all my stuff in a bag.”
- Bikini / French Speedo
- Helmet
- Shoes
- Jersey
- Bibs
- Gloves
- Buff
- Bike shoes
- “camp” shoe
- Sunnies
- Hat
- Socks x2
- Casual Leggings/Pants
- Rain pants
- Rain jacket
- Fleece
- Puffy
- Nice shirt
- Soft shirt
- Frame Bag
- Seat Bag
- Top tube Bag
- Handlebar Bag
- Bottles x2
- Chain bube
- Cable Bike lock x2
- Tools
- Tubes
- Pump
- Plug / patch kit
- Lights + charging cords
- Bike Computer
- Pedals
- Flash Pack for groceries
- Toof Bruss ect
- Lube
- First Aid Kit
- Towel
- Soap
- Sunscreen
- Swim goggles / flippers
| Hotel | Notes | Location | Cost | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A View on Cagliari | Strange set up with very kind hosts. Good bike storage but bad prepping space. Great breakfast, bad cappuccino. Close to cool areas of the city but far from the bike shop. | Cagliari | €255 / 3 nights | 3/5 |
| I Caliari | Quiet family horse ranch / farmstay. Tough to find dinner. Lovely Breakfast, good cappuccino. Great for bikes. Imagine Fabio (Mateo) riding his horse up to you while shirtless and kindly welcoming you into his family's home | San Priamo | €70 | 4/5 |
| Hotel Veccia Marina | Motor)cyclists love this one hotel! Machine cappuccino. Injectable croissants. Great room and good bike storage. | Abatax | €76 | 5/5 |
| Hotel Costa Dorado | Very Very Nice Best Hotel Cappuccino. Outdoor bike storage felt fine tucked away and locked. Laundry available, 24hour turnaround. | Cala Gonone | $496,91 / 3 nights | 10/10! |
| Hotel Canduleri | Super cool! Great roof patio. Fast and bad breakfast, w/ pod coffee. Great bike storage. | Orgosolo | $98 | 4/5 |
| Nichotel | Busy central location. Good breakfast. Subpar bike storage. | Carloforte | €255 / 2 nights | 3/5 |
| I Color of Chia | Skip | Chia | €85 | 1/5 |
Shoutout to Christian and Anne, our bikepacking brethren! We saw plenty of other bikers enjoying themselves too. Step right up, you’re next.
Fire away with any questions. Sorry for any typos, English is my first language.
by TropicalAppleSauce
3 Comments
Incredible post!
Awesome post — super inspiring! Sardinia is truly incredible. I was there six years ago and still remember the gelato I had in a little mountain village — unforgettable.
Next time, come visit us in Portugal! Renting a bike is just as easy, the locals are super friendly, and there’s that same laid-back vibe — enjoying life with a glass of vinho verde and fresh ocean fish on the grill.
And the beaches? Just as stunning as Sardinia’s. Trust me.
Wow, I want to do this trip. What a fantastic post. I especially enjoyed the humor, the links, and the photos. Kudos on the English, la dolce vita!