Instead of the Costa Smeralda: Sardinia's most beautiful (and affordable) sea
An alternative to the Costa Smeralda does exist: Sinis, the Gulf of Orosei, Sulcis and the Costa Verde. Same sea, half the bill.
The Costa Smeralda invented Italian seaside luxury, and with it prices that in July border on the absurd: a sunbed on the beach can cost as much as a night in a hotel elsewhere. The good news is that seeking an alternative to the Costa Smeralda doesn't mean giving anything up. The pink granite, the water shifting from emerald green to turquoise, the coves among the Mediterranean scrub: all of it exists along Sardinia's other 1,800 kilometres of coastline, where the end-of-day bill is another matter entirely. Here are four areas to head for, each pairing with a hinterland that alone is worth the trip.
The Sinis Peninsula
**Sinis Peninsula (Oristano).** It may be the island's best-value area. Its signature beach is Is Arutas, made of tiny grains of white, pink and green quartz smoothed by the sea (they're protected: don't dare take them away). Alongside, Mari Ermi and Maimoni round off a shoreline that is a protected marine area, with shallow, clear water perfect for children too. The budget base is Cabras, a town of fishermen and bottarga, a stone's throw from the ruins of Tharros, the Phoenician-Roman city on the Sinis sea. On days of mistral, when swimming is less inviting, the Oristano hinterland offers up two nuragic masterpieces: the Sacred Well of Santa Cristina, with its geometrically perfect stone staircase, and the Nuraghe Losa at Abbasanta, a black basalt keep among the best preserved in Sardinia.
The Gulf of Orosei
**Gulf of Orosei and Ogliastra (east coast).** Here you'll find the postcard sea many associate with Gallura, but at more humane rates. The ideal base is Cala Gonone, from where boats set off for Cala Luna and Cala Mariolu, while Cala Cartoe, reachable by car, stays quieter. Further south, in Ogliastra, Cala Goloritzé was voted the world's most beautiful beach in 2025: entry is capped (250 people a day, a 7-euro ticket), which makes it livable only by avoiding high season. Above the beaches looms the Supramonte, where Tiscali, the nuragic village hidden inside a doline, lies concealed. In the Ogliastra interior it's worth the climb to Ulassai, among the limestone spires and waterfalls, while towards the Baronia there's Lula, beneath Monte Albo, the mineral Sardinia where the sea is only a distant echo.
Sulcis-Iglesiente
**Sulcis-Iglesiente and Costa Verde (south-west).** It's the most underrated area and therefore the cheapest. Iglesias, a mining town full of character, is an excellent base for Cala Domestica, set among the rocks at Buggerru, and for the long, near-empty beaches of Gonnesa. Further south Porto Pino lines up dunes of the whitest sand; heading up towards Arbus, Piscinas stretches out more than three kilometres of dunes up to 60 metres high, among the most spectacular in Europe. A few minutes from the coast, the Domus de Janas of Montessu, a necropolis carved into a natural amphitheatre of rock, tell of a prehistoric Sardinia that beach tourism ignores.
North and Logudoro
**North and Logudoro (instead of Gallura).** If you want to stay in the north but away from Smeralda prices, aim for the Nurra to the west, Alghero and the Stintino peninsula. In the Logudoro hinterland, between one swim and the next, you'll come across three Romanesque and prehistoric gems: the striped cathedral of Saccargia, isolated amid the countryside, San Pietro di Sorres on the plateau and the rock-cut necropolis of Sant'Andrea Priu at Bonorva.
**When to go to spend less.** The secret holds for the whole island: avoid August. In May, June, September and October the prices of flights and lodging drop noticeably, the sea is still (or already) warm and the beaches breathe. A double in a B&B in the Oristano or Sulcis area runs between 50 and 80 euros a night, against the four-figure sums of exclusive Gallura. Bring lunch and water for the coves without facilities, book your rental car well ahead and consider the overnight ferries to save a night. The most beautiful Sardinia, in the end, is also the one that costs the least.
Practical guides for Alghero
Practical info
When is the best time to visit Instead of the Costa Smeralda?
The recommended time is May, June, September and October, when it is less crowded.
Where is Instead of the Costa Smeralda?
Instead of the Costa Smeralda is located in Italy.
