~ on the same island, once for its honesty and once for its glamour, and I still cannot pick a favorite.
I landed in the south of Sardinia expecting one kind of trip and found something rougher, quieter, and more honest than the postcards ever show. Chia Laguna sits along a coastline that still feels a little wild, sand dunes rolling toward water so clear it barely looks real. Forte Village, further along the coast, surprised me with its scale, an entire small village built around gardens and restaurants and a kitchen where Chef Raff let a group of us get our hands genuinely messy making pasta. Nothing about the south felt polished for effect. It felt lived in, a little unrefined in the most charming sense of the word, like a place that had not yet decided it needed to impress anyone.
A Meal I Still Think About
One night blurs into a memory I cannot fully place on a map anymore, a Brazilian style restaurant where the servers kept circling with skewers until everyone at the table surrendered. My colleague ended up gnawing on a bone the size of her forearm, laughing so hard she could barely finish the story she was telling. I do not remember which town we were in that night, and honestly, that is part of the point. Some meals matter less for the location and more for who is sitting across from you when the laughter starts.
Driving North Into a Different World
Somewhere between the south and the Costa Smeralda, Sardinia changes its entire personality. Pevero, tucked along the northern coastline, felt polished in a way the south never tried to be, yachts stacked along the harbor and a hush over everything that only real money can buy. Porto Cervo nearby had that particular energy, beautiful people in beautiful clothes, prices that made me raise an eyebrow more than once. I loved the south for its honesty. I loved the north for its glamour. Neither one made the other feel less worthwhile, and that contrast is exactly what makes Sardinia such a fascinating place to build a trip around.
A Ferry, a Border, and Casadelmar
Corsica arrived almost by surprise after a ferry crossing that felt like slipping between two different worlds in a single afternoon. France appeared on the other side, though the light and the coastline still whispered of the island we had just left. I did not see nearly enough of Casadelmar to describe it properly, one of those visits that gets cut short by a schedule that never quite cooperates with how much you actually want to stay. What little I saw told me everything I needed to know. I am already planning my way back.
Ready to find your own version of Sardinia?
Visit amoretraveldesigns.com/contact-me or reach me at cathy@amoretraveldesigns.com. I would love to help you plan a trip through the south, the north, or both.
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