HOW TO TRAVEL?

Here are some suggestions for those wishing to visit Sardinia, and to rent a house, a villa, an apartment for their holidays. With particular reference to the South West of Sardinia, the Sulcis and Sant 'Antioco

USEFUL TIPS FOR TRAVELLER

Some disinterested  advices to the guests of holiday homes  in Carbonia Iglesias  province, in Sant’Antioco, Carloforte, Calasetta

This website advertises holiday homes, apartments and villas, in southern Sardinia, and has the sole purpose of promoting the arrival of vacationers in the properties advertised.
And our friends, owners of the houses, would be very happy to welcome and host them. And 'for this reason that we give you an information, simple and honest, on the region, its history, its natural beauty, its folklore, its artistic and cultural events, it transportation means. We are not a tourist agency. Please forgive any possible inaccuracy. Please accept this information as you would receive it from a friend who has already been to those places. Thank you.

It' s a modern airport, and pleasant. The spaces for parking and for "rent a car" are wide and comfortable. It's located west of the city; that is the most convenient location to take the road to the west coast of  South Sardinia.
Airlines landing at Cagliari daily are : Air Berlin – Air Dolomiti – Air One – Alitalia – Austrian Airlines – Easy Jet – Germanwings – Helvetic.com -  Lufthansa – Meridiana - Ryanair . Other airlines are adding to those listed above. Cagliari airport is experiencing strong growth.

After leaving the airport of Cagliari follow the signs for the road SS 130. It 'a major road that connects Cagliari to Iglesias and Carbonia. The indications are very clear, but you must be careful not to mistake taking the SS 131. The correct one is the SS 130 to Iglesias - In Iglesias you will find all the information to Carbonia and then to S. Antioco. If you have to go to Villamassargia or to Domusnovas you will find the exit with an indication to Domusnovas Villamassargia, Carbonia,  about 45km from Cagliari, after the exit for Musei.

Certainly it will be a tiring journey from your country to the port of embarkation on the mainland. The crossing of the Mediterranean on a large ship can be a pleasant and relaxing experience, but …  once disembarked from the ferry you will have the maximum freedom to be familiar with the island that welcomes you. And to reach the holiday apartment or  house or villa that you rented, carrying all your luggage with ease.
The ports of embarkation on the mainland are Genoa, Livorno and Civitavecchia; the ports of arrival in Sardinia are Golfo Aranci, Olbia, Porto Torres, Cagliari. The companies are: - Sardinia (Corsica) Ferries - Moby Lines - Tirrenia - GNV (Grandi Navi Veloci).

From Golfo Aranci you lead to Olbia - at the entry of Olbia follow the  direction to  Sassari Nuoro Cagliari, you must be careful not to take the road SS 125 - you have  to take the road SS 131 and follow the direction to Sassari Nuoro – you will find the intersection after the tunnel that crosses the old port of Olbia – follow on the right the direction Nuoro Sassari ( 4 lanes) and no mistakes - After a couple of kilometers  there is the intersection to the road SS 131 always with direction to Nuoro Cagliari -  When you arrive to Abbasanta, you  will find the indication  to Oristano Cagliari – follow the direction Cagliari - From there go straight to Cagliari -  Time distance from Golfo Aranci to Olbia are 15 min – the distance Olbia Cagliari are about 280 km, we say  three hours without running too.

From Golfo Aranci you lead to Olbia - at the entry of Olbia follow the  direction to  Sassari Nuoro Cagliari, you must be careful not to take the road SS 125 - you have  to take the road SS 131 (so called “road of Carlo Felice”) and follow the direction to Sassari Nuoro – you will find the intersection after the tunnel that crosses the old port of Olbia – follow on the right the direction Nuoro Sassari ( 4 lanes) and no mistakes - After a couple of kilometers  there is the intersection to the road SS 131 always with direction to Nuoro Cagliari -  When you arrive to Abbasanta, you  will find the indication  to Oristano Cagliari – follow the direction Cagliari - Continuing towards Cagliari, about 60km from Oristano, you will find the exit towards Samassi - here you take the direction of Vallermosa, and hence the direction of Domusnovas – In Domusnovas you have to find direction to Iglesias (SS 130), or the direction to Villamassargia.
From Iglesias and Villamassargia you can easily reach all parts of South Sardinia West coast: Carbonia, Gonnesa,  Nebida,  Masua, Buggerru; Sant'Antioco (S. Antioco), Calasetta, Isola San Pietro, Carloforte, Portoscuso, Portovesme, Sant 'Anna (St. Anna) Arresi, Porto Pino, San Giovanni Suergiu, and all their wonderful beaches and cliffs. In this area are located the holiday homes, villas and apartments which are advertised by our web site

In the South West of Sardinia by bus links are quite comfortable, but the frequency of departures changes every season, so it is advisable that you take information on site. However, the links between Calasetta, Sant'Antioco, Carbonia, Villamassargia and Cagliari are regular. In Cagliari, the bus station is in the city center and is about 7km from the airport. From the city center you can take a bus or a taxi. We give now an example of travel times: - from Calasetta to S'Antioco  20m -  from S.Antioco to Carbonia 30m - from Carbonia to Villamassargia 30m -  from Villamassargia to Cagliari 60m - A total of 2h20m from Calasetta to Cagliari. If you want to go to Iglesias you have to change buses in Carbonia. The problem is that the holiday home, villa or apartment that you rented, is not always very close to bus stops. There is also another aspect of a holiday without a car: beautiful beaches are dozens, and there are many sites in southern Sardinia to visit: the archaeological, historical, artistic and naturalistic.

The Sardinian Railways were built, after 1865, by the Welsh engineer Benjamin Herbert Piercy, who fell in love with the island and went to live there permanently. The eng. Piercy bought many thousands of acres on the island , and some of these in the territory of Domusnovas. He was busy not only with the railways but also with the agriculture and farming: he was the founder of the first cheese factory in Sardinia. The eng. Piercy brought on the island many British technicians, who lived in Sardinia with their families for several years. Perhaps the sympathy of the English for Sardinia is born from the construction of the first railway! The network of Ferrovie dello Stato (Trenitalia) connects Iglesias, Carbonia and Villamassargia with Cagliari. Cagliari is connected with Oristano, and with the North West (Sassari, Porto Torres) and the North East (Olbia, Golfo Aranci). We give an example of travel times: - from Carbonia to Iglesias 10m - 55m from Iglesias to Cagliari - Cagliari to Porto Torres 4h - 4h from Cagliari to Olbia. In Sardinia there are some minor railway network with a narrow gauge rail.  Trenitalia time tables are also available on the Internet in English; for smaller networks is more appropriate to obtain information on site.

For the holidaymakers of Carloforte is certainly interesting to make some excursions to the Island of S. Antioco, and to the mainland of the Sardinia South West. Similarly for vacationers of Sant'Antioco is interesting to visit Carloforte, where interesting events  are organized each summer. During 2011, for example, was held the festival of music for movie,  the feast of couscous of Tabarka, the island of Tunis from which  Carloforte took his origin. And there every year is held the inevitable "Girotonno". Girotonno is the festival of Carloforte, a 4 days meeting  with the world of admirers of quality tuna,  journalists and experts from Mediterranean delicacies. It’s a competition between international chefs; all dishes are centered on the tuna. Girotonno is a festival of four days of meetings related to the unique cultural traditions. Artists shows, music, conferences and debates.
Even in Sant'Antioco and Calasetta there are held very pleasant and interesting events, and these feasts tempt the Carloforte holidaymakers to embark toward the mainland and S. Antioco.
The ferries service between the two islands is carried out efficiently by two different companies:  Saremar and Delcomar.

The cost of rent and the cost of fuel is a sustainable spending, if you can split between 4 or 5 passengers. In South Sardinia West coast there are many dozens of beaches to go, dozens of sites to visit, many wonderful cliffs to see, many folklore festivals, many music shows, many restaurants for dinner. It would be a shame not to enjoy the freedom that only can give you a car available.  At the airport of Cagliari, and in the cities of Iglesias, Carbonia and S. Antioco, there are numerous rent a car services at a good price.