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 | From Olbia, entrance port of the Gallura, you can go to Palau following the SS 125, and turning right in the direction of Costa Smeralda. Then you get to the fork San Pantaleo-Costa Smeralda, where you reach the wonderful dreamy beaches and inlets of Porto Cervo. You can stop along the Olbia coast, that hides two lesser-known jewels: Punta Malora beach on the Tavolara Island: equally seductive is Cala Girgolu –both reachable following the SS 125 for roughly 18 km. |
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 | For Palau, follow the coastal road through Cannigione to the seaside – stop at Tanca Manna beach, 250 m away, Barca Bruciata, a little further down and Saline beach, beautiful but slightly crowded. If you like mundane life don’t miss Porto Cervo with its flock of stars holidaying in lovely yachts. After the Passeggiata and an aperitif at the Piazzetta, there are two good reasons to climb the Stella Maria church for and evening view of the Marina and the precious painting attributed to El Greco, still preserved in the small temple. |
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 | Costa Smeralda also features the lovely Principe beach divided by a tiny promontory. There are no road signs to get there: follow for Romazzino, turn right just after 1 km, go 300 m to a park place and walk 5 minutes up a path for a stunning view. Like nuragic life? Arzachena is really an open-air archaeological dig. Albucciu nuraghe, still well kept (along the 125, 2 km SE), is but one of megalithic monuments to see at leisure. Discover the secrets of Olbia (click here). |
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 | Sea is the best route to Costa Smeralda, Soffi islands, Mortorio, Camere beaches and inlets. Or do one of the daily guides in Maddalena archipelago from Palau port or Cannigione Pier. The island of Maddalena with its fine beaches and inlets can be discovered by car. A bridge joins it to Caprera, Garibaldi’s ultimate retreat, featuring the so-called Compendio Garibaldino, the so called “Hero Of Two-World” ‘s museum . It is covered by white roads reaching fine beaches. |
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 | Its best known beach is Coticcio, renamed Tahiti, and can be reached by boat or a 40-min walk in the scrub. Equally enchanting are the Porta Palma and Cala Portese beaches, from the white road starting at the right of the Compendio Garibaldino fork. Cala Corsara, Cala Granara and Cala Conneri are three good reasons for a boat trip to Spargi. At La Maddalena, don’t miss Spalmatore Beach (4.7 km from the county seat); you can reach it through a panoramic road, or Monti d’Arena just before the Punta Cannone tourist village. Worth seeing are St. Teresa and the nearby villages (Porto Rafael, Porto Puddu, Valle dell’Erica), which uncover the most secret corners of the coast. Then follow Gallura W coast to Vignola Mare. |
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 | Not everyday can you climb on great bear-back to see everything from Bocche Bonifacio to Maddalena islands to coasts….
No fear, this bear is a huge rock eroded to look that way by the wind. In the distance, it looks like a plantigrade with its head facing the sea. 122 feet above the point with the same name it is the main tourist attraction.
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 | Perfectly balanced between myrtle, elegant but subtle, Porto Rafael is the secret retreat of VIP’s escaping the clamor of Costa Smeralda. An enchanting site, with a tiny square facing Maddalena archipelago.
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 | Leave the coast for Tempio Pausania, the landscape changing as you go inland. The road first hits views of the hillside, then enters the first Oak Woods. Leave the 133 for Aggius and then Tempio, the most important part of inner Gallura, then follow the 127 for Calangianus, Sardinia’s most relevant sugar production center, then to Telti and Olbia. The noble Tempio Pausania, old capital of Gallura Giudicato, has a historic center with nice granite palaces and a Cathedral dedicated to St. Peter, with portal and belfry from 1400’s. Between Tempio and Calangianus you must turn to Luras arch, tiny village boasting worthwhile archaeology, hosting four dolmen funeral monuments from III-II millennium BC (Ladas dolmen is the most suggestive one). Nature lovers should follow the street for Sant’Antonio di Gallura and find in a lonely valley over the artificial lake of Liscia, Sardinia’s biggest olive tree: over 14 meters high and 2 thousand years old. |
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