Sardinia
Cala Mariolu, Sardinia
A slow family beach trip · 12 days

Sardinia

Beaches, gelato, long lazy lunches, two boat days
Sat 13 June – Wed 24 June 2026

3Bases
9+Beach days
2Boat days
~€7,100Realistic, all in
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The kind of trip this is

Slow, beach-first, no rushing around

This isn't a sightseeing trip — no ruins, no museums, no checklist. It's twelve days built around one anchor per day: a beach, a long lazy lunch, a boat, or an easy stroll through an old town for a gelato. Mornings are unhurried, afternoons are open, the kids set the pace. Three bases, each 3–4 nights, so we only unpack three times.

🏖️
Beaches, not landmarksSand and sea is the whole point
🍝
No-seafood food guidePizza, meat feasts, classic pastas
🐢
One thing per daySlow mornings, open afternoons
🍦
Old-town eveningsPromenades and gelato, not "sights"
About the food: coastal Sardinia is seafood country, but you two don't eat seafood — so every restaurant in this guide is chosen for its pizza, meat, and classic-pasta strength. The inland agriturismi near Castiadas and Oliena are the secret weapon: multi-course meat feasts with zero fish in sight. One is built into the itinerary as a long, lazy lunch on Day 7 — and a second is there as an option if you want it. (One feast is plenty with a 3- and 5-year-old.)
The route

Where we'll be

Three bases down the east coast, connected by easy 3-hour drives. Click any pin for what's there and a link straight to Google Maps. Orange line is the driving route.

Airports (in / out)
Base 1 · Villasimius
Base 2 · Cala Gonone
Base 3 · Palau
Beaches & stops
Agriturismo feasts
Every place, one tap away

All locations on Google Maps

Every single spot on this trip — hotels, beaches, towns, restaurants, boat operators, airports — linked straight to Google Maps. Tap any one to see photos, reviews, opening hours, and exactly where it sits.

🏨 Hotels

✈️ Airports

⛵ Boat & activity

🏘️ Towns & villages

🏖️ Beaches & coves

🍽️ Restaurants · Villasimius

🍽️ Restaurants · Cala Gonone

🍽️ Restaurants · Palau area

The plan

Twelve slow days, hour by hour

Each day starts with an overview, then a relaxed hour-by-hour timeline — every stop with a thumbnail, a quick note on why it's on the list, and a Google Maps link. Times are loose suggestions, not a schedule to chase.

Base 1 of 3 · The South

Villasimius — 4 nights

Sat 13 Jun → Wed 17 Jun · Suimi's Hotel · The gentlest start — easy beaches, slow afternoons

Spiaggia di Simius
Spiaggia di Simius
1 Sat 13 Jun · Arrival

Land, drive, settle in

🐢 Anchor: just arrive
The overview: a travel day kept deliberately empty after arrival. Land, an easy hour's drive, check in, one swim, a gelato. Nothing to chase — the trip starts slow on purpose.
The day
~12:30
✈️ Cagliari (CAG)
Land at Cagliari Airport & collect the car
The Eurowings direct lands midday, so you get a half-day in Sardinia instead of losing it all to travel. Pick up the Sunny Cars rental in the terminal.
📍 Maps
~13:30
🚗 SS125 coast road
coastal road
Drive to Villasimius (~1 h)
Chosen as the gentlest possible first drive — the short coastal SS125 with sea views from Capo Boi, no mountain switchbacks while everyone's tired.
~15:00
🏨 Suimi's Hotel
Villasimius
Check in at Suimi's Hotel
Base 1 — picked for its 9.7/484 rating, family-run feel, and a pool + hot tub so afternoons need zero effort.
📍 Maps
~16:00
Spiaggia di Simius
Simius beach
First swim — Spiaggia di Simius
A 10-minute walk from the hotel. Chosen for day one because it needs no logistics at all — just walk down and get in the water.
📍 Maps
~18:30
🍦 Villasimius old town
Evening passeggiata in the old town
Exactly your kind of evening — the pedestrian streets, a gelato, no agenda. The town centre is a 10-minute walk or 3-minute drive.
📍 Maps
~19:45
🍽️ Pizzeria Acquarius
Dinner — Pizzeria Acquarius
A real pizzeria, not a fish house — opens at 19:00 and turns tables fast. The right low-effort first dinner after a travel day.
📍 Maps
Porto Giunco
Porto Giunco
2 Sun 14 Jun · Beach day

Porto Giunco & the flamingo lagoon

🐢 Anchor: Porto Giunco
The overview: the first proper slow beach day. One beach in the morning, the hotel pool in the afternoon — that's the whole plan, and that's the point.
The day
~09:00
🥐 Suimi's breakfast
Slow breakfast at Suimi's
The hotel's breakfast is singled out as "exceptional" in the reviews — worth lingering over rather than rushing.
~10:30
Porto Giunco
Porto Giunco
Porto Giunco beach + flamingo lagoon
Picked as the day-2 beach because it's shallow and calm for the kids — and the lagoon right behind it is full of flamingos, so it's a beach with a bit of wonder built in. 8-minute drive.
📍 Maps
~13:00
🍽️ Beach kiosk
Lunch at the beach kiosk
Keeps the day frictionless — no driving back and forth, no decisions. Panini and a cold drink, feet in the sand.
~15:30
♨️ Suimi's pool
Pool & hot tub back at the hotel
The afternoon stays at the hotel on purpose — this is the "slow and spacious" you asked for. Kids in the pool, you in the hot tub.
~19:30
🍽️ Galika
Dinner — Galika
A Sardinian meat grill — the no-seafood adults' happy place. Mixed grill, roast pecorino, culurgiones; a plain pasta for the kids.
📍 Maps
Costa Rei beach
3 Mon 15 Jun · Beach day

A relaxed day on Costa Rei

🐢 Anchor: Costa Rei beach
The overview: a pure, easy beach day on one of the south coast's best stretches of sand, with a normal kid-friendly pasta lunch in the middle. No 3-hour feast today — the one big agriturismo lunch is saved for Day 7, when everyone's primed for it.
The day
~09:00
🥐 Slow breakfast
Slow breakfast at Suimi's
No rush — Costa Rei is an easy drive and the beach is best from mid-morning on.
~10:30
🏖️ Costa Rei
Costa Rei beach
A long ribbon of white sand and shallow turquoise water ~30 min north of Villasimius — chosen for variety from the closer beaches, with easy parking and kiosks.
📍 Maps
~13:00
🍽️ Chaplin Spaghetteria
Lunch — Chaplin Spaghetteria
The relaxed Day-3 lunch: a pasta-focused family spot in Costa Rei with a covered terrace and — the reason it's the pick — a garden play area, so the kids can get down and run between courses. Continuous service, so no timing pressure. A normal ~1-hour lunch, not a feast.
📍 Maps
~15:00
🏖️ Back to the beach
More beach, or a slow afternoon
Back to Costa Rei for the afternoon, or drift home for the Suimi's pool — whatever the kids are in the mood for.
~19:00
🍦 Villasimius
Easy evening in town
A gentle passeggiata and a gelato in the old town — keep dinner light and casual after a full day in the sun.
Punta Molentis
Punta Molentis
4 Tue 16 Jun · Beach day

Punta Molentis & a last old-town evening

🐢 Anchor: Punta Molentis
The overview: the prettiest cove near Villasimius in the morning, a slow afternoon, and a proper old-town evening to close out Base 1.
The day
~09:00
🥐 Breakfast
Relaxed breakfast — entry pass already booked
Punta Molentis runs a capped, pre-booked entry in summer, so the parking stress is handled the night before (see the note below) — the morning itself is calm.
~10:00
Punta Molentis
Punta Molentis
Punta Molentis beach
Chosen as the "wow" beach of the south — a pink-tinged cove inside a marine reserve, sheltered and gentle. With the entry pass pre-booked, just turn up for your slot.
📍 Maps
~13:00
🍽️ Lunch in town
Lunch back in Villasimius
A relaxed sit-down in town — anything on the pedestrian strip works.
~15:00
♨️ Hotel rest
Slow afternoon — pool or rest
The last relaxed afternoon before tomorrow's move day. No agenda.
~18:00
🍦 Villasimius old town
Old-town wander & passeggiata
A real stroll through the town you've only passed through — pedestrian lanes, a gelato, the evening passeggiata. Your kind of evening.
📍 Maps
~19:30
🍽️ Sa Bingia / Maiori
Dinner — Sa Bingia or Maiori
A "bit special" night to end the first base — Sa Bingia for a porceddu feast in town, or Maiori for stylish gourmet pizza.
📍 Maps
Must do the night before: Punta Molentis has a mandatory capped online booking in summer — reserve your entry + parking the evening of Mon 15 Jun via the official Villasimius portal (pass.brav.it/Villasimius). If it's sold out, just swap to an unrestricted beach like Spiaggia di Campus or back to Simius — no drama either way.
Base 2 of 3 · Gulf of Orosei

Cala Gonone — 3 nights

Wed 17 Jun → Sat 20 Jun · Hotel Nettuno · The boat day, dramatic coves, the one big agriturismo feast

The road north
Sardinian road
5 Wed 17 Jun · Move day

Drive to Cala Gonone

🐢 Anchor: the drive
The overview: the longest drive of the trip (~3 h) — paced with a lunch stop, ending on the Cala Gonone seafront with an evening gelato.
The day
~09:00
🧳 Check out
Breakfast, check out of Suimi's
No rush — load the car after a full breakfast.
~09:45
🚗 Inland SS131
road
Drive north on the inland SS131
Chosen over the scenic coastal SS125 on purpose — the coast road is 60 km of hairpins and motion-sickness with kids; the inland route is calm and faster.
~12:30
🍽️ Tortolì / Lotzorai
Lunch stop — Tortolì or Lotzorai
A halfway break to stretch legs and feed everyone — keeps the drive humane.
~15:00
🏨 Hotel Nettuno
Cala Gonone
Arrive Cala Gonone, check in at Hotel Nettuno
Base 2 — a 4-star with a pool and modern rooms (9.1 rating), family-run, central in the village and a short walk to the boat harbour for tomorrow.
📍 Maps
~18:00
Cala Gonone lungomare
Cala Gonone
Evening lungomare promenade
Cala Gonone's seafront has exactly the stroll-and-gelato rhythm you like — an easy way to settle into the new base.
📍 Maps
~19:30
🍽️ Pizzeria San Francisco
Dinner — Pizzeria San Francisco
Reliable wood-fired pizza that opens early — the easy choice after a travel day.
📍 Maps
Tip: use the inland SS131, not the coastal SS125. The coast road is gorgeous but it's a hairpin-heavy hour you don't want with kids in the back.
Cala Luna, Gulf of Orosei
Cala Luna
6 Thu 18 Jun · ⭐ Boat day

Gulf of Orosei — the famous coves by sea

🐢 Anchor: the boat
The overview: the famous coves, reached by an easy hop-on/hop-off ferry — so you swim and someone else captains. The boats beach the dinghy right on the sand, so getting on and off is easy even with the 3-year-old.
The day
~08:30
🥐 Breakfast
Breakfast at the Nettuno
Fuel up — there's no full kitchen on a ferry day, so pack snacks, water and water shoes too.
~09:15
⛵ Cala Gonone harbour
harbour
Walk to the harbour, buy tickets
The hotel was chosen partly for this — the harbour is a 6-minute walk, so the boat day starts with zero driving. Buy hop-on/hop-off tickets at the kiosk.
📍 Maps
~09:45
Cala Mariolu
Cala Mariolu
Ferry to Cala Mariolu
Chosen because it's the single most beautiful cove on this coast — white pebbles, glass-clear water — and it's only realistically reachable by boat. The ferry beaches you right on the sand.
📍 Maps
~12:30
Cala Luna
Cala Luna
Hop to Cala Luna — lunch from the cooler
A second, completely different cove — the one with the caves behind the sand — so the day has real variety without any effort. Picnic lunch on the beach.
📍 Maps
~16:00
⛵ Ferry back
Ferry back to Cala Gonone
Hop on a returning boat whenever the kids are done — that's the point of the hop-on/hop-off ticket.
~19:30
🍽️ Trattoria Sos Rueddos
Dinner — Trattoria Sos Rueddos
Homemade ravioli and culurgiones — cosy, authentic, and exactly the non-seafood comfort food to end a beach day on.
📍 Maps
Two notes: Cala Mariolu is a stunning pebble cove, not soft sand — water shoes make it much nicer for the kids. And if you'd rather drive yourselves, you can also rent a small 40 hp gommone right in Cala Gonone and just hug the coast to Cala Luna — easier navigation than the Maddalena day, and it fits the "drive it ourselves" itch.
Oliena countryside
Oliena
7 Fri 19 Jun · The feast

Agriturismo Guthiddai — the highlight meal

🐢 Anchor: a long lazy lunch
The overview: the best meal of the trip — a 3.5–4 hour farm feast inland at Oliena. That feast is the day; a quiet cove afterwards is purely optional, only if everyone still has the energy. Last full day at Base 2.
The day
~09:30
🥐 Slow breakfast
Slow breakfast, easy morning
Same logic as the first feast day — don't fill the morning, you'll be at the table by midday.
~12:00
🚗 Drive to Oliena
Oliena
Scenic drive inland to Oliena (~20 min)
The drive into the Supramonte foothills is beautiful in itself — a gentle, short scenic leg, not a slog.
~12:30
Agriturismo Guthiddai
feast
Long lunch — Agriturismo Guthiddai
Chosen as the meal of the trip — a working olive-and-vine farm: antipasti, two pastas, four roast meats, homemade ice cream. Reviewers call it the best meal in Sardinia, and it's zero-seafood by design.
📍 Maps
~16:30
🏖️ Optional cove
Optional — a quiet cove, only if there's energy
If everyone's still up for it, a small quiet cove (Cala Cartoe, sandy and easy) to swim off the feast. If not — and after a 4-hour lunch that's the likely call — head straight back for a slow afternoon at the hotel pool. No pressure either way.
📍 Maps
~19:00
🌙 Quiet evening
Quiet evening in Cala Gonone
Last night at Base 2, kept light — a gelato on the lungomare, an early night before the move day.
Confirm before you count on it: some agriturismi run their full multi-course feast only at dinner or on Sundays. Email Guthiddai now to confirm they do the "pranzo tipico" on Friday 19 June for non-guests — if it's dinner-only, take the dinner slot instead and skip the optional cove.
Base 3 of 3 · The North

Palau — 4 nights

Sat 20 Jun → Wed 24 Jun · Hotel La Vecchia Fonte · The self-drive boat day, the calmest beaches, an old island town

Posada hill village
Posada
8 Sat 20 Jun · Move day

Drive to Palau, with a stop in Posada

🐢 Anchor: the drive + a village pause
The overview: the easiest drive of the trip (~3 h, mostly straight), broken halfway by a stroll through a medieval hill village. Arrive Palau mid-afternoon, settle in on the marina.
The day
~09:00
🧳 Check out
Breakfast, check out of the Nettuno
A relaxed start — today's drive is the gentle one.
~09:45
🚗 SS131 north
road
Drive north on the SS131
Mostly straight, easy plains and rolling hills — the simplest leg of the whole trip.
~11:30
Posada
Posada
Stop in Posada — village stroll
Chosen specifically for you: a tiny medieval hilltop village, one of "the most beautiful in Italy." No museum, no ticket — just granite lanes, a gelato, and a view. Exactly the kind of wander you like.
📍 Maps
~13:00
🚗 On to Palau
Continue to Palau (lunch en route)
Grab a roadside lunch and finish the drive — about 1.5 hours more.
~15:30
🏨 La Vecchia Fonte
Palau marina
Arrive Palau, check in at La Vecchia Fonte
Base 3 — chosen because it sits right on the marina, steps from where the self-drive boat day starts. Scout the marina while you're there.
📍 Maps
~19:30
🍽️ Hostaria Cuppulata
Dinner — Hostaria Cuppulata
Gourmet wood-fired pizza with 72-hour dough, opens at 19:00 — the easy welcome dinner in the new town.
📍 Maps
Porto Pollo
Porto Pollo
9 Sun 21 Jun · Beach day

Porto Pollo — the shallowest swim of the trip

🐢 Anchor: Porto Pollo
The overview: the calmest, shallowest beach of the whole trip — the easiest swim day for the kids — then a slow afternoon and a marina-side evening.
The day
~09:00
🥐 Slow breakfast
Slow breakfast at La Vecchia Fonte
Reviewers call this breakfast the best of their two weeks in Sardinia — no reason to rush it.
~10:30
🚗 To Porto Pollo
Drive to Porto Pollo (~15 min)
A short, easy hop along the coast — barely a drive at all.
~11:00
Porto Pollo
Porto Pollo
Porto Pollo beach
Chosen as the day-9 beach because its twin sheltered bays have the calmest, shallowest water in the whole north — genuinely toddler-easy — plus a windsurf school the 5-year-old will love watching.
📍 Maps
~13:30
🍽️ Beach lunch
Beach lunch
Kiosk food at the beach — keep the day simple.
~16:00
🛟 Back to Palau
Slow afternoon back in Palau
Rest up — tomorrow is the big self-drive boat day.
~18:30
Palau marina
Palau marina
Palau marina promenade + gelato
An easy evening stroll right outside the hotel — boats, gelato, the passeggiata.
📍 Maps
~19:30
🍽️ CuCumiao
Dinner — CuCumiao
Palau's meat anchor — the signature is slow-roasted porceddu, with zuppa gallurese (a baked bread-and-cheese dish) that kids love. No seafood in sight.
📍 Maps
Optional swap — your Santa Teresa day: if you're already beached out by Day 9, swap Porto Pollo for a Santa Teresa Gallura day instead (~25–30 min drive). You get the old-town stroll you wanted, and Capo Testa right next to it has granite coves and a beach — so it's town and sea, not town instead of sea. See the Towns section for more.
Cala Corsara, La Maddalena archipelago
Cala Corsara
10 Mon 22 Jun · ⭐ Boat day

Self-drive the La Maddalena archipelago

🐢 Anchor: the boat
The overview: the day you specifically wanted — your own small boat through the archipelago, no license needed, with a handling lesson first. Anchor at your own turquoise coves, swim whenever, lunch on the water.
The day
~08:30
🥐 Breakfast + supermarket
Breakfast + a supermarket run
Grab ice, water, fruit and panini for the cooler — there are no kiosks where you're going.
~09:00
⛵ Boat pickup, Palau marina
Palau marina
Pick up the boat at Palau marina — handling briefing
A Palau-marina operator (Noleggio Gommoni Palau, or Freedome) — chosen so you genuinely walk out of the hotel and board, with no drive to another town. Ask for a 5–6 person boat, not the smallest (you need room for bags, shade, a cooler and life jackets), and the first-timer handling briefing.
📍 Maps
~09:45
Cala Corsara
Cala Corsara
Set off — Cala Corsara, Spargi
Chosen as the first stop because it's a shallow turquoise pool, sheltered, and the postcard cove of the whole archipelago — an easy, gentle first anchor.
📍 Maps
~12:30
🏖️ Cala Santa Maria
Cala Santa Maria — lunch on the boat
The most sheltered, sandy bay in the islands — the calm, safe anchor for a family lunch from the cooler.
📍 Maps
~15:00
Budelli pink beach
Spiaggia Rosa
Slow cruise — Spargi pools & the Budelli pass
The pink beach can't be landed on (300 m off-limits), but cruising slowly past it is the moment everyone remembers — and the Spargi pools are knee-deep and kid-perfect.
📍 Maps
~17:30
⛵ Return to Palau
Return the boat to Palau
Most rentals have a firm return time — head back with a buffer so it's never a rush.
~19:30
🍽️ La Gritta
Dinner — La Gritta (or an easy Palau pizza)
La Gritta is the "bit special" night — Michelin-listed, famous lamb chops, a sunset terrace. If everyone's sun-tired, an easy pizza in town works just as well.
📍 Maps
Book it this week. June is busy, so reserve the boat now. Ask specifically for toddler life jackets with a crotch strap (so they can't slip out) sized 10–15 kg and 15–30 kg. If the wind's up in the Bonifacio Strait, the operator reschedules — that's exactly why this base has 4 nights of buffer.
La Maddalena town
La Maddalena town
11 Tue 23 Jun · Old-town day

La Maddalena — an old island town

🐢 Anchor: La Maddalena town
The overview: a walk-on ferry to the island — its old port town is the "authentic old town" day you asked for, done the slow way. Town and gelato on the island in the morning, then ferry back for an easy beach or promenade on the Palau side — no car-on-ferry logistics, no bus-and-taxi shuffle.
The day
~09:30
🥐 Slow breakfast
Slow breakfast at the hotel
No rush — the ferries to the island run all day.
~10:30
⛴️ Walk-on ferry
Walk-on ferry to La Maddalena
No car needed (~€10 round-trip, a 15-minute crossing) — the ferry is the easy, fun way over, and a small adventure for the kids in itself.
📍 Maps
~11:00
La Maddalena old town
La Maddalena
Wander the old town
This is the old-town stroll you asked for, the real thing — pastel lanes, the piazza, a gelato, the passeggiata. A genuinely charming old port.
📍 Maps
~13:00
🍽️ Lunch in town
Lunch in La Maddalena
A relaxed sit-down in the old town between the wander and the beach.
~14:30
⛴️ Ferry back + Palau beach
Ferry back, easy Palau-side afternoon
Skip the bus-or-taxi hop to a La Maddalena beach — instead, ferry straight back and take the afternoon on an easy beach near Palau (Spiaggia delle Saline or Palau Vecchio) or just the marina promenade. Effortless, which is the whole point.
📍 Maps
~19:30
🍽️ Pizzeria Sa Pinta
Dinner — Pizzeria Sa Pinta, Palau
A relaxed last-evening pizza back in Palau — casual, friendly, walkable from the hotel. (If you'd rather have one standout dinner on the island instead, Pizzeria Civico 49 in La Maddalena town is the highest-rated spot in the guide — do that as an early dinner before the ferry back.)
📍 Maps
Alternative: swap in San Pantaleo — a tiny artsy granite village ~20 min from Palau, especially good on a Thursday morning for its market.
Cala Goloritzé — arrivederci
Cala Goloritzé
12 Wed 24 Jun · Fly home

Palau → Olbia Airport → Salzburg

🐢 Anchor: an easy departure
The overview: an easy departure by design — a full breakfast, a short 45-minute drive, the rental car dropped at the terminal, and the direct flight home. Base 3 was placed so the last morning is calm.
The day
~08:30
🥐 Final breakfast
Final breakfast at La Vecchia Fonte
One last slow breakfast on the marina before the road.
~09:00
🚗 To Olbia Airport
road
Check out, drive to Olbia Airport (~45 min)
Base 3 was placed in the north on purpose — the final drive is short and stress-free. Leave by ~09:00 to be comfortable for a midday flight; adjust once you've confirmed the exact Eurowings time.
📍 Maps
~10:30
🚗 Car drop
Drop the rental car at the terminal
Sunny Cars' desk is in the terminal — a quick, no-shuttle return.
~12:00
✈️ OLB → SZG
Eurowings direct OLB → SZG
About 1 h 35 in the air — home by the afternoon. 🍦🌊
For when you've had enough beach

Old towns to wander

Every base has a charming old town within an easy drive — somewhere to swap sand for stone lanes, a gelato and a passeggiata. These are in addition to the towns already built into the plan: Villasimius's pedestrian centre on your evenings, and La Maddalena's old port on Day 11.

From Villasimius

Base 1

The south's standout old-town day — done as a stroll, not a sightseeing march.

~1 h drive

Cagliari · Castello quarter

The south's real old city

A medieval walled hilltop quarter — narrow lanes, the Bastione di Saint Remy terrace with its big view over the city, and the Marina district below for gelato and a passeggiata. The proper "old city" experience of the south.

Half day📍 Maps

From Cala Gonone

Base 2

Two flavours — one pretty-medieval, one authentic working town.

~20 min drive

Galtellì

A medieval village · the pretty one

One of the officially "most beautiful villages in Italy" — small, medieval, pastel houses, quiet stone lanes, completely unhurried. The postcard-stroll option.

1–2 hrs📍 Maps
~15 min drive

Dorgali

An authentic working town

Less postcard, more real Sardinia — craft workshops for leather, ceramics and knives, working streets, no tourist set-dressing. The pick if you want authentic over pretty.

1–2 hrs📍 Maps

From Palau

Base 3

Santa Teresa is back — not as a base, but as an easy day trip.

~25–30 min drive

Santa Teresa Gallura

The one you loved — as a day trip

A lively old town with a real piazza and plenty of character — too far north to base in, but an easy outing from Palau. Pair it with the Capo Testa headland nearby (granite coves and a beach) so it's town and sea in one. See the Day 9 note for how it slots in.

Half/full day📍 Maps
~20 min drive

San Pantaleo

A tiny artsy granite village

A little granite hamlet with an artist streak and a famous Thursday market — a short, easy wander. Already flagged as a Day 11 alternative.

1–2 hrs📍 Maps
~40 min drive

Aggius

Another "most beautiful village"

An inland granite village, characterful and quiet — the longer drive of the three, worth it if you want one more old-town day.

1–2 hrs📍 Maps
Honest note: these are recommended from general knowledge, not the same deep research as the restaurants — glance at photos before you commit a day to one. The pretty-stroll standouts are Cagliari's Castello in the south, Galtellì in the middle, and Santa Teresa Gallura in the north.
Where we sleep

Three hotels, three vibes

All three include breakfast, fit all four of us in one room, sit within walking distance of restaurants, and aren't kids'-club resorts or adults-only.

Villasimius
Villasimius / Simius Beach
Base 1 · 4 nights · 13 Jun → 17 Jun

Suimi's Hotel · Villasimius

9.7 484 reviews · "Exceptional" 📍 Maps & photos
  • Confirm before booking: the hotel splits "Junior Suite Family" from "Junior Suite Jacuzzi" — you must confirm directly which room has the private jacuzzi and sleeps 4 (use the email button)
  • Exceptional breakfast included · garden, pool, shared hot tub
  • 1 km to Simius Beach, 700 m to the old-town center
  • Family-run boutique — owner Claudia praised across reviews
~€1,0004 nights · breakfast · June rate
Cala Gonone
Cala Gonone
Base 2 · 3 nights · 17 Jun → 20 Jun

Hotel Nettuno · Cala Gonone

9.1 4-star · family-run · strong recent reviews 📍 Maps & photos
  • 4-star with a swimming pool — modern, well-maintained rooms (a clear step up from the more basic 3-star options in town)
  • High-quality, varied breakfast included
  • Family-managed, traditional Sardinian hospitality
  • Central Cala Gonone — a short walk to the seafront and the boat harbour
  • Ask for a larger pool-view room for the four of you
~€8003 nights · breakfast included
Palau
Palau marina
Base 3 · 4 nights · 20 Jun → 24 Jun

La Vecchia Fonte Boutique Hotel · Palau

8.6 685 reviews · "Fabulous" 📍 Maps & photos
  • Junior Suite — sofa bed for the kids, sleeps 4
  • Boutique 4-star directly above the Palau marina
  • Steps from where the self-drive boat day starts
  • 100–300 m to restaurants and the La Maddalena ferry
  • Parking €19/night (budget ~€80 extra)
~€9504 nights · breakfast included
Where we eat · the no-seafood guide

Restaurants, vetted for you

Every spot here is chosen for three things: great non-seafood food (pizza, meat, classic pasta), early dinner seating, and a locals' reputation with strong ratings. Each has a 📍 Maps link for the deep galleries of recent photos and the current menu. Reserve everything; there's always a plain margherita or pasta al pomodoro for the kids.

Villasimius

Base 1 · 4 nights

A seafood town on the surface — but the meat grill, the pizzerias, and the inland agriturismi have you fully covered.

Casual go-to

Pizzeria Acquarius

Pizzeria · in the town center

Your reliable default — a real pizzeria, not a fish house. Wide menu, fast service, walkable.

Order: margherita & prosciutto for the kids, house specialty pizzas or a calzone for you.

4.3★€Opens 19:00📍 MapsReviews
Casual go-to · meat

Galika

Sardinian grill / trattoria · a few km out

The anti-seafood restaurant — a proper meat house. Mixed grill, roast pecorino, culurgiones.

Order: grigliata mista, roast pecorino, culurgiones; plain pasta for the kids.

4.4★€€Opens ~19:30📍 MapsReviews
A bit special

Sa Bingia

Agriturismo-style feast · just outside town

A multi-course Sardinian land feast right near town — spit-roasted porceddu is the star. Garden setting, half-price kids' menu.

Order: set menu — the porceddu is the headline. Best as a long lunch if 20:00 is too late.

4.0★€€Reserve essential📍 MapsReviews
A bit special

Maiori Villasimius

Gourmet Neapolitan pizzeria + cocktail bar

"Special but relaxed" — proper gourmet pizza, a stylish vibe, good cocktails for you, an easy pizza for the kids.

Order: classic margherita / prosciutto crudo; arancini to start; a cocktail.

4.5★ OT€€–€€€Need the car📍 MapsReviews
⭐ Day 3 lunch

Chaplin Spaghetteria

Pasta & pizza family restaurant · Costa Rei

The relaxed Day-3 lunch on the Costa Rei beach day — pasta-focused, covered terrace, and a garden play area so the kids can run between courses. A normal ~1-hour lunch, not a feast.

Order: carbonara, ravioli, pizzas; plain pasta for the kids.

4.1★€–€€Continuous service📍 MapsReviews
Optional · a second feast

Agriturismo Sa Marighedda

Agriturismo · Castiadas, 15–20 min from town

A ~10-course farm feast — antipasti, homemade pasta, suckling pig and lamb among olive trees, 4.7★ across 1,085 reviews. Not in the plan (one big feast is plenty with young kids — that's Guthiddai on Day 7), but here if you ever want a second one.

Order: fixed menu — just arrive hungry. ~€32pp, drinks included. Plan ~2.5–3 hours.

4.7★ · 1,085€€Best as lunch📍 MapsReviews

Cala Gonone & inland

Base 2 · 3 nights

This is Sardinia's meat heartland — once you go inland to Oliena and Dorgali, the no-seafood "problem" disappears entirely.

⭐ The highlight meal

Agriturismo Guthiddai

Agriturismo · Oliena, ~20 min inland

The best meal of the trip and essentially zero-seafood by design. Antipasti, two pastas, FOUR roast meats, homemade ice cream — a 4-hour farm feast. Day 7's lunch.

Order: set tasting menu — the roast suckling pig with crackling is the star.

~4.6★€€Book as lunch📍 MapsReviews
Casual go-to · pasta

Trattoria Sos Rueddos

Trattoria · Cala Gonone town

Cosy, homey, built on homemade Sardinian pasta — exactly the non-seafood comfort food you want. Walkable from the hotel.

Order: culurgiones, ricotta-spinach ravioli, malloreddus alla campidanese; grilled meats.

~4.4★€€Opens ~19:30📍 Maps
Casual go-to · pizza

Pizzeria San Francisco

Pizzeria / restaurant · Cala Gonone town

Reliable, high-volume wood-fired pizzeria — the easy kid-friendly fallback. Opens early, plenty of space.

Order: wood-fired pizzas; Sardinian meat secondi on the wider menu.

4.3★ · 2,200€€Opens ~19:00📍 MapsReviews
Casual go-to · pizza

Pizzeria La Poltrona

Pizzeria / restaurant · Cala Gonone town

A second strong pizzeria for variety across 3 nights — pizza for kids, Sardinian meat & pasta for you.

Order: wood-fired pizzas, malloreddus, grilled meats.

4.3★ · 1,535€€Opens ~19:00📍 MapsReviews
A bit special

Su Gologone

Restaurant (in the hotel of the same name) · Oliena

Michelin Bib Gourmand, strictly traditional inland Sardinian — spit-roasted suckling pig, no seafood focus at all. Art-filled, gardens.

Order: porceddu, culurgiones, roast lamb, the cheese selection. Lunch is easier for early eaters.

~4.3★€€€Reserve essential📍 MapsMichelin
Dorgali option

Ristorante Colibrì

Trattoria · Dorgali, ~15 min

"A real Sardinian restaurant" — first-class antipasto misto, goat and wild boar, traditional inland cooking. Zero seafood pressure.

Order: antipasto misto, cinghiale (wild boar), capretto (goat), homemade pastas.

4.3★ · 726€€Opens ~19:30📍 MapsReviews

Palau, La Maddalena & San Pantaleo

Base 3 · 4 nights

Coastal Gallura leans seafood — but steer to the porceddu specialist and the pizzerias and you eat very well, no fish required.

Casual go-to · meat

CuCumiao

Trattoria · just outside Palau center

Your no-seafood anchor in Palau — the signature dish is porceddu, slow-roasted suckling pig, alongside grilled meats and Gallurese country cooking.

Order: porceddu, zuppa gallurese (a baked bread-and-cheese dish, very kid-friendly), grilled meats.

4.3★ · 2,570€€Opens ~19:00📍 Maps
Casual go-to · pizza

Hostaria Cuppulata

Pizzeria / restaurant · Palau center

Gourmet wood-fired pizza with 72-hour dough — light and excellent. The easy family dinner in the center, opens genuinely early.

Order: the leavened gourmet pizzas; Sardinian meat secondi; plain margherita for the kids.

4.3★€€Opens 19:00📍 MapsReviews
Casual go-to · pizza

Pizzeria Sa Pinta

Pizzeria / restaurant · Palau center

Locally recommended, friendly, fairly priced — a solid third casual option to rotate through over 4 nights.

Order: wood-fired pizzas, pasta, grilled meats.

4.3★ · 399€€Opens ~19:00📍 Maps
A bit special

Ristorante La Gritta

Restaurant · Porto Faro, ~5 min from Palau

Michelin Guide–listed, a garden terrace with sunset sea views. Not seafood-only — reviewers single out the lamb chops and veal.

Order: lamb chops, veal, ravioli sardi; a local Cannonau red.

~4.3★€€€Reserve essential📍 MapsMichelin
La Maddalena town

Pizzeria Civico 49

Pizzeria · La Maddalena old town

The highest-rated pick in this whole guide — outstanding pizza, no seafood needed. Build it into the Day 11 ferry trip.

Order: classic pizzas for the kids; gourmet seasonal-veg or salumi pizzas for you.

4.6★ · 320€€Opens ~19:00📍 Maps
San Pantaleo village

Pizzeria Trattoria Ichnos

Pizzeria / trattoria · San Pantaleo, ~20 min

If you visit the granite village of San Pantaleo — a long-standing village pizzeria, thin-crust wood-fired, non-seafood standouts.

Order: the mortadella & burrata pizza, the gorgonzola & fig pizza; margherita for the kids.

~4.3★€€Opens ~19:00📍 MapsReviews
One universal habit: reserve, and aim to arrive right as the doors open (~19:00–19:15). You'll get a table, the kids are still fresh, and you beat the 21:00 Italian rush. Verify opening days by phone the same day — shoulder-season hours can be unpredictable.
The two days on the water

Boat days

These are the highlights — and they're really beach days you reach by water. One you're driven; one you drive yourselves.

Cala Mariolu
Cala Mariolu
Thu 18 Jun · Day 6

Gulf of Orosei ferry

Hop-on/hop-off boat from Cala Gonone harbor. Someone else captains; you just swim. The boats beach the dinghy right at each cove — easy on and off, even with the 3-year-old.

  • Cala Mariolu — white pebbles, crystal water
  • Cala Luna — the beach with the caves
  • ~€100 family · book the day before at the harbor
📍 Cala Gonone harbour on Maps
Spiaggia Rosa, Budelli
Spiaggia Rosa, Budelli
Mon 22 Jun · Day 10

Self-drive the archipelago

A 5–6 person boat with a 40hp engine — no license needed in Italy. A Palau-marina operator (Noleggio Gommoni Palau, or Freedome) gives a pre-departure handling briefing. Then it's just the four of you, at your own pace — and you board right at Palau, no drive to another town.

  • Cala Corsara, Spargi — turquoise pool
  • The shallow pools off Spargi — knee-deep, kid-perfect
  • Cala Santa Maria — sheltered lunch stop
  • Budelli pink-beach pass (300 m off — no landing)
  • ~€450 family all-in · book this week — June fills up
📍 Boat operator on Maps
The money

Budget breakdown

Honest estimate, not a best case — family of 4, June (higher-demand) pricing, SMART flights with bags, automatic compact SUV with full insurance and the one-way fee, the private-jacuzzi room at Suimi's, ~€115/day food including the Guthiddai feast. The earlier "€6,270" was optimistic; this is the realistic number.

Realistic total
~€7,100
12 days · family of 4 · all in
Hotels (3 properties, 11 nights)39% of total
€2,800
Food + restaurants (~€115/day)18% of total
€1,265
Flights (Eurowings SMART × 4, open-jaw)18% of total
€1,250
Rental car (Sunny Cars, full ins., one-way)11% of total
€800
Boat days (Maddalena self-drive + Orosei)8% of total
€560
Gas, parking, beach passes, gelato, misc6% of total
€420
Getting it back toward €6,000. As planned, this lands around €7,100 — over your €6k cap, so here are the honest levers, smallest sacrifice first: a manual rental car instead of automatic (≈ −€130) · food at €90/day instead of €115, leaning on supermarket lunches and pizzerias (≈ −€275) · a standard family room at Suimi's instead of the private-jacuzzi suite (≈ −€250) · skip the premium Orosei ferry for a shorter self-drive gommone (≈ −€60) · drop the one "special" dinner (≈ −€80). All five together get you to about €6,300. Hitting a true €6,000 means giving up the jacuzzi — that's the single biggest lever, and it's your call. I've kept it in the plan because you said you wanted it.
Lock it in

Booking order

You're about four weeks out — comfortable, but June books up fast. Do these top to bottom; the return flight from Olbia is the bottleneck.

  1. Book now

    Eurowings OLB → SZG return · Wed 24 Jun 2026

    Lowest-frequency leg (Wed and Sat only), drives the total cost. Book this before the outbound. SMART fare, 2 adults + 2 children, 4 checked bags. Note the exact departure time when you book — the Day 12 plan assumes a roughly midday flight.

    Eurowings.com
  2. Book now

    Eurowings SZG → CAG outbound · Sat 13 Jun 2026

    Same site, separate one-way booking. SMART fare. Two one-ways is the right pattern. Check the landing time — earlier than ~12:30 just means a longer first afternoon.

    Eurowings.com
  3. Book now

    Email Suimi's — confirm the room and the occupancy

    The hotel splits "Junior Suite Family" from "Junior Suite Jacuzzi." Do not book this leg until you have written confirmation of which room has the private jacuzzi and that it legally sleeps 2 adults + 2 children — the pre-filled email asks exactly that.

    Email Suimi's
  4. This week

    Book Hotels 2 & 3 — with free cancellation

    Book Hotel Nettuno (17–20 Jun) and La Vecchia Fonte (20–24 Jun) on a free-cancellation rate, with the family occupancy (2 adults + 2 children) confirmed in the booking. For La Vecchia Fonte, request a sea/marina-view Junior Suite.

    Hotel Nettuno La Vecchia Fonte
  5. This week

    Book the rental car · Sunny Cars one-way CAG → OLB

    Compact SUV, full zero-excess insurance, with written confirmation of: CAG pickup, OLB drop-off, the one-way fee included, and 2 child seats (or bring your own — rental seats here are notorious). Manual instead of automatic saves ~€130 if you're comfortable with it.

    Sunny Cars Austria
  6. This week

    Book the La Maddalena self-drive boat · Mon 22 Jun

    A Palau-marina operator (Noleggio Gommoni Palau, or Freedome) — both depart from Palau, no drive needed. Ask for a 5–6 person boat, the first-timer handling briefing, and toddler life jackets with a crotch strap sized 10–15 kg and 15–30 kg. June fills up, so do this within the week.

    Noleggio Gommoni Palau Park access tickets
  7. Reserve ~2 weeks ahead

    Reserve Guthiddai — and confirm Friday lunch

    Email Agriturismo Guthiddai to reserve the Day-7 lunch (Fri 19 Jun) and explicitly confirm they serve the full "pranzo tipico" feast that day for non-guests — if it's dinner-only, switch to the dinner slot. Chaplin on Day 3 is continuous-service, so a walk-in is fine.

    Guthiddai Chaplin
  8. Set a reminder · evening of Mon 15 Jun

    Book the Punta Molentis access pass

    Punta Molentis (Day 4) has a mandatory capped online booking in summer — reserve your entry + parking the night before via the official Villasimius portal. If it's sold out, just swap to an unrestricted beach. Set a phone reminder now so you don't forget on the trip.

    Villasimius beach portal
Practical things

What to know, what to pack

🍽️ Eat early, reserve always

Aim to arrive as restaurants open (~19:00). You get a table, the kids are fresh, you skip the 21:00 rush. Reserve even in shoulder season.

🐷 The agriturismo is the move

For no-seafood eaters, the inland agriturismo lunch (Guthiddai, Day 7) is a revelation — a multi-course meat feast, no fish anywhere. Done as a long lunch so the kids can roam between courses.

🪑 Bring car seats

Free as separate baggage on Eurowings. Rental seats in Sardinia are often old or substituted — bring your own Group 1 seat and booster.

💶 Carry cash

Small trattorias, agriturismi, and beach kiosks are often cash-only or card-reluctant. Keep €100–200 in €10s and €20s.

🌊 Sea temps

Late May ~19–20°C, early June ~21–22°C — swimmable but bracing the first 30 seconds. Sun shirts for the kids help a lot.

👟 Water shoes

Granite shorelines and the occasional sea urchin. Cheap aqua shoes for everyone makes the boat day much more relaxed.

🚗 Avoid the SS125

The famous coastal road between Dorgali and Baunei is 60 km of hairpins — motion-sickness territory. Take the inland SS131 for the long legs.

🪟 Ask for the view at La Vecchia Fonte

Request a sea/marina-view Junior Suite explicitly at booking — some rooms face the parking lot.