Best Beaches in Sardinia Off the Beaten Track (2026 Guide)

Sardinia has 1,850 kilometres of coastline. It also has, in July and August, a significant proportion of mainland Italy's entire holiday-making population crammed onto perhaps two hundred kilometres of it. The Costa Smeralda is extraordinary but it is not, in high summer, exactly undiscovered.

The good news is that most of Sardinia's finest beaches are not on the Costa Smeralda. They are on headlands reachable only by a dusty track, at the base of cliffs requiring a forty-minute walk, or in coves that face the wrong direction for Instagram's preferred light. They are, as a result, often nearly empty even in summer.

These are the ones we send our clients to. Most require a car. All of them are worth it.

The best hidden beaches in Sardinia by region

North-west Sardinia — the Alghero coast

The stretch of coast south of Alghero towards Bosa is one of the most spectacular — and emptiest — in Sardinia. The SP49 coastal road winds along cliff faces with almost no development, and the tiny beaches below are reachable only by very steep paths.

• Spiaggia del Lazzaretto: just outside Alghero, backed by a 16th-century watchtower. Calm, sheltered and popular with locals but rarely crowded outside August.
• Cala della Barca: a small rocky cove halfway down the coast road towards Bosa. Park at the layby and scramble down — fifteen minutes of effort for a beach you'll likely have to yourself.

North-east Sardinia — Gallura and beyond the Costa Smeralda

The Costa Smeralda's beaches — Capriccioli, Romazzino, Liscia Ruja — are genuinely beautiful but genuinely busy. Drive twenty minutes south and the picture changes.

• Cala Brandinchi (near San Teodoro): nicknamed 'Little Tahiti' for its white sand and flat, pale-turquoise sea. Still relatively well-known, but its size means it absorbs visitors.
• Cala Ginepro: a quieter cove near San Teodoro with juniper scrubland behind it. Less postcard-perfect than Brandinchi but significantly calmer.
• Porto Taverna: a long arc of fine sand south of Olbia, popular with families and often emptier than beaches further north.

East coast — the Golfo di Orosei

The Gulf of Orosei is the jewel of Sardinia's coastline and genuinely one of the most beautiful stretches of coast in Europe. The cliffs are limestone, the sea is so clear it looks artificial, and most beaches are reachable only on foot or by boat from Cala Gonone or Santa Maria Navarrese.

• Cala Goloritzé: the most famous, and rightly so — a white pebble beach beneath vertical cliffs with a natural sea arch. A two-hour walk from the plateau, or a short boat trip. UNESCO-listed.
• Cala Mariolu: reached only by boat or a five-hour round-trip walk. White and pink pebbles, water in shades from emerald to ultramarine.
• Cala Biriola: accessible only by boat. The walk from above takes over four hours. For those who make it, the beach is reliably uncrowded even in July.

Practical note: the day-boat services from Cala Gonone are the most practical way to visit multiple coves. Book in advance in summer.

South-west Sardinia — the Sulcis coast

The south-west is the least-visited corner of Sardinia — partly because it lacks a major airport nearby, partly because it doesn't fit the 'emerald coast' image. It is also some of the most interesting coastline on the island.

• Is Arutas: a beach of tiny quartz grains rather than sand, giving it an almost silver-green colour. Near Oristano, worth an hour's detour.
• Spiaggia di Tuerredda: near Teulada in the far south, an arc of white sand with a small island offshore and a lagoon behind. Reach it via a rough track; park at the top and walk down.
• Porto Flavia: strictly speaking not a beach but a cliff-face mining harbour — a gallery cut through rock used to export ore directly onto ships below. The cove beneath it has remarkably clear water and almost no visitors.

Tips for finding empty beaches in Sardinia

• Go early. Sardinian beach culture starts late — before 10am, even the popular beaches are quiet.
• Look away from the main road. If you can see a beach from the tarmac, so can everyone else. The best ones require a walk.
• Avoid the first two weeks of August. This is the Ferragosto period; the entire Italian peninsula migrates to Sardinia. Even remote coves get busy.
• Head inland then back out. Routes through the interior to a coastal trailhead are almost always uncrowded, even in peak season.
• Use a car. Most of these beaches are unreachable by public transport. This is precisely why they stay quiet.

How to explore Sardinia's beaches on a self-drive holiday

The beaches described here are best reached as part of a self-drive itinerary that combines coast and interior. Our Sardinia self-drive package includes a day-by-day route built around your interests — beach days, walking days, cultural stops — with pre-booked accommodation and full local support.