Section
Beaches
The east coast does not have one kind of beach: white pebbles in the Baunei coves, long sand on the Lotzorai plain, dark pebbles at Cardedu.
The coast and the sea at Santa Maria Navarrese — Photo: Fabio Pani · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
The difference comes from the geology inland and from how water reaches the sea. Where limestone dominates the pebbles are pale; where watercourses descend from older rock they turn dark and greenish.
In practice that changes the experience too: shade, car access, water depth and crowding vary considerably from one stretch to the next. The best-known coves require a boat or a trail and often a booking.
The essential answers
- Where is it?
- From the Gulf of Orosei (Baunei, Dorgali) to the Tertenia coast, via Lotzorai, Tortolì, Bari Sardo and Cardedu.
- How do you get there?
- By car for the beaches on the plain; by boat or on foot for the Baunei coves.
- When to go?
- May to October. June and September offer the best compromise between swimmable sea and crowds.
- Where to stay?
- To alternate remote coves and accessible beaches without moving your bags, I Mandorli at Triei sits between the two worlds.
From this section
Where to stay
A base for exploring east Sardinia
To alternate remote coves and accessible beaches without moving your bags, I Mandorli at Triei sits between the two worlds.