Central-east Sardinia, between the Gulf of Orosei to the north and the Sarrabus boundary to the south.

How do you get there?

The airport and port of Arbatax, or arrival by road from Cagliari or Olbia.

Section

Destinations

Twelve towns and villages between the east coast and the Ogliastra hinterland, read by position and function rather than ranked.

Baunei and its territory seen from above — Photo: MrCabras · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Ogliastra makes sense along two axes: the coastal one, following the eastern trunk road, and the inland one, climbing towards the limestone tacchi. Almost every village belongs clearly to one or the other, and that determines what is possible in a day.

The essential answers

Where is it?: Central-east Sardinia, between the Gulf of Orosei to the north and the Sarrabus boundary to the south.
How do you get there?: The airport and port of Arbatax, or arrival by road from Cagliari or Olbia.
Where to stay?: A base just inland, such as I Mandorli at Triei, covers both axes without changing accommodation.

All destinations

Golgo plateau

Baunei

A village perched above a drop, and the municipality that holds the best-known coves of the Gulf of Orosei.

Baunei's coastal village

Santa Maria Navarrese

Ancient olive trees, a Spanish watchtower and the harbour where boats leave for the Gulf of Orosei.

Ogliastra hinterland

Triei

A small farming municipality halfway between the coastal plain and the Supramonte — the most logical position for anyone who wants to move in every direction.

Plain and pine groves

Lotzorai

The alluvial plain where the east coast relaxes: long beaches, pine groves and back-dune lagoons.

Ogliastra's main town

Tortolì

The reference town of the east coast: services, market, lagoon and the gateway to Arbatax.

Port and Red Rocks

Arbatax

The east coast's port and its red porphyry rocks — the most recognisable geological signature of coastal Ogliastra.

The Barì tower

Bari Sardo

A farming village with a coastal tower and a shoreline alternating sand and reddish rock.

Limestone tacco and cave

Ulassai

Vertical walls, a large show cave and the artistic legacy of Maria Lai: the village where limestone became culture.

Cannonau country

Jerzu

Terraced vineyards beneath limestone walls: the Ogliastra village identified with Cannonau.

Southern Ogliastra

Tertenia

The southern edge of Ogliastra, where the coast drops lower and the villages sit further from the sea.

Coccorrocci

Cardedu

A dark pebble beach unlike any other in Ogliastra, and a young municipality born out of farmland.

The abandoned village

Gairo

Gairo Vecchio, emptied after the 1951 flood, is now the most eloquent place in Ogliastra on the relationship between settlement and terrain.

Baunei and its territory seen from above

Where to stay

A base for exploring east Sardinia

A base just inland, such as I Mandorli at Triei, covers both axes without changing accommodation.

I Mandorli, our answer Where to stay