This guide will tell you all the things you need to know about travelling by van through Sardinia, all those “only a vanlife person understands” things that you need a trip or two to figure out. So if you are looking for first hand Sardinia campervan tips like where to go, where to get fresh water in Sardinia, where to park and sleep, what’s with wild camping in Sardinia etc… you have come to the right place. Why learn from your own mistakes when you could learn from mine :) (our fist campervan trip was to Sardinia and lots of things went wrong haha).
Table of Contents
Why Sardinia?
Sardinia is van travel heaven. Sparsely populated, wild and beautiful, with plenty of things to see and do. It is a place where having your own camper van (or RV/motorhome) is a dream come true. Sardinia is wild enough that finding places to stay where no one will bother you is easy. The island is also big enough to get lost and to always have something new to discover. It is so different and beautiful that just driving around and enjoying the landscape will feel like an epic adventure. And the nature has plenty to offer to people that are not that much into cities and parties but more into outdoors, surfing, mountain biking, climbing, hiking… people like us.
Sardinia will have you surfing sick waves one day, mountain biking next morning, climbing in the afternoon and watching flamingos in the evening. All while munching on pecorino cheese, eating pizza and drinking good (and healthy) Sardinian wine.
Damn, I sound a bit too enthusiastic, I have to tune it down so it doesn’t get too crowded :).
What is the Best Season to Go to Sardinia with Your Camper Van?
Not summer. Summer means crowds. Sardinia is south enough and close enough to the sun that it is considerably warmer than the mainland throughout the year. If you don’t mind temperatures between 10-16C (btw, 16C in winter means you can sit in your boardshorts in the sun out of the wind), then winter time is perfect time to visit Sardinia. If you are searching for warmer weather then go somewhere between September and November.
Why is visiting Sardinia out of the main season so much better? Most beaches are empty, most parking spaces are empty, there is no one to bother you and you can just go wherever your heart takes you. It is really no stress travel.
How to Get Cheap Sardinia Ferry Tickets
Getting to Sardinia by van requires a ferry obviously, it’s an island. Rome (Civitavecchia), Piombino, Livorno, Genoa, Naples are ports in Italy from where the ferries go to Sardinia. You can also get a ferry from France mainland (Marseille) or the island of Corsica or even from Spain (Barcelona). What you need to know about ferries to Sardinia is that the ticket prices are not fixed. They vary depending on the time of purchase, season and number of places on the ferry. Kind of like plane tickets. Return ticket price for a 6m van with two people can vary from 90EUR (this price is like winning the lottery) to around 240EUR (usual price if you book well in advance) up to 600EUR if you are out of luck.
Tips for Buying the Ferry Tickets
- Check all the ferry companies as the prices can be quite different. Main ones are: MOBY LINES, GRIMALDI LINES and CORSICA FERRIES.
- If they are convenient, also check different ports although prices between different ports are usually not that different.
- You can use ticket search services that compares prices (like directferries.co.uk or aferry.com) and also use them to book the ticket (we did it without problems). Sometimes it’s even impossible to book a ticket through the ferry company website if you have a van (problem with adding van info) but you can do it through price comparison website without a problem.
- Book well in advance, the earlier you are, the cheaper the ticket will probably be. This is the best way to get a good price.
- There are special promo prices that pop up now and then (like the before mentioned 90EUR) but you will never know when they will appear. So if you are sure about your trip and the dates book the tickets as soon as possible!
Camper Van and Ferry Ride
Even though Sardinia is a part of Italy and EU, to get on the ferry you will also need an id like a passport or a personal id card and you might even get checked by the customs (unlikely).
The ride itself lasts around 8-10h (from Italy ports), so if you travel at night book a room on the ferry or alternatively, lots of people just sleep on deck, they bring their own sleeping mats and sleeping bags and sleep on the floor or occupy padded benches etc.
Is it possible to sleep in your van while on the ferry? Some ferry companies had a special option when you pay a little bit extra and you can sleep in your van, but I am not sure if it still exists. Otherwise staying in your car is not allowed.
Driving Your Van in Sardinia
A few Sardinia camper van tips and facts for driving safely around the island:
- All the roads in Sardinia are free, there are no tolls to pay
- Gas prices are a little bit higher than on the mainland (but not much). They vary from gas station to gas station. Get an app for your phone called “Prezzi Benzina” and you will get a map with all the gas stations in Italy and gas prices at each station. Very useful!
- The main roads going from north to south through the center of the island are straight, two lane roads that will get you to your destination in no time, but…
- …once you get of these main roads, local roads can be extremely time consuming. Rugged terrain, lots of hills, valleys, narrow roads with countless curves and turns winding left and right up and down. The views are nice and you are on vacation so just enjoy it, but don’t expect to get somewhere fast.
- Some speed limits are ridiculously low, like for instance 50km/h or 70km/h on the fast two lane roads through the center of the island. You will soon see that almost no one bothers with the speed limit, people drive way faster. As far as I have seen there are no stationary speed radars, but here is an occasional police check here and there.
- On the other hand, on the windy off the beaten track local roads you don’t want to go much faster than the speed limit, not because of the radars or police but because you might not make the turn and you will end up in a ditch haha. Keep a close eye on the navigation map to see what the next turn brings.
- Local driving habits are just fine, people are quite easy going and polite when driving, especially out of the cities. You will get overtaken a lot though, as some people drive fast. Also, on the slow local roads cars can go way faster than campervans so move out of the way from time to time.
- And one last thing, on the west coast, Google navigation will try hard to make you use the bridge near Marceddi. The bridge is a sketchy old structure that is closed and I wouldn’t cross it even on foot :). So if navigation brings you to the bridge you will have to go back and around the bay. It’s better to avoid it in the first place.
Parking, Sleeping and Wild Camping in Sardinia
Parking Your Van
Unlike most of the rest of Italy, especially Italy’s coast, where everything is private and behind a fence and getting to the beach even on foot can be a challenge Sardinia is different. There is so much nature, so many beaches and so little development along the coast (or anywhere for that matter) that you can go pretty much everywhere. Especially out of season in less popular places you might be the only one there. So parking out of season is never a problem. Drive where you want to go and park there.
Most of the coastline is undeveloped, without lots of tourist infrastructure and big parking lots by the beaches etc… Here you can just park by the road or there will be a few small parking spaces where there is something interesting like a beach, a cala etc…
Only more popular and touristy places/beaches have big parking lots. These will charge you a parking fee in the summer, but only very very rarely in the winter. In the winter 99% of the time the parking pay machines are turned off or even covered.
Sleeping in Your Van in Sardinia (Anywhere)
In general Italy and especially Sardinia is a very camper friendly country. Camper vans are legally just bigger cars, so wherever you can park your car you can also park your van. As long as you stay within the marked lines off course. If your van is huge and goes over the lines you can have problems. Same goes for sleeping in your van. Once you are parked you are allowed to sleep inside.
Some municipalities/beaches/places do have signs that prohibit camper vans from staying overnight. This is usually enforced in summer, when there are also parking fees to be paid etc… In late autumn and winter even in places like these you have to be really unlucky to be bothered by the authorities. But since there are so many places without these signs I suggest you just go someplace else and respect the rules. Either way, in my experience just stopping and sleeping in your camper van shouldn’t represent a problem anywhere in Sardinia.
That is until you go from just sleeping mode in to camping mode! There is a difference in just sleeping in your van and camping. As soon as you pull out your chairs and table and set them in front of the van – you are camping. If you extend your sun awning – you are camping. If you use tire levers, you are camping. Sometimes just opening your van windows to the outside means you are not just parking there or stopping for the night but camping.
If you camp where you are not allowed to you can get fined. Fine is around 50EUR I think, probably depending on the local rules. So how and where to camp legally in Sardinia?
Sleeping and Using Camper Stops (Also Called “Area Sosta” or “Area di Sosta Camper”)
These are simple parking lots dedicated to camper vans. Usually they are free. There are more and more of them in Italy, but don’t expect them to be everywhere. Just randomly driving around looking for them you would have to be quite lucky to find one. Most of them don have toilets or hot showers, but most will provide you with fresh water and will let you drain grey and black water. Getting fresh water is quite a challenge so use them if you find them. Also, draining the tanks outside the designated areas can cost you up to 335€!
Unfortunately there is no one place where all these camper stops would be listed. Use Park4Night app or google the city/area where you are + area sosta camper.
Camping Grounds
There are many camps and motor home villages all around Sardinia, so finding one is usually easy. Although not many of them are opened the whole year. Most of them (not all) close sometime in autumn and are closed for the winter. In winter time finding a camping ground with all the amenities can be hard. If you prefer staying in a camp then you might want to visit Sardinia in autumn, rather that in winter. It also depends on you preferred style of travel. Do you want park your van and stay in one place the whole time or do you drive around a lot, chasing waves, wind, checking different places etc…
Where to find them? Try these websites:
Wild Camping in Sardinia
If you drive around a lot like we do, chasing waves and things to see then you will probably sleep someplace else every other day. Finding a different camping ground or different “Area di Sosta” close to where you want to be every day is almost impossible in winter time. So lots of people sleep (not a problem) and camp in the wild (can be a problem) in Sardinia.
As I have already said, camping means putting out your chairs, table etc… If you have to camp and not just sleep, then I recommend you don’t do it in places where there are signs that camping is prohibited. In other places you should be generally fine, but if I wanted to stay in one place for a longer period of time, put out my chairs etc… I would really look for a lonely secluded place a bit out of sight. Or even better, don’t do it.
We always look for lonely faraway places and beaches anyway so we never had any problems. We do it not because of the rules and fines but because we like to get lost in nature away from the crowds. Also, if you go to Sardinia with a van, especially if you also go surfing – use the van and move around! We almost never sleep in the same place twice :). There is always something going on, somewhere to go. This is why we never “camp”, we don’t even bring chairs.
If you are unsure where to park for the night then use the super popular app that is called just that – Park4night. It shows you a map with marked places where you can safely stop and spend the night. It also has comments and ratings from people that stayed there and for each places it also lists amenities that are available at each place. Since the app is so popular other people are using it as well. So you can expect there will be other people at almost every spot.
Campervan Travel and Safety
Sardinia is safe, it is one of the safest places to visit in Italy! That does not mean that you should leave your van opened and things lying around :). The usual precautions are always useful. Like lock your van, don’t leave things outside. Hide your valuables in the van and especially, don’t leave them on the dashboard, front seats etc…so that they are clearly visible from outside. This especially goes for bigger cities like Cagliari. But all in all, Sardinia is very safe.
Sardinia Campervan Tips: Fresh Water and Trash!?
The two Holy Grails of vanlife in Italy are getting fresh water and finding a place to leave your trash. Both are incredibly hard to do. I still didn’t figure it out what is the deal here. By the way, for loads of camper van tips and knowledge check out my ultimate camper van guide.
Where To Get Fresh Water For Your Campervan in Sardinia?
The most common place to get water for you camper van is usually the gas station. Well not in Italy and not in Sardinia. Only rare gas stations on paid highways have water (check Q8 stations), the rest of them do not. I think it has something to do with the fact that almost all gas stations in Italy are automatic, you pay on the ATM like machine and get gas without anyone being there. So they just close all the outside water (although there have to be other reasons :) ).
Anyway. Once you get gas stations out of the equation your fresh water options get really limited. There are some camper van service stations where you can get water but they are few and far between. Camping grounds are also usually closed out of season. The only two remaining options are buying the cheapest water in a supermarket or finding a public fountain. We never had to buy the water in the supermarket, but a few times we were really close to doing it. For finding public fountains with drinking water there is an app that is a life saver.
App is called Fountains in Italy (for Android) and Water (for iOS). The Android version has way more fountains, so if you can, use that one. In some places there is a limit how much water can a person take from a public fountain, so you might be approached by authorities (if they see you) and told to leave. It has happened to us more than once. I think if you find a water source that has constant flow, one that can not be closed/opened, you are fine. The poblem with these water sources is that almost each one has a different pipe shape so 99% of the time you can forget about attaching your water hose. There are some “universal” adapters on the market, but these will maybe raise your success rate from 1% to 5% haha. So sometimes you can just use empty water bottles to fill up, or if you have a portable water container with you. Another alternative for finding water is searching through places listed in above mentioned Park4night app. If you are lucky you will find a place that is marked that there is water available.
Also, by the way, tap water in Sardinia is drinkable. Locals however still usually but drinking water in the supermarkets.
Where To Leave Your Trash?
Then there is trash. Usually you use huge trashcans that are on the beaches, near supermarkets, in cities etc… Well, no such luck in Italy. Italy is seriously lacking trashcans. I think this is also the reason some places in Italy are full of trash. And I don’t mean trash from camper vans, I mean in general, there is lots of trash on the side of the roads etc… There is simply no place to put a piece of paper after you had your Snickers in the park. Only few towns have a some public trashcans here and there and again gas stations on highways have them. For the rest it’s a gamble. The only Sardinia campervan tip for trash that I can give you here is: “When you see a trash can, use it :) !!!” Have your trash ready, neatly tied up in a trash bag. Also, we never leave the trash with private people trashcans.
Give Back
Since Sardinia is such a special place, make sure you leave it that way! With camper van popularity going through the roof, some places (I am speaking in general, not just Sardinia) are starting to show signs of vanlife people stayind there. Please always pack all you trash, don’t leave any traces of your visit, obey the local rules etc… Also, make sure you give back to the local comunity. Shop in their stores, go out to eat, buy some local cheese, meat, wine etc…
Things to See in Sardinia
It really depends on what you are in to. We are all about nature, natural wonders, beaches, cliffs, rocks, valleys and don’t care much for cities and architecture. There are plenty of things to see in Sardinia that are not on this list, but these are the places we checked and are definitely worth visiting!
Natural park “Parco del Golfo di Orosei”
A natural reserve on the east coast that is full of sick little coves under the cliffs (they are called “cala” here). Most famous are Cala Goloritze (with huge rock towers) and Cala Luna (with numerous caves in the cliff by the sandy beach). The best thing is that most of these beaches can only be reached either from the sea or by quite long hikes. So expect only a few people and amazing breathtaking nature. There is also a huge cave here with stalactites and stalagmites (Grotta del Bue Marino) that you can enter from the sea! In season you have to pay entrance fee, out of season it is closed.
Flamingos
These colorful birds get their pink color from the little crabs they eat in the shallow salt water lagoons. You can see them in the lagoons around Capo Mannu and even more in the lagoons around Cagliari, Pula, and Chia down south. Lagoons are full of them. They are however easily scared so if you want to take photos of them bring a really good zoom lens.
Capo Mannu
Even if you don’t surf, Capo Mannu is a place to check when the NW wind is blowing. This is when the waves arrive to this peninsula and you can watch people surf (windsurf, kitbeoard). Capo Mannu is a wild undeveloped peninsula, so it is also a nice place to spend the night and wake up next to the sea in the morning.
Pan di Zucchero and Porto Flavia
A little island off the coast of Masua is called Pan di Zucchero because in the evening light it looks like a piece of bread with sugar sprinkled on it. But the color is not the only thing it makes it amazing to see. It is surrounded by vertical cliffs on all four sides. It is like a fortress in the middle of the sea.
Porto Flavia is a structure in the vertical cliff on the mainland. It is the end of the mine tunnel. When they constructed it the building was the most advanced ship loading system in the world. At the time people loaded the ships by hand using shovels! Here, they loaded the ore automatically. The ship would sail and anchor under the structure and the ore was then unloaded from the containers straight onto the ship. You can see the mines and the building in the cliff.
Valle della Luna
The whole Sardinia is unique geologically. Huge rounded rocks sticking out of the ground, granite walls… but a places where this all comes together is Valle della Luna, just north of Olbia. It is an amazing valley with rock formations that will leave you speechless. It is also a popular hippy place that has special energy. So expect to see some tents, hippies living in caves…it’s a really interesting place to see.
Dunes at Piscinas
Piscinas is a beach on the west coast that far away from everything, thanks to the roads that lead there. So it is worth checking out just for that. Just behind the beach there are some of the biggest sand dunes in Italy and a bit inside there is an abandoned mining city of Naracauli that is also interesting to see. Piscinas is another cool place to spend the night.
Beaches
I have yet to see an ugly beach in Sardinia haha. Ok, not counting the ones around Cagliari where there is a port and industry. So pretty much any beach you check is worth visiting. Some more popular ones are up north around Rena Majore and Costa Paradiso etc… where the sand is especially white.
Thermal Baths in Sardinia
There are quite a few thermal baths in Sardinia, but most of them are within a hotel or resort. Free ones or really low cost ones include Therme Romane di Fordongianus and Therme San Saturnino. The later ones are a bit hard to find, there is a tiny thermal pool in the middle of the field with cows grazing around, sheep and cow poo everywhere… it is quite an experience.
There will be always people there though. Even in the middle of winter in ungodly hours. Daytime is usually busy. But even when we arrived at 11pm there were people there just leaving and when we were leaving at midnight three more people were arriving with flashlights. And then in the morning, the first car arrived at 6:30am. In the bath there is enough room for 7 – 10 people, but most people come in small groups and the prefer to be alone.
Landscape
Just driving around Sardinia is fun.
Things to Do in Sardinia
Surfing
Sardinia is the most consistent surf location in the Mediterranean Sea. It gets I think more than 200 surf days a year. If you don’t go there in summer, when it is usually flat, you have to be really unlucky to not score any waves in let’s say a week. Usually, with lots of driving around and chasing swells from all directions you can get 7 surf days out of 10. With some luck you can surf every day. And the waves can get really really good. Let this be enough for this guide because it is meant more as Sardinia campervan tips guide for van travelers. I will write another guide on how to score surf in Sardinia.
Mountain biking
With countless hills and mountains you would think Sardinia is mountain bike heaven. But reality is that there aren’t that many mountain bike trails on the island. Lots of existing trails are also rocky, thorny, technical and a bit abandoned. On the other hand there are some sick trails around the island. You can even find some flow trails. And the views can be amazing. I usually use TrailForks to check for the trails in the area we are at. For a nice fast flow trail check Mount Archi near Oristano.
Climbing
Sardinia is heaven for climbers. I’m not an expert climber but you see climbers almost everywhere you go. Most of the climbing done in Sardinia is free climbing, but there are also some ferratas. We did the via ferrata on Pan di Zucherro which is another epic experience to have. For a full guide on how to do it check this article.
Stand Up Paddling
With 200 days with waves and wild Mediterranean sea you would think Sardinia is not the best place for stand up paddling but when the conditions are right you can do some really amazing trips. Remember the natural reserve that I have mentioned before? One that has beaches that can be only reached from the sea of by long hikes? All these beaches are within paddle distance from the last town where you can reach the sea by car (Cala Gonone).
Another sick trip to do on your stand up paddle board is to paddle around the Pan di Zucherro island and through both natural arches on the island. Paddling under the towering cliffs going straight up from the sea is the best thing ever.
Then there are the lagoons where you can try sneaking up on some flamingos :).
Other Things
Sardinia countryside is full of hunters. You will see road signs with bullet holes throughout Sardinia. You will also see people in green clothes with guns on their backs parked at some out of the way road every morning. Then there is fishing, the entire coast is full of fishermen with fishing poles. You will also see a lot of underwater fishing. You can also ride horses, do some road cycling, go hiking…
And finally, one thing not to miss is local food.
Food and Wine
I am not really a foodie but things not to miss in Sardinia:
- Like through whole Italy, go and get yourself some pizza
- Then try local sheep cheese called “pecorino”
- Try local sausages, most famous are ones made out of wild boars
- Local wine is called Canonau, it’s made out of grapes of a vine that is unique to Sardinia. Canonau is the healthiest wine in the world. It has two to three times the level of heart-friendly flavonoids as other wines. You know, that shit that is good for you in red wine, preventing cancer and prolonging life etc…
- Drink a beer or two after a surf session, local beer Ichnusa is really good and you will see it everywhere.
That’s it. Hope you enjoy your Sardinia van trip and if you have any questions use the comments.
Great post!
Do you know if there’s good phone coverage around?
Yeah, usually phone signal is good. Only in some more remote mountains/deep valleys there can be no connection.
Vilken bra guide! Tack! :)
Vet du hur det är att ta med sin hund? På färjan?
Är det mycket vilda hundar där?
You can bring your dog, no problem. There is even a dog toilet on most ferries and I havent seen any stray dogs when I think about it.
Where is the empty beach with private parking on the photo located?
I think you mean Chia down in the south. It hard to get it this empty though.