Sardinia has six marine protected areas, a national marine park, the most beautiful gulf in the Mediterranean for kayaking and winds that make it a world destination for windsurfing, kitesurfing and surfing. The wind decides everything: with the Mistral you head east, with the Levante west. In the Sardinia guide you will find the tool for choosing a beach with today's wind. Here you will find the best spots for each activity, with the level required and the rules of the marine protected areas.
Each number matches a spot in the list.
No spots match the filters: try widening them.
For each spot: level, best time and the winds that make it calm or best avoided.
Paddling below the cliffs of the Gulf of Orosei, from Cala Gonone to Cala Luna, Cala Sisine, Cala Mariolu and Cala Goloritzé, with caves, arches and water that changes colour at every cove.
Windyes Mistral (calm sea close to shore, but watch out for gusts) · no Levante, Scirocco
Full details →A limestone island rising sheer from the sea off Olbia: around it, in the marine protected area, are shoals such as the Secca del Papa, with groupers, barracudas and red gorgonians.
Windyes Maestrale and Libeccio · no Levante, Grecale, Scirocco
Full details →The Capo Caccia headland is full of caves: underwater lies the Grotta di Nereo, the largest sea cave in the Mediterranean, with red coral and lobsters.
Windyes Levante, Scirocco · no Maestrale (mistral)
Full details →Paddling among the granite islands of the national park, from Spargi to Budelli and Santa Maria, with white-sand coves and picture-postcard water.
Windyes Light winds · no Strong Mistral and Levante in the Strait
Full details →Two bays separated by a sandy isthmus, where the wind of the Strait of Bonifacio is funnelled: one of the most famous windsurf and kite spots in the Mediterranean.
Windyes Mistral, Ponente, Levante · no Flat calm
Full details →The tip of the Sinis catches Mistral swells from across the western Mediterranean: Capo Mannu is considered the most important surf spot in Italy, with waves over three metres in winter.
Windyes Mistral swells · no Flat sea, Mistral too strong
Full details →Around the Villasimius headland the marine protected area has granite and white-sand seabeds where you can snorkel straight from the finest beaches in the south.
Windyes Mistral, Ponente · no Scirocco, Levante
Full details →The Iglesiente coast, exposed to the open western sea, receives the island's strongest swells: Buggerru and the beaches around it are among the spots Sardinian surfers love most in winter.
Windyes Mistral or Ponente swell, offshore wind · no Strong onshore Mistral
Full details →Cagliari's city beach, almost eight kilometres long, is a windsurf and kite training ground in every season: with the Mistral the gulf fills with sails.
Windyes Mistral, Scirocco · no Flat calm
Full details →The beaches of Chia, in southern Sardinia, catch the wind from almost every direction: with the Mistral you launch from the Su Giudeu side, with the Scirocco from other bays along the coast.
Windyes Mistral, Scirocco, Levante · no Flat calm
Full details →Before choosing a spot, check where the wind is coming from: the same cove can be a swimming pool or a place to avoid.
Rules vary from one area to another and from year to year: here is the general picture, but the managing body's regulations always take precedence.
Around the island of Tavolara. In zone A, around Tavolara and Molara, no boating or swimming is allowed without authorisation; in the B and C zones swimming and snorkelling are free, and diving is done with authorised dive centres.
Sailing in the park in boats and RIBs requires a paid permit. You may not land or swim at the pink beach of Budelli; in some coves access is limited in numbers.
Other marine protected areas with A, B and C zones: Capo Caccia–Isola Piana at Alghero, the Asinara, the Sinis Peninsula–Mal di Ventre Island and Capo Carbonara at Villasimius. Each has its own rules.
Snorkellers and divers must mark their position with a diver-down buoy (or a red flag with a white diagonal stripe) and stay within 50 metres of it: harbour-office ordinances require it, and boats must keep their distance.
During the bathing season, motor boats are banned or restricted within 200 metres of beaches and 100 metres of sheer cliffs: kayaks and SUPs can paddle close to shore, but must stay out of the boat launch lanes.
Wind blowing from land to sea pushes SUPs, kayaks and inflatables out to sea even when the water near the shore looks calm: with an offshore wind, stay close to the coast or don't go out.
Emergency number at sea: 1530 (or 112).
The exact rules (times, lanes, distances) are set by the local harbour office's bathing ordinance and vary from one municipality to the next.
