Lay of the Land
Scientists have found human remains on Sardinia that they say date back to 250,000 B.C. Nobody is sure what life might have been like on the island so many years ago, but more recent ancient history indicates a well-developed system of trading obsidian, the volcanic glass you read about in Chapter 13. Sharp spear points were apparently a big commodity in the early days of humankind, and Sardinia was awash in one of the best materials for creating them.
The business that developed seems to have drawn people to the island from all over northern Africa and present-day Europe. Each group left its own cultural imprint for future generations. Conquerors, too, have left their stamp on the island, with Sardinia having been ruled at various points in history by Roman, Byzantine, and Spanish leaders.
For practical purposes, especially in high-tourism areas, Italian is the language you will hear spoken on Sardinia. Yet the island does have a language of its own, Sardinian, which is full of Spanish and Catalan influences. If you venture into the island's more rural areas, your Italian vocabulary will get you only so far in terms of communication.
Today, one particular remnant of these early cultures draws a lot of interest on Sardinia: the nuraghe. Nuraghi are stone towers that look a bit like beehives, some standing more than sixty feet tall. They have no foundations or other supports, but are held up simply by the multi-ton weight of the stones that comprise them. Scientists estimate that they were built during the Bronze Age, from the eighteenth century to the fifteenth century B.C., and more than 8,000 nuraghi still stand on Sardinia today. The purpose of the nuraghi has been lost to time, but they certainly make for an interesting tourism adventure today.
Arriving by Air
Four airports on Sardinia — at Cagliari, Olbia, Alghero, and Arbatax — offer you the option of flying to the island from multiple cities within mainland Italy and greater Europe.
About 2.7 million people fly into Cagliari-Elmas Airport each year; a new terminal opened in 2003 to allow an expansion of capacity to 4 million travelers. About a dozen airlines have routes here. The major carriers include Alitalia, British Airways, and Lufthansa. This airport is on Sardinia's southern shore. More information is available in English at
Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport has services with some fifty different operators, many of them small, regional airlines. The major players that offer flights here include Alitalia, Iberia, and Lufthansa. This airport is on Sardinia's northeastern shore. You can learn more in English at
The airport at Alghero is called Fertilia Airport. It handles about 1 million passengers a year. Only a handful of operators advertise services here, though; they include AirOne, RyanAir, and Volare-Web. This airport is on Sardinia's northwestern shore. More information is online in English at
Tortoli-Arbatax Airport is your fourth option on Sardinia. It's located about halfway up Sardinia's eastern shore, just south of the popular beaches of Golfo di Orosei. The airport does not have a website of its own, but you can find information about flights by plugging its international code, TTB, into any travel reservations site.
Can you get a better ticket price by choosing one Sardinia airport over another?
Prices probably won't differ much between airports during the high season, in the summer, when most flights are jam-packed. Your best option is simply to choose the airport closest to your final destination on the island and pay the going rate before all the seats are gone.
Arriving by Boat
The same general locations where Sardinia's airports are located also serve ferries. There is Porto Torres in the northwest, near Alghero airport; Golfo Aranci in the northeast, near Olbia airport; Tortoli on the central eastern shore, near Arbatax; and Cagliari, on the southern coast, near the Cagliari airport.
You have multiple departure options. Ferries leave from various cities on the Italian mainland, including Civitavecchia (Rome), Genoa, La Spezia, Livorno, Naples, Palermo, Piombino, and Trapani. The fast ferries typically take four to six hours one-way, while the crossing on regular ferries can last seventeen hours. Rates vary widely depending on what kind of ferry you book, and then what kind of seat or cabin you request onboard. There are also additional fees if you plan to bring a vehicle aboard.
A couple of good online resources for ferry tickets include