Sardinia in car: Driving into the night on the island

After two days of driving through mainland Italy and an eight-hour cruise on the car ferry, we finally reach our destination.

Now I could finally try what I had been looking for the most. Driving the car around the island and exploring more than the nearest beach...

So what are the roads like in Sardinia?

 

If you want to skip our story and looking just for useful information about roads and country search for 💁 emoji.

First impression

Our ferry arrived in the evening and the port we choose was on the other side of the island than the city where we had our "base camp". That meant, I didn't have to wait too long for the first real taste of the island roads. Right after we got through car mayhem in the port, we started our drive against the night. And boy, what a treat it was!

My plan was to head to the north and follow the road around the northern coast towards Castelsardo. In the beginning, the road led us through serpentines up to the hills, and after a bit, the road started to go down and we had a nice view of the coast, lit with the moonlight and covered with small lights of the coastal cities and villages. The road itself was a bit narrow, more than I am used to, but the tarmac was in good condition and the drive was very smooth. We kept enjoying the view and I was very happy that I could finally use my other gears other than number six. Up to the moment when my GPS made up her mind and decided not to follow my selected roads.

Since it was quite late at this point, I gave up arguing with her (yes, I usually address my GPS as her 😅) and just keep following her instructions. And for the moment we were heading back to the port.

Sardinia motorways

Soon we reached the big city of Olbia, full of nightlife and city lights. After a short drive through the city, we turned to something which looked like a motorway.

Unfortunately, Sardinia doesn't have any motorway. However, there are two four-lane freeways, which connect south with north and east with west. Kinda.

On the other hand, this means all roads are free. Something, which I didn't know about at that time, so immediately I started to stress about payments, how we could miss the toll gate, or if some kind of vignette is needed. I found out later that all was good.

Although the road was not actually a motorway, the ride was good and the condition of the road was top. After we left Olbia we started to climb again and we entered "the void". Ok, not really, but on the sides of the road we saw fewer city lights and we been surrounded by dark hills lited only by moonlight. For the moment it felt very mystical. 

The traffic was very low (it was close to midnight) and basically no trucks at all. With few road works that we had to pass, I could really enjoy the drive.

We followed this road for around an hour, but because our destination was more to the north and lower on the coast, we couldn't stay on this road. Near the village of Burghidu, we turned down from the freeway, and despite the fact we had to descent to the coast, we started to climb again. This time steeper.

Serpentines, serpentines

After leaving the freeway, the road changes. Roadway became more narrow, in some parts not big enough for two cars and serpentines returned. And oh boy, what a serpentines they were. This road (SS132) could put many rally stages to shame. The tarmac was still in very good condition. One amazing turn after another, mixed with some 180-degree turns, going up and down. And since everyone in the car was sleeping and zero traffic here, I could unleash all 140 horses under my hood and have some low gear fun.

Ok, ok. Was really late, I didn't know the road and I had passengers inside, so I couldn't have that much fun. Yet I had the feeling of 10 years old, who just found the best hideout in the forest. It was very enjoyable to drive here, especially when Italian highways, tons of trucks, and constant road works appeared in my mind. We stopped after some time to stretch and smoke and since we stopped at a crossroad, immediately we started to do Supernatural jokes (yep, the Crowley one). Another road from the crossroad, led somewhere to the dark, more up and I had hard times resisting not taking this road and doing some midnight exploring.

Almost there

From here, we finally started our, still twisty, descend. After many more sharp, low-gear turns, we joined the bigger road. We would came this road if we would drive longer on SS132 and left the freeway later, but I was really happy the GPS took us another way. After we land in port I felt a bit tired, however now I was awake and aching for more. The road now became more straight and faster, yet still quite enjoyable. More and more lights started to appear on sides and soon we entered the city of Santa Maria Coghinas. While I was enjoying the midnight streets in the city under hills, I made a wrong turn. Leave it up to GPS! And you will end up taking shortcuts through someone's yard and bus parking station. 

The road from here was quite ordinary, passing smaller hills, traversing valleys, and with a more straight profile, no sharp turns, and wider. The drive was good and smooth as the tarmac was in good condition.

We followed SP90 for a while until we reached The Elephant tunnel, on which top sits the Roccia dell'Elefante, or Elephant rock (I will talk about this in another part). Of course, we didn't know that, so we kept wondering about the name until the next day. The SP90 road stretches all the way from outside of Castelsardo to the northern part of the island Santa Teresa Gallura with slightly over 70 km of tarmac passing through valleys and hills, changing from straight to very twisty.

We used only a small part of the SP90 tonight when we turned down to a smaller side road entering Castelsardo from the East. After a short drive mainly descending down through a series of nice turns, the light of port and residences on Castelsardo cliffs finally welcomed us. Just shy a few minutes after 1 AM.

Castelsardo

Before we could celebrate our arrival, there was one more thing left to do. Get through the city and park the car.

We have been staying with my wife's mom, who lives here in the city. Which was nice. To stay in her house. The location of the house was not so nice for me.

Castelsardo is a town built on a big hill with an amazing fortress sitting on top and an old town stretching from port to the top. Most people live here, in the old town, or the newer east part which lies on an equally big cliff and hill.

And all this means that streets are very narrow, very steep, and very twisty (In some cases made even from the cobblestones). And most of the time also full of cars parking on the sides.

If I say twisty, I mean really twisty. On some streets, they even have a special surface for cars to maintain grip and to be able to climb up these hills. And we are talking about places where there is no snow and ice in winter.

I have been here a few years ago, so I kinda knew what to expect. However. From the very first moment, I turned to the residential area, I had a feeling that I have a very inappropriate car for this city. Zig zagging around old Puntos and Pandas and similar "toy cars" with my Škoda, which is few centimeters over two meters wide, was only funny for everyone else in the car. Not so much for me.

And parking was not better. The spot where I had to fit my four-and-a-half meter mothership was, I would say appropriate for a scooter. For a while, I kept entertaining the rest of the family with my attempts to park in a small and steep place (Luckily, neighbors were already sleeping) until I finally squeeze there somehow. If this would be the last weird parking moment of the entire vacation I would be happy.

The show was finally over and was time to unload the trunk and hit the sack.

Next time I will talk more about driving in Sardinia and share some interesting places to visit if you seeking more than just relaxing on the beach.

💁 

• Sardinia doesn't have a high-speed motorway.
• There are no roads with payment.
• On the island, are located two, four-lane freeways (or dual carriageways) connecting north with south and west with the east.
• Strada statale 131 Diramazione Centrale Nuorese (SS131) - connected to the Strada statale 131 Charles Felix, it links Abbasanta (a village near Oristano) with Olbia, via Nuoro, crossing the hinterland mountainous regions of the island. It has a length of 148 km.
• Strada statale 131 Charles Felix (SS131) - connects the towns of Porto Torres and Cagliari via Sassari, Macomer and Oristano. It has a length of 229km.
• The speed limit on freeways is 100 km/h. The speed limit on other roads, inside urban areas, is 50 km/h and outside cities and villages 90 km/h.
• Speed limits are enforced with electronic measurement on some roads.
• Due to the lack of heavy industry and heavy trucks, the roads are not damaged with long holes.
• The tarmac quality is good in and near cities. You can encounter potholes and broken sides in more rural areas, but they still don't present big discomfort.
• In come villages and cities and in the countryside the roads are more narrow. In some areas, there are only one-lane roads.
• Because of the mountainous profile of the island, many toads are twisty. Turns are often sharp with an obstructed view.
• There are many coast roads in Sardinia, which offer a great driving experience and amazing view. Like road from Alghero to Bosa, or Cagliari to Villasimus. 
• As in mainland Italy, only Eni stations accept Routex fuel cards.
• There are enough gas stations on roads, most of them with automatic payment and no service staff.
• When heading to the mountains, it's better to have a full tank.
• In general roads and destinations are well marked and is easy to get to major cities without GPS.
• Get the hard copy of the road map. In some areas, GPS and mobile network is very weak.
• Many roads are on private lands, so watch out to not end up in someone's front yard.
• Roads in rural areas can quickly turn to offroad experience, as there will be no tarmac without prior warning. 
• Drivers from the EU can drive on the island with their home country driving license.
• International Driving Permit (IDP) is required for non-Europian Union drivers.
• In the countryside, you will most likely encounter animals on the roads. Be patient and don't honk. They can get scared and damage your car.
• Having accident insurance and mobility assistance is a good idea.
• In the wet season, the roads can be very slippery. Speed limits in wet conditions are lower to 110 km/h for freeways and 80km/h outside cities.
• Italy has an alcohol limit of 0.50 ‰.
• Parking on the island: Blue lines are for paid parking, white lines are for free parking and yellow lines are for drivers with specific passes.
• You can pay in parking meters (have coins with you as not all takes bills or cards), tobacco shops, or parking staff.
• Parking is enforced by local police (Polizia Locale)
• You can find limited traffic zones in some large cities during certain hours (ZTL zona a traffico limitato).
• There are also zones with restricted entry, only for supplies, emergency services, or residents.
• Sardinians like to drive fast and sometimes at the edge. Be careful at crossroads and let speeding cars pass you.
• In Sardinian road you can encounter State police (Polizia di Stato) Local police (Polizia Locale) or Carabinieri. All of them have the right to stop and check you while driving.